The CMStorm Devastator Keyboard and Mouse –
The first thing I noticed about the Devastator keyboard and mouse was how light they were. These were certainly not in the same class as their mechanical keyboards or their stand-alone gaming mice. However I decided to reserve judgment until I had the change to try them out and see if that weight would be a factor in performance.

Getting back to the actual overview of the keyboard, the Devastator is a membrane style keyboard (no cherry switches here) that also features full back lighting. According to Cooler Master’s marketing team the membrane used is more advanced than the typical one so you get a cleaner feel and response. This is something that we are certainly going to test when the time comes to see if there is any truth to the claim.

You have your standard QWERTY and Function keys along with the 10-Key number pad all in a very angular base. At the top of the keyboard we find several media keys that control a media player and volume.  Oddly enough these keys (well really all the keys) are very difficult to read unless the back light is on. For most people this will not be an issue, but it might be for anyone that does not want the light on all the time.

Keeping our eyes on the top of the keyboard we notice something else. The USB cable is hardwired. The connection looks very robust, but in this market removable is almost always going to be better. The cable is not cloth braided either. It is simply the traditional PVC covered USB cable which is not a bad thing just not what we have come to expect. Granted the Devastator is intended as a value product so some of this is very understandable.

Flipping the keyboard over, we find smaller than expected pads on the bottom. These are also at an angle. This would seem to me the keyboard more likely to slide front to back than using horizontal pads.

Moving on to the Devastator mouse we again find a surprisingly light product. Most of the gamers we know (myself included) like a heavier mouse. This generally gives you more control as the mouse does not slide too easily over your mousing surface. The Teflon pads on the bottom are also smaller than your average gaming mouse which could indicate less than smooth operation.

Even with this though the design of the Devastator mouse is clean and comfortable. The long left and right buttons allow your fingers to rest on them easily and the side “pads” add an additional level of comfort if you tend to steer with your fingers and not your palm.

Other than the large and friendly buttons there is a wider than normal scroll wheel on the top that has a smooth action. Right behind this is a button that changes the DPI on the laser between 1000, 1600 and 2000 DPI. Like the keyboard the mouse has a standard PVC covered cable.

The Devastator comes in a few different colors with the mouse and the keyboard matching each other. The color we received was the traditional red, but you can also get it in blue.

The overall feeling of this combo is that they are light and not too stable, we hope that is not the case when I put them to the test with some real gaming and work.