(Incidentally, it becomes much more appealing at the $68 street price Amazon was showing at the time of writing.) And that makes it rather boring to read about, if not necessarily use. It is that thing which a critic most dreads writing about: the median, which elicits neither praise nor scorn. ![]() In terms of value, the CK721 is approximately average, with points both for (included wrist rest, dual-mode wireless) and against it (ABS keycaps, cheap switches). The excellent software-free options are counter-balanced by the MasterPlus software itself, which constantly hung and crashed when I tried to use it to update the keyboard and program custom layouts faster. For example, the aluminum face plate can be removed and replaced…but the only other option is the black color, and Cooler Master doesn’t sell it separately, so all the extra design work seems to be for nothing. For every high point, I can find an equal low point that just about evens it out. In fact, “nothing exciting” sums up the board pretty well. ![]() (Yes, I get excited about switch stems, sue me.) Should you buy the Cooler Master CK721? They get the job done, sure enough, there’s just nothing to get excited about here. When even the cheapest boards out there are using quality switches from Kailh with stabilizing braces on the stems for smoother action, it’s hard to get excited about TTC switches, which are chattery and wobbly. I wish I could say the same for the switches. That’s in addition to the volume wheel and its integrated mute button, which work in both modes. But press Fn-Right Shift to switch to Mac mode, and they’re now Fn-0, Fb–, and Fn-+ to match Apple’s standard layout…in addition to still being mapped to the comma, period, and question mark. For example, in the standard Windows mode, controls for Mute, Volume Down, and Volume Up are FN-, FN-., and FN-?, respectively. That does make things a little confusing if you’re using multiple layouts or machines. You can even program lighting patterns and macros without needing to boot up the Master+ software package. The keyboard is absolutely packed with functions and sub-functions on almost every single key, with the option to switch between Windows and Mac layouts on the fly, or four different user profiles. I always like to see a choice of Bluetooth and dongle-based wireless, though the packaging and manual make no mention of super-low latency for gamers. What the CK721 lacks in refinement it makes up for in productivity. It hits right at the middle of the pack in terms of features and value, and might have scored lower if it wasn’t for a solid function layer and included wrist rest. The $100 board has both Bluetooth and 2.4GHz, plus the usual RGB and programming options. ![]() It makes up for a lack of bombast with a focus on functionality. ![]() This compact but highly functional keyboard won’t blow away anyone with its feature list, but its wireless performance and type-friendly setup make it worthy of consideration.įurther reading: See our roundup of the best wireless keyboards to learn about competing products.Īs a brand Cooler Master has a bit of a gamer leaning, but the CK721 is a little more buttoned-down than the usual fare. Cooler Master’s CK721 has been around longer than both of them, but hits a solid medium between the ultra-budget and the mad-money high-end. It seems like every manufacturer is trying to hit the popular compact-semi-custom-keyboard-with-a-rotary-dial niche these days, from the over-the-top Asus ROG Azoth to the utilitarian G.Skill KM250.
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