I'd give this keyboard a 4.5/5 (so it gets 5 stars on amazon cause I'll be nice and round-up). I'll give you a bit of a background of what I wanted, why I like this keyboard and what I don't like. I'm generally a technology connoisseur so I'll give get into the nitty geeky gritty details here. And this is gonna be technical. So if you're not a true nerd then stop reading.

I'm a programmer by trade and spend upwards of 11+ hours a day on a computer (I know, I know). I've only recently been getting into this whole mechanical keyboard trend. Mechanical keyboards are interesting. On one hand you have the popular cherrycorp based switches and the other hand you have the less popular, yet controversial topre keyboards. They're controversial because they have die-hard fans that swear that they're "better" than cherry based keyboards.

I couldn't make up my mind as to what keyboard to get (cherry vs topre). So I got both. On the cherry side, a Filco majestouch-2 tenkeyless (cherry mx brown-based switch) and this keyboard (a topre based switch). So I'll draw alot of comparisons between the two here. Because I think that's what people are trying to decide between a cherry based switch vs a topre based switch.

First off, I want to say that tenkeyless keyboards are the future. Numpad keyboards are not even on my radar anymore. They take too much space and it makes it so much harder to use the mouse and the keyboard at the same time. So props to CM for choosing to only do tenkeyless on this. When I was searching for a keyboard it made my search that much easier. As far as topre keyboards go. This is a good introductory keyboard to that switch I think. I realize there are "better" topre keyboards out there (leopold fc660c, topre realforce 87u, topre heaven touch, hhkb, etc). But this keyboard was an easy choice for me over those because: a. it's tenkeyless - leopold, hhkb are small keyboards that don't have the keys that I am looking for. Namely arrow keys and pageup/pagedown/home/end which I use religiously as a programmer and can't under any circumstances have a "function" key to use alongside of them. So really the only other topre keyboard option I had was the realforce 87u. However, this keyboard, the novatouch, won over that because: a. it's $100 dollars less and more importantly b. I want to customize the hell out of this keyboard. That's right. I want to blank out all the keys, throw in colors, throw in a star, throw in a punisher logo, just pimp it out basically.. The fact that this keyboard had cherry based keycaps was what made me get it. Topre has nowhere near the options of customizing as cherry keycaps have. So there you go, this was the only topre switch for me. Although yes, I realize there are "better" feels out there. I read a review that said that as a topre switch, this keyboard feels about 10-15% as good as the realforce does, but I'm fine with that, as long as I can customize it.

Now as far comparing it to a cherry based keyboard, that was the tougher decision for me. I hadn't felt either of these keyboards firsthand so I really couldn't do anything but buy them both. And that's fine, I'll use one for home and one for work. I haven't decided which one for home and which one for work yet. Again, this is comparison to a cherry mx brown filco that I have. Both are tenkeyless. So I know you're asking me which one is better right? I don't have an answer yet. I'll give you my thoughts:

1. The keys feel strong on this keyboard. I can't explain it. They feel like I'm typing on wooden blocks or something. It's a very different experience from anything I've typed on before. What I like about it though, is they feel luxurious. One review I read said that topre vs cherrys are kind of like bmws vs honda civics and I tend to agree with that... like, I'd liken the touch of this keyboard to the sound you get when you shut a bmw door, the sound is like low-toned "thud" vs the sound you'd get when you close a honda door more of like a high pitched "whack". So again, that's what I like about this keyboard. It feels luxurious when I type on it. This is in contrast to the "clickity-clack" you get when typing on a cherry mx-brown. Also even though they are 45g force, they seem to feel a bit tougher to key down than the 45g cherry mx-browns which feel almost lose when I type on. But again this adds to their luxurious feeling, so I kind of like that they're a bit tougher to click on.
2. it's true that these keys bottom out a bit more than cherries. When I type on them it feels like my keys are bottoming out alot more. And as I mentioned before, it seems harder to type on these. So therefore the cherries lend themselves more towards speed than these. So if you're a speed racer I'd probably recommend cherries moreso than these. From initial tests that I made on tenfastfingers and typeracer, it feels like the cherries are just a faster keyboard to type on.
3. the sound of the keys: I think that the cherry switches, due to their higher pitched "clickity-clack" sound alot louder than the novatouch keyboard. Maybe not in decibels, but because it's a higher tone is just sounds "louder". So I think it'd make more sense to use a topre keyboard in an office setting than a cherry one (especially if you go for either cherry browns/blues).
4. Another thing I like about this keyboard is the weight of it. It feels heavy. Like when you take it out of the box. It's like you're dealing with a high-end product. And everything about it, the box, the instructions, everything reeks of high quality. At first I was scared I'd get a flimsy keyboard, but this definitely "feels" solid and high quality, the keys feel high quality too, even though they are made of abs.
5. Here are the things I don't really like about this keyboard (which took a 0.5 point off). First I don't like that there's a micro usb cable to the keyboard. It just seems like it could be a potential point of failure in the future. I'd much rather have a keyboard that had a dedicated connection in the back of it. Moving it around now on my desk, I just get worried if the connection destabilizes, or that if I keep unplugging/replugging the thing won't work eventually, etc. Another thing is that clicking on the spacebar is much louder than the other keys. It works fine but It just sounds more like a "thwat!" than a "thud", which I guess is understandable given how much bigger it is. This is not a big deal though and I may muffle it with the supplied o-rings.

