Aimpad Analog Control

This page will be all about the Aimpad analog control technology as implemented in the Cooler Master MK850, and what better segue from the previous page than the Aimpad tab in their Portal driver? Well, there is not much to see here unfortunately. Let's discuss how Cooler Master has configured Aimpad on the keyboard first. There are eight keys (Q,W,E,R and A,S,D,F) with Aimpad tech incorporated, with different pre-programmed Aimpad profiles accessible via the M1–M5 column bank of five keys. M1 is the default setting, which has these keys behave as they would on any standard keyboard. M2–M4 are configurable, and M5 is an in-between of the two we will get to soon. So, M2/M3/M4 are the three options that can also be configured in the driver, as seen in the video above. We get six options from a standard Xbox controller to choose from—the four directions from the left analog stick, typically used for motion, and the two triggers at the top. This is no Wooting One (or Two) where every single key has analog control, and there is an option of joystick, X-input, and Xbox controller input to choose from.

This is not a limitation of the Aimpad technology, which I should clarify right away. Indeed, Cooler Master's own upcoming ControlPad has over 25 keys with analog control. The driver also has a slider to choose the sensitivity of analog control, which is extremely important in that it can help get around dead zones of analog control if the game of your choice does not support configuring it. There is a virtual Xbox controller on screen to help show what action is being selected, and there is really not much you can do with the driver you can't already do via onboard controls, especially given the three pre-configured profiles. The only thing I can think of is having duplicate actions to make use of the two spare keys, which practically end up useless in this implementation unfortunately.


M2 is all about movement via analog controls, and is advertised as an FPS mode. M3 adds in the two triggers instead of up and down, which is usually how racing games with support for Xbox controller input are configured. M4, arguably the most useful of the lot as the keyboard comes out of the box, has all six actions configured and is said to be an "advanced flying mode", but can really be used for plenty of other things if you configure mapping on games that allow it. M5 is something else entirely since it allows for an extremely quick actuation point for these eight keys. Called "speed mode", it allows for the keys to effectively actuate at as little as 0.5 mm of travel at the highest sensitivity setting. The three buttons in the top-right corner of the MK850 turn Aimpad on/off, lower sensitivity, and raise sensitivity in order. The primary reason to turn off Aimpad, and thus also the entire Xbox controller endpoint, is with applications that force users to completely switch because they prohibit hybrid controlled input with this and a mouse. Another potential reason would be to cater to those wanting to use a controller while this is plugged in since M1 mode will still not stop games from seeing this as a possible controller as well. The onboard sensitivity controls are very handy for quick changes while in game.


Before you try Aimpad on the MK850, take note of the manual calibration manual that comes with the keyboard. It is highly recommended that you calibrate all eight keys to ensure the keyboard uses the full range of available travel. Aimpad tells me that the switches should be able to handle analog control from 0.5 mm to 4.0 mm of travel, which is really amazing considering all it uses is a sensor and programming along with a compatible switch. This is a big benefit over Wooting's implementation, which requires specially designed switches and prisms that end up with a hard limitation in terms of range, at least for the moment. Also, Cooler Master's notes on how to do the calibration actually did not work for me, wherein they say to press each key 2–3 times while in calibration mode (instructions on this are in the manual), and instead, I had to press and hold each key for around five seconds as suggested directly by Aimpad.

Aimpad offers an Xbox controller test program as a free download on their website, a version of which is available online as well. This allows you to test the range of analog control, as seen in the form of Xbox controller actions, and decide how dead zones and Aimpad sensitivity work. Most games are configured with a ~20% circular dead zone by default, although many do allow the end user to configure this in-game as well. As seen above, going from the lowest to the highest sensitivity effects causes the entire analog range to be compressed in terms of travel distance. If you have soft hands, you might well prefer a lower sensitivity, for example. But that is easier said than done, and when gaming, you might want actions to happen sooner, so perhaps, a higher sensitivity coupled with M5 mode is also something to try out.


As long as a game supports the Xbox 360 controller, Aimpad on the Cooler Master MK850 is a piece of cake to use. As with the Wooting One, the keyboard is automatically detected as an Xbox controller, which allows you to use the default actions or even pre-configure bindings to keyboard actions. Indeed, when connected in typical keyboard mode (M1) with a mouse, most games will allow you to use analog controls along with the other keys and the mouse. This can be fascinating to work with, be it in driving games or otherwise. Above is an example video using the MK850 first in M1 mode playing Project Cars 2, and then M2 mode, which allows me to simply change the motion bindings to the left analog stick actions. Gone are the jerky on/off inputs for acceleration in particular, with much smoother input as well as finer control with turning. One thing I did miss here, which I had with the Wooting One, is the ability to set up a custom response curve as opposed to the mostly linear one, which is physically affected by the non-linear spring force curve. Dead zone configuration is possible in game, but here too having an offset in activity would have been handy. Note that M3 mode worked out of the box with other racing games, such as F1 2017, which recognize it as an Xbox controller and have it work as expected.


Cooler Master calling M2 an FPS mode got me curious, and I tried it out with Dishonored: Death of the Outsider, which I hope to finally finish soon. Indeed, having the ability to creep slowly via analog controls is very useful in games like this, wherein you can sneak past enemy AI if motion is configured to how much environmental noise is generated. Other use cases also include looking around corners, especially in M4 mode, and the combination of analog control for precise movement and a mouse for precise aiming makes for a really imbalanced but also thoroughly enjoyable gaming experience. There is a list of supported games on the Aimpad website, along with notes on specific situations, along with more example use cases on their homepage.

Cooler Master and Aimpad have an exclusive licensing agreement, and hopefully, it results in a better, more thorough implementation. Take the calibration of the keys themselves wherein Cooler Master's own manual was not of much help, for instance. Aimpad has demonstrated an automated calibration process before, so ideally, we will see it implemented in a firmware upgrade on the MK850 at some point. There is a lot here that is great, and it allows for the majority of end users to enjoy the Aimpad technology without much tinkering, but there remain many things I want myself, as I imagine others would too. More configurable profiles, especially if they can be shared by users for specific games, and added support for more Xbox actions would be a great addition. Having keystrokes on a key associated with different travel lengths would be another. This would enable use with other programs as well, outside of just games. Aimpad tells me there are "significant improvements planned for the software", and perhaps, we will see them when the ControlPad comes out. Only having eight analog keys will be a physical limitation here, but it works for what it is on the MK850—a novel feature that is the icing on top of a feature-rich keyboard to begin with.