Overall and Final Verdict

With the testing behind us and having taken a closer look at the keyboard itself, what’s the story on the Masterkeys S PBT? Well, like other Cooler Master keyboards, this model has the same simple and clean styling with a thin bezel, almost no branding, and that flat black finish that I love. What is different though is the inclusion of PBT keycaps. This means much better durability, a nicer finish, and very thick keycaps that give a much better feel and sound. All of that really helps add to the already good construction of the keyboard.

There is still room for improvement, I would love to see the new LED status indicators be a little smaller with pinhole LEDS. I also wouldn’t be against doubleshot PBT keycaps over the laser etching. Now the Costar stabilizers should make a lot of people happy, but I personally would prefer Cherry stabilizers just for simplicity in removing and installing keycaps in the future. The last downside to me was the lack of backlighting, but that is mostly just my preference.

For pricing, at launch, you can find the Masterkeys S PBT for $79.99 and this puts this specific model in lower than the backlit models from Cooler Master. Considering you are actually getting a great keycap set along with a good keyboard I think this is actually a good value. I’ve seen people spending almost this much just for a good set of thick PBT keycaps like this, so not having to do that in addition to the cost of the keyboard is nice. So if you are looking for a discrete keyboard with no backlighting and that will last for a very long time this is the keyboard. The PBT keycaps eliminate the one area that could have wear in the future.

fv5recommended

Live Pricing: HERE

Author Bio
garfi3ld
Author: garfi3ldWebsite: http://lanoc.org
Editor-in-chief
You might call him obsessed or just a hardcore geek. Wes's obsession with gaming hardware and gadgets isn't anything new, he could be found taking things apart even as a child. When not poking around in PC's he can be found playing League of Legends, Awesomenauts, or Civilization 5 or watching a wide variety of TV shows and Movies. A car guy at heart, the same things that draw him into tweaking cars apply when building good looking fast computers. If you are interested in writing for Wes here at LanOC you can reach out to him directly using our contact form.

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