First, you will need a manual to do anything – it’s not intuitive as to how to set up macros or configure per-key lighting. There are a couple of downsides to consider, of course, but their impact is really up to the user. Any changes you want to make can be done there and then, without faffing around with software to do it. It also means you don’t need to go looking for drivers when setting up a new system because it’s just pure plug and play.
The big advantage is that all preferences are stored in hardware the keyboard can be transferred from system to system, and you don’t need to wait to upload changes. So when a product like the XTi comes along, that can provide most of the important features in pure hardware, it can be quite refreshing to see. Super flashy graphics that’ll make you blind, more buttons and sliders than you know what to do with, the horrendous installers, firmware updates that fail for no reason, crashing drivers that disable all the extra functionality… and on and on. I can honestly say that, for the most part, software does a good job of breaking most decent products – it really can be atrocious stuff sometimes. When it comes to peripherals, gaming or otherwise, it’s the software that really makes or breaks a good product. Now, this can be seen as both good and bad, but this is one of the key issues you’ll need to weigh up before you purchase. This keyboard, from backlight control, to macro recording and profile switching, is 100% hardware driven and configured. It might come as a bit of a surprise… but there is absolutely no software. The Quick Fire XTi becomes a little bit strange from here on out, especially if you are familiar with a lot of other gaming keyboards.
The keys use the same cross-point system found on most mechanical keyboards these days. There is a branded Cooler Master key cap and key puller included with the accessories, so you can swap out any of the keys if you wish.
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