A few years ago a friend took me out to his car, popped the trunk, and presented me with his newest acquisition: a mechanical keyboard. When he told me to hold it to my ear and start mashing buttons, I asked myself why I would ever need another keyboard. The one attached to my laptop was just fine, wasn’t it?
No, it wasn’t. So I started the search to find my perfect keyboard. I poked hundreds of keys from the keyboards that my friends owned to the many displays sitting in the stores. As soon as I figured out what commercial mechanical keyboards had to offer, I knew that my laptop keyboard would no longer suffice.
The unique layout of the Cooler Master Quickfire TK (CM TK) was what first grabbed my attention.
Features
I play on a smaller table so surface area is always a priority. I wasn’t sure that I needed a number pad. I mainly use the arrow keys, but it is easy to tap a button and type in numbers with one hand. This keyboard is also just a few inches longer than my laptop so there’s room in my backpack when I want to bring it along.
The CM TK is available in a wide variety of Cherry MX Switches. The most common switch colors provided are blue, brown, red, and black.
- The blue switches have a very audible click and light actuation point. Gamers that play first person shooters or other games that require light key mashing often favor the blue switches.
- The brown switches have a tactile bump with a low actuation point of 45grams. I prefer the feel of the brown switches. I find that I don’t need to change my typing style when playing a game or typing papers.
- The red switches feel smooth on the way down with a slight bump. Cherry MX Red switches also have a 45 gram actuation point. These switches are for those gamers that like the similar feel of the blue switches without the audible click.
- The black switches have a high activation point of 60 grams, good for those gamers that are a bit heavy handed. This model also comes with green switches but it is less common.
A feature I enjoy is the full back lighting on the keyboard. Not only is the keyboard lit, but the individual keys also have light flowing thought them. There are different modes that can regulate the light on the keyboard along with one mode that looks like a slow pulsing. A minor complaint I have is that the back plate of the keyboard corresponds to the type of switch installed.
On the back of the keyboard, there are three channels in the back that can hold the USB wire that leads from the keyboard to the computer. The wire itself is wrapped in a very nice cloth that almost feels like stiff shoelaces.
The CM TK also supports n-key rollover so that gamers can get responsive feedback when playing games.
Overall
For me, this keyboard hits almost all of what I want in a perfect keyboard. But I know that not all gamers are the same and our likes and dislikes vary. If you don’t mind the layout of the keys, this keyboard retails for about $100 and is a fantastic addition to play on.
