Written by Profi | 06 January 2013
Posted in Articles - Reviews

My current keyboard is big with bunch of additional macro keys, dedicated media keys and non detachable wrist rest. I had a wish to try small mechanical keyboard just to feel the difference.

CM Storm, which is a gaming division of world-known company Cooler Master, offers probably the widest range of mechanical keyboards. We already reviewed one of them - CM Storm Trigger.

I planned to ask from CM Storm the keyboard Quick Fire Rapid for review, but received a new and improved model QuickFire TK which has backlight, integrated Num Pad with navigation and command keys, NKRO in USB mode, etc.. As you see, differences are huge.

Let’s start from the official commercial movie:
       

Is it really so great? Well, time to test it out.

Specifications:

• Mechanical Cherry MX switches: Red, Blue, Brown
• Backlight: All keys, 5 levels, 3 modes
• Key Rollover: NKRO (Windows only)
• Keycaps: ABS, grip coated
• Polling Rate: 1000Hz/ 1ms
• Cable: 1.8m braided USB Cable
• Dimensions: 77.5(L) x138(W) x 33(H)mm
• Weight: 544g

The Box

As all products of CM Storm, box comes with branded colors of red-black-white.Box has almost the same size as keyboard.


QuickFire TK available in the market with blue, brown and red Cherry MX switches. Sticker in front of the box informs which type of switcher has particular keyboard. In my case it was MX Brown.
 
On backside all features are provided in 9 languages.Main features are described with pictures and more explanations.
 

 

Unboxing and Design

As mentioned above, box is almost of the same size as keyboard. There is small room for cable on top.

Inside the box there are QuickFire TK, keycap puller, cable and Quick Guide.

Design impressed me from the very beginning. It’s matte, solid and looks very serious.
 

Great idea of CM Storm to make an integrated Num Pad with navigation and command keys. You can switch between them by pressing Num Lock key. Usually “0” has double size on keyboards with dedicated Num Pad, but for having “normal” arrows on bottom, engineers of QuickFire TK keyboard made it with normal size with adding “00”. Well, all those inserting a lot of digits should be happy with such solution.
 

All keys on top row have double functionality. 

Second option of F-Keys could be activated by pressing FN key simultaneously.

ESC key is responsible for switching the rollover modes; with F1-F4 you can turn on/off backlight, increase/decrease backlight’es brightness and change its mode; F5-F11 for controling media and sound; F12 for turning On/Off Win key.

Overall, despite to the size of the keyboard, Quick Fire TK has pretty big number of additional functionalities.

Backside of the Quick Fire TK has 4 non-slide zones. Size of those zones is not big, but due to weight of the keyboard, it is not sliding at all.

Two stands available for those who prefer using the keyboard with the angle.
 

As for all CM Storm’s keyboards cable is detachable. It’s just amazing move from CM Storm. Wonder why other manufacturers keep embedding cable inside the keyboard. There are bunch of advantages of detachable cable and I can’t find any single pros for embedded one.
 

Cable management is implemented too. You are free to connect cable from middle, left or right side.
 

Keyboard is not thin at all. It’s a destiny of all mechanical keyboards due to used technology.
 

QuickFire TK comes with key cap puller. You can easily clean or replace the keys if you wish too.
 

 

In Usage

In the beginning, it was a little bit hard for me to switch from full size keyboard to compact one, because I have a habit to insert any digits from Num Pad even if it’s one or two digits. In case of working with QuickFire TK you need to check the current Num Pad’s mode every time. After short period I started using digits from top row and switching to Num Pad only in case of inserting big number of data. This problem is not related to QuickFire TK - it’s actual for all compact keyboards. Moreover, in case of Quick Fire TK you can use Num Pad as Navigation or Command keys, while other keyboards offering Navigation keys only.

Keyboard is plug-n-play and there is no additional software available for it. Just connect to your computer and you’re done.

I wrote this review on QuickFire TK and it’s a big pleasure just to type on it. Maybe MX Brown switches played the role also, because I have experience with MX Black only, but if you’re typing a lot, you will like the tactile feelings from the keyboard.

QuickFire TK is a gaming keyboard and of course I have tested it in games as well. In games this keyboard is just amazing! Especially in RTS, MOBA or MMORPG games where you need to press tons of keys during the match. In Starcraft 2 my APM increased from 70 to 85-100. Sounds unreal, but it is a fact. I suppose due to great “feedback” from keyboard on pressing the keys.

In Windows you can activate N-Key Rollover mode by pressing N+ESC which allows you to push unlimited number of keys simultaneously. After applying, Windows 7 automatically updated the driver without any issue. Keep in mind that such option is working on Windows computers only. You need to press ESC+6 for switching back to 6-Key Rollover mode where you can press up to 6 keys simultaneously.

I have tested backlight as well. Manufacturers decided to use different color of backlights depending on MX Switches. For Red MX backlight is red, for Blue is blue and for Brown is… white. Well, using brown backlight could be correct per logic, but absolutely useless per practice. As I wrote in The Box section, my keyboard got Brown switches.

There are 5 level of brightness, so you can be sure that you’ll find the optimal one. Also, there are 3 modes for backlight: Full, WASD only, and Breathe. I found that in case of activating Num Pad as Navigation panel, there is no option to disable backlight for arrows. Same for activated FN and Win Lock keys.

Conclusion

Engineers of QuickFire TK put a lot of efforts to make small keyboard almost the same as big one. I’m talking about integrated Num Pad, double functionality of some keys, etc.. I overviewed a lot of compact keyboards and found out that some of them are not offering integrated Num Pad at all, some are using non-standard layout which will be a headache during the switch from such keyboard to usual one. Layout of QuickFire TK almost the same as usual keyboard and I switched between the keyboards without any problems.

Despite to size, it still has a big number of additional functions in combination with FN key.

Build materials are excellent and design is very solid and serious. It will look great at home and office. For LAN events - this keyboard is what doctor ordered: easy to transport, small size guarantees enough space for your mouse, detachable cable, software and drivers are not required.

Typing and playing on QuickFire TK is a plain pleasure. ‘Nuff said.

The only con which I found, there is no option to disable backlight of arrows keys while using Num Pad as Navigation key. For sure with backlight on arrows keys and Num Lock indicator it’s easier to understand that your Num Pad is working as Navigation, but in my opinion for some users Num Lock indicator could be sufficient.

Another con could be that NKRO mode available for Windows users only.

If you are looking for compact mechanical, definitely you should pay attention to QuickFire TK.

Maybe this review of Quick Fire TK sounds too sweetie, but honestly except mentioned cons, I don’t know what else required from the compact keyboard. Maybe some are looking for integrated USB hub or sound outputs, but such requirements are not related to keyboard functionality itself. If we are talking about keyboard as it is, QuickFire TK is extremely close to the title “ideal compact keyboard”.

Pros:

• Mechanical (Cherry MX Red, Blue, Brown)
• Great build quality and matte design
• Full LED backlight with 3 modes and 5 levels
• Num Pad integrated with Commands and Navigations keys
• N-Key Rollover with USB connection
• Double functionality in combination with FN key
• Win Lock option
• Detachable cable with channels for cable management
• Standard layout
• Included key cap puller

 

Cons:

• No option to disable backlight on arrows (4 keys) when Num Pad works in Navigation mode
• NKRO available for Windows’ users only