Having a good quality keyboard can make or break  your performance, whether is just typing a long blog post or even just playing one competitive match of your favorite FPS game. Some of the factors for a good quality keyboard are better performance on your activity, being comfortable on your hands and additional functions. One of the popular keyboards today is the mechanical keyboards, it is becoming a niche nowadays  to gamers due to its very responsive controls. Cooler Master, one of the leading brand in PC casing and peripherals released a mechanical keyboard to cater the ever hungry gamers for a good quality keyboards. The CM Storm Quickfire Rapid is CM Storm’s (a subsidiary of Cooler Master) a first keyboard product. Will this give gamers a reason to choose their keyboard or walk away?

The package of the Quickfire Rapid includes the user manual, USB cable, a USB to PS/2 adapter, extra keycaps, a keypuller and the keyboard itself. One first glance at the Quickfire Rapid and you will notice that the size quite smaller than your usual keyboard (I made a size comparison with my A4tech 9300F wireless keyboard), scaling at 14 inches in length, 5 inches wide and a eight of around an inch. Since the keyboard is mechanical, it is a bit heavy as it weight around 1 kilo (approx. 940 grams). There are two color variants of the Quickfire Rapid; the silver version (the version we are reviewing, although it looks more gray) and the black version, the silver uses black, blue and brown Cherry MX switches (we are using the blue) while the black version uses the red Cherry MX switch.

The Quickfire Rapid’s design is rather simple, no flashy led backlights, no mini LCD screen and additional features like macro functions, despite the lack of fancy features, the overall build of the keyboard was pretty good as it makes it feel more sturdy. The keycap’s texts are laser-marked so the text will not wear out after several uses, the rubber-coated surface makes it more stable when in intense game matches, I also like the font of the keys; it is very easy to read and it has that futuristic feel. One of the nice feature in the Quickfire Rapid is the removable USB cable, you can adjust the cable to where it is attached for easy routing, you can place it sideways or the usual front route, it is useful for players on the go. And with the USB to PS/2 adapter; you can opt to connect your computer to the PS/2 port or to the USB port with ease Despite lacking the macro functions, the Quickfire Rapid has multimedia keys like volume control and media player functions. You will also notice that there is no numpad, yes no numpad for this keyboard, although some people might get disappointed with the lack of the numeric pad as some use it for their passwords, account info, etc. The Cherry MX Switch is quite impressive, every press on the keys makes a clicky sound that makes you feel that your inputted keys are accurately registered. The Quickfire Rapid also disables the Windows key when you are playing; this is really helpful for players as there are certain times where they accidentally press the Windows key while playing. There are also some replaceable keycaps for the W S A D keys as well as the Windows key, the keys can be handy for FPS players and it is easy to replace the keys with the keypuller.

I tried testing this keyboard by playing Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Battlefield 3, I like how the keyboard feels on my hands, it is very responsive, you will definitely know  if your inputted keys are registered through the clicking sound. I also like the simplistic design of the Quickfire Rapid, it is even easier to bring on a LAN party due to its small size and since there’s no numpad, I have more space in maneuvering my mouse during an intense game. I also enjoy using the keyboard when typing thanks to the mechanical switches, the clicky sound makes me feel like I’m typing a really long document.

Overall the CM Storm Quickfire Rapid is one good keyboard because of its simplistic design, although some gamers might not be too happy with the lack of additional features like macro functions, but despite without the special features, it is still a well built gaming keyboard. And because the keyboard is rather small, it is a lot easier to bring it anywhere for the gaming on the go. The Quickfire Rapid is also affordable (SRP is around PhP 3,300 to 3,700) for a mechanical keyboard as some cost around PhP 4,500 or more .

So if you are looking a good gaming keyboard without burning a lot of cash, you should pick CM Storm Quickfire Rapid. It is now available on your favorite PC retail stores.