Introduction

There are very few brands that have such a grasp on the market as Cooler Master, and there isn't really much point in me giving an introduction - they produce everything from mice to cases and headsets to thermal paste, and you will no doubt have heard of them in one way or another. They have been industry leaders in multiple categories, and although they sometimes drop the ball, they have always gone from strength to strength.

Cooler Master released their 'Master' range just over 12 months ago, starting with their Master Case, and it has now been introduced to their peripheral range with their MasterKeys. Today, we are getting to grips with their MasterKeys Pro S RGB, a TKL keyboard that promises to perform whilst still being small enough to be portable.

Specifications

Packaging

Looking at the Cooler Master MasterKeys Pro S RGB packaging, we can see that it shares many of its features with the rest of the CM range. This box is obviously a lot smaller, though, as it is for a TKL (ten keyless) keyboard. The RGB lighting in the product's image is in stark contrast to the dark packaging. The keyboard I have chosen to review has Cherry MX Brown switches, but is available with Reds or Blues also.


The rear of the box gives us a little bit of a run down on what features the keyboard has. The MasterKeys Pro S boasts RGB lighting, multiple lighting modes, Cherry MX switches, on-the-fly macro and profile support, and 100% anti-ghosting with N-key rollover. Also on the back of the box is a nice image of the keyboard being broken down, which shows just how much it takes to manufacture this board as well as how many layers it has.


Inside the box we have quite a complete package. We have the keyboard with its small sleeve, which really is great, especially for smaller keyboards such as a TKL since these are far more likely to be carried around. I have a range of keyboards I use when going to events depending on where I am traveling to and how much space I have in my bag. I have purchased separate protective sleeves for all of them as they do tend to get knocked around a lot. Seeing Cooler Master include a sleeve shows they know how their products are going to be used. Also in the box is the cable, a keycap puller, and a leaflet. The leaflet really is worth keeping since it is useful whilst getting used to the Master Keys S because it gives you quite the comprehensive guide on how to use its different functions.