CM Storm NovaTouch TKL Available for Purchase

[missalaire]

http://www.cmstore-usa.com/cm-storm-novatouch-tkl-premium-keyboard-with-hybrid-capacitive-switches/

Use coupon code Survey10 for 10% off, thanks intelli78.

[intelli78]

Well, that was anti-climactic, but great! Ordered!

I was able to use coupon code Survey10 for 10% off 

[exitfire401]

DAMMIT!!!! I can't order one now =( Good eye though!

[dante]

DAMMIT!!!! I can't order one now =( Good eye though!

With a little patience I'm sure there will be some deals around Black Friday.

[divito]

Unemployment strikes again.

However, I'd like to wait for Topre users to decide how it feels compared to the originals before I consider a purchase in the future once my situation fixes itself.

[exitfire401]

DAMMIT!!!! I can't order one now =( Good eye though!

With a little patience I'm sure there will be some deals around Black Friday.

Not that I don't have the money, just that I'm saving the money for something else right now. I really want one, and I'll get one eventually.

[HPE1000]

Honestly disappointed, delayed like crazy and it costs quite a lot more than what was expected.

[ComradeSniper]

Wooooooooah what

This kinda came out of nowhere

[Flyersfan1]

Looking forward to a review.

[Puddsy]

now i can stop caring

woooooo

[strict]

This is going to be a hard sell at this price point. Speaking purely for my own view, I would rather spend the extra $15 and get the 55g Realforce.

[FrostyToast]

I honestly didn't that the price would be $200. I thought that it would be around $160.
I mean, which of CoolerMaster's target audience is going to actually believe in buying a $200 keyboard? (not including us hipsters  )

[Lingj]

Tried the NovaTouch out at Keycon and it was my first Topre experience. I tried the other topre boards there as well (Realforce 45g, 55g, HHKB) and the NovaTouch definitely competes well against other topre boards. The mx stems are a big plus for me. Aren't most Topre boards $200~ minus the Type Heaven? I would have liked it to be a little cheaper but I don't feel like I'm overpaying for it.

[jameslr]

Keep in mind that's CM store price too. It will likely show up on Amazon and the usual channels for 15% less shipped free. It'll probably hang out around $180 which in my opinion is a pretty decent deal.

[nubbinator]

Tried the NovaTouch out at Keycon and it was my first Topre experience. I tried the other topre boards there as well (Realforce 45g, 55g, HHKB) and the NovaTouch definitely competes well against other topre boards. The mx stems are a big plus for me. Aren't most Topre boards $200~ minus the Type Heaven? I would have liked it to be a little cheaper but I don't feel like I'm overpaying for it.

Yeah, but other boards (other than the Heaven) have PBT caps, not cheap, thin, pad-printed ABS.  It's a hard sale with the looks and caps at $200 to me.  It needed to have a more simple case and either higher quality caps or a lower price tag.

[Sniping]

Tried the NovaTouch out at Keycon and it was my first Topre experience. I tried the other topre boards there as well (Realforce 45g, 55g, HHKB) and the NovaTouch definitely competes well against other topre boards. The mx stems are a big plus for me. Aren't most Topre boards $200~ minus the Type Heaven? I would have liked it to be a little cheaper but I don't feel like I'm overpaying for it.

Yeah, but other boards (other than the Heaven) have PBT caps, not cheap, thin, pad-printed ABS.  It's a hard sale with the looks and caps at $200 to me.  It needed to have a more simple case and either higher quality caps or a lower price tag.

Factor in the cost of blank colored PBT keycaps and you'll find that the Novatouch is a lot cheaper than competition. The 10% off coupon will also shave off a bit of the cost.

[Puddsy]

Tried the NovaTouch out at Keycon and it was my first Topre experience. I tried the other topre boards there as well (Realforce 45g, 55g, HHKB) and the NovaTouch definitely competes well against other topre boards. The mx stems are a big plus for me. Aren't most Topre boards $200~ minus the Type Heaven? I would have liked it to be a little cheaper but I don't feel like I'm overpaying for it.

