Need new Keyboard/Mouse for PS2!!

[Dart]

Originally Posted by Vancha

Blue!

No...I haven't had the opportunity to develop a preference for any of them for FPS gaming, but I plan on getting the ISO Quickfire with reds or blacks. I can't quite decide which to go for, but I'm leaning towards reds.

OK so partly because I'm a curious soul and partly at your advice I bought both the Corsair Vengeance K90 and the CM Storm Quickfire Rapid at the weekend and I've been using both this week. Obviously I'm buying a gaming keyboard so that's my main concern at to test each KB I've been playing Blacklight: Retribution (a relatively fast twitch F2P FPS for anyone who hasn't heard of it).

The K90 has the Cherry MX Red Switches, the QF Rapid has the Cherry MX Black Switches.

Here are pics of each on my desk:

The K90


The CM Storm QuickFire Rapid


I came from using a bog-standard rubberdomed keyboard and the first thing I'll say is believe the hype. Both keyboards were a massive step up over my previous hardware and I won't be going back to rubberdomed keyboards again.

The K90 is a beautiful keyboard; the blacklighting is excellent and the finish is first class. It feels well made and I personally didn't mind the 'hybrid' nature of it. The macro keys give it a lot of flexibility in terms of gaming and the media keys are well designed. The red switches are very sensitive in game and on occasion it feels as if the keyboard is responding before you even press the key. This isn't always a good thing however as I found typing a slightly frustrating task and I'm usually a very fast and efficient typist.

The COOLERMASTER Storm QuickFire Rapid has a very long name (!) but is a very small keyboard. CM have chosen to omit the numpad and initially I thought "Ugh, why do I want a tenkeyless design"? I have a large desk and have been using regular keyboards all of the time I've been gaming and I've never found the existence of the numpad an issue. However when I started reading about them I realised I almost never use the numpad and why not have that extra space? Have you never been turning left and hit the edge of your keyboard with your mouse? So once I'd adjusted to the idea of trying it I decided I might as well order it with the Cherry MX Black keys as I already had the Reds on the K90.

A little on the Reds vs. Blacks. These are the two which are generally considered best for FPS gamers, with the Reds the more sensitive of the two (45g of actuation pressure as opposed to 65g for the Blacks).

Personally as soon as I used them I realised the Blacks were the switches for me. They still have the same feel of immediacy that the Reds have but they have a more satisfying and discernible 'press' to them making mis-strokes far less common. I also love the sturdiness of this little board. The thing feels about as solid as a piece of 2x4! There is no backlighting, no macro keys but a beautifully designed gaming keyboard.

Suffice it to say I'm typing this review on the QF Rapid and that's the winner for me. I'd recommend it to anyone looking to get a mechanical keyboard - get it with the Cherry MX Black keys - you won't be disappointed.