Cooler Master Keyboard Q

Reviews: Peripherals

Accessories | Gaming Devices | Keyboards / Mice | Printers

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Kurtis Kronk
Brian
Cooler Master
Aug. 10, 2003

The Box

The simplistic design of the Keyboard Q translates onto the box it lies in. The box features a faded shot of the keyboard on the front and the specs and features on the back. Not much else to talk about in the box department, let's move on to the keyboard.

First Impressions

Before I talk about what I thought of the keyboard when I saw it, I want to talk a little about what I had expected before opening the box. When I first heard of this keyboard and saw pictures of it on Cooler Master's website, I got the impression that it had a reflective aluminum surface. As such, I assumed that the surface would smudge extremely easily and that the keyboard would be more for showing off than for practical use. I was pleasantly surprised when I pulled out the keyboard and realized at least some of my assumptions were wrong. The surface of the keyboard is brushed aluminum and it does not smudge, which is a huge relief. Not only does this keyboard not smudge, it looks outstanding. You won't find any multimedia keys or extra features on this keyboard, so if extra buttons are your bag, this keyboard shouldn't be on your wish list. Something I didn't notice at first is that the keyboard has two (2) backslash keys, one above enter as usual, and one to the left of the spacebar. I suppose this is a plus for you coders out there.

The simplistic design of this keyboard is classy and modern, and the layout mimics that of a laptop. If you are interested in a slim, great looking keyboard, keep reading.

Testing

To test this keyboard I used it for several days. While testing, the keyboard put strain on my wrists. The keyboard has a slight angle to it, but it does not have flip-out legs for a steeper angle like many larger keyboards. Other similarly sized keyboards I have used, such as the EluminX keyboard, are much more uncomfortable to use than this one, but I would still like to see this keyboard with legs.

The keys are nice and strong, and have a nice feel to them, but I personally prefer the feel of keyboards like the Microsoft Multimedia keyboard, because I like to feel the keys depress nice and deep. But if you like the feel a laptop has, you will like the feel of these keys. The key configuration is well thought out, but if you aren't used to the laptop size and layout, it will take you a couple of days to warm up to this keyboard.

The USB cable is about 4.5 feet long and unfortunately Cooler Master decided not to include a PS/2 adapter. So if you don't have an available USB plug, you will need to get a USB hub, which I have found to be extremely useful.

Something I really like about this keyboard, but dislike at the same time, is its size. Its compact size allows it to fit on my keyboard tray alongside my mouse as it should. Other, larger, keyboards do not fit. Despite the benefits of having a smaller keyboard, I find larger keyboards to provide better wrist support and to be overall more comfortable to use. I do not know how much time you, the reader, spend on a computer each day, but I spend the majority of the day in front of mine. Each day I sit in front of my computer for an average of 9 or more hours. This means that I might need a keyboard with more support than the average user. As a result, I find it hard to use this keyboard for more than a few hours at a time.

Quality

Overall Cooler Master has made a great keyboard, especially for their first attempt. The keys are strong and I couldn't imagine any of them breaking. However I did find that my "D' key started squeaking after I did my abusive "bang on keyboard' test. The key still works, but now it just makes an annoying squeaky noise when pressing. None of the other keys seemed to have this problem. I tried to find the root of the problem, and after examining the key and the mechanism underneath it, along with the adjacent keys, I could find nothing different about the "D' key. So for now at least, the squeaky key mystery will remain an unsolved one.

I also tested the overall durability of the keyboard and found it to be quite sturdy, most likely due to the aluminum. I tried to bend the keyboard over my knee and it wouldn't give even a little bit. However, I still wouldn't recommend throwing the keyboard across the room when you get your ass kicked in your favorite game. While I am talking about the aluminum, I would like to note that the edges are rounded. Safety is fun! Yaaaay!

Conclusion

After some serious consideration, I have decided to put this keyboard in the luxury category. Although it is made of high quality materials and looks great, I couldn't recommend it to hardcore gamers or to anyone who uses their computer as much as I do. However, if you are a business man or woman, and you would like to have this keyboard at your front desk to show off, and you don't plan to use the keyboard for long periods of time, I would recommend purchasing it. As for the squeaky key mystery, just don't bang on your keyboard and you shouldn't have any problems. My "D' key didn't start squeaking until I banged on the board for quality testing.

In addition to my normal conclusion I would like to add a few suggestions to Cooler Master on how to make this a better product. First, I would like to see some flip-out legs added to this keyboard. Another suggestion is to use a different type of key mechanism, as the type used in this keyboard has proven to be a little weak. The type of mechanism Microsoft uses in its Multimedia keyboard is much more durable. Though this would make the keyboard slightly larger, I think the added durability would be worth it. Another small improvement would be the addition of a PS/2 adapter for the keyboard. Remember Cooler Master, more options are always better. My last suggestion is to make a larger version of this keyboard for those who like to use multimedia keys.