Yeah, but other boards (other than the Heaven) have PBT caps, not cheap, thin, pad-printed ABS.  It's a hard sale with the looks and caps at $200 to me.  It needed to have a more simple case and either higher quality caps or a lower price tag.

Factor in the cost of blank colored PBT keycaps and you'll find that the Novatouch is a lot cheaper than competition. The 10% off coupon will also shave off a bit of the cost.

A realforce is $200, $230 for silent version

technically, I got mine (with the pink keycaps) for a little more than $175.

and it has PBT caps, which is more than I can say about the novatouch

but muh cherry compatibility

[DrHubblePhD]

I think that they are going to have a hard time selling this to the average consumer, which is generally what coolermaster aims for. It is strange to see them come in at this price point knowing that it will take a very specific person to buy it. If I were to bet, this keyboard goes down in price significantly once they realize how niche a market they have willing to buy $200 worth of novelty keyboard.

[nubbinator]

Tried the NovaTouch out at Keycon and it was my first Topre experience. I tried the other topre boards there as well (Realforce 45g, 55g, HHKB) and the NovaTouch definitely competes well against other topre boards. The mx stems are a big plus for me. Aren't most Topre boards $200~ minus the Type Heaven? I would have liked it to be a little cheaper but I don't feel like I'm overpaying for it.

Yeah, but other boards (other than the Heaven) have PBT caps, not cheap, thin, pad-printed ABS.  It's a hard sale with the looks and caps at $200 to me.  It needed to have a more simple case and either higher quality caps or a lower price tag.

Factor in the cost of blank colored PBT keycaps and you'll find that the Novatouch is a lot cheaper than competition. The 10% off coupon will also shave off a bit of the cost.

Do you have to buy blank PBT caps?  Nope.  You get a nice set of PBT caps stock with the HHKB or a Realforce. 

The Realforce 87u is $210 shipped on Amazon or $190-200 + shipping on EK.  The Novatouch is $200 - $20 coupon + shipping, pretty much the same cost. 

If you want alternate PBT sets, it will cost about $100-150 for a set of nice thick PBT caps for either.  It's not really any cheaper than any other Topre boards out there, it just has the MX stems.  They're cool, but not $50 (closer to $70-80 with shipping) more than a Type Heaven cool nor more expensive than an 87u cool, not with the case and caps.


Now if it drops to $150 or so, I may pick one up and join the Topre dark side.

[SpAmRaY]

They should have partnered with tai hao and had multiple cap choices at this price.

[bueller]

Novelty keyboard? Seriously?

This board will sell just fine, you guys are crazy.

[Zeal]

Was this a silent release? 

[DrHubblePhD]

Novelty keyboard? Seriously?

This board will sell just fine, you guys are crazy.

When you consider that if you were going for pure functionality, durability, build, and other objective measures, this keyboard wouldn't stack up to something like a Realforce, yes this is a novelty.

[steve.v]

For that much just cause it can take cherry mx keys? No thx, prefer a HHKB, better quality.

[bueller]

Novelty keyboard? Seriously?

This board will sell just fine, you guys are crazy.

When you consider that if you were going for pure functionality, durability, build, and other objective measures, this keyboard wouldn't stack up to something like a Realforce, yes this is a novelty.

And you're basing this off what exactly? Only a select few have tried this board and they all said it compared very well.

[DrHubblePhD]

Novelty keyboard? Seriously?

This board will sell just fine, you guys are crazy.

When you consider that if you were going for pure functionality, durability, build, and other objective measures, this keyboard wouldn't stack up to something like a Realforce, yes this is a novelty.

And you're basing this off what exactly? Only a select few have tried this board and they all said it compared very well.

Im basing it off the fact that it has no pbt keycaps, has a rubberized finish and will almost certainly not have built in n-key rollover like the Realfoce keyboards. Now although some of that is speculation, the fact that they would attempt to sell a keyboard at $200 when all of their competition has the awareness and attention to detail to at least include a set of high quality keycaps shows the trend which will undoubtedly perpetuation through the rest of the design.

[HPE1000]

Novelty keyboard? Seriously?

This board will sell just fine, you guys are crazy.

