Cooler Master sent this over,
not because they're expecting me to review it.
I specifically told them I wasn't going to.
We don't really do keyboard reviews anymore,
but because they just really wanted me to try it.
Well, I mean, it's a cheap keyboard mouse gaming combo set.
These are kind of a dime a dozen these days.
What are you really expecting?
And they were like, no.
This is a direct quote from Cooler Master's marketing.
We created a keyboard that mirrors
the highly popular mechanical Cherry MX Blue switches,
and we made it affordable while maintaining functionality.
We successfully pulled this off
with the satisfying clicky feature
on our new Mem-chanical switches.
But could a membrane keyboard really replicate
the feel of a mechanical one?
Let's find out on this episode of Manufacturer's Say.
Brought to you by Thermaltake.
Thermaltake's View 36,
27 mid-tower case can support up to an E-ATX motherboard
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So you're definitely blind.
Follow the sound of my voice.
Boop, boop, boop, left, left, left a little bit.
Boop, boop, boop, boop.
Watch your head.
Towards me, towards me, towards me.
There we go.
Okay, step, step high.
I mean, you're stepping over a cord,
so it's a little overkill, but.
Now, I'm gonna form my own impression,
and I've worked a lot with a lot of people
who've been trying to perfect their work.
I've been getting submissions here.
But, I wanted to bring in someone
who's an even bigger keyboard dork than me
to evaluate this.
So, I think I've run you through the premise.
Someone has created a keyboard that they claim
at least closely imitates the feel of a Cherry MX Blue.
Okay.
Now, as a warmup,
I'm gonna put something random in front of you.
There's your home row there, buddy.
Somewhere.
Browns?
Close enough.
Technically it is a razor orange.
Oh, okay, yeah, yeah.
But yes, essentially, yeah.
Okay, good.
How do we make this random enough?
Hold on, I'd like to read you some more
of the marketing first, if I can.
Is that okay?
You good?
I'm fine.
Okay, you having fun yet?
It's just very face sweaty
because there's nowhere for my breath to go.
Oh, that sounds very unpleasant.
I'm glad I'm not experiencing it.
Satisfying clicky feature, great price,
full RGB and free mouse.
So with a mouse, with a full RGB backlight,
this thing is like 75 US dollars.
Okay.
50 million key stroke durability.
So they claim there is no compromise there.
Specially designed tactile and clicky switches,
similar to those found on professional level
mechanical keyboards.
It's fine-tuned to help you win all your battles.
Oh, okay.
You can win all your battles.
I would like to see, like they should have to prove that.
That you can win.
Like increases your win rate.
So I'll tell you how they do it later,
but let's get you to try one of them.
So don't take your fingers off the home row.
I will consider that to be cheating.
Oh, okay.
Okay.
Why?
I don't know any of these things.
What I'm gonna do is I'm gonna have Brandon pick
which keyboard I am going to put in front of him.
Okay.
Okay, don't touch it yet.
Don't touch it yet.
Okay, hold on.
Don't touch it yet.
I didn't.
Here's your right hand is going straight to the J.
All right.
Can I find it myself?
Is that okay?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
You can do the other hand yourself.
I think you should probably start by typing.
Oh, but I can't go off home row.
Oh yeah, you can go off home row.
So don't take your fingers off the home row.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
You can do whatever you want.
I don't think I need.
I wonder if he's gonna get this.
I don't think I need to try the other one.
I'm pretty sure this is the imitation one.
All right, well, hold on a second.
Let's get you to try the other one
because I want you to have a chance to retract
that statement in case it comes to that.
Okay.
If that was Cherry MX Blue,
the feel has changed a lot over the past few years.
My keyboard is relatively old,
but it doesn't feel like that.
I can tell you that much.
Okay.
All right.
Here you go.
There you go.
Go for it.
Yeah.
This is a joke.
Okay, you can take off the mask now.
Okay.
I pressed it once.
Okay, shut up.
Hold on.
I haven't tried it yet.
Is it the other way around?
Did I get it wrong?
Hold on, hold on.
I would like to have an opportunity
to evaluate this for myself.
Can you tell already?
I mean, I was mashing it,
so I'm not gonna.
Oh.
It's like every single,
it's relatively okay.
And then you start to get anywhere close to bottoming out
and you're like, what is that?
It's stiff.
It feels like, it feels like in between a blue and a green
in terms of the weight.
In terms of the, yeah, yeah.
Cause it's like a.
And it's inconsistent a little bit.
Yeah. Towards the end.
It's like, I mean, that wouldn't even be an O-ring.
That would be like a memory foam ring.
That's what, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Oh man.
You can probably even see the difference in pressure.
I like it's quite a bit heavier towards the end.
The selling point here is that they've done
this mechanical feel, but without rubber domes,
but it's still a membrane keyboard
would have blown my mind a little while ago.
But recently we did a video on the history of the Model M
and I found out that there are actually Model M's
that do use membranes,
but with a mechanical key switch.
Like it feels, it feels like a toy.
Okay.
There's some other issues here too.
Now to be clear,
this is also a Cooler Master keyboard right here.
This is just a Cherry MX Blue.
So you see that key cap wobble.
There's always going to be a little bit.
You never get away from that.
Now have a look at this.
That's a ton.
This is among the most I have ever seen.
Yeah.
So hold on a second though.
Hey, free mouse though.
In fairness to Cooler Master.
Yeah.
Those are nice switches.
I think those are Omrons actually.
That does feel nice.
I would want a game on this though.
No, I don't like it.
I would rather have a good membrane keyboard than that.
Like original G15, I would put that way above there.
Again, I feel like I'm being possibly too inflammatory,
but that feels like it's trying to be something that it's not.
And that makes it feel weird.
Cause the click feels kind of fake.
The bottom out is weird and squishy the whole time.
I was really hoping there was going to be
a lot more suspense.
I should have probably tried this before I got you to try it.
I was so worried when I had the mask on,
when you put it in front of me,
I was like, I might've lost my touch.
And then the first one I was like, wow,
this better not be it.
Cause if it is, Cherry's quality has gone way down.
And then you hand him the other keyboard and it's, yeah.
Short video?
I think it is.
All right, go ahead and cut.
Well, thanks for coming in and helping me go straight savage
and take this thing apart.
Yeah, no problem.
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So thanks for coming in and helping.
I'm really sorry that that was somewhat anticlimactic.
I almost always deliver a climax.
Thanks for watching guys.
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