Cooler Master MasterKeys L PBT

[VSG]

Cooler Master has listened to consumer feedback, and with their MasterKeys PBT series, they have thick PBT plastic keycaps out of the box on all the switches. The keyboard also includes onboard support for multiple OS and typing layouts, macro recording, and an option for the rare Cherry MX Green switches; all for less than $100.

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[Mescalamba]

Gosh, they couldnt go whole way and do double-shot PBT, could they?

Still its really nice effort, I give em that.

 

[VSG]

Gosh, they couldnt go whole way and do double-shot PBT, could they?

Still its really nice effort, I give em that.

Yeah, I know

 

[wolar]

Gosh, they couldnt go whole way and do double-shot PBT, could they?

Still its really nice effort, I give em that.

Or dye-sub. At least the price is low.

 

[VSG]

Or dye-sub. At least the price is low.

The keycap material has to be a lighter color than the legends for this, so it would not be the usual Cooler Master dark color scheme. Dye sublimation is also harder to get spot on, especially when we are dealing with the large numbers that Cooler Master sells.

 

[notb]

Very nice keyboard.
Can anyone tell me why can't we get quality wireless mechanical keyboards? What's the matter?

 

[VSG]

Very nice keyboard.
Can anyone tell me why can't we get quality wireless mechanical keyboards? What's the matter?

There are some available from Asia, the issue is battery life and latency but we will see some from more established brands this year I think. If you can't wait, one of the better options I hear is the Anne Pro- I have been trying to get a sample but no luck so far!

 

[notb]

There are some available from Asia, the issue is battery life and latency but we will see some from more established brands this year I think. If you can't wait, one of the better options I hear is the Anne Pro- I have been trying to get a sample but no luck so far!

I surely can wait - especially since I prefer silent low-travel keyboards anyways.
But the existence of wireless mechanical models would at least let me consider them.

As for the issues you've mentioned - it's all about trying to be attractive for gamers.
Remove all the epilepsy-causing LEDs and it'll sip just as little power as any other wireless keyboard (we're talking months of frequent use... my Logitech K520 at work easily beats 2000h).

 

[Mescalamba]

Very nice keyboard.
Can anyone tell me why can't we get quality wireless mechanical keyboards? What's the matter?

Now and then they are on Massdrop I think. At least I saw few there.. not sure about quality tho.

 

[VSG]

I surely can wait - especially since I prefer silent low-travel keyboards anyways.
But the existence of wireless mechanical models would at least let me consider them.

As for the issues you've mentioned - it's all about trying to be attractive for gamers.
Remove all the epilepsy-causing LEDs and it'll sip just as little power as any other wireless keyboard (we're talking months of frequent use... my Logitech K520 at work easily beats 2000h).

Yeah, backlighting is a killer. The Anne Pro for example has a battery life in hours with RGB backlighting vs weeks without backlighting. The ones I referred to will have single color backlighting so it should be in the middle, and thankfully always with the option to turn off.

 

[Endeavour]

Very nice keyboard.
Can anyone tell me why can't we get quality wireless mechanical keyboards? What's the matter?

There are at least a few models that I'm aware of:

- HHKB Pro 2 Bluetooth (60% - Custom Layout, no LEDs, Bluetooth only)
- Anne Pro (60%, RGB, Bluetooth)
- Filco Minila (60% - Custom Layout, no LEDs, Bluetooth only)
- Filco Majestouch Convertible 2 TKL (TKL, no LEDs, Dual mode USB/Bluetooth)
- Filco Majestouch Convertible 2 (Full size, no LEDs, Dual mode USB/Bluetooth)
- Varmilo VB87M (TKL, single color LEDs, Bluetooth only)
- [Coming soon] Varmilo V?68 (68%, LEDs, Dual mode USB/Bluetooth)
- [Coming soon] Varmilo VD87 (TKL, LEDs, Dual mode USB/Bluetooth)
- [Coming soon] Varmilo VD104 (TKL, LEDs, Dual mode USB/Bluetooth)

I have those marked in bold. They are both great keyboards.
Battery life on the Filco is 2-3 months. It uses 2 AA batteries.
The Varmilo with lights always on lasts almost a week. With lights on just ocasionally it increases to a week and a half. Without lights it's about 2 or 2 and a half weeks. IIRC it uses an internal 1250mAh battery. If you are good with soldering you might be able to replace it, as it's just a smartphone battery with two wires.

 

[Endeavour]

The keycap material has to be a lighter color than the legends for this, so it would not be the usual Cooler Master dark color scheme. Dye sublimation is also harder to get spot on, especially when we are dealing with the large numbers that Cooler Master sells.

They could have used a black on black scheme, like the EnjoyPBT PBT dyesub set:

 

[VSG]

They could have used a black on black scheme, like the EnjoyPBT PBT dyesub set:

I am personally not a fan, but fair enough.

 

[ogharaei]

Black on black has always struck me as an odd combination. Only touch typist would in my opinion seriously consider such a set, which might even make blank keycaps preferable.

Given CM's real choices are in my opinion laser etched or doubleshot keycaps, I can sympathize. Doubleshot keycaps are more difficult to get right, and PBT shrinkage is nearly thrice that of ABS. Tooling for such keycaps would also be completely different and relatively expensive to implement, which would make these PBT keyboards a lot more expensive as well.