Author Topic: CM Storm vs Razer, Black vs Blue (Read 8201 times)

Neshekel · « **on:** Mon, 25 March 2013, 18:36:42 »

Here's the deal:

The only mechanical keyboards I can get my hands on in my country are Razer BlackWidow (I'd go for the tournament edition because I really want a tenkeyless) or a CM Storm Quickfire Rapid with Cherry MX black switches.
I can also get a CM Storm Quickfire Pro with red switches but as I mentioned I would prefer a tenkeyless.

I have never had a mechanical keyboard before, I spent the last 7 years using the same rubber dome keyboard and I think it's time for a change. I mostly use my PC for RTS games and digital painting. From what information I gathered online Blue and Brown switches are best suited for this type of use. Also I've seen a fair amount of user reviews of the BlackWidow where people are unhappy because of keys failing sometimes after mere hours of use.

So here's the question: Should I get the Rapid, regardless of it having black switches, or should I roll the dice and get the BlackWidow for the blue switches, or maybe I should just hold off buying for the moment?

Anyway, thanks in advance for the advice.

bazemk1979 · « **Reply #1 on:** Mon, 25 March 2013, 18:46:12 »

Rapid, proven Costar quality

Jagriff · « **Reply #2 on:** Mon, 25 March 2013, 18:49:15 »

It's hard to tell without knowing which switches you prefer. The Cooler Master keyboard is a better quality keyboard, but if you don't like blacks, then you're better off with the lower quality Razer board.

Neshekel · « **Reply #3 on:** Mon, 25 March 2013, 20:10:59 »

Quote from: bazemk1979 on Mon, 25 March 2013, 18:46:12

Rapid, proven Costar quality

Yes, I am leaning this way, but since I can't really try the keyboards out and see which one feels better to me I wanted to see what people who do know what the keyboards feel like have to say.

But anything would be better than rubber dome right? So in other words, even if I would prefer blue, I wouldn't know what I'm missing...

aggiejy · « **Reply #4 on:** Mon, 25 March 2013, 20:19:43 »

I think you'll love the Rapid w/ Blacks. The only real complaint that people have about them are that they are a bit stiffer. But some people prefer the stiffness, and honestly you won't know the difference between anything else anyway. :-p Personally I'd rather have that over a razer w/ blues.

Abacus1234 · « **Reply #5 on:** Mon, 25 March 2013, 20:34:19 »

Oh this forum everyone will always recommend against any razer keyboard, almost regardless of which keyboard it is being compared to.

I have a 2013 Blackwidow, and its a pretty nice keyboard. I don't think the older ones were as good. But mine feels very solid and every key clicks and feels like it is supposed to. That being said, Rapids are really good. I just personally prefer tactile switches, so I don't think I would buy the Rapid if those are your only choices, but that comes down to preference. I'm only saying that I would not necessarily worry about Razer quality as much as some people are going to say you should.

Neshekel · « **Reply #6 on:** Mon, 25 March 2013, 21:39:59 »

Quote from: Abacus1234 on Mon, 25 March 2013, 20:34:19

Oh this forum everyone will always recommend against any razer keyboard, almost regardless of which keyboard it is being compared to.

I have a 2013 Blackwidow, and its a pretty nice keyboard. I don't think the older ones were as good. But mine feels very solid and every key clicks and feels like it is supposed to. That being said, Rapids are really good. I just personally prefer tactile switches, so I don't think I would buy the Rapid if those are your only choices, but that comes down to preference. I'm only saying that I would not necessarily worry about Razer quality as much as some people are going to say you should.

And just when I was about to decide on the QFR...
The question really is would I like blues more than blacks enough to risk a faulty keyboard...

bazemk1979 · « **Reply #7 on:** Mon, 25 March 2013, 21:42:22 »

I had Razer before and for some reason I had 2 leds that will go OFF and then come back ON but sort of dimmer than the rest....Not easy to find sizes for the modifiers from GB's.... IDK OP its totally your choice, but for fact Razer beats any type of rubber dome keyboard, but boards that are made by Costar seems to be more durable and better overall quality.

Either way you go you'll like them cause they are mechanical, BTW blacks are stiffer but not even as bad as some people make them out to be, you might feel very small finger cramps from long gaming sessions or typing the first week, after the first week you'll be used to them and they'll feel like reds....

Hyde · « **Reply #8 on:** Mon, 25 March 2013, 22:14:45 »

In general MX Brown and MX Red are better general purpose (gaming and typing) switches. If you can I'd definitely recommend trying all the switches before you buy.

In your case it's a bit tricky, because I don't like MX Blue for gaming, and MX Black is a bit heavy for typing in my opinion. So I'd probably say QuickFire Rapid has an slight edge over Blackwidow.

