My first impressions of the CM Storm Quickfire TK Cherry MX Red Keyboard.

[Vitalius]

Hi everyone,

Like my first impressions of the Monoprice Mechanical Keyboard, I decided to do the same with the CM Storm Quickfire TK, and so here it is. I'm going to follow the same format as I did with my other first impressions.
 
This is my second Cherry MX Mechanical Keyboard, and my first one had Blue switches while this one is Red. I tend to build things, in my head at least, as a spectrum and call things that aren't really opposites opposites. So Reds are opposite to Blues in my mind (ignoring Greens), and I wanted to try them out now that I've tried Blues (which I really did like). 
 
Note that there will be pictures later. My phone is currently missing and I'm getting a new one soon. I'll edit this and add them later.

The above is in italics because I made a disassembly thread with all the pictures instead.
 
So following my format for the other first impressions, let's start with some things people notice about the keyboard and tend to mention in reviews.
 
1. "Switching between the Numpad and Arrow Keys + Extra Keys is awkward/annoying."
 
And this 100% true (for those who use both). After using it for a week, I can tell you that alternating between the two gets annoying. Only if you actively use both, as I do. The arrow keys, Print Screen and Delete specifically for me versus the numpad as I prefer it over the numbered keys above. 
 
I honestly question if having a Ten Keyless design is worth this. I think it's not for me. So much so that my next keyboard will not be Ten keyless, because I need all my keys.
 
Of course, you can learn to just switch before you use them for whatever you want to do, but then you are gimped on other keyboards where you will expect to have to switch, but don't have to. It's just awkward.
 
Takeaway: A big concern if you are used to using all the keys.
 
2. "Switching between the Media/Backlight keys and the Function keys is awkward/annoying."
 
This suffers the exact same problem as the Numpad/Arrow keys hybrid. You have to hold the FN button for 3 seconds (roughly) before you can use the other set of keys, which is... annoying. 
 
I actively use the Function keys (particularly F4), and I like to use the media keys (volume/play+pause), so this bothers me as well. 
 
This is especially troublesome if you play Battlefield 4 and the keys to switch positions in a vehicle are F1-F12. I tend to not think about it until I need it, since I do it rarely, but being a sitting duck for 3 seconds kind of sucks. Then you have to switch back to the Media/Backlight keys to re-enable the Windows Key if you disabled it to begin with. 
 
It's just all very awkward to do. It's a nice feature, but not good for people like me who use all the keys from time to time. And you can't just learn to switch with this one since you have to wait 3 seconds anyway.

Edit 1: I made everything above this in italics because it's what I originally said. However, I found out later that you can hold the Fn key and press the F1-12 buttons to use the media keys without waiting. This sort of gives a fix for the problem. Although, if you hold the Fn key too long, it switches on which means you have to turn it back off and it doesn't intelligently see why you are pressing it. Either to switch sets permanently, or to temporarily use media over function or vice versa. Still not that great honestly.
More annoying than anything.

I leave the media keys off and use the function keys using the Fn button to press the media keys now. However, again, the volume buttons are intended to be held, so that means I have to keep holding the Fn key to use them and that means it will switch on. Very. Very. Annoying.
 
Takeaway: A big concern if you are used to using all the keys.
 
3. "The detachable USB cord is useful, but feels cheaply made."
 
I have to agree with this one too. When I try to plug my own USB cable into the port, it have to almost go at an angle I can't reach to get it plugged in. Like, it's hard to describe, but if I try to plug it in at a perpendicular 90 degree angle, it won't. It hits something.
 
Whereas, if I plug it in with the cord bent up against the keyboard and wiggle it, it will eventually go in. This makes me afraid that I might break it while doing this one day. It just doesn't feel well made. It works. But I don't know for how long it will considering what I have to go through to make it work.
 
Takeaway: To be determined, seems iffy.
 
First Impressions:
 
This keyboard is very light, as compared to the Monoprice Mechanical Keyboard. It's still sort of hefty for it's size (Ten Keyless), but it does seem considerably easier to carry around considering those two things (weight and size). 
 
It also feels very good. I love the matte finish, particularly. It gives it grip, but feels smooth at the same time. Kind of hard to describe beyond that. Fingerprints are never going to be seen on this unless you are eating Doritos/Cheetos or something similar. It not being gloss obviously helps this.
 
I really like the stylizing on the board. The way the Num, Caps, and Scroll Lock are along with the simple CM Storm logo is very nice looking. There's also a bit on the bottom of the keyboard (facing you when you are typing on it) and I like the way it looks as well. Simple lines, indentions, and angles are some of my favorite aesthetics.
 
It is sturdy, and in Linus' flex test™ I can barely twist it more than 1 inch. I believe there is a metal plate in it, as there was in the Monoprice keyboard, but I've yet to take it apart. That is coming later. Keep an eye out for the disassembly thread.
 
The key caps themselves are just like the rest of the keyboard. The finish makes them feel like a cheap-o keyboard feels when it is used to the point that it's finish is coming off. Where it starts to looks smooth. I like the smooth feel, and that the characters on the key caps can be felt (i.e. you can feel their shape on the surface). It all just feels high quality, and likes a very well made keyboard.
 
