Author Topic: Topre, backlit QFR, backlit Stealth,  (Read 108072 times)

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Offline gameaholic

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Topre, backlit QFR, backlit Stealth,
« on: Tue, 07 January 2014, 23:53:52 »

Doesn't look like 2014 is gonna be any better for my wallet. 
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Offline Pacifist

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Re: Topre, backlit QFR, backlit Stealth,
« Reply #1 on: Wed, 08 January 2014, 00:07:34 »
Topre+MX Stem+BACKLIGHTING=godly

Can't wait.

Offline nuclearsandwich

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Re: Topre, backlit QFR, backlit Stealth,
« Reply #2 on: Wed, 08 January 2014, 00:30:33 »
I didn't think the Topre (Novatouch) was backlit. It certainly doesn't appear to be from the close up photos.

Offline vun

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Re: Topre, backlit QFR, backlit Stealth,
« Reply #3 on: Wed, 08 January 2014, 06:28:30 »
ALSO DAT MOUSE

Offline Elrick

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Re: Topre, backlit QFR, backlit Stealth,
« Reply #4 on: Wed, 08 January 2014, 06:44:43 »
I didn't think the Topre (Novatouch) was backlit. It certainly doesn't appear to be from the close up photos.

Damn, that's my next keyboard..... the Novatouch.....nice  :thumb: .

Also got so many key-caps it'll take several days to finally choose which one to place on that keyboard.  Finally a decent 'thorpie' keyboard that you can fully customize, I bet HHKB and REALFORCE are shedding tears when this one gets released to the public, which I just love  ;D .

Probably of note, that the owners here of their current topre's will be selling them in the classifieds to unload their rubbish before the new king arrives on the block.  Nice one CM - always good to see someone kicking the butts of their competitors with such ample zeal.
« Last Edit: Wed, 08 January 2014, 06:49:05 by Elrick »

Offline vun

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Re: Topre, backlit QFR, backlit Stealth,
« Reply #5 on: Wed, 08 January 2014, 06:51:44 »
I didn't think the Topre (Novatouch) was backlit. It certainly doesn't appear to be from the close up photos.

Damn, that's my next keyboard..... the Novatouch.....nice  :thumb: .

Also got so many key-caps it'll take several days to finally choose which one to place on that keyboard.  Finally a decent 'thorpie' keyboard that you can fully customize, I bet HHKB and REALFORCE are shedding tears when this one gets released to the public, which I just love  ;D .

Probably of note, that the owners here of their current topre's will be selling them in the classifieds to unload their rubbish before the new king arrives on the block.  Nice one CM - always good to see someone kicking the butts of their competitors with such ample zeal.

Why would anyone sell off something like a Realforce to buy a CM Topre board? It makes even less sense than selling off a Filco to buy a QFR with identical switches.
The only thing I can see happening is RF owners wanting to get their hands on the CM stems.

Offline Elrick

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Re: Topre, backlit QFR, backlit Stealth,
« Reply #6 on: Wed, 08 January 2014, 07:56:08 »
The only thing I can see happening is RF owners wanting to get their hands on the CM stems.

Now you've hit the nail on the head  :thumb: .  What do you think I meant by "fully customize" a thorpie board?  The choices will be endless thanks to SP, GMK and BSP for starters.

Offline vun

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Re: Topre, backlit QFR, backlit Stealth,
« Reply #7 on: Wed, 08 January 2014, 10:06:19 »
The only thing I can see happening is RF owners wanting to get their hands on the CM stems.

Now you've hit the nail on the head  :thumb: .  What do you think I meant by "fully customize" a thorpie board?  The choices will be endless thanks to SP, GMK and BSP for starters.

Most Topre boards already come with proper PBT caps though. No way would I choose ABS over PBT or POM. If we're lucky they'll let us buy stems separate from the boards, since going from a RF to CM board will most likely be a downgrade in terms of build quality(seriously, RF boards are so nice).

You're making this sound like CM are whooping the other Topre manufacturers, when in fact they're competing on the same level at best in terms of build quality. Sure, CM's board will be easier to buy and probably cost less, but it will also come with ****ty caps and equal build quality at best, most likely inferior.

