Author Topic: CM Storm Quickfire XT  (Read 9561 times)

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Offline mkawa

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CM Storm Quickfire XT
« on: Sun, 14 July 2013, 07:32:57 »
Carter and I had a fantastic talk the other week, and he brought along one of the new QFXTs. Apparently, this was a gift to me, and since I'm poor, I took it. I'm writing a review in thanks, but also because I'm a horrible liar, and so I figure someone might be able to benefit from my thoughts of this board.

That said, I'm also super lazy, so instead of writing something new, I'm just going to quote myself from the email I sent to Carter regarding the board:

Quote from: me
just fyi and neither here nor there, but huge props on this XT. I
finally got around to using it for a few minutes and it feels
genuinely fantastic. hope it's a huge seller.

on a more relevant note, apologies to your contractors but
the keycaps are quite deficient, and don't do the board justice at
all. they're workable, but this board would really really shine with
some high quality keycaps. plate and case rigidity is fantastic out of
the box -- you made exactly the right compromises as far as the case
moldings and plate were concerned. i'm really, really impressed.

The major differences between the XT and the current CM Storm line is that it is lower profile (I don't have measurements, sorry.). It uses what seems to be a more rigid black powdercoated stainless steel plate in all models (previously I believe only the red switched model was painted and I don't remember my QFR green plate being as rigid), and it uses a full USB A (not mini or micro) PCB mount connector. There may be other new features, but if there are, you'll have to refer to the marketing text, because I can't for the life of me remember any of them.

What the XT is is a very very solid inexpensive Cherry board with a nice low profile and excellent rigidity. It feels fantastic, and it should be much less expensive than anything else with this level of quality on the market. I also vaguely remember Carter saying something about the rapid being revised, but I have a terrible memory (in addition to not be capable of lying, among other things, so who knows!).

I think he said something about the rubber on the board he gave me being preproduction, so i won't say anything about it except that it's excellent, and that I hope the production versions are as excellent if not more.

Anyway, it's quite early and I can't think of anything else to say. This is almost certainly the best of the full-sized Cherry boards. Many a detail was sweated, and all the right compromises were made to make an excellent base board to support your huge 2-shot and clack collection :)). Certainly don't bother with the Rosewill or Monoprice boards anymore -- my understanding is that this unit will reach about the same ballpark price, and it is far superior.

Alright then! That's all I can think of. Please feel free to quiz me or call me dirty names or whatever it is you'd like to do in response.

eta: Oh wait! I've remembered something! Apparently, the rubberized coating on the top case of this board is thicker than previous boards. The top case has an excellent feel, so that sounds about right.

to all the brilliant friends who have left us, and all the students who climb on their shoulders.

Offline SpAmRaY

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Re: CM Storm Quickfire XT
« Reply #1 on: Sun, 14 July 2013, 09:44:13 »
Interesting, will have to keep an eye out and maybe give CM another chance.

Thanks for sharing!

Offline linziyi

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Re: CM Storm Quickfire XT
« Reply #2 on: Sun, 14 July 2013, 12:40:34 »
Did you notice that there is "x1 x2 x4 x8" on the first row of the numpad? What do they do?
Ducky DK9008G2 Pro

"Much to learn you still have" --Yoda


Offline Torious

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Re: CM Storm Quickfire XT
« Reply #3 on: Sun, 14 July 2013, 18:25:56 »
Did you notice that there is "x1 x2 x4 x8" on the first row of the numpad? What do they do?

Apparently it's repeat rate adjustment (PS/2 mode only):
http://www.cmstorm.com/en/products/keyboards/QuickFireXT/

Offline linziyi

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Re: CM Storm Quickfire XT
« Reply #4 on: Sun, 14 July 2013, 18:34:26 »
Did you notice that there is "x1 x2 x4 x8" on the first row of the numpad? What do they do?

Apparently it's repeat rate adjustment (PS/2 mode only):
http://www.cmstorm.com/en/products/keyboards/QuickFireXT/

Thank you!!
Ducky DK9008G2 Pro

"Much to learn you still have" --Yoda


Offline Jack Karneval

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Re: CM Storm Quickfire XT
« Reply #5 on: Sun, 14 July 2013, 22:01:56 »
Sweet little overview Mkawa! Cooler Master is definitely making very broad strokes in the mechanical keyboard market and their boards seem to be extremely good value. My Trigger is an absolute beast..... just don't step on the USB cable and rip the mini-USB connection off of the USB hub PCB......  :))
: CM Storm Trigger (MX Green) : KBT Pure Pro (MX Blue) :

Offline wetto

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Re: CM Storm Quickfire XT
« Reply #6 on: Sun, 14 July 2013, 22:38:57 »
Sweet little overview Mkawa! Cooler Master is definitely making very broad strokes in the mechanical keyboard market and their boards seem to be extremely good value. My Trigger is an absolute beast..... just don't step on the USB cable and rip the mini-USB connection off of the USB hub PCB......  :))

Do yourself a favor and get a L connector mini-USB for it. I use my Tt Meka G-Unit one.



