Cooler Master MasterKeys L PBT- Full Size Gaming Mechanical Keyboard, Cherry MX Blue w/ 4 Green Switches, Thick 1.5mm PBT Keycaps

I have a Ducky Shine 3 with Cherry MX Browns for my gaming PC at home with ABS keycaps. After having this keyboard for a while and using it exclusively for work, I am very tempted to go and buy the PBT Vortex Keycaps for my gaming PC. The PBT keycaps have a different feel than using the standard ABS keycaps that come with most of the keyboards. They feel sturdier and higher quality. I also wanted to increase my typing speed and dampen some of the bottom-out sound while working in cubicle land at work. I don't think the others around me wanted to hear a lot of clicking or I may have gone with the MX Blue Switches.I bought and installed the WASD Blue 40A-R O-rings on this keyboard which took like an hour or so to remove all they keycaps and install them. It noticeably reduced the bottom-out sound and reduced the switch actuation distance which actually helped me increase my typing speeds. I would recommend the O-rings if you do a lot of typing, want to increase speed, want less finger fatigue, and want a slightly reduced noise.(For the MX-Brown version)Pro's:-Thick PBT Keycaps - Sturdy, heavier, well-made-Perfect and stealthy as there are no flashy gaming lights, etc. I work in a professional office space and no one even notices my keyboard is different than their boring dell membrane keyboards - also so no one would want to steal it-Cherry MX Browns are great for the office work environment. They are way less annoying and clicky than the Cherry MX Blue or Green switches-Typing on it feels great (as do all keyboards with MX Browns) and I should have gotten a mechanical keyboard for my office sooner. I increased my average words per minute by at least 10 WPM after the O-ring mod.Con's:-The bright white lights for the NumLock/CapsLock/Scroll Lock/etc are SUPER bright and actually kind of annoying. I may even put some black electrical tape over it because it is that bright. At the price point for real Cherry MX Browns and PBT keycaps though, this is not worth knocking off a star.-The manual could be done better and made more clear. The 'Macro-programming' was actually difficult to figure out because there is no back lighting on this keyboard. I had to watch a youtube video showing how to use the keyboard Macros from a different Cooler-master keyboard (and it still wasn't easy)Final thoughts: It was a good buy for the price compared to most other mechanical keyboards if you aren't looking for flashy or gamer. I actually prefer this keyboard now over my Ducky Shine 3 with ABS keycaps. Genuine Cherry MX switches, PBT keycaps, you can't really go wrong.

Unit: CM MasterKeys S PBT, Cherry MX brown switchesOS I use: Debian Linux: TestingUPDATE:So, I came back to this review to note something that is a little concerning to me. I've started to notice that my keyboard will occasionally put a second space after pressing the space bar. I dunno if this is just me typing lazily, because these are light switches, or that there is something wrong with the detection of the spacebar. Just something I've noticed, and it gets in the way of my typing when it happens. This didn't happen while I made this review a while back, so maybe I got a defective switch that I just need to replace.Overall:This is a great little keyboard with a lot of features for professional level users, and has a great typing experience to go along with it. Add to the fact that it's driverless, it makes this keyboard a dream for users on any OS. There are many other professionally oriented keyboards that are much more expensive, and at the price this keyboard is listed, makes it a very aggressive competitor that is arguably worth the price.Review:This keyboard is great, and is the best keyboard I have used so far. I used to have a Logitech G610 with brown switches, but slowly realized that, because I use Linux, did not have full control over it. It was also hard to modify, with screws under the thick rubber feet, causing you to ruin your keyboard if you attempted to take it apart.The main reason I bought this keyboard was because it was driverless, much more portable than my previous keyboard, is user serviceable, and had PBT keycaps. I'll go over the main features, and at the end mention the small details that I like or dislike about this keyboard.Driverless:This keyboard is driverless, meaning that it can plug into any type of system, and be fully supported as a standard HID keyboard. This means there is no special software needed to use this keyboard. In the manual, they keyboard has different things you can do with the function key, which are:-Change keyboard layout (Windows, Linux, Mac)-Change keyboard type (qwerty, dvorak, workman)-Change repeat rate (this is fairly useless in my opinion, as this should always be handled by the OS and not the keyboard. This is part of the reason why I dropped a star)-Meta/home key lock (the symbol used for this is a windows icon, which is a little disappointing. I don't use this, as I use meta+zxc to switch between desktops)-Multimedia control (volume, skip track, play/pause/stop)-Macro recording-factory resetMost of these features are good, except the rate repeat, and the macro system. Macros can be very useful for certain applications, but the way it's implemented on this keyboard is not very good. When recording a macro, it actually records the time between hitting