Intro Text: The world of keyboards is confusing to some, but the Quickfire Pro makes an excellent first-time mechanical keyboard._
Article_
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The Quickfire Pro is a mechanical keyboard that gets mixed reviews no matter where I look. Some people have problems with the mini-USB port on the underside of the keyboard, other people have problems with the keyboard not working at all. Other complaints are subjective in the feel of the keys. Contrary to these issues, I have had no issues whatsoever with my Quickfire Pro. In fact, I love my Quickfire Pro. It may not have fancy features like a fully backlit keyboard or macro keys, but it gets everything else right.
First, we should take a look at Cooler Master Storm. Cooler Master Storm is the gaming branch of Cooler Master, and it's very new. CM Storm's main focus is on quality gaming equipment that works well for LAN parties. Their computer cases have carrying handles and are relatively lightweight; their mice are high DPI for lightning quick reflexes; and their keyboards, like the Quickfire Pro, use mechanical switches to ensure consistency on every keystroke. On top of all of this, their goal is to have this equipment be reasonably priced.
_Features_
+ Cherry MX Brown mechanical switches
Attachment 10416 (http://www.teamplayergaming.com/attachments/teamplayer-media-forum/10416-cooler-master-storm-quickfire-pro-review-mx-switches.png.att)Cherry is a well-known keyboard manufacturer known best for their mechanical switches. Their lead switches, Cherry MX, come in a variety of colors denoting their function and resistances. Cherry Reds are the easiest to press, given their low actuation force, and no tactile response or click. Cherry Blacks are the same, except they are much more difficult to press. Cherry Browns, like the ones in my model of the Quickfire Pro, require a medium actuation force, while having a tactile response half-way down to let you know when the press has actually been registered. As such, Cherry Browns occupy a comfortable medium, and are fairly easy to transition to from membrane or scissor switch keyboards. There are, of course, other mechanical switches out there than those from Cherry, but Cherry is simply the most well-known. What makes mechanical switches desirable is usually the smoothness of the key press, the fact that the key is registered halfway down (enabling faster typing speeds once one is used to the style), and the extremely long life of mechanical switches. While membrane and scissor switches are cheap, they do not last half as many presses as mechanical switches though, making any investment in a mechanical switch keyboard worth the money. Finally, mechanical switches are almost completely self-contained, so spills and crumbs are unlikely to interfere with the pressing of the keys. As a side note, the Quickfire Pro comes with a key puller so that you can clean the individual caps and the body of the board beneath the caps.
+ Partial Backlight
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The Quickfire Pro has red LEDs under the left half of the alphabetic keyboard and have variable brightness (adjustable). 1-5 above WASD are lit up, and Esc-F4 are also backlit. The space bar and arrow keys also have LEDs. F12 lights up only when the Windows Lock feature is enabled. Essentially, through pressing the FN key and F12, you can disable the Windows key until you turn it back on, preventing an accidental Windows Key press bringing you to the desktop. One thing to note is that the FN key will also disable ALL the function keys when active (lit up), so if you need the function keys, keep the light off. Num Lock/Caps Lock/Scroll Lock indicators also light up when activated. Last, the Cooler Master Storm logo in the upper right is lit whenever the backlight is on. You can have four modes with the backlight too: Off, on for only WASD and the arrow keys, fully on (for everything above), and a slowly pulsing version of the full mode. The Quickfire Pro has been criticized for not having a full backlight, but it does not affect my gaming in any way.
+ Braided mini-USB to USB cable
One feature that isn't strictly necessary, but is always nice to have. A braided cable is essentially the wires that you need, with a thick, insulated sheath around them preventing electric shocks and wear and tear. Unfortunately, it's pretty stiff coming right out of the box, so you'll have to play around with the cable for a bit to get it to loosen up.
+ Heavy Weight
Yes, this is a feature. While no mechanical keyboard is good for on-the-go gaming, setting the Quickfire Pro on a desk makes it stick there. When the rubber feet are kept clean, this keyboard is practically immovable unless you lift it off the desk. So, when you get into an intense gaming session or are playing a scary game, jumps or quick movements won't slide this keyboard around.
+ Laser-etched keys
This is something you don't really think about until you've had a keyboard for a long time. Looking at my brother's old Saitek keyboard, you cannot see the W, A, S, or D keys because they were painted on. With laser-etched keys, there's no paint to wear off, so the keys will never fade over time. While this is for little more than aesthetics to a gamer, it's still a nice touch.
_Pricing_
True to their goal, The Quickfire Pro, and its two cousins the Quickfire Rapid (No numpad) and Trigger (Full backlight and wrist pad) are well priced for mechanical keyboards. The Rapid typically falls in the $90 price range, while the Pro falls in the $100 price range, with the Trigger usually $110. Other mechanical keyboards from Corsair and Razer are more expensive than the Trigger. As such, Cooler Master Storm offers some feature choices that scale directly with price. The Quickfire Pro met my need for a numpad, and also fit my budget nicely at $100 when I bought it.
_Conclusion_
While the Quickfire Pro has its fair share of limitations and negative reviews, it has proved itself, at least to me, to be a reliable keyboard with enough features to keep it interesting. I have owned this keyboard for 8 months, and it receives regular use every single day. In fact, I find it difficult to use non-mechanical switch keyboards the more I use the Quickfire Pro. The feel of a mechanical keyboard is certainly unique when compared to your standard $20 keyboard.
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I'd like to put a source right under the three images saying where I got them from to avoid plagiarism. I would take pictures of the keyboard myself, but it's not exactly the most prisitine looking keyboard right now, and the stock photos from cmstorm.com have excellent quality and accomplish the same thing. Unfortunately, I don't know of any way to do this with the editor here. Maybe you guys know. If it would be better to take all the pictures myself, I can do that too, it'll just take time to clean the entire keyboard.
Otherwise, I'm open to any criticism or advice for this article before we publish it. I also have another item I want to review, but I'll save that for later down the road.