[ad_1]
It may be time for gaming keypads to make a comeback, thanks to rising interest in PC RPGs like Final Fantasy XIV and Baldur’s Gate 3, and a growing need for consumer-grade gear for streaming and video production. For work or play, Cooler Master’s new ControlPad is a blank slate for flexible customization. The ControlPad’s simple, sleek design makes it a versatile, natural fit for playing games or using hotkeys and macros in video apps. Though some of its most powerful gaming-focused features stumble a bit, the $99.99 ControlPad Mechanical Keypad remains enticing due to its utility.
These Keys Can Be Whatever You Want Them to Be
A sleek wedge of brushed aluminum, The ControlPad looks and feels more like a fancy add-on numberpad, rather than a gaming peripheral. The pad features 24 keys: four rows of five keys, plus one row of four at the bottom, including a double-width “space bar” style key. The keys are tightly packed but, surprisingly, it’s easy to move across them quickly without accidentally pressing multiple keys.
The ControlPad’s traditional shape is its most enticing feature. For some time now, many gaming keypads have distinguished themselves from other types of accessories with a frame and shape designed to be a better “fit” for your left hand than the left side of a standard keyboard. That design has its advantages—good wrist support and certain keys are made easier to reach, for example. At the same time, those qualities confine those keypads to serve exclusively as game-optimized keyboard replacements, rather than using them together.
That makes the ControlPad quite versatile, by comparison. With the 24 keys and two customizable volume rollers, it offers as much utility as other keypads, but in a form factor that you can access quickly from the keyboard, and that allows you to quickly return. Though it doesn’t feel quite as optimized, it serves as a fine keyboard alternative for people who may not use a mechanical gaming keyboard on a daily basis. Meanwhile, it can also do other things.
Similar Products
Razer Tartarus Pro
Check Stock
(Opens in a new window)
Read Our Razer Tartarus Pro Review
Corsair K100 RGB Gaming Keyboard
See It
(Opens in a new window)
Read Our Corsair K100 RGB Gaming Keyboard Review
Razer BlackWidow V3 Pro Wireless Mechanical Gaming Keyboard
See It
(Opens in a new window)
Read Our Razer BlackWidow V3 Pro Wireless Mechanical Gaming Keyboard Review
The ControlPad is quite compact. Measuring 1.66 by 4.09 by 5.06 inches (HWD), it takes up very little space on your desk, which is important if you want to use it in tandem with a full-size keyboard. Even with its free-floating wrist rest, which adds a fair amount of depth—1.66 by 4.09 by 8.44 inches— it still feels less imposing than most gaming keypads.
The ControlPad features either Cherry MX Red or Gatreon Red linear switches. Linear “Red” keys have the quickest action of the three standard mechanical switch types. They’re ideal for games that require quick reflexes, like shooters. Normally, I’d also warn that Red switches’ light touch can also lead to typing mistakes, but that isn’t really an issue with a keypad since you don’t use it to type. You’re never pushing more than a couple of keys at a time, so the negative issues with the quick action never present themselves.
That said, it is still easier than it should be to mispress keys. The ControlPad’s keycaps are numbered, but don’t feature position keys with touch-based guides. (If you prefer symbols, Cooler Master sells alternative keycap sets with legends for gaming, Photoshop, Illustrator, and Premiere). As a result, it can be easy to lose track of where you are on the keypad. I understand why you’d exclude position keys—they’d naturally guide you to using the keypad a specific way. But with a 5 by 5 square, it’s easy to forget if you’re your fingering, especially under pressure.
The ContolPad’s keys have a second trick up their proverbial sleeves, dual actuation. Using Cooler Master’s proprietary “Aimpad” infrared sensors, the ControlPad can be customized to actuate at a half-press and full-press. As with other recent keypads, like Razer’s Tartarus Pro, the prescribed use for Aimpad is to mimic the feel of using an analog stick on a gamepad. In third-person PC games like Grand Theft Auto or Assassin’s Creed, for example, you can walk by pressing the key part-way, and run by pressing fully, just like how you would lightly press tilt analog stick to walk and tilt it hard to run.
Personally, I don’t find that adding the technical parity suddenly makes the keypad an appealing, viable alternative to a gamepad. Playing Fall Guys, I had complete control with the ControlPad, but my movement, reduced to four cardinal directions, felt awkward.
Plus, ControlPad’s controller compatibility is limited. The device connects to your PC as both a keyboard and a gamepad at the system level, but that does not guarantee it will work both ways as it should in every game. In Dead Cells, for example, it only supported D-pad inputs, not the analog stick. The Epic Games Store doesn’t recognize the ControlPad as a controller at all, so none of its analog stick or button inputs work on any game, even ones that have been compatibility tested(Opens in a new window) by Cooler Master.
Technically, Aimpad’s dual-actuation has utility beyond this simulating a controller. Technically, you can add two inputs to any key. Of course, you can’t activate the full-press function without also triggering the partial-press function, so they have to work together in tandem. Can you make it work? Yes. Is it worth the effort? I don’t really think so.
It Takes Time to MasterPlus
To configure the ControlPad, you’ll need to download to Cooler Master’s MasterPlus configuration software. MasterPlus is a one-stop configuration hub for creating keypad profiles, adjusting RGB lighting, creating macros, and remapping keys, including Aimpad-related inputs.
There’s a visual UI for remapping keys and changing the lighting, which is fairly easy to navigate. This is good, because you’ll probably be fiddling with your configurations a lot. If you plan to use AimPad’s analog-style controls, you may need to adjust your settings on a game-by-game basis. If you’re using the keypad for macros, you will need to program and set them.
As you might expect, setting up dual actuation can get a bit tricky, though. Mapping multiple inputs onto a single key can get very confusing, very fast. Some of the options, such as switching among different styles of dual-actuation, are not properly explained. Any configuration using dual-actuation will require a certain amount of trial and error.
Luckily, the ControlPad lets you create up to 24 custom keypad profiles, so you should almost always be able to test new ideas for inputs on a fresh palette. While the keypad doesn’t allow you to create additional profiles locally, you can “export” profile files for cold storage and reload them later.
The People’s Keypad
Despite its Aimpad-related stumbles, the Cooler Master ControlPad Mechanical Keypad is an incredibly useful peripheral. For gamers, it works well as a mechanical keyboard replacement; for digital creators, it serves as an aesthetically appealing and practical production tool. At $99.99 for a model with Cherry MX switches (or $89.99 for Gatreons), it’s substantially cheaper than our last spotlighted keypad, the Razer Tartarus Pro ($129.99). While that keypad has some advantages, like optical switches and dynamic actuation that’s easier to customize than Aimpad, the ControlPad’s versatility makes it the more appealing choice for a wider range of people.
[ad_2]
Source link : https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/cooler-master-controlpad-mechanical-keypad
