Product on Review: CM Storm Quick Fire TK
Manufacturer and Sponsor: CM Storm (Cooler Master)
Street Price: £62.95 inc. VAT
UPDATE: Note that this is an update to the original review posted on the 25th November 2012
We have been lucky enough in the past to have the opportunity to review a range of mechanical keyboards, and the CM Storm Trigger was certainly notable. Rich reviewed this attractively priced full size keyboard in June, and though outfitted with the stiff Cherry Black MX switches felt that overall it was an extremely high quality peripheral with one factor in mind: gamers and gaming.
The Quick Fire TK is a compact mechanical keyboard based on the very successful full size Quick Fire Pro. In previous iterations, compact mechanical keyboards (for example the Quick Fire Rapid) utilised a tenkeyless layout, dispensing with the numberpad portion of full-size layout and retaining the central column of command & arrow keys. The Quick Fire TK however turns things on their head by incorporating the command keys into the numberpad to create a compact layout with loses as little as possible in functionality.
About the Quick Fire TK
You're a gamer. You know that a mechanical keyboard means the difference between winning and losing. The original QuickFire Rapid gaming keyboard was embraced by gamers worldwide because it made the difference. Now the QuickFire TK takes the QuickFire Rapid and put it on steroids! Choose between 3 different Cherry MX switches. Each keycap is UV coated to make it durable. There's full LED backlighting with 3 modes and 5 brightness levels. NKRO over USB means every single keystroke will be registered. An embedded steel plate give you maximum stability and durability. 7 easy-access multimedia shortcut keys save time. A complete numpad lets you get work done while not gaming. The slim and lightweight size gives you plenty of room for your mouse. Great for LAN parties.
At less than £65 including V.A.T., the Quick Fire TK is extremely competitively priced for a mechanical keyboard of any stripe, never mind backlit and with a 92-key layout featuring a Number Pad. By also presenting the choice of Red, Brown and Blue Cherry MX switches, CM Storm also offer options almost without precedent in the market. The question now is: how does it perform and can it bridge the functionality gap between compact and full-size keyboards?
