Cooler Master MasterKeys Lite L keyboard and mouse review

1. Introduction2. Unboxing3. Masterkeys Lite mouse and keyboard4. Testing5. Final Thoughts6. View All Pages

Cooler Master has a history of trying to make peripheral packages for gamers on a budget. While we were not overly impressed with the last set up, it did prove at least that it is viable to make a pretty keyboard that does not cost the earth. (review HERE)

Well now it is back to try again, this time adding RGB lighting, Cherry MX keycap compatibility and a clean, matt design to the Masterkeys Lite L combo mouse and keyboard. That goes for the mouse too, which has ditched the transformers styling of the Octane mouse, for a much more traditional, rounded palm-rest design.

Of course looks can be deceiving. While this board may mention its “memchanical,” switches, make no mistake, this is a membrane board. That means we should not go in expecting mechanical comfort or performance, but perhaps Masterkeys Lite offers enough of a package at a competitive enough price, that gamers on a budget will have one more solid option when looking to move beyond stock peripherals.

Features and specifications

Keyboard

• Memchanical switches blend mechanical keycaps with a membrane interface.
• RGB backlighting provides multiple lighting options.
• 26-key anti-ghosting to avoid missed key presses.
• Compatible with Cherry MX keycaps.
• Splash resistant.
• Repeat rate and lighting controls mapped to function keys.

Mouse

• Infrared Avago 3050 sensor.
• Omron switches for left and right mouse buttons.
• RGB lighting in two different zones.
• Dedicated DPI cycle switch for on-the-fly adjustment.
• Teflon mouse feet.

The packaging for the Cooler Master MasterKeys Lite is very conservative, essentially wrapping around the products with cardboard and a little padding – this is not a box that takes up a lot of room. However you will not be confused about what you are buying, as there is a big picture of the keyboard all lit up in a multitude of colours, with the mouse along side it.

The front and back both feature details about the “memchanical,” switches, as well as extolling major features like Cherry MX keycap compatibility and its transparent switch housings which should improve LED light coverage.

Despite keycap compatibility, there are no additional caps with this keyboard and mouse combo – it is all about cost cutting. With that in mind, the only extra you will find in the box is a short set up manual.

The Masterkeys Lite mouse is a very understated piece of kit. It features a hard plastic, black shell, with only the faintest of lines separating out the palm rest from the side panels. The only real styling point when the mouse is not lit up, is the Cooler Master logo at the rear, which is near invisible in most lighting conditions.

The left and right sides of the mouse are near identical, with no thumb or finger grip material whatsoever on either. However the left does feature the classic two side-buttons, which provide forward and back functionality.

The underside gives you a good look at the centrally located infrared Avago 3050 sensor, as well as the three Teflon feet which should mean this mouse is nice and slippery on all sorts of surfaces.

The cable is non braided classic rubber with a standard nickel plated USB connector.

The keyboard is matt black with a similarly understated design. It is very neat and compact, with a white underbelly beneath the keycaps which should help dissipate the LED backlighting uniformly.

 

The keycaps are hard to remove, but if you pop them off you can see the white base for all of the keys. You can also see that the switches are designed to look just like mechanical housings, but they are not. They are however made of clear plastic, so should not inhibit LED lighting like some mechanical switches do.

 

The switches on this keyboard are “UV coated,” to make them long lasting and feature the classic concave shape of most keycaps. They also use translucent lettering across the board to allow the backlighting to shine through.

There are no macro switches on this board. While it does not do away with the tenkeys nor the arrows, it does cut back on space by minimising the surrounding bezel and keeps extra keys to a minimum.

That is why all of the media functions and lighting options are mapped to various keys as secondary functions. F1 through F7 all let you adjust modes, lighting colouring and brightness.

Media keys can be found in the home section, within easy reach of the FN key, so changing volume with one hand should be more than possible.

The underside of the board is similarly detail-free as the top side, though there are four feet to keep it in place.

The extender legs are made entirely of hardened rubber, which is a nice touch, as it means you do not lose out on too much grip when they are extended.

Testing the Cooler Master Masterkey Lite mouse and keyboard combo is a little different from the average peripheral review, in that I will be putting both of them through their paces, but I will break down each of them individually.

For the keyboard I will consider how it plays during games, what it is like to type on, how comfortable it is to use and how good some of its extra features are. With the mouse, I will focus on gaming ability, but also consider general usage for photo editing and web browsing, as well as its lighting and additional functions.

The keyboard

While Cooler Master might talk up these “memchanical,” switches of the Master Key Lite, it must be said that it is in reality a 100 per cent membrane board. The switches support Cherry MX keycaps and each switch is separated with a clear surround so looks very much like a mechanical and should be protected from spill damage because of it, but the feel is all membrane.

The keys have a squishy, stiff feel to them and do not respond as quickly as Mechanical switches do. Although Cooler Master touts a tactile feel to them, it is not very apparent and often feels more comfortable to bottom the key out to make sure.

That said, I did not notice much of a difference between the Masterkey Lite keyboard and many high-end gaming boards – I am just too much of a mid-level gamer to really be able to take advantage. I never found myself mis-pressing keys, or found them not following through when pressed with sufficient pressure, which is a good sign.

The way the keys are segmented makes this board feel a little more accurate than your average membrane board, but not a lot better. It does not feel particularly precise, but whether in FPS titles, fast paced MOBAs or something more relaxing, I found the Masterkey Lite a pretty capable gaming keyboard.

