By: Mitchell Kehler (Guest Writer)
December 11, 2020
If you have spent any time looking at apartments, the topic of how much space is available has always seemed to be the focal point of the conversation. The square footage, how many rooms there are, and overall storage space are all hot ticket items that home buyers are looking for. Recently, I have been preparing myself to move out of my parents' house and into a new apartment in the coming months. Growing up, I was never the best with properly maximizing my available area, leaving my closet in a mess and leaving things all over my desk. However, this is no longer the case. I am now obsessed with keeping all the clutter in check along with having the cleanest desk possible. This has me visualizing how everything should be organized when I walk into a show unit. I need to think about where my desk is going to go, how I am going to organize the furniture, and where I will be keeping my instruments and vinyl collection. Unfortunately, it has also caused a lot of pressure on me to figure out the logistics. A product that takes space and pressure into consideration is the Cooler Master ControlPad. The ControlPad aims to be the perfect keypad for both work and play. After seeing the potential of the Cooler Master ControlPad, I am excited to see what the ControlPad is capable of. Let us keep reading to find out!
The review unit of the Cooler Master ControlPad came from Cooler Master's offices in Brea, California. The box came through FedEx's Ground service and arrived in good condition with no large dents. The ControlPad shipped with a couple of other Cooler Master peripherals, including the MM711 Blue Steel and MM720. There is not much else to speak of, so let us begin with the unboxing.
The design for the packaging of the Cooler Master ControlPad has a very simple look, sporting a primarily white box with purple accents. This design choice deviates from Cooler Master’s usual branding of dark grey and purple. The ControlPad is displayed directly in the middle of the box with half of the wrist rest displayed off the right side of the box. Along the bottom of the box is the product name along with the product features. On the top left is the Cooler Master logo and on the other side is a sticker that displays the type of switches installed in the unit. This unit has Cherry MX Red switches, though there is an alternative model with Gateron Red switches. The sides of the box display the Cooler Master logo with the product name. The back of the box displays the whole ControlPad and labels all the included features. Cooler Master states that there is endless potential for both work and play as all 24 keys can be customized to be anything you want for games and creative applications. In addition to this, the ControlPad is pressure-sensitive with Aimpad technology, making it a potential controller replacement for racing games
Before we continue, here are the specifications for the Cooler Master ControlPad as posted on the manufacturer's website:
Specifications
Keyboard Switch Type: Cherry MX Red or Gateron Red (Choice)
Keyboard Material: Plastic, Aluminum, PU Leather
Keyboard Color: Gunmetal Black
Keyboard LED Color: RGB, 16.7 million colors
Keyboard Polling Rate: 1000Hz
Keyboard Response Rate: 1ms//1000Hz
Keyboard MCU: 32bit ARM Cortex M3
Keyboard On-Board Memory: 512 KB
On-The-Fly System: Lighting Control
Wrist Wrest: Yes, Removable magnetic with soft PU Leather
Keyboard Cable: USB Type-C Detachable and Braided
Software Support, Yes, new Cross Product Unified Software Application (Master Plus)
Keyboard Connector Cable: USB 2.0
Keyboard Cable Length: 1.8 Meters
Out of the box, Cooler Master displays the ControlPad under a plastic shell that holds it in place. Packed underneath is the wrist rest is a detachable full-sized USB Type-A to USB Type-C cable and a keycap puller. Included with all of this is the user manual and quick start guide. The packaging is simple, but provides a nice unboxing experience as it almost feels like the ControlPad is on display when the box is opened.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. A Closer Look - Hardware and Software
3. Conclusion
