Closer Examination

As we saw before, the Cooler Master ControlPad comes in a plastic clamshell to keep it pristine and free of dust out of the box. Once in hand, it manages to make even the 40% Vortex CORE look big in comparison. There are all of 24 keys here, split into a 5x5 grid, with a larger single key in the bottom-right corner. The ControlPad comes in different color options for the brushed aluminium frame and the keycaps, with my sample employing a black frame and black keycaps with white legends. As with the MK850 keyboard, there are two wheels above the keys, and you thus effectively have 28 functions assigned to the ControlPad by default. Bezels are minimal once you account for the wheels, with a floating keycap design to round off the ID. There are indicator LEDs in the top-right corner, but these are more for profiles and the user experience than the typical Windows keyboard indicators you might expect. There is no branding on the unit itself, and all keycaps have single legends, numbered 01–24, with legend placement at the top center of the keycaps for uniform backlighting from the LEDs underneath.


Flipping the keypad around, we see the usual certification sticker in the middle, biased towards the bottom. There are two rubber pads on the bottom corners to keep it from sliding around on the desk, and two feet at the top open up sideways to optionally elevate the ControlPad. These feet also have rubber pads to ensure they don't scratch easily, effectively adding two more rubber pads at the top when not raised. We also see a cable-routing cutout through the middle for the included detachable cable.


The keypad has an inset USB Type-C port in the recessed rear section, which allows for the detachable cable to face away from the user. The cable fits in snugly and connects to a USB Type-A port on the other end. USB 2.0 suffices for data and power alike.


Using the wrist rest is very simple in that the two mate with each other via adjoining surfaces for a seemingly continuous brushed aluminium surface from top to bottom. Meant to be used with either the left or right hand, this combination is ambidextrous.


The ControlPad uses a variation of the tried and tested OEM profile with the keycaps. It still consists of the usual slanted rows and concave surfaces on top, but with only five rows instead of the usual six for a typical keyboard. For those wanting replacement keycaps, the layout is a combination of 23 1u keycaps and a 2u keycap. The provided keycap puller works well, but the stock keycaps are mediocre at best with thin ABS construction and laser-etched legends that will wear out sooner rather than later. These are compatible with backlighting, which is no doubt part of the RGB lighting feature here. Cooler Master intends to sell different color and legend keycaps for specific applications, such as Adobe suites or gaming, as well as transparent keycaps with the ability to re-write the legends, but none were available at the time of review.


In the absence of a product page or data sheet, there is not much information available as I write this. Cooler Master says the ControlPad is available with Gateron or Cherry MX switches, which will dictate the final price, and I have the Cherry MX Red RGB switch version here. Based on this and the switch options with the MK850, it is logical to assume that the other switch option includes a Gateron Red RGB switch. Even though Aimpad technology works with all switch types in theory, analog control with mechanical switches arguably works best with a linear switch. The larger keycap uses a Cherry stabilizers, which helps with its removal in conjunction with the floating keycap design, and it is small enough to where that typical mushy feeling with these stabilizers is not as big an issue as with, say, a full-size space bar key.