A little over five years ago, I purchased my first mechanical keyboard. It was a Cooler Master Storm Trigger-Z with Cherry MX Blue switches, red backlighting, and software support. It had good build quality, offered a wrist rest, and the driver enabled extensive functionality beyond most others at the time. If we go strictly by the books, this MasterKeys MK750 comes in at nearly the same cost and with RGB backlighting support, but seemingly nothing else. However, this is also where the comparisons end, and we see how many advances have happened since I would not think about using the older keyboard today. The software driver in particular is where Cooler Master has improved tremendously, with a non-laggy, stable driver that is easier to use thanks to the cleaner, tab-based interface. Onboard functionality has improved too, with profiles saved on the device that can now do a lot more. Heck, even the provided wrist rest is more comfortable to use, and the rest of the accessories are just a bonus on top. Cooler Master has gone from strength to strength in this category in the years in between - with a reputation of being a mainstream brand keeping overall quality high and thus also being a favorite among the keyboard enthusiast community.

Priced at $150, the MasterKeys MK750 has a lot more expectations to meet. Cooler Master no longer can afford to take a lot of shortcuts since their own MasterKeys Pro L RGB comes close everywhere, but at a lower price point. The direct competition here is the Corsair K70, Razor Blackwidow, and Logitech G810, which all arguably have a better software experience, though the gap is significantly narrower now. Cooler Master is the only one of these to offer Cherry MX RGB switches and a standard keycap spacing, and I will also go ahead and state that of these, the MasterKeys MK750 looks the most professional to my eyes since branding is minimal and a clean finish with subtly beveled edges prevents a boxy look. The RGB lighting includes three side/bottom plates in addition to full 16.8 M per-key backlighting, with various modes to choose from. The use of a removable USB Type-C cable, at least on the keyboard's side, makes this more future proof too, and I appreciate that.

Shortcuts have been taken, however. The wrist rest uses PU leather in an attempt to provide a leather-like finish, and the stock keycaps are disappointing compared to the replacement ones provided or those of the previous keyboard of theirs we took a look at here. I was reminded of car brands that offer wood-finish plastic panels, for example, and that is never a good thing. The consolation here for Cooler Master is that their competition is no better at this point, so take that for what you will. All things considered, this deserves a recommendation, and that is exactly what it shall get.