Cooler Master Mech

[mr.squishy]

Anybody have or tried this keyboard? There are a few browns left in stock in the US branch of the CM store and I'm thinking of snagging one. Thoughts?

[Puddsy]

I always thought of it as a gimmicky gamer board, but if you go to a lot of LANs, the handle might be nice. It got overlooked by a lot of enthusiast forums since it's a fairly unattractive (physically) board when compared to something in the same price range. If you like the way it looks as well as the featureset, it's a fine board.

It also has a weird bottom row, so it'll be hard to find a keyset for it if you want to change it to a new one.

[mr.squishy]

I always thought of it as a gimmicky gamer board, but if you go to a lot of LANs, the handle might be nice. It got overlooked by a lot of enthusiast forums since it's a fairly unattractive (physically) board when compared to something in the same price range. If you like the way it looks as well as the featureset, it's a fine board.

It also has a weird bottom row, so it'll be hard to find a keyset for it if you want to change it to a new one.

Thanks for the input. I actually like the design a lot, and the whole angular, asymmetrical aesthetic of the keyboard with its handle perfectly compliments my NZXT Vulcan. I've read up a lot about the keyboard though and this is the first time I'm hearing anything about the bottom row being weird, what's different about it?

[Puddsy]

Compare:



If you don't see it, the Filco (left) has a 6.25x spacebar, and 1.25x mods, while the CM Mech (right) has a 6x spacebar, and 1.5x mods (where WIN, FN, and MENU are 1x).

Most custom sets are compatible with 1.25x boards, but not 1.5x boards. You can buy a 1.5x kit (tsangan), but it won't have a 6x spacebar.

[Coreda]

Show Image

The handle is useful for those extreme tactical situations hardcore gamers find themselves in.

[mr.squishy]

Compare:

Show Image

Show Image

If you don't see it, the Filco (left) has a 6.25x spacebar, and 1.25x mods, while the CM Mech (right) has a 6x spacebar, and 1.5x mods (where WIN, FN, and MENU are 1x).

Most custom sets are compatible with 1.25x boards, but not 1.5x boards. You can buy a 1.5x kit (tsangan), but it won't have a 6x spacebar.

That's unfortunate.

[Puddsy]

Show Image

The handle is useful for those extreme tactical situations hardcore gamers find themselves in.

It's also useful because the board is HEAVY

[hwood34]

Damn that thing is ugly as hell, though I guess there has to be some sort of market for it

[Lain1911]

Perfect keyboard for air guitar.

[Puddsy]

Damn that thing is ugly as hell, though I guess there has to be some sort of market for it

I like it, It's just too big for my desk and it only comes in browns.

[hwood34]

And for whatever reason gaming keyboards love the non-standard mods

[Lu_e]

I think its neat in an odd kinda way... but cant stand macro keys

[usno_oj]

I wonder what the design philosophy was for this one.

[johndavis33]

I wonder what the design philosophy was for this one.

The most 1337 board possible.

[mr.squishy]

Compare:

Show Image

Show Image

If you don't see it, the Filco (left) has a 6.25x spacebar, and 1.25x mods, while the CM Mech (right) has a 6x spacebar, and 1.5x mods (where WIN, FN, and MENU are 1x).

Most custom sets are compatible with 1.25x boards, but not 1.5x boards. You can buy a 1.5x kit (tsangan), but it won't have a 6x spacebar.

Are you SURE the Mech's spacebar is only 6? I haven't been here for very long so I don't want to question your authority (haha), but assuming that you are counting keys (and that the Mech uses standard sized normal keys), the picture looks to me like the Mech's spacebar extends past the 6th key to the left, since it conveniently lines up with the key on it's right edge.

[Grendel]

Bottom row is 15u in size: 1.25 * 7 + 6.25 or 1.5 * 4 + 3 + 6.

[margo baggins]

I've got one!

It's MASSIVE! like, way bigger than anything you could comprehend as apparently a keyboard. It doesn't only come in browns, mine has blues - TacticalStache, literally, where do you get your information from?!

It has a built in soundcard, that is about as good as you would expect a soundcard built into a keyboard would be.

has a powered usb3.0 hub in it though, which is quite cool. And - it's fully programmable, I don't know why coolermaster don't make more of a big deal about this. it has 5 programming layers, and each one you can set each key to be whatever you want, excluding numbers 1 - 5 as these are used in changing the layers.

I think the usb hub and the programmable-ness of it are cool - though, the Trigger-Z is also fully programmable, it's not as gigantic, and it's a bit of a aesthetically nicer keyboard, imo, and is a better choice. Though the Trigger-Z still has a funky space bar even though the rest of the layout is standard, so it wins over the MECH on layout too.

