Page 3 - Subjective Performance Tests
Since the MasterSet MS120 keyboard and mouse combo does not come with additional software, we just plugged the mouse and keyboard in and put them through our series of standard performance tests. This includes normal office usage in the Microsoft Windows environment, as well as gaming within first person shooting game such as the Counter-Strike 1.6. Graphics work was done in addition to regular office usage with Microsoft Visio. For the tracking performance test of the mouse, the majority of the tests were done on a normal tracking surface. Please note these are subjective tests, but we will attempt to make it as objective as possible with our cross-reference testing methods.
The keyboard of MasterSet MS120 features a unique mem-chanical switch design. Comparing with the other type of mem-chanical switch Cooler Master uses on the MasterKeys Lite L Combo RGB keyboard, this one has more mechanical features. This is because actual springs are used in the switches instead of domes. In fact, for each switch, you can find three springs in total. It is worth mentioning most mechanical switches only have one spring in each one of them. In theory, the keyboard should have a very similar typing experience as real mechanical keyboards. However, despite the fact the keyboard does make clicky sounds and the switches are tactile, the quality of the clicking sound and the tactility is still not good enough to be considered as comparable to real mechanical keyboards. It does feel like as if I were clicking on a retractable pen. Personally, I think the keyboard will be better if it is not clicky, since if I really want a keyboard with good clicky sound, I will just buy a real mechanical keyboard with Cherry MX Blue switches. Furthermore, without the clicky sound, this keyboard can be also used in the office for productivity work. Speaking of the RGB lighting performance, the MasterSet MS120 keyboard is really good. Each key on the keyboard gets an independent LED, therefore the lighting is even across the keyboard. Lighting effects such as the color, lighting mode, lighting zone, and even the color changing speed can be adjusted on-the-fly without any software. The RGB design of this keyboard is really worth showing off at a LAN party.
In order to review the mouse, I switched my daily driver, a Logitech M510, which is a wireless palm grip mouse, to the MasterSet MS120 mouse. I really liked the way this mouse felt. The major reason was due to the excellent ergonomic design of this device. It was easy to find a comfortable way holding the mouse, even for the first time using it. The ring finger could comfortably sit on the dedicated finger rest. It is worth noting the finger rest was long enough to provide support for the whole length of the ring finger. The rubber grip on the right side provided enough friction to enable me to precisely control the mouse. I would like to have a rubber grip on the left side as well for better handling though. The wide-body design allowed all of my five fingers to naturally hold the mouse instead of forcing my fingers to be compatible with the shape its shell. In other words, the product was designed to fit my hand, not my hand to fit the design of the product. In addition, as a mouse designed mainly for a claw grip, this product is not that short. The mouse also provides palm rest functionality, although it may not be the case if you have an extra-large hand.
The designer of this mouse definitely had a clear goal for this mouse -- to help its owner beat rivals in-game at an economical price. This product worked perfectly for first person shooter games like Counter-Strike 1.6. From my tests, it had precise tracking and a quick response time for a lag-free experience. The switches also provided crisp and responsive clicks. It has a maximum 3500 DPI sensitivity. It was totally beyond my capability to use the full DPI setting in games like Counter-Strike 1.6, since I found that my gun would simply move too fast for me to follow. For gaming, I normally use 1000 DPI, while for other tasks like browsing the Internet, I use 800 DPI. However in this case, I only had four sets of DPI settings: 500, 750, 1500, and 3500. Unfortunately, none of the presets matched with my preferences. Therefore, I had to spend some time to get used to the new DPI settings.
In terms of the productivity work, like office work and graphic design, the MasterSet MS120 mouse was generally good for the price. The ergonomic design made it really comfortable to hold for hours of hard work. All the buttons were properly located such that it was hard to accidentally press any one of them. If you have different preferences when performing different tasks, you can also easily switch between your predefined four sets of DPI settings on-the-fly. Frankly speaking, its sensor offered satisfying performance in terms of precision, since most of the time, our DPI setting was below 1500, and therefore the experience was promising. No jitter was noticed at 500 and 750 DPI settings. At the 1500 DPI setting, very little jitter was captured, while at the 3500 DPI setting, the jitter was hard to ignore. I did not think it was a big problem, since most of the time, I would not use the maximum 3500 DPI setting anyway. In terms of both gaming and productivity work, there were no obvious shortcomings for me to point out on the Cooler Master MasterSet MS120 mouse after weeks of using it at the given price point.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. A Closer Look - Hardware and Software
3. Subjective Performance Tests
4. Conclusion
