Driver

With the Cooler Master MasterKeys Pro S RGB, we have a pretty solid keyboard. For me, the software is lacking, though, since it is very basic and only really gives you more lighting options.



Here, we can set the lighting to do pretty much whatever we desire. We have multiple preset profiles, such as the ever-popular "color wave"; here, we can change the direction of the wave also. You can select each individual key and choose a color as in the second image, which is excellent for when you want to set keys for gaming. One thing to note is that there are a total of four profiles with this keyboard. Look a the bottom of the image and you will see that you can simply select a second profile for a different game. Switching between these profiles is simple and is done by using the FN and 1-4 keys.



All in all, the lighting options are very good. You can choose a simple static color over the color palette or could actually play games like Snake on it. You have multiple preset options and customization options, which gives you a pool of a set of nearly endless options to pick from.


The only other tab you have with this software is the "Library" tab. It basically enables you to save profiles or load previously saved ones. As a software suite, this one does need a lot of work; macro options would be my first request, along with programming options. Unfortunately, I do think Cooler Master dropped the ball here, but as it stands, the hardware does what it needs to, and a lot of people don't even install drivers for their keyboards.

Performance

Using the Cooler Master MasterKeys Pro S RGB was mostly a positive experience. The Cherry MX keys are always nice to use, and my choice of Browns complimented the keyboard well. Its compact TKL profile allowed me to throw it into my laptop bag, so I could take it with me to events, and the included dust cover protected it from all of my other equipment I had in my bag also. I really like the dust cover - it isn't often you see a company include these, so it is a nice addition.

Macro recording was a little clunky, and you can't edit a macro without completely re-recording it. With the software being somewhat lacking, you miss out on those nice editing options that are usually provided. Some people are fans of on-the-fly options, though, so this may not be an issue for you. The other FN options work very well, the media keys being very useful, as are other keys, such as Windows lock.

Speaking of the software, the lighting options that are available due to it are great, but I would prefer functionality over pretty lights. Having said that, the lights really are rather pretty. Below are some of the available lighting options.


These were probably my favorite preset lighting options - the ever-popular wave effect showing off the many colors and the rain effect I like as it is a little bit random. As you can see, the colors are vivid and plentiful.


There are also a few reactive lighting options such as this one. These usually annoy me more than wow me, but I do like the simplicity of this particular one.