[Puddsy]

I've never seen them in anything but browns, so I assumed.

I gotta stop doing that.

[mr.squishy]

I've got one!

It's MASSIVE! like, way bigger than anything you could comprehend as apparently a keyboard. It doesn't only come in browns, mine has blues - TacticalStache, literally, where do you get your information from?!

It has a built in soundcard, that is about as good as you would expect a soundcard built into a keyboard would be.

has a powered usb3.0 hub in it though, which is quite cool. And - it's fully programmable, I don't know why coolermaster don't make more of a big deal about this. it has 5 programming layers, and each one you can set each key to be whatever you want, excluding numbers 1 - 5 as these are used in changing the layers.

I think the usb hub and the programmable-ness of it are cool - though, the Trigger-Z is also fully programmable, it's not as gigantic, and it's a bit of a aesthetically nicer keyboard, imo, and is a better choice. Though the Trigger-Z still has a funky space bar even though the rest of the layout is standard, so it wins over the MECH on layout too.

Oh awesome, someone that actually has one! So it does have a standard size spacebar? And the reason they haven't made such a big deal of it is because it was limited edition and has already been discontinued. They have some browns left in backstock (from the US store) since browns aren't as popular as blues or reds.

[margo baggins]

I've got one!

It's MASSIVE! like, way bigger than anything you could comprehend as apparently a keyboard. It doesn't only come in browns, mine has blues - TacticalStache, literally, where do you get your information from?!

It has a built in soundcard, that is about as good as you would expect a soundcard built into a keyboard would be.

has a powered usb3.0 hub in it though, which is quite cool. And - it's fully programmable, I don't know why coolermaster don't make more of a big deal about this. it has 5 programming layers, and each one you can set each key to be whatever you want, excluding numbers 1 - 5 as these are used in changing the layers.

I think the usb hub and the programmable-ness of it are cool - though, the Trigger-Z is also fully programmable, it's not as gigantic, and it's a bit of a aesthetically nicer keyboard, imo, and is a better choice. Though the Trigger-Z still has a funky space bar even though the rest of the layout is standard, so it wins over the MECH on layout too.

Oh awesome, someone that actually has one! So it does have a standard size spacebar? And the reason they haven't made such a big deal of it is because it was limited edition and has already been discontinued. They have some browns left in backstock (from the US store) since browns aren't as popular as blues or reds.

oh I don't mean the keyboard, they shouldn't make a big deal about the keyboard, it's bonkers, just the fact it's programmable with 5 layers. The pcb in both the trigger-z and the MECH is actually pretty nice. I don't know about the space bar, my board is in it's box ontop of my bookcase but I'll get it down and have a look later.

Hehe, I must add - I only think it's bonkers as I like little keyboards. This board is way too big for me. but do I think you should get one? Yeah! If you have the space and want a board that does lots of stuff

[mr.squishy]

Hehe, I must add - I only think it's bonkers as I like little keyboards. This board is way too big for me. but do I think you should get one? Yeah! If you have the space and want a board that does lots of stuff

Sounds perfect for me, I actually like the shape (believe it or not) and I love it when I have something just lying around that makes people go "WHAT IS THAT!?!?" hahaha, the keyboard's size alone could do that. I've got plenty of space, I'm going to switch from a desk to a small table in about a month so I should be set for space.

[Grendel]

So it does have a standard size spacebar?

No, it doesn't -- 4x 1.5u keys + 3x 1u keys = 9u. Since the bottom row is 15u, 15 - 9 = 6u spacebar.

Edit: upon closer inspection of the picture, there's something funky going on. Looks like the ALT caps are 1.25u, so 15u - (2x 1.5u + 2x 1.25u + 3x 1u) = 6.5u spacebar. Weird. A "standard" 6.25u bar should fit if the stabs are in the right places and if you can live w/ a small gap left and right of the bar.

[mr.squishy]

So it does have a standard size spacebar?

No, it doesn't -- 4x 1.5u keys + 3x 1u keys = 9u. Since the bottom row is 15u, 15 - 9 = 6u spacebar.

Edit: upon closer inspection of the picture, there's something funky going on. Looks like the ALT caps are 1.25u, so 15u - (2x 1.5u + 2x 1.25u + 3x 1u) = 6.5u spacebar. Weird. A "standard" 6.25u bar should fit if the stabs are in the right places and if you can live w/ a small gap left and right of the bar.

As long as I can still use a titanium spacebar