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Cooler Master's MK850 gaming keyboard comes with pressure-sensitive analog tech

By Koh Wanzi - on 4 Oct 2019, 5:59pm

Cooler Master's MK850 gaming keyboard comes with pressure-sensitive analog tech

Cooler Master MK850

Cooler Master today announced the local availability of two new keyboards, the MK850 and Devastator 3 Plus gaming keyboard and mouse combo. The MK850 is by far the more interesting of the two, featuring analog technology that can detect how far you press down on your switches. 

It is equipped with Cherry MX Red switches, which are linear switches with an actuation force of 45g. The company says this is the first analog keyboard that uses Cherry MX switches. There are other analog options on the market to be sure, such as the Wooting One and SteelSeries Apex Pro, but they use Flaretech and Hall Effect switches respectively.

Cooler Master has dubbed its implementation of the technology Aimpad, and it's supposed to provide a replacement for devices like joysticks, steering wheels, and controllers by enabling analog control using digital inputs. This means you can control things like speed and yaw or adjust your pitch and rolll, depending on how hard you push down on a certain key. Furthermore, Aimpad can also be used in driving games to ease into gentle curves or make smoother turns.

The analog controls aren't available on all the keys though, and they're limited to eight keys in the QWER and ASDF key clusters.

Elsewhere, the keyboard is bristling with features too, and it is equipped with two scroll wheels that let you adjust your volume and brightness of the RGB backlighting. A trio of keys above the number pad also let you toggle the Aimpad feature on and off and adjust the sensitivity of the analog keys.

The board has a row of dedicated media keys as well, in addition to programmable macro keys at the side, so you'll have most of what you need at your fingertips.

Its chassis is anodised aluminum, which should further help convey an impression of quality. It also comes with a magnetic wrist rest that snaps onto the bottom.

Finally, it uses a detachable, braided USB-C cable, a much welcome choice over the micro-USB that so many keyboards still use today. 

Then we have the Devastator 3 Plus keyboard and mouse combo, which unlike the MK850, appeals to the other end of the price spectrum. It utilises hybrid linear "mem-chanical" switches, which is basically marketing jargon for membrane switches that are designed to feel like mechanical ones.

Cooler Master Devastator 3 Plus

There's LED backlighting to go with it, and you get laser-printed keycaps for more durable legends and dedicated media hotkeys.

The mouse supports steps of 600, 1,200, 1,600, and 2,400DPI, a slightly odd combination that leaves out the popular 800DPI setting. In addition, it has two side buttons and rubber sides for a better grip.

Both the MK850 and Devastator 3 Plus combo are available to buy now at S$349 and S$79 respectively. 

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