Cooler Master CM Storm Octane Multicolor LED Gaming Keyboard and Mouse Combo Bundle (SGB-3020-KKMF1-US)

I wish I had something negative to say about this set. Really, I do. It's a $50 gaming keyboard and mouse combo. Combo! There are membrane keyboards that cost almost twice that by themselves, ditto for mice! Thing is, I just don't have anything particularly negative to say about it.I'd love to complain that it's a membrane keyboard, and no membrane keyboard can ever be as enjoyable an experience as clacking away on a mechanical is, but I'd be lying. After almost a month using it, the buttons are quick, responsive, not mushy in the slightest, and the anti-ghosting is such that if I want to slam my head on the keyboard and roll my face around, like this:7rt65u8nj5e e 5 6e754e 745r6e 7hngujt654r 7uhjnu67483w65 4w8i6wIt will pick up every keystroke. And open the Windows menu, apparently. I must have forgotten to turn Windows lock on before mashing my face into its clackety goodness. Oh yeah, it has a Windows lock function.It's got a backlight! That lights up the keys themselves so the letters are visible at 3:00 AM in a dark room! With seven different colors! Here's where I'm going to complain. See, it doesn't have a way to pulse or "breathe" through those...wait, what's this? It seems that when I rolled my face around on the keyboard, I activated a pulsing feature that "breathes" through all seven colors. Well played, Cooler Master. Well played.The mouse, on the other hand, is way too jumpy. I mean, I could see how 3500 DPI would make sense for a 4k screen, but not a 1080p monitor. Unfortunately, CM won't let me complain there either. They included a friendly little button on the mouse that cycles it from 500 to 3,500 DPI, with four total settings. 3,500 DPI is like your mouse on crack, 500 is like your mouse on pot and its fourteenth bag of Doritos (admit it, you've been there), but 1,000 DPI on a 1080p screen is like your mouse around 11:00 AM after it's finished up its morning coffee. Go for 2,000 DPI if you're the Red Bull type.Side note, I have a new review policy for gaming mice from here on in: no DPI button? NO STARS."But...but...but...it's WIRED! Who uses WIRED keyboards and mice anymore?"Well, a few types of people. Gamers, for one. People who hate batteries, there's another big group. Also, people who hate it when they're working hard, in the groove and on a roll and their freaking. mouse. dies. again. Seriously, wireless peripherals are for chumps, am I right? I don't know about you, but I enjoy making my way through the jungle on my way to my desk in the morning.Oh, that reminds me: the enter key and \ key are the right size and in the right place for this to be a perfectly nice office keyboard, too. Not just a gaming keyboard that makes you scream when you try to use it for work and keep typing \ instead of starting a new line, or doingthis when you try to put a slash in there. It's a thoughtful touch, and very few entry-level gaming keyboards realize that the people buying them are probably people who would appreciate not having their ability to start a new paragraph compromised.So, yeah, like I said, I wish I had a negative review for you. $50 gaming keyboard/mouse combos HAVE to suck, right?! I mean, no one's going to mistake this for a high-end mechanical keyboard with four hundred macro keys, a finger massage function and a pulsating rainbow backlight bright enough to land planes on an aircraft carrier in a hurricane, but if you're an entry-level gamer, maybe someone who's just built their first PC and wants to swim before they attempt Houdini's escape, this is a combo that makes sense for you. If you're a gamer on a budget, this makes sense for you. If you just bought one of those $30 keyboard/mouse gaming combos only to realize two weeks in that the letters had rubbed off of half the keys and the thing was completely unusable, this is the restoration of faith you need in the entry-level peripherals market. Basically, if you want a good, solidly built gaming keyboard and mouse that will do the job (and then some) at a fraction of what higher-end peripherals cost, this is what you need. It truly is a thing of beauty.Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to roll my face around on the keyboard some more to get this breathing effect to stop. I was my solid red backlight back. No red backlight? NO STARS!Also, one last thing, I bought this with my own money. I paid for every penny of it, in fact, with my own money. I was pleasantly surprised when two-day shipping was covered at no expense. Apparently I'm a "Prime" customer, and Amazon does that for Prime customers. I like that: "Prime customer." It's catchy. Has an, "I'm kind of a big deal," ring to it.Seriously, buy this keyboard. It's that good.

I bought this because I tend to play games in dim light and with my previous keyboard I could never see the keys I needed to hit. While the backlight isn’t all that bright it’s better than nothing which is what I had before. I didn’t need all the different colors – I use the blueish/white setting which seems to put out the brightest light (at least in my opinion). It wasn’t until after I bought this keyboard that my daughter told me there are keyboards out there that light up the keys that apply to the particular game you’re playing – had I known that, I definitely would have purchased one of those keyboards instead – oh well. Anyway, the feel of the keys is fine – but I actually preferred the key strokes on my old keyboard better – but not so much that I’ll go back to it because having the back light really does help, even though it’s not that bright. I don’t use any of the keys above the function keys because they’re too far away and not visible to me which makes them useless (for me anyway). I rarely use the mouse because I put it on another system which I normally remote control from my main system – which means I use this keyboard and my Logitech gaming mouse instead. So I can’t really comment on the mouse other than it doesn’t have nearly as many buttons as I have on my Logitech mouse and my Logitech mouse lets me program the buttons for each different game. Not sure if that is available for this mouse. Lost one star because it the back light is dimmer than I had hoped. Also because they keys are just okay and not great. Also because the keys are further apart than my other keyboard so obviously the reach is more than it really needs to be. Other than that, it seems to be well built, the back light does help, and the key click/feel is okay. The mouse seems to be okay though I don’t really use it much. Not sure if it was worth the price. I would have preferred the type of keyboard that lights up the keys associated with the particular game I’m playing.

Comparison of:Coolermaster CM storm octaneLogitech GS510Razer deathstalker expertFirstly the main reason I bought this keyboard is for the colored lights. I game some but I don't need programmable keys. I just want a good quality backlit keyboard with LED lights.There are hundreds of keyboards out there, with and without lights. I can find plenty of standard keyboards that are inexpensive and made well. BUT when you want a keyboard with lights seems like most of them are junk until you spend $50 and up. I already purchased and returned Logitech GS510, nice features but LED was dim unless you turned the lights way down.Now the CM storm, it is much brighter than the Logitech, but still not as bright as I would like. It is however adequate, one can read the text in a typical room. If it is daylight and drapes are open it becomes harder to read the text on the keys. I do like that it has seven colors and I like the mouse that also has seven colors. The brightest color for ease of reading is green, next is aqua, then lime green.For nearly the same price as the CM storm, one can get the Razer deathstalker expert which comes in green. It has programmable keys too. So if you like green and you want a better keyboard I would suggest the Razer deathstalker expert. If you want the option of other colors that are not all that bright I would go with the CM storm. My last choice would be the Logitech GS510 as it was the most difficult to read in typical room lighting.If you game in a room that is completely dark than any of the keyboards will be fine.