It does not have any back-end software, so there are no tweaks to be made there. There are no macro keys either – this is quite a barebones board. However you can adjust the repeat speed if you wish, which is a nice addition, though not something I have ever made much use of.

In terms of typing, I did not enjoy my time with the Masterkey Lite to the same extent as I did when gaming. While the switches are perhaps a little improved over a classic membrane board, I really do not like to type on them. They feel spongy and inaccurate and though you can feel the actuation, it is not very obvious.

Often I found myself driving the switches extra hard to bottom them out for confirmation, but that becomes very tiring on the wrists and fingers very quickly.

It is adequate for sure and if you are not a regular typist, this is probably not as big a deal as it is for me. For quickly tapping out a message to friends, it works fine and if you have never used a mechanical you will have no problems with it.

That said, I certainly would not recommend it for regular typists or mechanical fans, even on a budget.

The only other point to mention with the keyboard is the lighting. Cooler master has done a great job there. The range of colours is fully RGB and you can adjust it all using the function keys on the board itself in a very simple manner.

Lighting coverage is very strong too, with the central LEDS, white undercoat and clear plastic switch housings going a long way to make the keys light up in a uniform fashion. However they face a new problem because of their height. Because of the extra layers needed in a membrane board, some of the keys farthest from you lose some of their lustre around the edges, as the angle of the translucent keys just does not send the light in your direction.

The escape key for example looks dull compared to the rest.

The mouse

Although the Masterkey Lite gaming mouse is hardly set to win any style awards, it is a fairly capable gaming mouse. Throughout my testing of it in a variety of FPS, MOBA, RTS and RPG titles, I found it to have a decent sensitivity range, strong accuracy and it was fairly comfortable over long periods.

Thanks to the Teflon mouse feet it moves smoothly over a variety of surfaces and can even work just on your desk surface if you want, which is a surprise for an optical sensor.

I found DPI changing on the fly a adequate but not perfect, since it has a sensitivity cycle button rather than an up/down selector. However it is possible and since there are only a handful of settings that was not too problematic.

Those who like their mouse to do a lot of jobs for them will be disappointed with the lack of many side buttons, but you cannot remap these ones any way.

Personally I missed rubber side grips. Anyone who has read a few of my peripheral reviews knows that when the game gets tense, my hands start sweating, which can be problematic without adequate grip. I never found myself slipping off of the Masterkey Lite mouse, to its credit, but I would still like something better than hard plastic to grip on to – even if just to move the moisture away from my hand.

In general use I found the mouse equally capable. Nothing really to shout about but nothing very negative to say either. The scroll wheel can be noisy, but it is sturdy and rubber coated for extra grip.

The lighting on the mouse is fine, but a little obnoxiously bright at certain angles. I do like that even on an economy-level mouse though, Cooler Master included a cable protector to stop it shearing off after months or years of use.

So at the end of the day, how does the Cooler Master ‘memchanical' Masterkeys Lite keyboard and mouse combination stack up? Pretty well as it goes. It is an adequate surface to type on if you are not planning to write too many essays and works well enough for gaming.

The mouse too is perfectly capable and makes this set a great upgrade option for those looking to replace their stock mouse and keyboard with peripherals that look a lot nicer.

And without breaking the budget.

Of course though this is a set of products where you get what you pay for in some senses. Yes you get RGB lighting, but you can say memchanical all you like: this is a membrane keyboard. It feels, acts and behaves just like a membrane board, so do not go in expecting anything else.

Likewise the mouse is very much an entry level gaming mouse, so its styling is dull, it does not have many button options or remappable switches and its DPI settings are hardly broad – but you can get a pair of decent (ish) gaming peripherals for not a lot and you cannot say that for most gaming hardware.

Personally, I would pay the extra to get a mechanical keyboard, but I am not the typical case as I spend all day typing on one. If I was just using it for a bit of evening gaming, the Masterkeys Lite would be a nice and affordable way to have a pretty looking keyboard without breaking the bank.

These peripherals look the part and have solid enough performance that they are a perfectly viable buy for gamers on a budget. High-end gamer gear this is not.

You can buy the Cooler Master Masterkeys Lite L combo pack for £50.

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Keyboard

Pros

• Adequate for gaming and typing.
• Lighting looks nice, mostly uniform.
• Good price point.
• Good mix of media keys.
• FN key is in the right spot for media function.
• Splash resistance keys.
• Cherry Keycap compatibility is a nice touch.

Cons

• Inferior to mechanical in gaming and typing (particularly the latter).
• Has a spongy feel to its switches.
• No back end software for customisation.
• Backlighting is affected by sheer height of keys.
• No wrist rest.
• Lacks a number of features that gaming hardware typically comes with.

Mouse

Pros

• Reasonably accurate and sensitive infrared sensor.
• Works on all manner of surfaces.
• Good price point.
• Basic backlighting is a nice touch.
• Mouse feet are smooth and fast.

Cons

• Generic, rather boring looking. Can barely see Cooler Master logo.
• No side grips means perspiration can be a problem.
• No back end software for customisation.

KitGuru Says: The Masterkeys Lite kit is a decent set of gaming peripherals that would be a good upgrade from the kind of kit that is bundled with pre-built systems. If you can afford it, get a mechanical board as you will never look back, but if typing is not important to you, this will probably do you just fine.

 

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