Abacus1234 · « **Reply #9 on:** Tue, 26 March 2013, 02:44:18 »

Quote from: Neshekel on Mon, 25 March 2013, 21:39:59

Quote from: Abacus1234 on Mon, 25 March 2013, 20:34:19
Oh this forum everyone will always recommend against any razer keyboard, almost regardless of which keyboard it is being compared to.

I have a 2013 Blackwidow, and its a pretty nice keyboard. I don't think the older ones were as good. But mine feels very solid and every key clicks and feels like it is supposed to. That being said, Rapids are really good. I just personally prefer tactile switches, so I don't think I would buy the Rapid if those are your only choices, but that comes down to preference. I'm only saying that I would not necessarily worry about Razer quality as much as some people are going to say you should.

And just when I was about to decide on the QFR...
The question really is would I like blues more than blacks enough to risk a faulty keyboard...

You risk a faulty keyboard either way. I would let switch rather than company be your choice. I dealt with Razer once for a mouse failure, and they replaced it for me with no problems. That being said, I've used my keyboard from them a ton for the last 6 months, and it's exactly as it was when new, which is to say, very good.

Neshekel · « **Reply #10 on:** Wed, 27 March 2013, 12:10:12 »

Good news, I had a friend in the US order QFR with blues from Amazon, now I just need to wait a bit 'till it get's to me eventually!

cannedlemons · « **Reply #11 on:** Wed, 27 March 2013, 18:30:56 »

Quote from: Neshekel on Wed, 27 March 2013, 12:10:12

Good news, I had a friend in the US order QFR with blues from Amazon, now I just need to wait a bit 'till it get's to me eventually!

Ah that sounds good. I hope you enjoy it as I personally prefer blues over blacks and I own both types of keyboards. Hope you enjoy it once it comes

click click away!

Glod · « **Reply #12 on:** Wed, 27 March 2013, 19:04:23 »

the blackwidow tournament feels like a low quality keyboard, it feels of plastic and cheese, but actually when you take it apart you learn the construction is pretty solid, especially the way the plate is attached to the case. In comparison to a CMStorm QFR its a no brainer though, CMStorm QFR is the way to go, its smaller than the tournament and feels solid. I got the razer cheap and I ended up harvesting the keyboard for brown switches and costar stabilizers.

There was one tiny advantage i would say the tournament has over the CMStorm Quickfire, the Quickfire is louder; the Razer's construction (meaning the way it is assembled not build quality) leads to a quieter keyboard whereas the Quickfire kind of rings if you are hard on it.

I prefer blues over blacks though if you are hard on a keyboard like i am the blues can be heard 150+ ft away.

/my 2 cents

Medea · « **Reply #13 on:** Wed, 27 March 2013, 19:28:00 »

hey guys
im new here

bought the cm storm trigger with the mx cherry black switches and i am totally in love with it i had to make the decision between the cm storm the razer and the logitech mechanic ( g710+ i guess) and im happy that i took this keyboard. i tried the other ones and wasnt convinced of them.

i'd like to to customize my board a little could someone help me?
i thought of a red escape cap and maybe some exchanges for the ctrl caps

greets medea

TheQsanity · « **Reply #14 on:** Thu, 28 March 2013, 00:05:12 »

I am all for CMstorm but I wouldn't suggest Black for a first switch. I would say Reds or Browns.

I have tried bot CMQFR and CMTrigger. They both feel very nice. The blacks seem to be as heavy as a rubber dome but linear.

I would stay away from Razer. Their value and resale value stinks.

CPTBadAss · « **Reply #15 on:** Thu, 28 March 2013, 06:51:01 »

Quote from: Medea on Wed, 27 March 2013, 19:28:00

hey guys
im new here bought the cm storm trigger with the mx cherry black switches and i am totally in love with it i had to make the decision between the cm storm the razer and the logitech mechanic ( g710+ i guess) and im happy that i took this keyboard. i tried the other ones and wasnt convinced of them.

i'd like to to customize my board a little could someone help me?
i thought of a red escape cap and maybe some exchanges for the ctrl caps

greets medea

Welcome to GH! If you go to the vendors forum, there's links of people/stores who are selling keyboard related stuff. Techkeys, WASD, feng, and Keypop are especially popular.

Mountain Man · « **Reply #16 on:** Thu, 28 March 2013, 14:08:06 »

Quote from: Abacus1234 on Mon, 25 March 2013, 20:34:19

Oh this forum everyone will always recommend against any razer keyboard, almost regardless of which keyboard it is being compared to.

I would recommend against Razer, period. My experience has been that you generally don't get more than a year out of a Razer product before it exhibits significant problems or even becomes entirely inoperative.

