Lighting and Software
Like most gaming keyboards we see these days the Cooler Master CK552 has full RGB backlighting, per key RGB backlighting actually. It looks quite good and there are a bunch of different effects to choose from. One thing that was odd was there was no brightness selection at all, either on the keyboard or in the software.
Cooler Master is making use of the their new Portal Software for most of their gaming accessories. This piece of software has a fresh look at will even allow you to link lighting effects between Cooler Master accessories. When you open it up it will detect which Cooler Master accessories you have connected. From there you can install control software for each as well as update firmware.
When you go into the control software the first tab is “LED” which of course allows you to control the lights on the keyboard. You do have per-key RGB backlighting and there are a bunch of different effects to choose from. Inside of each effect you can pick the direction and speed of the effect as well. Colors can be selected by using the color-picker window or by entering the RGB code, so you can get the exact color you want.
The next tab is “Macro” which allows you to create, record, and assign macros. Recording a macro is very easy, you basically just record what your actions are.
“Key Map” is next and here you can reassign each key on the keyboard to another key or macro. One thing I did find missing here was the ability to launch a program, windows commands, etc. All you have the ability to do is change each key to a macro or another key.
Finally the last tab is “Profiles”, which will show you your current profile (there are 4 total) and you can import, export, or restore each profile to default.
