Performance
Mechanical keyboards are known the be noisier than membrane switch keyboards. MX Brown feature a tactile bump when pressed, which can result in the key bottoming out a little harder as it’s not a linear motion when typing. As a result of this, the Rapid-i is one of the noisier keyboards I’ve tested. This isn’t a bad thing, but something to take into consideration. The tactile bump and the clank of the keys is very satisfying if you’re the one typing, it may not be the same for the person sitting next to you.
One of the major selling points of this keyboard is the white LED lighting. There are five modes available, including a light trail style delay, breathing effect and gaming keys only.
The white interior of the keyboard glows nicely, giving a cool under-glow effect to each of the keys.
Gaming performance on the CM Storm Quickfire Rapid-i is exactly what you would expect from a high quality mechanical keyboard; it’s superb! Gaming, working, or wasting time on Reddit are all a joy on this keyboard. MX Brown switches are fast enough for rapid key strokes while gaming, but offer a nice amount of kickback to make typing long emails a pleasant experience. The keyboard doesn’t disappoint one bit and while I would prefer a model with the number pad in place, the TKL design does free up a lot of extra desktop space for your mouse. Having that extra mouse space is great for those who use low DPI settings.
The MX Brown switches are not my personal favourite, but combined with the soft touch rubber chassis, lightly textured key caps and the durable frame of the chassis; the typing sensation on the Rapid-i is fantastic. The only thing missing from this keyboard is an optional wrist rest, but that mostly boils down to my personal preference. The lighting effects are great for gaming in the dark, but at maximum brightness they’re clear enough to add extra flair to your desktop in the day time too.Having extra function like the multimedia controls on the FN-Shift key is a nice bonus, but it’s no compromise for dedicated multimedia keys, of course that would also mean compromising on the compact form factor.
