Review on 💡 Cooler Master MK730: Tenkeyless Mechanical Keyboard for Gaming with Brown Switches, Cherry MX, customizable RGB Lighting, and Detachable Wrist Support by Thasapon Keitt

This is my third mechanical keyboard. My first was the Logitech Orion G 810, an RGB backlit "gaming" keyboard that uses Romer-G proprietary switches. My second is the one I'm currently printing on (at work). Don't tell my boss!) is a Cooler Master MasterKeys S, TKL with Cherry MX Silver switches and no backlight at all. This product, the MasterKeys MK750 with Cherry MX Brown switches, is my favorite keyboard so far because I really like having the number pad on the right side and I really like the backlit keys. And, most importantly, it's not like a Cylon and a typewriter are having a baby. It's a very simple design, not singed by the multitude of branding, gimmicks, and other junk that inflates the price but detracts from the experience. The first two factors were the most important in deciding to upgrade from MasterKeys S to MasterKeys MK750. But also very important to me: 1.) Built-in USB Type-C connection. There are so many mechanical keyboards out there with the old mini and micro USB connectors that aren't necessarily obsolete, but those old connectors are definitely obsolete, and regardless of the manufacturer, the cable connectors themselves are crap and prone to breakage. And that says nothing about mini/micro USB not being reversible like USB Type-C. In my opinion, this was just a small step forward or protection. 2.) Customization software - I don't want to program keyboard functions (macros and key remapping) or backlighting directly from the keyboard itself. So I had to choose a product from a company that had the means to develop and maintain the software. It helps that the Cooler Master app is simple and applies your settings to the device's firmware, so the app doesn't have to be constantly running in the background like Logitech's solution just to keep your custom lighting settings active. Note, however, that you can definitely program your keyboard's macros, functions, and backlighting from the non-GUI keyboard itself, using the Fn key and other key combinations. So if you prefer to do everything on the keyboard, this is for you! Things I don't particularly like: 1.) The lighting around the edge of the keyboard isn't very bright or necessary, and it's all hidden when using the included palm rest anyway. Maybe CM could eliminate this feature and lower the price by a few bucks. Plus, if I really want more metal, it means more plastic. 2.) The included wrist rest is comfortable, well made, and stiff enough for me, but the magnetic connection to the keyboard case isn't strong at all, meaning the wrist rest always detaches whenever I want to move the keyboard across the table surface. It's not a big deal, but I'd welcome a physical connection or just stronger magnets to hold these pieces together all the time. 3.) Media control buttons are redundant. IDK on anything other than the play/pause, fast forward, and rewind buttons meant for birds. They are rarely useful enough to be used as dedicated keys on a keyboard. But worst of all, there are no dedicated volume controls grouped with these media controls. Volume control - Fn + Pg UP or Fn + Pg DN. I'd happily trade all the media control buttons for a volume wheel and/or programmable macro buttons. Instead I'm just stuck with these buttons that I'll never use that are far from their original position. 4.) The beveled edges of the case are polished plastic, which makes the keyboard itself a bit difficult to grip. since the rest of the chassis is aluminum. This isn't a huge downside, and it aligns with issue #2, as the weight of the keyboard combined with the smoothness of the sides of the case makes moving the keyboard quite a chore, even by a few inches. Despite these issues, I love the keyboard. Again, it is very simple in its visual design. Lighting and functions can be easily programmed either directly via the keyboard or with the supplied software. The switches and general build quality are what I expected at this price point. And the inclusion of USB Type-C is a great, forward-thinking inclusion.