01| Introduction
Cooler Master has been in a peripherals market for quite a while. With their dawn in the recent years, they have gained tremendous momentum and reputation in the PC market catering consumers and gamers with the best products they can. And with their Keyboard & Mouse Combo Masterkeys Lite L package, their just filling in the gap to cater those gamers who don’t want a cluttered amount of options except for a few simple gimmicks that they’d like to play with.
Entering in the Malaysian market at for as low as RM239 if you’re lucky otherwise officially priced at RM299, the Cooler Master Masterkeys Lite L Combo is definitely an option you should keep on your list if you’re building your first PC. But why? Is it worth it? Let’s find out!
Here’s a few specifications of the keyboard and mouse:
Keyboard
| Switch Type | Cooler Master Mem-chanical |
| Color | Black |
| LED Color | RGB |
| Repeat Rate | Normal 1x / Turbo 8x |
| On-the-fly system | Lighting / Multimedia / Win LK / Full Keys LK |
| Cable | Non-Detachable Rubber Cable |
| Connector Cable | USB 2.0 |
| Cable Length | 1.8 Meters |
| Dimensions | 439 x 129 x 41mm |
| Product Weight (without cable) | 967 g |
| Warranty | 2 years |
| EAN Code (US Layout) | 4719512052754 |
| UPC Code (US Layout) | 884102028861 |
Mouse
| Sensor | Optical AVAGO 3050 |
| Switch Type | Omron 10M |
| Color | Black |
| LED Color | RGB |
| On-the-fly system | Lighting / DPI |
| Cable | Non-Detachable Rubber Cable |
| Connector Cable | USB 2.0 |
| Cable Length | 1.8 Meters |
| Dimensions | 114 x 64 x 39mm |
| Product Weight (without cable) | 91 g |
| Warranty | 2 years |
02| Design & Build
Skipping the unboxing, we decided to dive straight into the design and build quality of the mouse and keyboard. Let’s talk about the keyboard first.
Just as soon as we unboxed it, we noticed how simple the keyboard is. Featuring a simple no-thrills body and functional layout topped with minimalist fonts makes it a user friendly yet appealing choice for many, including myself.
This time, Cooler Master isn’t opting in with the premium mechanical switches, instead, they opted for their in-house “Mem-chanical” switches that aren’t mechanical, but they try to imitate the feel of mechanical switches. More on the typing experience, later in this review. Coming back to the topic, since Cooler Master opted for non-mechanical switches, the keys aren’t individually lit unlike most mechanical keyboards. On the flip side, the benefits that comes with their choice allows this keyboard to be spill-proof if eating snacks and liquids is your thing.
According to Cooler Master, their “mem-chanical” switches have a life of 12M presses and activate with 50g of pressure. While the longevity of the clicks are rated at 12M for the mem-chanical switches, it’s pretty common for mechanical switches to last you around 50M clicks on average.
Giving the lighting a chance, the lighting throughout the keyboard is pretty even without and signs of hotspots which was quite pleasing. And while the keyboard switches aren’t individually lit, the keyboard isn’t short of any commonly used lighting modes, with the wave effect being my personal favourite. The keyboard also comes with the usual media keys for those who need those keys.
As of the build quality, the outer shell is completely built of plastic which isn’t a bad thing. Considering the price, the plastic used on this keyboard feels solid and thick. Inside the keyboard, the keyboard also gets a solid steel plate to add rigidity to the plastic frame. On the bottom of the keyboard, the keyboards sits on a table very well thanks to the rubber stands and feet. Overall, the keyboard seems pretty well built.
Coming over to the mouse, the mouse supports a maximum DPI of 3500. It utilizes the AVAGO 3050 optical sensor that has a polling rate of 1000Hz. For the clicky clacks, the mouse bundled with this combo uses Japanese OMRON switches which are well known for their longevity and responsiveness, and an option to light up the mouse with some lighting goodness.
The mouse with almost entirely made of hard plastic and it’s not too big, although, it’s okay for many gamers to adapt to due to its ergonomics. The mouse can easily adapt to left-handed users as well, thanks to its ambidextrous shape.
Among the things that I noticed missed are the rubber grips that should have aided the gripping of the mouse. While we can see where Cooler Master has pulled its gripes from, the mouse is still usable overall.
The mouse glides well thanks to the Teflon feet and allows for switch between DPIs quickly with a single dedicated button located on top of the mouse.
Coming over to the lighting effects, Cooler Master kept the lighting very minimal. In my opinion, the lighting was a bit too minimal for my taste. The lighting zones could be found under the scroll wheel and at the bottom rear of the mouse. If they were to light up the “Cooler Master” logo as well, that would have added a bit more zest to the overall look of the mouse, but well, for the price, you can’t complain much.
Another thing that I noticed was the inclusion of one led per lighting zone. Obviously, they did this to save cost, although its pretty good, the scroll wheel lighting disturbed me at times. Being a maniac who’s tied to his glasses, I found myself distracted at times due to the glare. Not a big issue, but something I wanted to address.
Overall, the mouse is great! The build quality is good, although, Cooler Master cut down some corners here and there that brought down the cost.
03| User Experience / Gaming
Cooler Master’s Masterkeys Lite L Combo was designed to be the no-gimmick keyboard, despite that, the performance was good for the price.
Taking the keyboard into perspective, as mentioned earlier, the keyboard uses Cooler Master’s “mem-chanical” switches which should imitate the mechanical switches. While that was the goal, imitating something doesn’t represent the original idea. The keys are definitely feel better than the standard membrane keyboard, but the “mem-chanical” switches are halfway through of the satisfaction that mechanical switches provide.
While that is a fact, the keyboard is great, it’s responsive and looks good too. Other than that, the keyboard also supports Cherry MX keycaps for some customization. Gaming with the keyboard served pretty well and is great for some desk lighting
Now taking the mouse in to account, gaming on the mouse was good. There’s definitely some predication going into the output of the sensor, jitter was noticable at 3500 DPI and I found myself claiming 1600 DPI as the sweet spot for me on this mouse. Now since the front of the mouse isn’t very steep, I can assure many uses to feel comfortable with the palm grip. The hand rests very well over the mouse and could help in extended gaming sessions. Clicks are responsive and I believe that claw grip users should be able to make the most out of the OMRON switches due to the ergonomics and light weight of the mouse.
04| Conclusion
Cooler Master was trying to do something different when they pushed the Devastator Combo earlier this year. While their cases have definitely stepped up their game by following the minimal trend, I was happy to see their keyboards following the same trend while adding a budget option to appeal new PC gamers.
For the price of RM239, I am hard-pressed to find an alternative that comes with a gaming-centric keyboard and mouse, adding to the reputation that Cooler Master has gained over the years, you know you’re covered.
Would I recommend this keyboard?
For new PC gamers, definitely if your budget is a factor! Otherwise, experienced users should go for mechanical switches if you want the added satisfaction, features and longevity.
