Coolermaster Storm Trigger Mechanical Keyboard

First off, THIS KEYBOARD IS THE BEST I HAVE EVER FELT!!! This is my first mechanical keyboard and I hate myself for buying it, because I know I'm never going back to cheaper rubber domes again. Hopefully, this one will last me for years. I've only had this for two days so far, but one complaint is how the removable usb cable's USB port has literally snapped off the internal PCB after practically no use. I haven't had this problem so far, and I'm treating that area very gently. I you haven't typed on a mechanical keyboard before, you don't knwo what your missing. I used to be one of those people saying "Why would you ever spend over 100 dollars just to get a keyboard because it's mechanical?" Well, only people that have never used a mechanical would ever ask that. The Cherry MX Blue switches make an amazing sound (in my opinion), and I don't think I would ever get tired of it. But be warned, most of you (gamers and computer enthusiasts) will love the sound, but before you buy, make sure the people your living with wont mind it. I used to have a Razer Lycosa, and it was a great keyboard for me, but when this had a 15% off, and 30$ mail in rebate, it was irresistible, because I had my eye on it for a while and I needed a black and red one for my new rig (the blue Lycosa wasn't gonna cut it). I have heard that the blue switch is the switch most professional writers use and I can see why; you almost never get tired or worn out typing on it. It has a much lighter actuation force than rubber dome keyboards, so at first, it felt really weird, but like everything else, you adjust. I almost started to scare myself by looking forward to typing my English essay today! The build quality is amazing, and it has a very good weight to the keyboard overall. I would highly highly recommend this to anyone that would almost remotely consider thinking about buying this keyboard!

First off, don't pay $120 for this keyboard. You can find $100 if you actually bother to look around. That said, let's move on. This is the slightly more expensive cousin of the other Trigger keyboards from CM. This one has 5 macro keys on the left hand side. The macro-recording is somewhat confusing. The windows key is also not functional by default.

What's good about this keyboard? It's quite heavy and seems to have good build quality. The lighting is nice, with 5 brightness settings, and 3 lighting settings (on, breathing (slow pulsing), only WASD... OFF isn't a lighting mode!). The two highest brightness settings can only be acheived by plugging in a seperate, not included 6V DC cable. You can use a cell phone charger. I happened to have on lying around with a socket close enough so the length of the cord won't bother me. The Keyboard cord itself is decent length, and is braided. It IS odd that CM would leave out a DC cable for a keyboard at this price. The backlight mainly lights up the top of the key because that is where the led is placed. As a result, the number 1 is lit up more than the ! part of the keycap. it's not a big deal, but I would have preffered if they fixed that.

Function keys exist. F5-F8 are music playback hotkeys, but you need to press the windows key to use them. F9-F11 are mute/volume. What I did was I used autohotkey to script the numberpad into a giant hotkey-pad.

You do NOT need to download CM's software in order to use the keyboard. The software offers many functions (but somehow misses a simply folder-opening function) that you may want. A CM representative told me that they are currently working on fixing the folder issue with their software update and hope to push it out on the next one. Meanwhile, I am using autohotkey to turn my entire numpad into a macro-pad to open any programs or folders I want. (Although, if you are an avid numpad user and you use every key on the keyboard, this option might not be for you. But who DOES that?!)

For those that are proficient in the art of macro-ing, tjhough, it seems quite powerful. What pains me though, is the lack of documention with this keyboard. Not saying we need a book for a keyboard, but more general info (such as lighting modes) would be nice, along with an easy-to-understand manual on how to record macros. It took be a bit, but I finally understood how the macroing process works. It has many functions. I suspect with enough thought and tinkering, we can script-open folders without a set option to do so. The macro keys are NOT considered as 'new keys' to the computer, but rather, when I press M1, the computer registers as if I pressed CTRL+1 (I set it that way).

