Item Under Review: CM Storm Devastator - LED Gaming Keyboard and Mouse Combo Bundle (Red Edition)
TL;DR: Need a backlight keyboard with ANSI standard QWERTY layout and don't use programs like MS Excel that require Scroll Lock to be OFF for normal operation, for a reasonable price with a free mouse included? If yes, then buy it.
Use case: In a typically dark office/den, with occasional sunlight during the middle of the day. Application for use are CAD/productivity, programming and occasional movie watching. USB interface to plug into any modern computer.
--Keyboard--
I will be comparing this keyboard to several other keyboards, most notably my previous keyboard, the Zalman 114 Keys Multimedia Ergonomic Laser Carved USB Keyboard (ZM-K200M), with occasional references to the Logitech Corded Keyboard M/N: Y-BH52 (my favorite keyboard, if only it had a USB interface), a wireless Logitech keyboard from circa 2007 (the model number wore off long ago) and an old IBM keyboard, and several stock keyboards that ship with OEM computers.
Pros:
- Proper ANSI keyboard layout - all of the 105 typical keys on a keyboard are the correct shape and size and in the correct position, unlike the keyboard on my laptop (expected because it is a laptop) and prior keyboard (which seemed to use the key shapes from an east Asian or Indian keyboard, and just put the English letters and symbols on the keys). This is actually a big deal for me because I do a decent amount of programming, and like my keys in certain positions.
- The keys are backlight as well as the spaces between the keys, so you know where the key actually are in the dark. See Cons.
- Red back lighting on a black keyboard looks cool. Ever since the advent of the cheap blue LED the blue LED has been used way too much, especially in the computer world. There was no way I was going to purchase a keyboard with a blue backlight; luckily they had red.
- Keys have a rubberized grip coating which is awesome. I wish this type of coating was used more often in electronics. See Cons.
- Media keys - Unlike typical cheap keyboards, it actually has media keys that get used, save one (see cons). The keys are Stop, Play/Pause, Skip Back, Skip Forward, volume- and volume+. The media keys are also located at the top of the keyboard. There are none of the useless home, email, favorites, music, bla bla bla keys that never get used. There are only two keyboards that I've owned that did media keys better, albeit much better, and scores of keyboards that did them marginally worse to atrocious.
- Keyboard is hefty and has rubber grips on the bottom, preventing it from sliding around during normal use (especially in comparison to my previous keyboard).
- Backlight is visible in the daytime, while not being excessively bright at night.
- 1.5 score dollars for a backlight keyboard is a pretty good deal in my book, especially when a mouse in thrown in as well.
- Lettering is in the middle of the keys instead of offset to the upper or lower left corners of the keys.
- The keys feel much crisper than my previous keyboard, although feel has never been a major deal for me.
- The keys are not the "low profile", or laptop style junk that has been popular on the market recently. If I wanted to use said "low profile" junk, I'd just use my laptop's built in keyboard.
Cons:
- Backlight is turned ON anytime Scroll Lock is ON, and OFF anytime Scroll Lock is OFF. Normally this is not a problem, but I regularly use MS Office, especially Excel, where the scroll lock changes how the arrow keys function. This is a huge problem for me and the main component of why this got a 4 star rating (bordering on 3 stars including the stuff below). How they should have implemented the backlight control from most ideal to the solution they chose: Ideally the backlight would have its own separate on/off key, or it should be ON all the time, or if they still want to chain it to Scroll Lock, it should be when Scroll Lock is OFF the backlight is ON. Instead they chose to turn it ON when Scroll lock was ON. I chatted with Cooler Master support rep and his "fix" to the problem was to point me to a more expensive product of theirs that has the separate ON/OFF key... Thanks. Apparently this is outside of firmware control as it is built into the hardware of the keyboard. Luckily I am an electrical engineer and have never had to use the warranty on a keyboard before, so I might try to fix this silly "hardware" issue.
- Keys are difficult to read when the backlight is OFF. Combining this with the above problem is what makes Excel difficult to use with this keyboard.
- Backlight brightness consistency is pretty bad, especially when looking at the keyboard from an angle other than directly overhead. The middle is obviously brighter than the outsides, the lettering on the keys is dimmer than spaces between the keys, and finally there are significant inconsistencies inside the lighting of each key when viewed at an angle. Not a major deal though.
- Missing a mute key to compliment the volume up and volume down keys. I would also welcome a sleep key.
- Font used for letters and symbols should never be used on a keyboard. It is apparent that it was chosen to look "cool", but to me, for the reasons that follow, it looks stupid. For the lettered keys, the font is short and wide, the "A" is a triangle with a chunk taken out of the base, the "B" is a box with a line cutting horizontally across it, and viewing the keyboard at an angle consistent with a normal typing position only makes the letters shorter, and less readable. On all the other keys, the font size, line width, and placement on the keys are all variable. For example, the "," (comma) looks like an italicized "." (period), the "?" is over twice as tall as the ":" or the ";", the line width of the "\" and "|" is 1/3 that of the key right next to it, "]" and "}", and on the same brackets key I was just talking about, the symbols are offset diagonally from each other, instead of on top of each other. The list of consistency/readability flaws with the font on this keyboard just keeps going on and I assume you have eyes to look at the pictures yourself. It's not a huge deal, but it detracts from fit and finish of the keyboard.
- The rubberized grip coating on the space bar is missing a few spots on the edge of the space bar. I am also concerned about how long the rubberized coating will last, because other products that I have had with a similar coating, the coating wore off after a couple years of use.
- The media keys are not at the same height as the rest of the keys and, at the angle I sit at, are almost hidden behind the function keys.
- There are stupid glossy sections on the keyboard that attract fingerprints and reflect the LCD light annoyingly into the corner of my eyes.