When you consider that if you were going for pure functionality, durability, build, and other objective measures, this keyboard wouldn't stack up to something like a Realforce, yes this is a novelty.

And you're basing this off what exactly? Only a select few have tried this board and they all said it compared very well.

Im basing it off the fact that it has no pbt keycaps, has a rubberized finish and will almost certainly not have built in n-key rollover like the Realfoce keyboards. Now although some of that is speculation, the fact that they would attempt to sell a keyboard at $200 when all of their competition has the awareness and attention to detail to at least include a set of high quality keycaps shows the trend which will undoubtedly perpetuation through the rest of the design.

It has NKRO over USB, the realforce does not have NKRO so not sure where you are getting that from. Anyway, I don't see how NKRO is a sign of durability or quality on a keyboard in the first place...

[jameslr]

Im basing it off the fact that it has no pbt keycaps, has a rubberized finish and will almost certainly not have built in n-key rollover like the Realfoce keyboards. Now although some of that is speculation, the fact that they would attempt to sell a keyboard at $200 when all of their competition has the awareness and attention to detail to at least include a set of high quality keycaps shows the trend which will undoubtedly perpetuation through the rest of the design.

Latest reports say it's UV coated finish and not rubberized. It does have N-Key rollover. Realforce boards only have 6-key rollover. just sayin'

[SpAmRaY]

Guys the fact of the matter is we can now use all our glorious GMK doubleshots with topre switches.

Maybe someone should write an article about it. 

[bueller]

Novelty keyboard? Seriously?

This board will sell just fine, you guys are crazy.

When you consider that if you were going for pure functionality, durability, build, and other objective measures, this keyboard wouldn't stack up to something like a Realforce, yes this is a novelty.

And you're basing this off what exactly? Only a select few have tried this board and they all said it compared very well.

Im basing it off the fact that it has no pbt keycaps, has a rubberized finish and will almost certainly not have built in n-key rollover like the Realfoce keyboards. Now although some of that is speculation, the fact that they would attempt to sell a keyboard at $200 when all of their competition has the awareness and attention to detail to at least include a set of high quality keycaps shows the trend which will undoubtedly perpetuation through the rest of the design.

The competition supplies a PBT set, we get it. Do they supply MX stems? No. If you're happy with stock caps then you're not the target audience.

[bueller]

Guys the fact of the matter is we can now use all our glorious GMK doubleshots with topre switches.

Maybe someone should write an article about it. 

This. Watch people change their tune when they see a Dolch set or some nice dyesubs loaded up on this puppy.

[DrHubblePhD]

Im basing it off the fact that it has no pbt keycaps, has a rubberized finish and will almost certainly not have built in n-key rollover like the Realfoce keyboards. Now although some of that is speculation, the fact that they would attempt to sell a keyboard at $200 when all of their competition has the awareness and attention to detail to at least include a set of high quality keycaps shows the trend which will undoubtedly perpetuation through the rest of the design.

Latest reports say it's UV coated finish and not rubberized. It does have N-Key rollover. Realforce boards only have 6-key rollover. just sayin'

Look, I don't claim to know all the details, but when it comes down to spending hard earned money, I ought to be impressed, and frankly this release at this price didnt do it for me.

I agree that a review is in order before a final evaluation, but certainly at face value it doesn't seem appealing.

[HPE1000]

Maybe check the facts before posting, instead of wild speculation, a lot of info is available about this board by now. I think the only flaky thing is about which coating it is going to have, if any, since CM couldn't seem to decide on what to use.

[ComradeSniper]

I'll be buying one just to try it out at some point but I do agree that the price makes this a pretty tough sell.

I really wish they'd release a version without keycaps for $10-$20 less, since most people who would be willing to shell out $200 for this would probably be planning on replacing the stock keycaps anyway.

[nobee]

Are they even ready to sell this thing? For reals? The description says "Type a description for this product here..."

[SpAmRaY]

Someone checked the wrong box.

[alosec]

big bummer on that price tag.... oh well CM storm

[divito]

Normal Topre boards need to provide better quality caps because they have no replacement and customization options.