Offline BunnyLake

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Re: Topre, backlit QFR, backlit Stealth,
« Reply #8 on: Wed, 08 January 2014, 10:40:35 »
my issue with this is, as much as i love the idea of topre being more customizable visually, ive never sat down with one of my topre boards and thought " i sure wish this looked like a qfr"

ill be buying one, if only because ill be able to use some keysets from my groupbuys without having to type on mx, that being said, im hoping i can just pillage the stems and sliders from these and pop them in a realforce or hhkb
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Offline MJ45

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Re: Topre, backlit QFR, backlit Stealth,
« Reply #9 on: Wed, 08 January 2014, 10:59:02 »
my issue with this is, as much as i love the idea of topre being more customizable visually, ive never sat down with one of my topre boards and thought " i sure wish this looked like a qfr"

ill be buying one, if only because ill be able to use some keysets from my groupbuys without having to type on mx, that being said, im hoping i can just pillage the stems and sliders from these and pop them in a realforce or hhkb
I'm thinking the same thing, hopefully the stems and sliders will fit the RF-HHKB housings properly, especially since the case top on the HHKB is the stem-slider housing. 

Offline Linkbane

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Re: Topre, backlit QFR, backlit Stealth,
« Reply #10 on: Wed, 08 January 2014, 11:02:19 »
I didn't think the Topre (Novatouch) was backlit. It certainly doesn't appear to be from the close up photos.

Damn, that's my next keyboard..... the Novatouch.....nice  :thumb: .

Also got so many key-caps it'll take several days to finally choose which one to place on that keyboard.  Finally a decent 'thorpie' keyboard that you can fully customize, I bet HHKB and REALFORCE are shedding tears when this one gets released to the public, which I just love  ;D .

Probably of note, that the owners here of their current topre's will be selling them in the classifieds to unload their rubbish before the new king arrives on the block.  Nice one CM - always good to see someone kicking the butts of their competitors with such ample zeal.

Seeing how Topre is selling CM the switches, I think this would make them cry about as much as Cherry would be when they sell Rapids.
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Offline korrelate

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Re: Topre, backlit QFR, backlit Stealth,
« Reply #11 on: Wed, 08 January 2014, 12:05:18 »
Would love to see the pics of the stabilizer under the space board on the NovaTouch TKL.

Just found pics of the stabilizers under the enter key and wondering if the same approach works for the space bar.

http://deskthority.net/keyboards-f2/topre-switch-cherry-mx-compatible-t7076-90.html

For my part... I don't even care if they stick with Costar Stabs. Probably, I would prefer it: after I lubed my stabs on my Filco I was thrilled with the results (and Cherry Plate mount stabs me no likey and Cherry PCB mount stabs pop out if you try to pull off caps that fit too tightly).


Topre REALFORCE

Offline rowdy

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Re: Topre, backlit QFR, backlit Stealth,
« Reply #12 on: Wed, 08 January 2014, 13:12:24 »
The one thing I'm worried about is that this might kill off any future Topre custom keycaps (sets or individual), especially if other manufacturers come out with their own Topre/MX keyboards.

Those of us with Topre boards who do not want to cut and paste MX stems into them would find ourselves lacking any custom Topre keycaps.
"Because keyboards are accessories to PC makers, they focus on minimizing the manufacturing costs. But that’s incorrect. It’s in HHKB’s slogan, but when America’s cowboys were in the middle of a trip and their horse died, they would leave the horse there. But even if they were in the middle of a desert, they would take their saddle with them. The horse was a consumable good, but the saddle was an interface that their bodies had gotten used to. In the same vein, PCs are consumable goods, while keyboards are important interfaces." - Eiiti Wada

NEC APC-H4100E | Ducky DK9008 Shine MX blue LED red | Ducky DK9008 Shine MX blue LED green | Link 900243-08 | CM QFR MX black | KeyCool 87 white MX reds | HHKB 2 Pro | Model M 02-Mar-1993 | Model M 29-Nov-1995 | CM Trigger (broken) | CM QFS MX green | Ducky DK9087 Shine 3 TKL Yellow Edition MX black | Lexmark SSK 21-Apr-1994 | IBM SSK 13-Oct-1987 | CODE TKL MX clear | Model M 122 01-Jun-1988