- The tabs on the bottom of the keyboard do not change the inclination angle much at all, but then again, the only keyboard I've ever owned that did a great job with that is so old, that it predated the ps/2 interface connector.
Other thoughts:
I bought this combo specifically for the keyboard, and the mouse is just a freebie to me.
--Mouse--
I will be comparing this mouse to my favorite mouse, the Logitech G500 Programmable Gaming Mouse.
Pros:
- Coated in the same rubberized grip coating as the keys from the keyboard.
- Can switch DPI settings between 1000dpi, 1600dpi, and 2000dpi.
- Works well out of the box.
- The cord is more flexible than the G500's cord, but that might be because wires have a tendency to get stiffer over time, and my G500 is several years old at this point. And to add to the irony, the keyboard's cord is the most flexible of the three...
Cons:
- I am not a fan of the flattened mouse, so I think the G500 is more comfortable.
- It is hard to tell the difference between the top plastic piece overhang and the forward and back buttons on the side of the mouse.
- The DPI button is difficult to push without lifting your hand off the mouse
- The center wheel has no side scroll (or even quick scroll) functions like the G500
Other thoughts:
Not bad, considering I was comparing it to a mouse that on sale cost me more than this keyboard and mouse combo. It is a fine addition to the box of mice to use for miscellaneous tasks.
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CM boasts "tactile" feel but this is nothing like a mechanical keyboard
Reviewed in the United States on June 14, 2015
The CM Devastator combo is a decent peripheral combination for the price. At $29.99 you get a back lit membrane keyboard and 2000 DPI LED lit mouse in blue, red or green.The Keyboard:As membrane keyboards go, this one is a much higher quality than most. Although the box does not post numbers, most membrane keyboards are rated at around 5 million key presses. The keyboard itself is a grainy matte finish with shiny accents around the sides of the keyboard that are a huge fingerprint magnet. A CM Storm logo sits beneath the num,caps and scr lock indicators. The key caps are laser-etched to show the lighting from within the keys, and have a very pleasing smooth rubber coating to them. CM boasts "tactile" feel but this is nothing like a mechanical keyboard. There is a "bump" before the key bottoms out, but it feels more resistant to your presses, but being a membrane requires you to bottom out. Some have compared the feel almost to a Cherry MX Brown but I would disagree. As far as membranes go, this is one of the best feeling out there. The blue lighting is even across all keys, and the back plate is white to help disperse the lighting. The num, caps and scr lock indicators also match the back lighting, and oddly CM requires the scr lock button to be pushed to have the LED's light up. There are no lighting modes nor brightness settings, which is a shame. With the lighting off, the keys are difficult to see in dark lighting so it is usually necessary to keep the back light on all the time. The keyboard has media keys across the top in the form of stop, play/pause, rewind and fast forward on the left and volume up and volume down on the right. The inclusion of the media keys is very welcome. Because of the thick bezel around the whole keyboard, it is difficult to use a wrist rest and the sloping area beneath the keyboard is not extensive enough to use as the wrist rest. Using typerracer.com, I averaged a best of about 79 WPM with a 1% error rate, but using a mechanical for as long as I have it took some getting used to because of it's membrane build. Using the Microsoft Ghosting tool, the keyboard could barely squeeze our 6KRO, but not for close keys. The lack of a Windows key lockout on the keyboard is a sore omission to a gaming keyboard. It all wraps up to a flimsy feeling rubber mouse cord going to a silver USB plug. The plug does not have any indications as to what it is, so finding the plug on the back of your PC may require following the cord. The bottom also has 4 well placed rubber feet, but the elevation tabs are not rubberized. This keyboard is also plug-and-play, no software even available.The Mouse:The mouse has a very similar build quality to the keyboard, being covered in the same pleasing smooth matte finish as the key caps. The side of the mouse has a rubber area towards the front of the mouse on the left and right for grip, and has forward/back buttons on the left, and the DPI selector right below the scroll wheel. Despite only being on the left, the mouse is uniform on both sides so a left hander should be able to use with no problem as long as that individual doesn't need the forward/back buttons. The mouse will have the same color LED's as the keyboard when you purchase, and illuminates the front of the mouse with sort of "headlights" under the left and right buttons, the left and right of the scroll wheel, the DPI selector and some "veins" right below that selector. Overall it is very tastefully done and isn't too "gamey" looking. Sadly you cannot turn off the lighting like the keyboard, and the mouse stayed lit up even when the PC was powered down. On the bottom are 4 very small mouse skates, but provided smooth tracking. CM does not indicate what type of sensor is used, nor the switch type for the buttons, but the presses were positive and had a nice sound. The 3 DPI settings are indicated by the lighting of the DPI selector. Off means 1000 DPI, dim lighting is 1600 DPI, and bright lighting is 2000 DPI. 1000 was a little too slow for me but strangely I could barely tell the difference between 1600 and 2000. There is obvious acceleration going on in the mouse. I usually kept it at 2000, but I experienced no tracking issues while playing some FPS's and RTS's. The scroll wheel itself is rather spongy when scrolling but the steps were noticeable. There is no optional weights to the mouse, and it was on the light side. The mouse has a similar rubber cord going to a silver USB, also not labeled.Overall, this is a solid combo, and is a decent product for basic gaming and PC use. The back lighting looks good the tactile key presses feel much better than a regular membrane keyboard. The mouse is decent for gaming and looks great with the lighting.Pros:Feels much better than most membrane keyboards; good looks and good back lighting; media keys; nice finish on mouse and key caps; 3 mouse DPI settings; awesome price; 3 available back light colors.Cons: Keyboard is hard to see with lights off; lighting is either on or off with keyboard; can't turn mouse lighting off, even when powered down; DPI settings are difficult to tell apart at the 2 highest settings.
Reviewed in the United States on June 14, 2015
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