Abacus1234 · « **Reply #17 on:** Thu, 28 March 2013, 14:11:58 »

Quote from: Mountain Man on Thu, 28 March 2013, 14:08:06

Quote from: Abacus1234 on Mon, 25 March 2013, 20:34:19
Oh this forum everyone will always recommend against any razer keyboard, almost regardless of which keyboard it is being compared to.

I would recommend against Razer, period. My experience has been that you generally don't get more than a year out of a Razer product before it exhibits significant problems or even becomes entirely inoperative.

Okay, that's been your experience. I still have 3 year old Razer mice that have never had a problem. Not to mention a few keyboards that are used daily by myself and my wife that have never had issues. Also, the one mouse from them I had that was defective (Deathadder 3.5) they replaced for me with no trouble and the replacement continues to function as intended. So yeah, I don't think it is as bad as some people make it sound. Thousands and thousands of the dirty unwashed uninformed masses use their products every single day and were never told about what "inferior products" they were using. I'm no razer fanboy. I don't have any of their peripherals on my main rig, but I have no qualms about giving them future business if they come out with good products.

TheQsanity · « **Reply #18 on:** Fri, 29 March 2013, 02:31:11 »

Quality/price
Way overpriced

Neshekel · « **Reply #19 on:** Fri, 29 March 2013, 14:27:26 »

Quote from: Abacus1234 on Thu, 28 March 2013, 14:11:58

Quote from: Mountain Man on Thu, 28 March 2013, 14:08:06
Quote from: Abacus1234 on Mon, 25 March 2013, 20:34:19
Oh this forum everyone will always recommend against any razer keyboard, almost regardless of which keyboard it is being compared to.

I would recommend against Razer, period. My experience has been that you generally don't get more than a year out of a Razer product before it exhibits significant problems or even becomes entirely inoperative.

Okay, that's been your experience. I still have 3 year old Razer mice that have never had a problem. Not to mention a few keyboards that are used daily by myself and my wife that have never had issues. Also, the one mouse from them I had that was defective (Deathadder 3.5) they replaced for me with no trouble and the replacement continues to function as intended. So yeah, I don't think it is as bad as some people make it sound. Thousands and thousands of the dirty unwashed uninformed masses use their products every single day and were never told about what "inferior products" they were using. I'm no razer fanboy. I don't have any of their peripherals on my main rig, but I have no qualms about giving them future business if they come out with good products.

I agree, I owned a Lachesis for 4 years and now a semi-pro gamer friend of mine inherited it and it's still pretty much good as new. At the moment I'm using a Razer Mamba and am very happy with it. So yeah, their products aren't as bad as some would have you believe, but I just got attached to the QFR too much during my research to make that plunge and buy the BlackWidow. I love how small it is while still having room for some custom paint on it.

ComradeSniper · « **Reply #20 on:** Sat, 30 March 2013, 01:38:19 »

Razer products are generally pretty good while they last. I've owned a mouse, keyboard (a lycosa, nothing mechanical), and headset by them and they all functioned very well until they broke after less than a year of use(less than 6 months in the keyboard's case!). Razer replaced them quickly and easily, but it was still a huge pain in the ass to go through the entire RMA process, and I will never buy anything from them again.

That being said, a good friend of mine has had a Black Widow for over a year and has had no issues with it. I personally would not recommend Razer, but you might have good luck with them.

Mountain Man · « **Reply #21 on:** Sat, 13 April 2013, 06:31:17 »

Quote from: Abacus1234 on Thu, 28 March 2013, 14:11:58

Quote from: Mountain Man on Thu, 28 March 2013, 14:08:06
Quote from: Abacus1234 on Mon, 25 March 2013, 20:34:19
Oh this forum everyone will always recommend against any razer keyboard, almost regardless of which keyboard it is being compared to.
I would recommend against Razer, period. My experience has been that you generally don't get more than a year out of a Razer product before it exhibits significant problems or even becomes entirely inoperative.
Okay, that's been your experience. I still have 3 year old Razer mice that have never had a problem. Not to mention a few keyboards that are used daily by myself and my wife that have never had issues. Also, the one mouse from them I had that was defective (Deathadder 3.5) they replaced for me with no trouble and the replacement continues to function as intended. So yeah, I don't think it is as bad as some people make it sound. Thousands and thousands of the dirty unwashed uninformed masses use their products every single day and were never told about what "inferior products" they were using. I'm no razer fanboy. I don't have any of their peripherals on my main rig, but I have no qualms about giving them future business if they come out with good products.

It's not just my experience, unfortunately, as it's a common theme among customer reviews. Folks like you who happily use Razer products without issue seem to be the exception rather than the rule. And for the record, I used to be absolutely thrilled with Razer until their products started breaking down on me, then I swore them off completely. They're way too expensive to have to put up with such poor quality.

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Author Topic: CM Storm vs Razer, Black vs Blue (Read 8201 times)