Introduction
After being on backorder from Amazon since June, my CoolerMaster (CM) Storm Quickfire Rapid (QFR) Stealth tenkeyless (TKL) keyboard with Cherry MX green switches finally arrived. Currently, it is difficult to find TKL keyboards with Cherry green switches; therefore, because of the uniqueness of this keyboard, I thought it would be helpful to post a brief review. The price for this keyboard is $119.99 not including shipping; $105.91 for Amazon Prime. The same keyboard with Cherry blue switches is $94.99 or $81.53 for Amazon Prime. There are no pics in this review; please see the CM website for images of the product.
The main reason I bought this keyboard was for the green switches. Like Cherry blues, green switches have both tactile and auditory feedback when actuated -- you can feel a slight "bump" and hear a click. However, blues have an actuation force of 50 grams (actually 50 cN), whereas greens have an actuation force of 80 grams (80 cN). This puts the green switch into the range of the IBM buckling spring, which has an actuation range of 60-80 cN; however, because the actuation mechanism and force-time curve of the buckling spring is completely different from these processes in a Cherry green switch, using a keyboard with Cherry greens will not replicate the experience of typing on an IBM Model M keyboard. Nevertheless, there will be a noticeable difference between typing with blues versus greens; the greens will require harder key presses, making it more difficult to register a keystroke accidentally.
Packaging
The outer box was smaller than I had expected, and upon shaking it, I could feel the inner box sliding back and forth. When I opened the outer box, I found that the inner box was only partially surrounded by a few small airbags, and some of them were deflated. This poor packaging allowed the inner box to slip to and fro within the outer box. Usually, anything I have received from Amazon has been very well packed. This was an exception.
The inner Cooler Master box was a fairly standard container for a TKL keyboard, but with a cheaper feel and with more illustrations and branding than the box that housed my Filco MJ2 Ninja TKL keyboard. Inside the inner box, I found the keyboard wrapped in thin white foam, a small pamphlet manual, USB to PS/2 adapter, USB cable, and a bag containing two CoolerMaster-branded modifier keycaps along with a set of red keycaps with arrowheads on top and WASD on the front. I was a bit disappointed that CM did not include a clear plastic keyboard cover like the one that came with my Filco, but I would probably not use it anyway.
Keyboard Characteristics
The keyboard is essentially identical in size and shape to the Filco MJ2 Ninja TKL, except that the corners of the CM case are slightly more rounded. The case has a rubberized texture that gives it a matte black appearance and a velvet-like feel. I assume, but I do not know, that the texture is a coating rather than being integral to the case material. I like the matte appearance, but I would prefer to know that this was an intrinsic property of the case rather than being a coating of some kind that might wear off with time.
Lifting the board out of the box, I appreciated a decent heft, due in part to the steel backplate. According to my balance, the keyboard weighs 907 grams without its USB cable and 953 grams with the cable (weight reported on the CM website is 940 grams), a bit lighter than the 980 grams of the Filco TKL keyboard (including its built-in cable). Placing the keyboard on my desk, I found that it sat level with no wobble, with or without the legs extended. Without the legs extended, the rubber strips on the bottom of the case keep the keyboard from slipping. However, with the non-rubberized plastic legs extended, the keyboard slideswhen pushed, but with normal typing, it stays put. With the legs extended, the slope of the keyboard is essentially the same as that of my other keyboards, providing a comfortable angle for typing.
Like the Ninja keycaps on the Filco, the CM Stealth has relatively thin ABS keycaps with non-printed tops and printing on the front. The font is an unattractive attempt to be futuristic; nevertheless, I found the legends to be reasonably legible on the alpha keys, but a bit too small on the F-keys and number keys.
The detachable USB cable has gold-colored contacts, and the outer insulation on the cable is braided. The cable wire is very stiff; if you bend it, the bend stays put. I would prefer a more flexible wire. The micro-USB connector fits into a recessed area underneath the rear-center of the keyboard that is part of a cable routing system. The cable can exit from the center, right, or left of the keyboard, depending on your preference. At first, I tried to connect the keyboard using another cable that I already had connected to my computer. However, I could not connect it, because the recessed area under the keyboard was too short for the connector, requiring me to use the cable that was supplied with the keyboard.
Typing
The first thing I noticed when typing on the new board was that the green switches required noticeably greater force than the blue switches on my other keyboards. This is exactly what I wanted, and I find the green switches a great improvement over blues. They are of course nothing like the buckling springs in my IBM Model M or IBM SSK, but I now know that greens are my favorite Cherry switch. I hope that all keyboard manufacturers who use Cherry switches will make Cherry greens one of the standard options. Now that I have tried greens, I do not want to go back to blues.
Being accustomed to buckling springs, my typing style is to bottom out with every keystroke. On the CM QFR, I found that the feel and sound of the keys was uniform across the board. To my delight, the larger stabilized keys with their Costar stabilizers were amazingly smooth and free of rattles. Although I appreciate Cherry stabilizers when I am replacing keycaps, and I have previously failed to detect a functional advantage of Costar stabilizers on other keyboards, the implementation of Costar stabilizers on the CM QFR is wonderful.
Conclusion
This is an excellent and handsome TKL keyboard. My only quibbles with it are the choice of font on the front-printed keycaps, lack of room in the USB connector recess, stiffness of the USB cable, question about potential erosion of the rubberized coating on the case, and lack of rubberized feet on the extendable legs.
Although promoted as a gaming keyboard, I find normal typing on the CM QFR with Cherry greens to be smooth, fast, accurate, and highly enjoyable. In fact, the sound and feel of typing on the CM QFR with Cherry greens is much better than typing on my Filco MJ2 TKL with Cherry blues. Although the difference between the two boards must be due in part to the difference between Cherry blues and greens, there are other factors at work to make the overall typing experience better with the CM QFR.
I can highly recommend the CM QFR as a great all-around keyboard, as suitable for the office as for gaming. I also applaud CM for providing Cherry green switches as an option. Now I would not want to go back to Cherry blues, and I hope that other keyboard manufacturers will soon make Cherry greens a standard option.
