Tuesday 15 March 2016

Cooler Master's new mechanical keyboards offer macro management at micro prices

Cooler Master has announced the launch of its MasterKeys mechanical keyboards, with two different models on offer for different kinds of gamers (or workers).

There's the MasterKeys Pro L, a full-size keyboard complete with number pad, and the MasterKeys Pro S, a smaller model with the numpad chopped off – a tenkeyless keyboard, as they're commonly known.

The more compact Pro S is, of course, easier to cart about to things like LAN parties. And, because it's smaller, your mouse and keyboard hands are closer together when gaming. This means no more uncomfortable stretching out to the side to operate the mouse.

Both keyboards boast Cherry MX switches, with a choice of red, brown or blue versions depending on your personal preference. There's also RGB back-lighting with various pretty presets, like "color wave," "star effect" or "breathing".

For most of you, these are probably more of a distraction than anything, but still, some folks like this sort of thing.

Making macro magic

Cooler Master says these peripherals benefit from easy-to-use software. Plus, there's a 32-bit ARM processor inside the device to facilitate the usage of complex macros. These macros can, of course, be stored once recorded.

Solid build quality and an ultra-violet key coating are also promised, with the latter meaning that your letters won't start to wear away after months of frantic (and probably sweaty) gaming sessions.

Both keyboards are available now, priced at €169 (around £130, or $190) and €139 (around £110, or $155) for the Pro L and Pro S, respectively.