Drop CSTM65 Mechanical Keyboard review: Modular beyond belief

I’ve always been addicted to mechanical keyboards. There is something about a solid feeling deck that helps manifest the words onto the page, but I’ve never felt the need to tinker with them. Whatever I received out of the box, I lived with, even if it meant settling for options or switches I wasn’t in love with —- until now.

The Drop CSTM65 mechanical keyboard sits at the intersection of enthusiast and consumer-level tech, with ready-made, customizable options available. So, whether you’re a keyboard addict looking for your next project or a fan of mechanical keyboards looking to dip your toe into customizability, the Drop CSTM65 might be your next purchase.

Price and availability

The Drop CSTM65 keyboard is available through Drop for $130, with your choice of two key switch options: Gateron Brown 3.0 or Gateron Yellow KS3 switches, the latter of which is featured on our review unit. While that’s the base price of the deck, Drop offers any number of customizable options for an additional cost, including replacement keycaps, switch plates, and different outer polycarbonate shells.

These provide a great way to customize the look of your keyboard to fit your aesthetic; as we all know, a clean build results in more words typed per minute and a higher K/D in your shooter of choice.

What’s good about the Drop CSTM65?

Versatile and well-built

Despite the no-frills packaging, it’s easy to feel the Drop CSTM65 is premium right out of the box, with a solid feel and good weight. Like most things on the keyboard, the weight is adjustable; inserts are available for purchase if you like a heavier or lighter deck. If you’re a Mac user, no worries, as Drop includes replacements to swap out the Windows keys.

I was a bit thrown off by the front shine-through ledgers, but once I got used to them, I loved how they looked with the south-facing RGB lighting. It also helps that the RGB lighting is bright and saturated, producing a beautiful glow even in daylight.

The default keycaps are doubleshot ABS plastic with a matte finish. Even though you can customize keycaps to your tastes, I enjoyed the solid feel of the standard caps. Stabilizers are also excellent, with a consistent press along the entire space bar and enter key.

I’m glad my review unit is fitted with the Gateron Yellow switches, as I love the smooth and positive stroke. If you can’t stand linear switches, the Gateron Browns will have you clicking away to your noise-polluting heart’s content. Also, remember that the Gateron Yellows require 50g of force and have 4mm of travel, so while your fingers won’t exactly be gliding across the deck, I found the balance to be just right.

Typing is still enjoyable, and the sound is delightful. Still, the 50 grams also ensures responsive gaming controls, as my fingertips felt glued to the keycaps while leaning around corners in Rainbow Six. Longer play sessions were also no issue, as my fingers never felt fatigued W-keying forever in DayZ.

I mentioned the customization options earlier, but it’s hard to overstate how much you can do with this keyboard. The polycarbonate shell is attached by magnets, so you can swap it out for a different color in moments.

Keycaps, switches, gaskets, and more can be replaced to tweak the sound or feel of your CSTM65. Part of the appeal of a 65% keyboard is its compact design and how well it can fit into a clean desktop setup, and Drop understood the assignment.

Linear switches will always provide a different typing experience. Still, Drop did a good job with the base model, including PORON foam in its design, which created a creamy typing sensation and appealing sound. Keyboard enthusiasts will each have a different preference, but the default configuration pleases my ears. There is also no deck flex or hollow, metallic sounds when you pound out paragraphs or get into your favorite game, a testament to Drop’s build quality with the CSTM65.

What’s bad about the Drop CSTM65?

Some consumer-level polish is needed

I like that the CSTM65 is QMK, Via, and Vial compatible, giving you plenty of options for support and software tweaking across platforms. However, I wish the Drop Keyboard Configurator was a bit more user-friendly. With some effort, you’re allowed granular control over key assignments and RGB lighting, right down to saturation controls if you want gentler hues.

Even still, the program could use some polish, and I’d like to see the flashing process made easier for non-enthusiasts. It’s not a reason I would avoid the keyboard, as the flashing process is only a couple of steps, but I could see where frustrations might arise.

I know it’s not the vibe of the CSTM65, but I would’ve enjoyed more typing positions. The typing angle is 6 degrees, and I never found it uncomfortable, but additional heights would be welcome. Aside from that, the rubber feet are excellent, and combined with the weight of the CSTM65, I never had unwanted movement or sliding of the deck.

Also, the price may be a bit of a pain point if you’re not looking to drop $130 on a keyboard. Something like the Royal Kludge H81 may be a better option if you want something affordable and reliable. However, if you are just getting into a keyboard obsession, the Drop isn’t a bad price point to start at.

Should you buy it?

I love what Drop has done with the CSTM65. I think it’s great that I can enjoy some of the benefits of being an enthusiast at the consumer level. The CSTM65 is versatile, so if I want to get into the weeds and mess with hot-swappable switches and gaskets, I can do that, but it’s not a requirement to still enjoy my time with the keyboard.

It’s also a great deck if you use your desktop for more than gaming. Too many keyboards are hyper-focused on gaming performance, and daily driving the keyboard for work and school seems like an afterthought. If you’re looking for a keyboard that can do both, the CSTM65 offers a lot for $130.