The gold plated keys are gimmicky as far as evidence goes. There is an optional wrist wrest, which I enjoyed. Note that after continued use for a few months, the wrist wrest 'rubber coating' comes off a little bit on the edges. It's not aesthetically pleasing but doesn't change the feel of the keyboard. The rubberized to the keys and parts of the keyboard is something I really dig personally. It makes it feel more polished and of a higher quality. There are two USB ports on the back, but they may only be used if the 6v DC power is plugged into.

I did have to adjust to the layout of the keys, because my last keyboard, although still standard, somehow had the keys spread further apart. I am adjusting though.

Pictures you can easily find on the reviews below me and on Google.
At the price point of $100, this keyboard is pretty kickass. (The black cherry got to $70 on a sale once!) I got the brown switches and I am satisfied.

Let me start by saying this isn't the First Mechanical Keyboard I have used. I have a Razer Blackwidow Ultimate at work, which i use every day. On the non-mechanical side, i came from a Logitech G19, which replaced my old G15.
While the G19 is a beautiful, sleek, and excessive keyboard (who honestly needs a display on a keyboard? ) which is awesome, i decided to try out the CM storm as a mechanical keyboard for my second computer.

After it arrived, I couldn't help but smile at how brilliant it looked. I am not too much a fan of the "gloss" (it gets dirty, smudgy, it's difficult to clean sometimes and scratches are extremely obvious) and i hated the fact that the Blackwidow i use makes such a noise in the office. It's hard to stay focused when every click of a key makes this god-awful sound that annoys the Bejeebus out of everyone in the building. (It's a good keyboard if you enjoy that, however)

The Storm Trigger (Cherry RED Keys) was quiet to type on, and didn't have a gloss but still looked very, very nice. After typing on it a bit (it takes some getting used to, there is no "click" when the button goes down, but after a while you can feel when the key is registered) it was incredibly comfortable, and very fast. It currently is the Fastest keyboard i can type on.

The software provided by Coolermaster for the trigger seemed to be a little too visually ridiculous (aka: 1337 h4x0rs cu5t0m keyz!1!!!1), but it was easy enough to find my way around, and after i did noticed it had the same level of customization as the Blackwidow Ultimate. (minus the screen, of course)

It's a requirement of mine that keyboard Keys must be Programmable, because of a need to type in other languages. i need to swap keys around, assign macros, and switch between profiles on the fly. The CM Storm trigger smashes all of these points.

I've read a lot of people say that this keyboard isn't for typing, and if you aren't someone that can adapt to a different keyboard, then I'd agree. But if you held back by a keyboards speed, then touch typing on this will feel so much more comfortable and faster.

I was actually so impressed with the CM Storm Trigger its replaced my G19, And I've requested one at work to replace my Razer Blackwidow Ultimate. It was not what i was expecting and was an excellent surprise and at an excellent price. I recommend it!

This is my first mechanical keyboard that I needed red led with MX Brown switches. The options to have one here in Canada is very limited and expensive.

When I got this keyboard I notice how heavy this was. There is a nice hefty feel to it. Shows that this is very sturdy.
The Trigger has a nice feel to it. The whole keyboard including the wrist rest has a nice soft touch rubber feel. Even the angled feet are in rubber to help it from slipping.

There is 4 LED Brightness settings to choice from which all of them shine very nicely through the keys. The 5th one is by the AC adapter plug. (sold separately) , what this also helps with is the 2 USB ports. Can give extra power to the USB ports to help with charging.
You can adjust how you want the LED to look. All on, all off, WASD/Macro/Arrow keys only and all on pulsating thought the 4 levels of brightness.

The software you download from Coolermaster site. Everything looked very simple, you can set almost any key do what you want. I did not go through the software too much, but here is where you can turn on windows key. (Both are default off)
Haven't played with the macro setup yet, will later on and will update once I have a game that can fully use it.

The wrist rest is a nice length and have a really perfect angle for my use.
Size of the keyboard is really not that big. 18.75"L x 9.75" W
I have picked up so O-Rings 40A-L 0.2mm to reduce the bottoming out sound.

The one thing I didn't like is the micro USB connector, which can be easily pulled out.