Gaming Pad
The surface when unpacked is a little stiff. Not really a criticism but it took a day or so to lay down flat. This is due to the thickness of the surface, 5mm. It does look nice and with thickness gives a quality feel. The design is minimal, just some branding on the lower right hand side in white and grey. The surface doesn’t have a woven edge, it’s more like a “cookie cutter” approach, which can lead to frayed edges in the future with a lot of use in comparison with the Razer Goliathus Speed Fragged Gaming Pad with its woven edges.
The under surface is grippy and doesn’t move during use, something we expect but welcome when implemented well. There are two main stand out features of this surface that we need to comment on, the thickness and the actual gaming surface material. The former is a simple matter, its thickness is excellent. It acts as a nice cushion for your wrist and supports the gaming surface material just fine. It has a spongy cross section and a grip like under surface that stops any movement on a normal desk top, thumbs up from all of us here.
The latter is going to be a bit harder to measure. Actually putting it side by side with other gaming surfaces it’s a little hard to tell if the material and weave is going to make any difference at all. It is a finer surface than the Razer Goliathus Speed Fragged Gaming Pad, but reflection is the true enemy of an optical mouse.
You can’t roll this material as much as thinner surfaces so it may pose an issue if you transport it to a LAN party, but to be honest, only if you need to roll it up. Proportionally it’s a good size but we would say the medium is probably as small as you dare go unless you have a gaming laptop or something like that.
We didn’t have a worse gaming experience though we tested in short 10 minute windows with no ill effect. We have been testing a standard Microsoft wireless mouse without issue and a Razer Abyssus at all its configurations, from 450 Dpi 125Hz right up to 3500 Dpi at 1000Hz. The surface doesn’t hinder or cause any problems at all gaming mouse settings. The Storm Speed-RX gave a very good and comfortable gaming experience.
Visually it does look super fine, and compared to other gaming surfaces such as the Razer, there isn’t a pattern or weave visible to the eye. We can only assume that it is as Cooler Master claims, designed for optimal grade sensors. It is an ultra-smooth gaming surface suitable for a gaming mouse.
Conclusion
The Storm Speed-RX is an excellent surface to have. It is a different type of gaming surface and it may not be to everyone’s taste or requirements.
It is not over the top with artwork and is pretty cheap for a good gaming surface coming in at under 10 pounds at the time of writing.
Cooler Master Storm Speed-RX Surface Review
Package - 8.5
Design & Quality - 9.2
Price - 9.5
Consumer Experience - 9
9.1
The Storm Speed-RX is an excellent surface to have. It is a different type of gaming surface and it may not be to everyone’s taste or requirements. It is not over the top with artwork and is pretty cheap for a good gaming surface coming in at under 10 pounds at the time of writing.