All in all though, it's a great keyboard. I think it's more for the person who wants the feel of "luxury" over fast keys. And wants a more muffled "thud" sound over the clickety-clack of competitors. And just wants a "heavier" type of experience than the bright airy cherry mx's. And if you're comparing it to other topres then for me what was most important was that it's more customizable than others. As far as cherry vs topre. I think they're equal in value. cherry's more of a speed feeling and topre is more of a luxury/comfort feel. personally, I think I could use both.

This is a really nice keyboard. I'm a Mac user and a PC user, and if you want to use this keyboard on a Mac you will need Karabiner and you'll want to swap Windows and Alt in the OS X Keyboard prefs because there are NO DIP switches whatsoever on this board. There are also NO LED's whatsoever - no light for caps lock to be found.

What's really nice is the capacitive switches. They are smooth as silk and feel great to type on. The sound is pleasant, albeit loud, sort of like a galloping horse sound effect, but as I said, I do find it enjoyable to listen to, more enjoyable in fact than the "clicky" types of Cherry switches like greens and blues. But this review is about the keyboard, the whole package... If Topre is or is not for you, that's for you to decide; but what about the package that CoolerMaster has given us here?

The keyboard comes in a very nice box and includes rubber O-rings. Many people think these are to silence the keys, and that is, in fact, what they will do on Cherry switches. But if you take a look how they fit on the keys and how the stem fits into the keycap, they don't really seem to do much of anything for you on this board. I tried them, and it doesn't do anything like what o-rings do on Cherry switches at all.

Another reviewer commented that the connector for the cable isn't good. I would say it's better than most I've seen. Some of the "other" keyboards have the jack soldered directly to a PCB and every time you plug in and remove the cord, you flex it a little. That's going to break sooner or later. From the internals pictures I've seen of the CM, they actually have it reinforced pretty nicely. It seems well-designed... Although I would agree, I would prefer it were attached underneath and routable left or right.

Now for the real negatives... I'm writing this from the standpoint of someone who types a lot for a living... Coders, writers, etc. who want something "more" than the garbage rubber-dome keyboard you've been given.

Unless you're a gamer, the Fn layer on this keyboard is kind of dumb. I don't need hotkeys to disable the Windows key or 8x repeat. I'd rather have a real Menu key I could remap to something. As it is, I can't even disable the built-in FN key except by putting a blocker under it, which is a good idea, because the included keycaps are destined for the dustbin and you'll forget that Fn + F9 turns off the Windows key in short time, since you'll probably never use that feature. I should mention that it's easy to unplug the keyboard and plug it back in, which resets those functions to the default setting.

The lack of a light for Caps Lock is also a negative, but not a huge one. Actually I use the Caps Lock key as an additional Control key anyway, but you might want one. The stock key caps, also a negative - although the whole point of this is to have Topre switches where you can actually find aftermarket keycaps for them. But one would think that for this price, they could include something reasonably good. The dirty white on black thin ABS keys do not do this thing justice, and make the keystrokes sound thin and hollow. I've already installed some thick PBT keycaps and it's really a great keyboard to type on with that addition (but that bumps the total investment by $50...)

So to summarize, the only real negatives for me on this board are the lack of any sort of way to customize the Fn layer (WASD v2 for example, can use internal Fn layer or give you a PC Menu key) or any kind of Mac-compatibility mode (WASD and KUL both offer this) and that the Fn layer included is, well, geared more towards gamers than people who want to use a keyboard for typing. Then again, it's Cooler Master, so I'm not sure we should expect any different.

Bottom line: If you are a PC user looking for a great keyboard to type on, for roughly $25 more you can buy an honest to goodness Realforce 87u that comes with PBT keycaps stock. I'd have a hard time steering you away from that, if custom keycaps weren't really a selling point for you. In other words, if you just want a great keyboard for typing, that you can take out of the box and use as-is, I'm not sure this is the best value. If on the other hand, you're a gamer who wants a customizable board with Cherry-compatible stems, this is pretty much your only choice, and it's not a bad only choice to have at all.

I own a lot of keyboards with a lot of different switch types, and having tried Topre switches for the first time with this keyboard, I've decided this may be my endgame.

Compared to Cherry MX Browns, these switches have much more bounce back. Compared to Cherry MX Clears, they're much easier to use for extended periods without getting worn out. Compared to White Alps, these switches have a lot of bounce back without all the noise. And compared to Cherry MX Reds and Blacks, these switches are easy to hammer on without making a racket from bottoming out the keys.

The only change that I've made to this keyboard is that I have used the included o-rings to dampen the key presses, and I've decided to use a set of Vortex double shot PBT keycaps in the place of the ABS keycaps included. This has made for a board which is replacing my Poker II with Cherry MX brown switches.

If you like Cherry MX Clears or Browns, I'd highly recommend this keyboard (with the addition of better keycaps).