The Cooler Master CK720 has been released, providing a plethora of enthusiast-level features for a relatively low price — but is it worth it?
When we reviewed the Cooler Master CK721 back in October 2022, we didn’t hold back when it came to the subpar typing experience, poor battery life, and mediocre build quality.
So when Cooler Master revealed its next keyboard not too long after, we were afraid that the iconic company would let us down yet again.
But with features like hot-swappable switches, premium keycaps, and sound dampening, did they manage to redeem themselves with the CK720?
Key Specs
- Switch type: Kailh Box v2 (Red, White, Brown)
- Keycaps: PBT double-shot Keycaps
- Connectivity: USB-C
- Form factor: 65%
- Lighting: RGB Per-key
- Features: 5-pin hot-swap, rotary encoder, Mac compatibility
- Price: $99.99
Design
There’s no hiding it — the Cooler Master CK720 is a beautiful keyboard. The Space Gray colorway sample offers a dark gray metal faceplate that’s perfectly accented with Cooler Master’s black, shine-through PBT keycaps.
The face plate is aluminum while the bottom of the CK720 is plastic, which is the same build offered by the wireless CK721 keyboard we reviewed previously.
Branding on the keyboard is limited to a simple Cooler Master logo on the function key. We absolutely love when companies keep branding to a minimum, and they’ve knocked it out of the park with the CK720.
Everything on the keyboard can be controlled via the function layer quite easily, and it offers profiles for both Windows and Mac OS layouts.
The per-key RGB lighting isn’t the brightest we’ve ever seen on a keyboard, but the colors are accurate and shine through the keycaps rather well.
The typing experience elevates it to a new level
Compared to previous renditions of this style of keyboard, Cooler Master turned the CK720’s typing experience all the way to 11.
They’ve kept the metal backplate, but improved the PCB with 5-Pin hot-swap to hold the Kailh Box v2 switches (we have the red version) alongside in-house designed stabilizers on all the bigger keys.
The keyboard’s 1.2mm thick PBT keycaps aren’t the thickest in the world, but when paired with two different silicone pads on top and below the PCB and fantastic Kailh Box switches, the typing experience on the CK720 is absolutely phenomenal.
There’s no hollow, pingy, sound, but it’s not overly thocky either. It’s a perfect keyboard for those who type a lot throughout the week.
It’s not perfect all around
As we unboxed the CK720, we went to replace our Higround Basecamp board with full intentions of using the USB cable already connected to the PC.
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Unfortunately, the USB-C port on the back of the keyboard is inset quite a bit, and the hole around it is really small — making it so our existing cable wouldn’t fit.
While this won’t be an issue for most, those looking to use the Cooler Master CK720 with custom cables that they already own may be met with a bit of resistance.
The software needs work
The Cooler Master Masterplus software does get the job done when it comes to changing profiles, lighting, and remapping the occasional key, but it’s far from perfect.
It is plagued with a rather unintuitive UI, the inability to resize the window on the screen, and added system monitoring features that do nothing but take up more resources.
We recommend using the keyboard without the accompanying software. Luckily, the stock keycaps come with easy-to-understand legends to help you set it up and change options on the fly.
Gaming Performance
There’s not a lot to say about the CK720’s gaming performance, as there’s nothing about it that really stands out in that aspect.
In our testing with CS:GO and Modern Warfare 2, the 40g of force needed to actuate the Kailh Box V2 Red’s made our gameplay quite enjoyable.
Although the actuation point doesn’t quite match that of Steelseries’ optical switches, they’ll be plenty good for most players.
Should you buy it?
Absolutely, although there are plenty of options around the Cooler Master CK720’s $99.99 price point.
The overall typing experience, build quality, and features, paired with the fact the keyboard comes stock with hot swap Kailh Box V2 Switches really make the CK720 more than worth the price tag.
The verdict – 4/5
If you’re in the market for a high-quality expanded 65% keyboard with a rotary knob and hot swap switches, the Cooler Master CK720 is a no-brainer.
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