Cooler Master Quick Fire Pro Keyboard

Observations and gaming

Ok, now that we have seen what we have with the Quickfire Pro lets do some background into what makes it tick, or work as it is. The Cooler Master Quickfire Pro utilizes Cherry MX Mechanical switches which enables pretty much unparalleled precision and response, and this is not marketing speak talking this is years of esports and gaming talking.

Here in essence is what we are dealing with. This is a Cherry MX Brown switch. Many keyboards on the market use a rubber dome with a contact to engage the key press but the mechanical switches use a plastic stem to separate the contacts and when depressed allows the contact to be completed initiating a key press signal.

There are many different Key switch types and they are coded by color as to the type of actuation they use.  The reason for so many options is that keyboards are used for more than just gaming and therefore the different actuation types may be preferable compared to another for whatever the task at hand is. The CMStorm Quickfire Pro is available in four different key switch types. I will explain them briefly below.

Type: Linear Switch 
Tactile: No
Clicky: No

Actuation Force: 60g (40g-80g overall)
Key Travel: 2mm to actuation, 4mm to bottom Cherry MX-Black switches are linear (non-tactile) switches, these are considered one of the best switch types for gaming. When gaming, having a tactile bump does absolutely nothing because you’re going to be bottoming out anyway. So these give you a very smooth feel. The actuation and release points are at the exact same position as well. So games that require a lot of double tapping become easier than on any other key switch. However, most people don’t enjoy typing on them that much do in part, to their linear nature.
If you’re a person who tends to hit a wrong key every so often while gaming, these will be beneficial in that the high actuation force will help prevent many of those accidental presses.

Type: Tactile Switch
Tactile: Yes
Clicky: No

Actuation Force: 45g (55g Peak Force)
Key Travel: 2mm to actuation, 4mm to bottom Cherry MX Brown switches are considered a middle ground between typing and “gaming” switches. They have a light, tactile feel half way through the key press that lets you know the switch has activated. This gives you an indication of what you can release the switch. The switch is considered a middle ground because the reset point & actuation point are close enough together than you can “float” at that point, enabling you to double tap faster.

As a note: this switch actually has a peak force of 55G, it is 45G at the point of actuation. This is due to the design of the Cherry switch itself.

Type: Tactile & Clicky Switch 
Tactile: Yes, precise
Clicky: Yes

Actuation Force: 50g (60g Peak Force)
Key Travel: 2mm to actuation, 4mm to bottom Cherry MX Blue switches are the best cherry switch for typing. The tactile bump can easily be felt, and the resistance is similar to your average keyboard.

Although many people find them just fine for gaming, some don’t like the fact that the release point is above the actuation point. This can cause some trouble with double-tapping. This is usually the case with someone who has experienced other mechanical switches before hand.

As a note: this switch actually has a peak force of 60g, it is 50g at the point of actuation. This is due to the design of the Cherry switch itself.

Type: Linear Switch 
Tactile: No
Clicky: No

Actuation Force: 45g
Key Travel: 2mm to actuation, 4mm to bottom Cherry MX-Red’s are another switch that can be considered a “gaming” switch. It’s essentially a lighter version of the MX Black, requiring less force to actuate. Some people do not find this switch that good for typing or gaming because it is so light, but others rave for this fact. Light or Stiff is always a matter of preference. This switch was hard to find; and was reported as EOL, but it is still in limited production with a higher than average MOQ leading to higher cost to board makers. Marketed with high demand, boards with this switch are becoming more common, but are generally more expensive as well.

Source

So as you can see the variety of key switches available should fit a very wide gamut of user types which makes the Quickfire pro very versatile board for pretty much anyone, although the bard is honestly a gaming board at heart.

 

Here as we see above the Brown switches were employed on our sample.  They are a nice light switch and the Tactile feedback can help us understand how short the switch can be depressed before engagement.

 Gaming

Gaming on the quickfire pro was very good and the key switch response was great.  It takes time to get used to a new keyboard but I can definitely say that once you get used to the actuation and the tactile feedback you can get much better response when quick double taps are needed.  One thing I can definitely say is there is without doubt more noise from a mechanical keyboard vs a rubber dome style which has a more spongy feel but almost no “clicky-ness” at all unless your really bashing on it.