Ị̸͚̯̲́ͤ̃͑̇̑ͯ̊̂͟ͅs̞͚̩͉̝̪̲͗͊ͪ̽̚̚ ̭̦͖͕̑́͌ͬͩ͟t̷̻͔̙̑͟h̹̠̼͋ͤ͋i̤̜̣̦̱̫͈͔̞ͭ͑ͥ̌̔s̬͔͎̍̈ͥͫ̐̾ͣ̔̇͘ͅ ̩̘̼͆̐̕e̞̰͓̲̺̎͐̏ͬ̓̅̾͠͝ͅv̶̰͕̱̞̥̍ͣ̄̕e͕͙͖̬̜͓͎̤̊ͭ͐͝ṇ̰͎̱̤̟̭ͫ͌̌͢͠ͅ ̳̥̦ͮ̐ͤ̎̊ͣ͡͡n̤̜̙̺̪̒͜e̶̻̦̿ͮ̂̀c̝̘̝͖̠̖͐ͨͪ̈̐͌ͩ̀e̷̥͇̋ͦs̢̡̤ͤͤͯ͜s͈̠̉̑͘a̱͕̗͖̳̥̺ͬͦͧ͆̌̑͡r̶̟̖̈͘ỷ̮̦̩͙͔ͫ̾ͬ̔ͬͮ̌?̵̘͇͔͙ͥͪ͞ͅ

Offline SpAmRaY

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Re: Topre, backlit QFR, backlit Stealth,
« Reply #13 on: Wed, 08 January 2014, 13:17:01 »
The one thing I'm worried about is that this might kill off any future Topre custom keycaps (sets or individual), especially if other manufacturers come out with their own Topre/MX keyboards.

Those of us with Topre boards who do not want to cut and paste MX stems into them would find ourselves lacking any custom Topre keycaps.

Well according to elitekeyboards topre isn't making any more of the custom caps...so.....yeah.... :(

Offline rowdy

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Re: Topre, backlit QFR, backlit Stealth,
« Reply #14 on: Wed, 08 January 2014, 13:19:00 »
The one thing I'm worried about is that this might kill off any future Topre custom keycaps (sets or individual), especially if other manufacturers come out with their own Topre/MX keyboards.

Those of us with Topre boards who do not want to cut and paste MX stems into them would find ourselves lacking any custom Topre keycaps.

Well according to elitekeyboards topre isn't making any more of the custom caps...so.....yeah.... :(

A keyboard like this would kinda make anyone else think twice about stepping into the void to make custom Topre keys/sets.
"Because keyboards are accessories to PC makers, they focus on minimizing the manufacturing costs. But that’s incorrect. It’s in HHKB’s slogan, but when America’s cowboys were in the middle of a trip and their horse died, they would leave the horse there. But even if they were in the middle of a desert, they would take their saddle with them. The horse was a consumable good, but the saddle was an interface that their bodies had gotten used to. In the same vein, PCs are consumable goods, while keyboards are important interfaces." - Eiiti Wada

NEC APC-H4100E | Ducky DK9008 Shine MX blue LED red | Ducky DK9008 Shine MX blue LED green | Link 900243-08 | CM QFR MX black | KeyCool 87 white MX reds | HHKB 2 Pro | Model M 02-Mar-1993 | Model M 29-Nov-1995 | CM Trigger (broken) | CM QFS MX green | Ducky DK9087 Shine 3 TKL Yellow Edition MX black | Lexmark SSK 21-Apr-1994 | IBM SSK 13-Oct-1987 | CODE TKL MX clear | Model M 122 01-Jun-1988

Ị̸͚̯̲́ͤ̃͑̇̑ͯ̊̂͟ͅs̞͚̩͉̝̪̲͗͊ͪ̽̚̚ ̭̦͖͕̑́͌ͬͩ͟t̷̻͔̙̑͟h̹̠̼͋ͤ͋i̤̜̣̦̱̫͈͔̞ͭ͑ͥ̌̔s̬͔͎̍̈ͥͫ̐̾ͣ̔̇͘ͅ ̩̘̼͆̐̕e̞̰͓̲̺̎͐̏ͬ̓̅̾͠͝ͅv̶̰͕̱̞̥̍ͣ̄̕e͕͙͖̬̜͓͎̤̊ͭ͐͝ṇ̰͎̱̤̟̭ͫ͌̌͢͠ͅ ̳̥̦ͮ̐ͤ̎̊ͣ͡͡n̤̜̙̺̪̒͜e̶̻̦̿ͮ̂̀c̝̘̝͖̠̖͐ͨͪ̈̐͌ͩ̀e̷̥͇̋ͦs̢̡̤ͤͤͯ͜s͈̠̉̑͘a̱͕̗͖̳̥̺ͬͦͧ͆̌̑͡r̶̟̖̈͘ỷ̮̦̩͙͔ͫ̾ͬ̔ͬͮ̌?̵̘͇͔͙ͥͪ͞ͅ

