A Tale of Two Switches: The Cooler Master NovaTouch

[Zoide]

If I do say so myself, the effect of the silencing rings on the Novatouch is amazing. The before and after impression is probably more noticeable on the NT than other Topre-switch keyboards, because the native NT is really in need of some silencing. With the addition of the rings, the NT seems more like a genuine Topre board.

Are your silencing rings still available somewhere?

If so, would you say it's still worth it to buy a Novatouch (~$150 new, ~$120 used), or is it better to save up for another Topre? Or to get something different altogether such as a KBP V60/V80 with Matias Quiet Clicks?

Thanks

[Thumper]

If I do say so myself, the effect of the silencing rings on the Novatouch is amazing. The before and after impression is probably more noticeable on the NT than other Topre-switch keyboards, because the native NT is really in need of some silencing. With the addition of the rings, the NT seems more like a genuine Topre board.

Are your silencing rings still available somewhere?

If so, would you say it's still worth it to buy a Novatouch (~$150 new, ~$120 used), or is it better to save up for another Topre? Or to get something different altogether such as a KBP V60/V80 with Matias Quiet Clicks?

Thanks

I had a nova touch and now a HHKB pro 2. The novatouch is as it's a nice board but no comparison to the hhkb. I would suggest you to go for another board, unless you want the MX stems.

[Hypersphere]

@Zoide: The last set of Silencing Rings from the current batch sold yesterday. We are in the process of producing another batch; some of the material is on back-order. As soon as the new batch is ready, the listings on eBay will be renewed.

[derzemel]

thank you @Muirium for the great LED pictures. I also added a CapsLock led on mine. I have used an 821 SMD resistor (820 Ohm) and a very bright 1.8mm LED (with a spacer).

Some images now:

Spoiler:

[TuxKey]

i enjoy typing on mechanical keyboards reading about them en watching reviews / tear downs and so forth.
For a while now i noticed that i was becoming a keyboard snob / purist things needed to be just right for me to even consider a keyboard worthy of my time and hard earned cash.
This was also the case with switch type.. at the top of my short list was mx-clears and Topre 45g (FC660C).
Always on the lookout for entertaining Youtube channels i have the same level of quality control when it comes
to reviewers talking about keyboards..

My list of channels i like to watch when it comes to keyboards is short.
- LiquidEvilGaming
- RhinoFeed
- iluvbeanz
- Chyrosran22
- frankzotynia10

a while back i was talking to “LiquidEvilGaming” and he mentioned that he rather liked Gateron Switches and that they
where smoother and less scratchy than the mx switches...That kind of surprised me.

is Cherry starting to drop the ball? i noticed that really new things don’t come out that ofton..
lots of manufactures just duplicate the same stuff over and over again..
Perhaps i wil need to reconsider my Cherry mx rule and go with some other name like Gateron

With new i don’t mean the look of a keyboard..but in switch feel.
My dream switch would be somewhere in the middel of brown and clears.
Something like “Purple Zealio Switches (Tactile)” from Zeal PC a nice tactile switch with a lighter spring like browns.
i have yet to encounter such a switch pre assembled. A couple days back the WhiteFox was on massdrop and i almost got that one but decided against it since i had to pay over €200 for it and needed to get soldering equipment and pay 31% customs crap.. Making it even more expensive than a new Topre board !!

Even getting the current drop “Varmilo VA68M” with Cherry mx-browns and dysub pbt caps for $200 and adding 31% customs seems to much for the same old Cherry switches and no programability..

in regards to the CM NovaTouch a while back i wanted to go all out and buy one without caps for €90
And because i had a coupon code for €25 off i thought it was a great deal..
But unfortunately there were no barebones novaTouch in the CM store..
Considering the price for Topre o-rings and the price of SA keycap set that worked best with the Nova to eliminate rattling as best as possible. The total price was the same as getting a RealForce 78U.
But there are a couple of things i don’t like about the RealForce boards.
- Not compatible with mx caps.
- to bulky with all that dead space
- not programable (considering the high price)

The only keyboard i’m considering as soon as it comes out.. is the K-type from input club
And i’m hoping vortex is going to amaze us soon with new models..
just watch this and yowl know what i mean.
https://youtu.be/UP2vxUZ49Dw?t=9m14s

[Hypersphere]

@TuxKey: Cherry mx has been my least favorite type of switch. Recently, however, I tried Gateron Yellow, and I liked it. The switch is an ideal weight for me, and it is very smooth. Nevertheless, it will not displace my favorites, which remain IBM Model F, Topre 45 and 55, SKCM Alps blue and white, and Matias Click and Quiet (more or less in this order).

[zslane]

Topre is supposedly coming out with an MX-compatible RealForce board in time for Christmas. Should be great, as long as the obnoxious RGB lighting can be turned off.

[AndyGarton]

Sorry for the old thread bump - the NovaTouch no longer seems to be available anywhere, does anybody know what happened? Are there any other TKL (or smaller) boards available with Topre switches which are compatible with MX keycaps?

[cookie]

Sorry for the old thread bump - the NovaTouch no longer seems to be available anywhere, does anybody know what happened? Are there any other TKL (or smaller) boards available with Topre switches which are compatible with MX keycaps?

Well in short words, CM was bold enough to enter Topre territory and create an alternative to Realfoce keyboards. The Price tag was just fine but they've failed to deliver the quality people are used to Realforce products.

Very poor caps and problems with rattling parts where the factors which turned the cork sniffers away and the Lack of backlit unicorn puke turned away the masses.

Well that is my opinion but I believe that were the reasons.
Still a damn fine board if you can grab one, CM makes nice stuff for a reasonable price!
They earned my absolute respect to bring out a TKL board for half the price of a Filco.

[zslane]

My theory is that the NovaTouch didn't sell well enough to gamers, which I suspect is CM's primary audience, and so it wasn't worth continuing production. I think the NovaTouch should have been a 60% board anyway, and might have sold better if it was.

[cookie]

That is what I've implied with "Lack of backlit unicorn puke"
But yeah, it was just too much between those to types of users.

[_PixelNinja]

My theory is that the NovaTouch didn't sell well enough to gamers, which I suspect is CM's primary audience, and so it wasn't worth continuing production.

According to my contact at CM, initially the peripheral division did not envision the Novatouch as a gaming keyboard. The higher-ups chimed in before the product went live and that changed.

What I find weird, considering that new stance, is they did not push it more as a gaming product; apparently the CS sponsored teams liked it very much.

I think the NovaTouch should have been a 60% board anyway, and might have sold better if it was.

As much as I love 60%–65% keyboards, there is no way it would have sold better in such a form factor. That's a niche inside a niche, inside a niche. And for what it's worth the Novatouch did not fare as bad as some people tend to make it out. It's more of a case of CM considering not getting back what they put into the project.