Pros

Looks great
Sturdy
Compact
Key pushes are quiet
Doesn't smudge

Cons

No legs
No wrist support
No PS/2 adapter
Violent typing may cause keys to squeak

Extra Images

*UPDATE* (12/07/03)

After I finished testing this keyboard I gave it to Brian so he could use it for his HTPC case he will be working on soon. It just sat around at his house for a few weeks, but when he finally used it, he noticed that the 'D' key had stopped squeaking. Did the key-squeak fairy come and fix it? Perhaps... All I know is it no longer squeaks.

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Add Comment

8 User Comments

1 - Posted by Guest on April 20, 2004 - 2:35 pm

I purchased the Cooler Master Keyboard about 2 weeks ago and was very pleased with the over-all appearance of the board. However, the reason I found this page is because I was looking for a way to get a few of the keys to stop squeaking. After long periods of use, a few of the keys start squeaking beginning with the'e' key and then adding the spacebar and backspace key to the mix. I have also taken the board apart trying to figure out what is causing the aggervating squeak but came up empty. I have found that after a night of rest for the board, the keys stop squeaking for a short period of time. I give this board a 6 out of 10 mainly because of the aggervation of having to listen to the squeak ever second or so. Other than that I'm pretty pleased with it. But the squeaky key mystery is still UNsolved.

2 - Posted by Brian on April 20, 2004 - 4:25 pm

Man, you must be more agressive with that thing than Kurtis was during his testing! I have used that board for a few months overall and never had any problems. If you find out what caused the problem, or how to fix it, feel free to let us know.

3 - Posted by Shamrock on August 10, 2004 - 1:26 pm

Anyone know how to program the hot keys please?

4 - Posted by Guest on August 12, 2004 - 1:00 pm

What hot keys? I don't think this keyboard has any.

5 - Posted by z5300 on December 24, 2004 - 8:38 am

I just recently bought this keyboard, and after general (non-agressive) use after a couple hours of Wolf ET, I was extremely pissed to find that the D key on my keyboard also started to squeak.

For anyone else lured into buying this keyboard, there is hope! After stuffing around for about an hour, trying all manner of testing to determine the cause, I believe I have found the cause/solution.

The sound seems to be caused by friction of the scissor mechanism (see below), though I have no idea why this only seems to affect the D key...go figure. In any case, what I did was to apply oil to the hinge and at least for now, this seems to have fixed the problem - abosultely no squeak from the key while I type this!

Step by step guide:

1) remove the key cap - this can be done by grasping the top and bottom of the key and pulling. Quite a bit of force is required, though be careful as the mechanism looks quite weak. The key is held by 4 clips, 2 at the top (latches), and 2 at the bottom (peg clips). The top ones are easier to unlatch first, so apply more pulling force to the top of the key. After the top 2 hinges are free, it should be easier to free the bottom two clips.

2) Once the keycap is off, you should see whitish plastic brackets and a black rubber cap in the middle. Remove the black rubber cap (it is not attached to anything). The white brackets are a scissor hinge mechanism, and it is the crossover joint between the two brackets that is causing the squeak. This is the bit that has to be lubricated.

3) To apply oil, I used a toothpick with one end dipped soaked in oil. The area where you should apply the oil is middle section where the two brackets are linked together. The easy way to identify this spot, is by push downwards (along the face of the keyboard) on the top of the top white bracket. This will cause the brackets to slide out like they do when the keycap is attached. Only a very small amount of oil is required - not even a drop. Once applied to this area, try to exercise the mechanism a bit so the oil is spread a bit.

4) Replace the rubber cap and then reattach the key cap (just press down until you hear the latches catch.

Hopefully this should fix the problem - congratulations on one non-squeaky key.

Merry Chrismas everyone!

6 - Posted by Kurtis on December 24, 2004 - 12:57 pm

Thanks for the information z5300. Have a Merry Christmas (and a Happy New Year) yourself! =)

7 - Posted by Guest on February 23, 2005 - 9:28 pm

Hi, here is my opinion about my cm keyboard, ..however i dont think is working so well with me... my keys hang nonstop, and got really weird hot keys feautures.. really annoying.. i cant explain this also..and the keys are not so responsive dont always work..
Try this: click on 4 keys at the same time to see what happens.. My they keyboard freezes, wont respond and worst of all, it keep on beeping the pc speaker non stop!.. another cons that wasnt stated here is: the very hugly CM logo and very hugly type font... it was the first thing i did was to take it out with a special product... very bad taste move, that logo!.. destroy the good intenion of a nice design..

regards.

8 - Posted by Heiko on May 6, 2007 - 4:00 pm

I bought the keyboard in 2003. Since then i use it without any flaws. It's a high quality keyboard and i love the flat keys. Btw: I am a Gentoo Linux user avoiding the use of a mouse as good as i can. You can imagine what high stress this means for a keyboard ;-)

I am thinking of buying another one just to keep it as spare in case it won't be sold anymore.

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