Offline BunnyLake

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Re: Topre, backlit QFR, backlit Stealth,
« Reply #15 on: Wed, 08 January 2014, 13:22:16 »
my guess would be, if topre are actually stopping production on caps, that they will be moving more over to licensing their switch rather than producing keyboards
 
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Offline SpAmRaY

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Re: Topre, backlit QFR, backlit Stealth,
« Reply #16 on: Wed, 08 January 2014, 13:25:53 »
my guess would be, if topre are actually stopping production on caps, that they will be moving more over to licensing their switch rather than producing keyboards
 

According to the cooler master rep in the video posted from CES it sounded like there was some exclusivity for the current mx key cap compatible topre switches, at least in the US, not sure about ROW.

Offline BunnyLake

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Re: Topre, backlit QFR, backlit Stealth,
« Reply #17 on: Wed, 08 January 2014, 13:56:11 »
my guess would be, if topre are actually stopping production on caps, that they will be moving more over to licensing their switch rather than producing keyboards
 

According to the cooler master rep in the video posted from CES it sounded like there was some exclusivity for the current mx key cap compatible topre switches, at least in the US, not sure about ROW.

yeah, i didnt wanna read to much into that, sometimes people word things a bit awkwardly in those situations, it could also be some sort of timed exclusivity or just mean exclusive at this point in time because nobody else has done it, either way, i would guess its the start of more topre licensing as a business model
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Offline KangarooZombies

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Re: Topre, backlit QFR, backlit Stealth,
« Reply #18 on: Wed, 08 January 2014, 14:15:15 »
my issue with this is, as much as i love the idea of topre being more customizable visually, ive never sat down with one of my topre boards and thought " i sure wish this looked like a qfr"

ill be buying one, if only because ill be able to use some keysets from my groupbuys without having to type on mx, that being said, im hoping i can just pillage the stems and sliders from these and pop them in a realforce or hhkb

this this this this this

I cant shake the feeling that Cooler Master is going to cheap out on the case and materials just to sell the board at a lower price to an audience that was previously unable to afford topre.
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Offline sublime

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Re: Topre, backlit QFR, backlit Stealth,
« Reply #19 on: Wed, 08 January 2014, 14:33:58 »
I enjoy typing on my Topre far more than on any Cherry keyboard I have, and this looks like a great step towards more customization. However, I have this strange itch that the switches won't feel like a "real" Topre due to engineering the MX + into them, but I'd love to be proven wrong.

Also, my elitism is showing now that I'm bugged people will get ahold of Topre switches and start acting like they're God when many people have been there from the start. Writing that out just smells of horrible elitism, but I still feel it.  :p

Offline SpAmRaY

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Re: Topre, backlit QFR, backlit Stealth,
« Reply #20 on: Wed, 08 January 2014, 14:55:00 »
I wish they would make a full size board with heavy domes

Offline 1pq

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Re: Topre, backlit QFR, backlit Stealth,
« Reply #21 on: Sun, 23 February 2014, 22:27:47 »
I wish they would make a full size board with heavy domes

^^ yes!



Wait—fullsize? Blech.
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Offline avtar

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Re: Topre, backlit QFR, backlit Stealth,
« Reply #22 on: Sat, 01 March 2014, 10:11:44 »
Also got so many key-caps it'll take several days to finally choose which one to place on that keyboard.  Finally a decent 'thorpie' keyboard that you can fully customize, I bet HHKB and REALFORCE are shedding tears when this one gets released to the public, which I just love  ;D .