I kind of look at it like the Poker; it also comes with PBT caps, and yet I'd say a fairly high percentage utilize non-stock caps with their Pokers. Sure, the out-of-the-box option of higher quality caps is nice, but practicality dictates that it's not the best business decision.

Cooler Master, knowing that MX-compatible Topre switches are going to evoke people utilizing their already purchased sets and novelty caps with their board probably didn't want to add to the expense for something that would be essentially useless and re-packed.

[nubbinator]

Normal Topre boards need to provide better quality caps because they have no replacement and customization options.

I kind of look at it like the Poker; it also comes with PBT caps, and yet I'd say a fairly high percentage utilize non-stock caps with their Pokers. Sure, the out-of-the-box option of higher quality caps is nice, but practicality dictates that it's not the best business decision.

Cooler Master, knowing that MX-compatible Topre switches are going to evoke people utilizing their already purchased sets and novelty caps with their board probably didn't want to add to the expense for something that would be essentially useless and re-packed.

Then sell a discounted version without caps.  Don't half-ass on quality because you think people will swap the caps out.

[divito]

Then sell a discounted version without caps.  Don't half-ass on quality because you think people will swap the caps out.

True, even that would be a good option.

[davkol]

People demanded some keycapless Costar keyboards (was it MJ2? or QFR?) before, but it wasn't possible, because them OEM (not vendor) didn't allow it. This could be the same case.

I'm curious about the EU price, but it isn't difficult to compete with Keyboard Company's £200 realforces anyway.

[SSIPAK]

Just like any other CM products, I will just wait for their price reduction
I can't believe they are finally releasing this product.

[Lammie]

Oh wow finally!
Took ages.
Didn't expect the high price point either.
Just got my 55g Realforce on Monday - BLiss!
So, no novatouch for me.

[Mooby]

Let's see what pricetag this will have in europe. If they don't go overboard with the usual euro surcharge, the novatouch will make me think twice if I want to pay the crazy price they charge for a realforce here.

[Grim Fandango]

And directly with a coupon code. Great, as always missalaire.

Some random observations.

-At $200, this is the same price as the Realforce 87U. The RF comes with (dye sub) PBT caps and not pad printed ABS. If you wanted to add those to the novatouch, it will end up being a fair bit more expensive.
-They ended up going for the rubberized coating on the case.
-I see that they intentionally keep from selling this a "Topre" keyboard and leave that word/brand out of the description.
-Too bad there is no numpad layer on there.
-It ended up having no visible branding on the case whatsoever, which is surprising. Though CM has been making their cases cleaner.

Have to say that it does look good. The rubberized coating is a bummer though, and the thing I like least about the keyboard so far. For people who love topre and love customization this is like a dream come true.

[Kmynis]

I want to see how the quality compares to the RF. If the quality is equal, I still find it a better choice just for the mx compatibility(RF case is ugly too). That's the whole point of this board-- topre switches with mx keycaps.

Also- lol @ people who thought this would be some 60 bucks board simply because it's a CM.

[Grim Fandango]

I want to see how the quality compares to the RF. If the quality is equal, I still find it a better choice just for the mx compatibility(RF case is ugly too). That's the whole point of this board-- topre switches with mx keycaps.

Also- lol @ people who thought this would be some 60 bucks board simply because it's a CM.

I like the RF case. One thing people never mention about it is that it is low profile, and with its rounded edges, it has a kind of sleek look to it that you do not often find in these kind of keyboards. This is something that is more obvious when you have it sitting on the desk next to a Filco than when looking at it on a picture.  But of course, some people may enjoy the more traditional "boxy" look that you find in many MX and Topre keyboards.

[Mooby]

Wasn't the case supposed to be changed to UV-coating?

[Lammie]

I agree with the low profile RF keyboards come in.
A bit more comfortable, even without keyboard palm rest. Also I like the round/organic design, nothing wrong with boxy ones though.
Also have the Leopold FC660C, and this one, I find a bit too high in the front, especially without palm rest.

Gotta have PBT for sure in this price point. Unless, the novatouch case was a bit more distinctive, I would ever consider buying.

Like the emblem 'REALFORCE' very very much! 

[absyrd]

So... now that they are here and after all the hype... who is ACTUALLY buying one from this forum???