keys, so when you play it back, it types it out exactly how you recorded it. This is inconvenient, as macros should be instantaneous. It could be useful in some cases, however it would make more sense if there was at least an option for instant output.Overall, this keyboard has nice driverless features that save even when the keyboard is off, like layouts and macros.Portability:The keyboard is tenkeyless, and is perfect for bringing to places. It has a detachable cable that comes with it that is braided, and is of a nice length that isn't too long or too short. The ends of it are also of a nice quality, and are made of a nice heavy plastic. The only problem with this is that for some reason CoolerMaster has decided on using micro USB, rather than mini USB, or even USB C. Micro USB is objectively a less durable connector, and subjectively more annoying than other options. This disappointed me, and adds to the reason why this review is 4 stars. However, it should be fine if you leave a cable plugged in, just make sure that you find a cable length that works with being at your desk and being somewhere with a laptop.User Serviceable:One thing that I was excited about with this keyboard was with how I could take it apart without breaking it. It's secured by one screw, that mainly is only there to ensure warranty (you must break a warranty sticker). After removing the screw, the shell is a two-part system that is clipped together, and can be taken apart using a spudger.After removing the front shell, you will see the metal plate, as well as a daughter board that is connected to the below PCB using pins. This is actually a very smart and modular design that CoolerMaster made. With time and resources, you could replace the board with a custom made one that would allow you to fully program your keyboard to your liking. Sadly, there aren't many options already available for doing that, but I'm sure there will be more in the future.Taking out the PCB, you can get to the bottom of it. The solder joints are good, but some flux is still visible, but that doesn't really affect anything. There is a clip cable that connects to the bottom shell, which is the micro USB port. It's screwed into the bottom shell, and can be removed. The USB cable clip on the PCB is strange, and I couldn't figure out how to remove it without putting a lot of pressure on it, which would risk breaking it, so I didn't try to remove it any further. With the way this keyboard is set up, you could definitely switch out or replace switches with alternative ones, which I may attempt at some point.There is one thing that worried me though. When unscrewing the PCB from the bottom shell, there should be two screws. Mine for some reason had one. This shouldn't affect much of anything for me, but I'm disappointed that QC didn't notice this.Keycaps:The keycaps that come with this board are 1.5mm thick PBT plastic, which is extremely durable and has a great typing feel. There are many keycaps like it on the market, but the quality shows on this keyboard. They are top printed with either laser etching or pad printing, but either way, the type face will start to discolor and disappear, so keep some new keycaps in sight for the future. One thing that I like about the printing is how the meta/home keys don't have a particular OS, but have the CoolerMaster logo. I think this is pretty cool, but some reviewers don't like it. The type face isn't gamery at all, so I could easily bring this out in public without being embarrassed. For the wide keys, the keyboard uses Costar bars for stabilization. Although less elegant, it gives the spacebar a satisfying clunk when you bottom it out. Overall, the keycaps are great, but because they are laser/printed, you may need to buy a new set at some point.Other details:-There is no logo anywhere on the shell other than the bottom, so you can replace the meta keycaps and truly make the keyboard your own, just like the CoolerMaster slogan.-The indicator lights for capslock and such use these white LEDs that are great. Many keyboards use extremely bright white LEDs that can be distracting, but this keyboard uses a dim enough to not be distracting white set of LEDs. This is a great touch that I wish other companies would do.-This keyboard is super solid. The metal plate inside makes it super rigid and heavy, and give the entire keyboard a sense of quality. It barely flexes. The plastic shell is also a matte black ABS, which is great for keeping fingerprints invisible.-One thing I noticed is that some keys made a pinging noise when I started using it, but it slowly went away as I used the keyboard. In general, this keyboard is a tad bit loud with brown switches, but not unbearable.Overall:This keyboard is great for people like me that want to bring their keyboard with them, and have a solid typing experience at the same time. Everything about this keyboard is designed to make the user happy, with the lack of branding (on the shell), and the ability to even change out the logic board for a custom one if you want. It looks like a normal keyboard, so using it in public isn't embarrassing. It's just how simple and well made this keyboard is that makes it my current favorite, and I recommend anyone buy this keyboard if they are on a budget, and want a keyboard that won't fail them. The only reason why I removed a star is because of all of the small things that added up, and they don't really bother me in the long run anyway.