Probably of note, that the owners here of their current topre's will be selling them in the classifieds to unload their rubbish before the new king arrives on the block.  Nice one CM - always good to see someone kicking the butts of their competitors with such ample zeal.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but http://deskthority.net/workshop-f7/topre-sliders-mx-caps-t7437-30.html#p148317 Perceiving this as a sporting event with rival teams is a bit puzzling to me. They're just keyboard manufacturers and at the end of the day people will use what feels best to them. I've heard the Novatouch will be coming out of the same factory that produces the FC660C so if you like how that feels then you're fine. If you however prefer how a RF or HHKB feels then this news has little impact.

Offline boradori007

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Re: Topre, backlit QFR, backlit Stealth,
« Reply #23 on: Sun, 30 March 2014, 02:42:21 »
Release date on Novatouch?

Offline BucklingSpring

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Re: Topre, backlit QFR, backlit Stealth,
« Reply #24 on: Sat, 05 April 2014, 12:30:04 »
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Ducky x2 (9008G2 Pro PBT/MX Green and Mini MX Red), Matias x2 (QP and Mini QP Dampened ALPS), Topre RealForce x4 (87U 55g/Digilog case, 103U-UW & 104UG High-Profile x2), Filco Majestouch x2 (TKL MX Blue & V2 AI 104 MX Blue), IBM-M x2 (BS & RD), Unicomp-M x5 (BS black on black x2, BS Ivory x2, QT Ultra-Classic), Deck x4 (Legend MX Black & MX Clear, Hassium & Francium w/ MX Brown), DAS III (MX Blue), KBT Pure Pro 60% (MX Red), NMB-RT8256CW+ x2 (black space invader), XArmor U9BL-S (MX Brown) given for free to someone I hate, CM X2 (Trigger/MX Green + Storm TKL/NovaTouch), TVS GOLD (MX Blue) and a many many more (NMB, DELL, MS, ATT, KeyTronic, Etc...)

Offline SSIPAK

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Re: Topre, backlit QFR, backlit Stealth,
« Reply #25 on: Sat, 05 April 2014, 16:46:15 »
Release date on Novatouch?

+Bump.
I read somewhere that it will be around April/May. Not 100 percent sure tho

Offline pgeorghiou

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Re: Topre, backlit QFR, backlit Stealth,
« Reply #26 on: Fri, 11 April 2014, 13:51:14 »
I hate to be that person who is asking about the next product before the current one is released but...any idea's on if/when there will be a 55g version of the Novatouch  ;D

This will be my first Topre, and I hear 55g is the way to go. However, if anyone has a different opinion or insight please fill me in!!!
Current hardware:  CMStorm Trigger w/ Cherry Blues

Offline Pacifist

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Re: Topre, backlit QFR, backlit Stealth,
« Reply #27 on: Fri, 11 April 2014, 13:53:40 »
I hate to be that person who is asking about the next product before the current one is released but...any idea's on if/when there will be a 55g version of the Novatouch  ;D

This will be my first Topre, and I hear 55g is the way to go. However, if anyone has a different opinion or insight please fill me in!!!

Carter has already said that if 45g sells well they will have 55g

Offline Linkbane

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Re: Topre, backlit QFR, backlit Stealth,
« Reply #28 on: Fri, 11 April 2014, 16:09:59 »
I hate to be that person who is asking about the next product before the current one is released but...any idea's on if/when there will be a 55g version of the Novatouch  ;D

This will be my first Topre, and I hear 55g is the way to go. However, if anyone has a different opinion or insight please fill me in!!!

Don't wait on it, it'll be at least a year for sure. And instead of listening to the few who are obsessed with 55g, try out both before you evidence what you like. I'm personally partial to lighter switches.
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Offline pgeorghiou

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Re: Topre, backlit QFR, backlit Stealth,
« Reply #29 on: Sun, 13 April 2014, 11:32:15 »

Carter has already said that if 45g sells well they will have 55g

Awesome! Thanks for the info. I must have missed that post.


Don't wait on it, it'll be at least a year for sure. And instead of listening to the few who are obsessed with 55g, try out both before you evidence what you like. I'm personally partial to lighter switches.

I know a lot of this is subjective, but I like to get a general idea of what other people have to say about the different switches, so thanks for the heads up! The idea of waiting another year for the "ideal" board does not sound appealing.
Current hardware:  CMStorm Trigger w/ Cherry Blues