Our CM Storm Trigger Review Has Been Updated

When we posted our review of Cooler Master’s CM Storm Trigger gaming keyboard last month, it couldn’t be recommended due to a major issue we experienced. The problem was simple: the keyboard would work about 25% of the time after being plugged in (requiring replugs until it decided to work). It was our original thought that the firmware had required some work, given we tested it on three different PCs and experienced the same problem in each.

At that time, I talked to a couple of other reviewers who tackled the product, and none of them experienced the same issue I did. Upon further inspection, I found that no other reviewer who took a look at the board had – so something seemed up. After being contacted by Cooler Master’s Taiwan office, I was sent a replacement unit to see if the problem I experienced was in fact unique to that sample.

I received that replacement late last week (UPS held it hostage for a couple of weeks), and have been using it since. As I hoped, it has turned out that the original sample I received was in fact bugged. If I had to guess, I mistakingly received a pre-release version of the keyboard with bugged firmware.

Before, the keyboard would work after being plugged in whenever it felt like. Getting into the BIOS was impossible, because it wouldn’t initialize fast enough. Those problems with the replacement are non-existent – and believe me, I tested the hell out of this thing since receiving it.

With all of that in mind, I am retroactively awarding the Trigger our Editor’s Choice. Had we not experienced the issue due to the flaw, it would have earned one, so it seems fair that since it was a one-off issue, that it get the award that it deserves. The review has been altered to reflect this change.