Ex:
http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-Mini-USB-Cable-USB2HABM6RA/dp/B004NO0L4O/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1373859904&sr=8-4&keywords=right+angle+mini+B
« Last Edit: Sun, 14 July 2013, 22:47:43 by wetto »
My collection:
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Mice: Logitech G602, CM Storm Recon, CM Storm Spawn, Razer Naga, Ozone Radon Opto, Corsair M60, Tesoro Gandiva, CM Storm Alcor, Mionix Naos 8200.
Keyboards: Matias Secure Pro, Matias Mini Quiet Pro, custom modded Metadot Das Keyboard Model S Professional Silent (MX Brown, Costar), CM Storm Trigger (MX Brown), Noppoo Choc Mini (MX Red), Tesoro Lobera G5NFL Supreme, CM Storm Devastator.
Soon: CM Storm Quick Fire TK (MX Brown), CM Storm Trigger Z.
Boards I don't own anymore: CM Storm Quick Fire Rapid (MX Black), Logitech K800 (Membrane), Logitech G710+ (MX Brown), Thermaltake Meka G-Unit (MX Black), Corsair K70 (MX Red).
Mice I don't own anymore: Logitech G9x MW3, Corsair M65, Logitech G700, Roccat Kone Pure.

Offline Photoelectric

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Re: CM Storm Quickfire XT
« Reply #7 on: Sun, 14 July 2013, 22:50:57 »
On the note of the Trigger, I used a soft non-braided mini USB cable just in case.  Made stress on the socket very low.
---
This Quickfire XT seems like a great candidate for my future office keyboard.
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Offline WhiteFireDragon

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Re: CM Storm Quickfire XT
« Reply #8 on: Mon, 15 July 2013, 05:18:05 »
Nice mini review. Although, I doubt the plate can be more solid than previous plates. We know it can't be thicker because cherry switches can only mount to a plate that's 0.60" thick. The previous plates also has two bends at the top and bottom that add a ton more stiffness than any custom plates, including Korean ones. If it were me, I would rip it apart to see the insides.

Btw, where did you meet up with Carter, and what event was it? Was it the one in Chino you PM'ed me about several weeks ago?

Offline Jack Karneval

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Re: CM Storm Quickfire XT
« Reply #9 on: Mon, 15 July 2013, 07:27:37 »
Sweet little overview Mkawa! Cooler Master is definitely making very broad strokes in the mechanical keyboard market and their boards seem to be extremely good value. My Trigger is an absolute beast..... just don't step on the USB cable and rip the mini-USB connection off of the USB hub PCB......  :))

Do yourself a favor and get a L connector mini-USB for it. I use my Tt Meka G-Unit one.

Show Image


Ex:
http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-Mini-USB-Cable-USB2HABM6RA/dp/B004NO0L4O/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1373859904&sr=8-4&keywords=right+angle+mini+B

I'll probably pick up a few of these soon, thanks man! I will say however, the USB cable that comes with the Trigger is very nice with a nice black sleeve on it.
: CM Storm Trigger (MX Green) : KBT Pure Pro (MX Blue) :

Offline mkawa

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Re: CM Storm Quickfire XT
« Reply #10 on: Mon, 15 July 2013, 07:56:33 »
Sweet little overview Mkawa! Cooler Master is definitely making very broad strokes in the mechanical keyboard market and their boards seem to be extremely good value. My Trigger is an absolute beast..... just don't step on the USB cable and rip the mini-USB connection off of the USB hub PCB......  :))
this is _exactly_ why they went with a full-sized USB female port with the XT. the PCB-mount SMT full-sized female connector has like an order of magnitude more material strength than the mini A connector.

these are also exactly the kind of details that were sweated and can be appreciated by the enthusiast community in this board. the price point and general usefulness makes it a very good buy for the common consumer, but the lessons learned from the enthusiast community were intelligently and thoughtfully applied in the design regardless. the full-sized connector costs a few cents more, and many manufacturers would go with the mini because of that, but CM knew that the device lifetime could be extended by literally an order of magnitude under real conditions by spending those few cents, so they did. for that i applaud them

« Last Edit: Mon, 15 July 2013, 08:55:52 by mkawa »

to all the brilliant friends who have left us, and all the students who climb on their shoulders.

Offline Jack Karneval

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Re: CM Storm Quickfire XT
« Reply #11 on: Mon, 15 July 2013, 08:20:26 »
Sweet little overview Mkawa! Cooler Master is definitely making very broad strokes in the mechanical keyboard market and their boards seem to be extremely good value. My Trigger is an absolute beast..... just don't step on the USB cable and rip the mini-USB connection off of the USB hub PCB......  :))
this is _exactly_ why they went with a full-sized USB 1 with the XT. the PCB-mount SMT full-sized female connector has like an order of magnitude more material strength than the mini A connector.

these are also exactly the kind of details that were sweated and can be appreciated by the enthusiast community in this board. the price point and general usefulness makes it a very good buy for the common consumer, but the lessons learned from the enthusiast community were intelligently and thoughtfully applied in the design regardless. the full-sized connector costs a few cents more, and many manufacturers would go with the mini because of that, but CM knew that the device lifetime could be extended by literally an order of magnitude under real conditions by spending those few cents, so they did. for that i applaud them

Well said! It's good to see that the XT is an improvement on the Trigger because it basically replaces the Trigger in their product line. Another point you brought up in your overview was the lack of higher quality keycaps, but I'm sure we can say with utmost certainty it was done to lower production cost. That being said, I think there's definitely room for them to sell either high quality keycaps separately, or a separate board with high quality keycaps. I for one would appreciate it because I really like the feel of PBT keycaps such as those I got with my Pure Pro.
: CM Storm Trigger (MX Green) : KBT Pure Pro (MX Blue) :