Cooler Master unveils two new mechanical keyboards

Hardware

August 19, 2013

Cooler Master Storm MECH header hardware

Cooler Master has announced the launch of two new keyboards that join their CM Storm family – the Quickfire Ultimate and the MECH.

The keyboards come with a range of mechanical switches to choose from (Blue, Brown, and Red) and feature a nice, unobtrusive, industrial design devoid of frills.

Cooler Master South Africa says that they expect to bring the Quickfire Ultimate and the MECH into the country before the end of September 2013. Pricing has not been announced and will be officially detailed at a later date.

CM Quickfire Pro

The new Quickfire Pro Ultimate is the upgrade to the venerable and popular Quickfire family. It features the same design as the Pro, but has now been updated with full backlighting on each key.

Gamers can choose between Cherry MX Blue, Brown or Red switches and the LED colours change accordingly – Red-based versions get full red backlighting, while the Blue-based keyboard gets decked out in a strong blue colour. Quickfire Ultimate keyboards with Brown switches now come with white backlighting. There are five intensity levels and three backlight modes to choose from.

Because nothing else has been changed and no extra features added, the Pros remain driverless, with all of the keyboard’s functions working without having to install any drivers.

Cooler Master Storm Quickfire Ultimate

Standout features for the Quickfire Ultimate include:

Mechanical CHERRY MX switches with a lifespan of over 50 million key presses;
Full LED backlight, with 3 modes and 5 brightness levels;
NKRO over USB for unlimited simultaneous keystrokes;
Embedded steel plate for maximum stability and durability;
Super Grip pads and Keyboard stand-offs with rubber feet;
Windows keys can be disabled;
7 easy-access multimedia shortcuts;
Detachable braided USB cable and cable routing groves at the underside of the keyboard.

CM MECH

Cooler Master also has released a successor to the Trigger, their high-end offering that comes with full backlighting and a detacheable wrist rest. Called the MECH, it’s a sharp, angular attack on high-end mechanical keyboards and looks almost like a gun with the wrist-rest attached.

Cooler Master Storm Mech

The MECH comes with white backlighting and two USB 3.0 ports at the top for your external storage devices. It comes fitted with a choice of Blue, Brown or Red mechanical switches and has support for 64-key rollover.

The secret sauce is an integrated ARM processor that helps the keyboard to manage all the profiles and macro commands. Cooler Master calls this the “RapidFire engine,” and its other task is to improve audio sent to your attached headset and microphone.

A stand-out feature of the MECH is a removable aluminium faceplate, which you can detach and customise to your liking. The faceplate also makes cleaning the keyboard easier. Because it’s not brushed, you can also get it painted and even have custom vinyls applied to it, something that the modding crowd will certainly enjoy.

The MECH is also a heavyweight, coming in at 1.6kg with the face plate and wrist-rest attached.