Product Showcase
The mechanical keys are making use of Cherry MX (RED) switches. The idea behind mechanical switches is that they give a key press a more perceptible feel than the standard rubber membrane used in cheaper keyboards. These keyboards are built for durability and gaming experience and include gaming orientated features. You may adjust per-key lighting, macro setup, etc. through the Portal software.
The RGB Cherry MX switches can withstand over 50 million key presses. Each key switch is mounted directly onto a top plate that ensures structural rigidity, topped with a translucent ABS laser-etched keycap to enable back-lighting. Back-lighting on a Cherry MX switch is much sharper than that of a membrane keyboard because each key is lit by an individual LED and not in an array. This means that if the user removes the keycap, he or she should see an LED directly under it that maximizes the lighting effect.
Due to the design of the Cherry MX switch, there is only room for a single 3mm LED that could mount directly onto the key switch. The minimum size for an RGB LED requires 5mm.
While Cooler Master only offers a Cherry MX Red model, Cherry offers a wide variety of switches these days with silence and speed being the latest ones, the competition is growing though as most brands have started to design their own spinoffs.
-
Cherry MX Black - Linear switch with Actuation Force: 60g (40g-80g overall)
-
Cherry MX Brown Switches - Tactile Switch with Actuation Force: 45g (55g Peak Force)
-
Cherry MX Blue Switches - Tactile & Clicky with Actuation Force: 50g (60g Peak Force)
-
Cherry MX Red Switches - Linear Switch with Actuation Force: 45g
-
Cherry MX SPEED (Rapidfire) Switches - Linear Switch with Actuation Force: 45g
-
For the Silent MX model switches, these are based on the red variant with 45g of actuation force.
Each color switch feels slightly different. Above, I replace the WASD keys with included curved and rugged ones. You can easily install the rugged keys by using the supplied keycap puller tool, just pull them up gently and they'll be lifted out of place. The included custom gaming keycaps (Esc, M1-M5, the Aimpad keys QWERASDF) offer a good feel. The keys are curved and a little more tactile which gives them a better feel.
The Cherry MX mechanical switches are intended for fast, efficient gaming action with 45g actuation force. The keys are curved a little and are fairly slippery which gives them a unique feel. The extra keys included are made from durable 'double-shot' PBT plastic.
