Overall and Final Verdict
After waiting for so long for the Novatouch to come out my expectations were really high and for the most part Cooler Master did a good job of meeting them. I really didn’t like the slightly yellowed tint that the lettering has, but I love the new classy font. The weird right angled connection for the detachable USB cord was a little odd as well. Getting a second keyboard in the office with Topre key switches was great though. I originally stopped using my Realforce because the black lettering on black keys was hard to see. The Novatouch didn’t have this trouble as well. I would still prefer to have backlighting because I do a lot of my writing and gaming at night, but not having backlighting does open up more options for customizing. Speaking of that, what really sets the Novatouch apart from other Topre keyboards is their unique stem design that uses Cherry MX keycaps. This means you have nearly an endless supply of aftermarket keycaps available to use at extremely low costs.
I talked about the Topre switches fairly in depth in both the performance section and in the opening section. But I just have to say that they are always a pleasure to type on. I’m a huge fan of Cherry Browns and while the Topre 45g switches have a lot in common with the browns, they really are in a class of their own. If you ever get the chance to try out a Topre keyboard you should give it a try.
So Topre keyboards are notoriously expensive, where does that put the Novatouch? Well in comparison to Cooler Masters other mechanical keyboard options this is nearly twice as much. That might sound a little crazy, but when you compare it to the competition with Topre switches it is priced in line with where it should be. Does that make it a good deal? No, not at all. If you are looking for a budget keyboard I would highly recommend avoiding the Novatouch. However, for those of you who like to customize your keyboard and love Topre keyswitches the Novatouch is a great keyboard and the only option if you want to use MX keycaps.