Now, transitioning from a Blue switch mechanical keyboard directly to a Red one was interesting. I know how stupid it sounds, because it honestly sounded stupid to me when I had heard about it. Hand fatigue. The idea that using heavier switches actually fatigues your fingers. Well, for me, that wasn't exactly true, but wasn't exactly false either. 
 
When I started typing on this keyboard, I immediately noticed how much easier it was. That should be obvious. However, there something else I noticed. My fingers felt weird. Very weird. Like they were tingling. Like they were sore. They didn't hurt. It was really weird and hard to explain. My fingers never got tired typing on the Blue switches, and I never noticed anything like it. I never expected to feel that tingling sensation on this keyboard, and it really surprised me. So I guess, in a sense, there is something to hand/finger fatigue. But maybe it's just different since these are fingers we are talking about and not something like a muscle (fingers are just tendons, no muscle). 
 
I did enjoy that strange feeling while it was there, but it went away after the second day of extensive use. I tried typing on the Blue switches for a while, but didn't notice anything weird. It felt easy as it always had. Strange. 
 
Anyway, enough of that. The Blue switches obviously clicked, and the Reds obviously don't, but I can't learn to "not bottom out". I'm not sure why, but, to me, the click noise hasn't really gone away because of this. It isn't as loud as the Blue switches, but bottoming out on Reds is pretty much the same thing with less resistance. 
 
The rubber feet on this keyboard are high quality and they cover the entire end of the feet (meaning they won't slide around on you if it's off balance), although they do feel slightly loose and wiggle. Not sure how to feel about that. They could break off later, or they might not. We will see. They could come off if jostled a little too hard one day.
 
The detachable USB cord felt nice, and seemed strong, but the port it plugged into is iffy, as I said above. The routing sections for the cable is nice if your Desktop is off to the left or right of your monitor/workstation, but I don't use it much as I prefer to run all the cables the same way, which means having the USB cable follow the Monitor cables. 
 
One thing that was mentioned was that the Space Bar feels more comfortable if you flip it around. This also puts the LED light bar in it that allows the Red light through to be at the bottom (which can look more balanced). I never felt this was the case. As far as I can tell, the Space Bar is symmetrical such that flipping it wouldn't change anything. Maybe someone got a defective Space Bar. Not sure. I do know that I don't like how it feels. It lacks a slope towards the bottom of the keyboard, which does slightly bother me. Though it's so little that I wouldn't mention it more than once (here).
 
I like the backlighting a lot (just in the fact that it is there). Red is one of my favorite colors. It being more minimal in features does bother me somewhat. The breathing is nice. The brightness levels aren't too many or too few. But Breathing, On, or WASD/gaming mode seems a bit limited. What really bummed me out was that I couldn't change what keys were illuminated in the gaming mode. I don't use WASD for games. I use ESDF. So that made that  mode sort of pointless for me. 
 
The packaging was fine. Nothing exceptional. Just good quality like you'd expect. The box was informative, which I would suppose is good for buying in store, but I didn't do that. 
 
Conclusion:
 
For the price ($100), this is an OK keyboard at best imo.
 
It has many good things going for it (the finish, backlighting, TK with options, media keys with options), but many of those good things work against it depending on who buys it (like me with the either/or keys and the gaming backlighting mode). It either is for you, or isn't. And I believe it's not for me. I don't particularly like it as it has too many negatives for me to use it consistently without getting irritated. 
 
The few negatives/questionable quality aspects (flip out feet feeling loose, and the USB detachable port seeming to be cheap) are somewhat irrelevant as far as I can tell. I'll need more time with the keyboard to decide just how much they will matter in the long run.
 
I wouldn't buy this again for me, but I would recommend it to someone who wouldn't be bothered by the things that bothered me (the gaming mode for backlighting, and either/or keys).
 
So I'm going to rate this a 8/10 (considering the price, the negatives, the positives, and how I myself view it).
 

If you have any questions or want me to look at any one particular thing, feel free to ask. 
 
Thanks,
Vitalius
 
Note that I may or may not edit this later (aside from adding pictures). Check back later if you are interested in what I may or may not add. I'll be adding the disassembly and in depth review links to this post past this point.

[rumbleArena]

Hi,

I really love your review and you covered the keyboard really well! I'm using one myself but mine is a Cherry MX Brown with white backlight.

 

I'm actually looking forward for a disassembly post from you but I guess this post didn't get as much reception as the Monoprice keyboard you reviewed previously. I'd like some guidance to disassembly the keyboard because somehow the version I got comes with a brown backplate. White backlight and brown backplate doesn't go well together IMO. I want to paint the backplate but I'm not familiar with any mechanical keyboard disassembly. Haha. Looking forward for a reply from you.

 

Thanks

[Vitalius]

-snip-

I really should have linked this in the OP. Here is the full disassembly thread.

[rumbleArena]

I really should have linked this in the OP. Here is the full disassembly thread.

 

Thank you very much! It's gonna be really helpful