Cooler Master CK721 Overview
The first thing I noticed once the CK721 was out of the box was just how sleek and subtle this keyboard looks. Available in both Space Gray and Silver White, my review sample is of the gray variety, and looks very subdued. A sparse, sand-blasted aluminum top plate, which is removeable, provides a nice border around the 67 keys and single dial. The top plate sports a polished edge that adds a touch of flash to an otherwise muted look. Speaking of a muted look, the CK721 does not feature any Cooler Master branding on the top, aside from a single keycap (FN) that sports the Cooler Master logo. The CK721 features a pretty standard 65% layout, with a slightly smaller right Shift key, a slightly shifted set of arrow keys, and three navigational keys (DEL, PgUp, and PgDn) along the right side of the keyboard.
In the top right of the keyboard is an aluminum-topped control dial that offers multiple control options depending on your use-case. Depending on your needs, the control dial can switch between various modes and bindings to give you additional access to controls right at your fingertips. These functions can also be modified via the MasterPlus+ software, which we will touch on a bit later.
Taking a closer look, we find ABS keycaps with laser-etched legends sitting atop TTC mechanical switches, in your choice of Red, Blue or Brown.
Our review sample comes with the TTC Red switches, which is my personal preference for overall use, especially with gaming.
These switches are rated for 50 million actuations, and offer 16.7 million colors of customization, thanks to their RGB LED lighting. A white underlay beneath all of the switches helps the LEDs provide additional underglow beneath the keycaps.
Moving around to the left side of the keyboard, we find a small access door that serves two purposes. The first is to contain the 2.4GHz wireless dongle when it is not being used.
The second purpose is to conceal the small lever which allows the top plate of the keyboard to be removed for cleaning and maintenance.
The right side of the CK721 is home to a three-way switch that lets you select between wired, 2.4GHz wireless, or Bluetooth connectivity.
The front side of the keyboard is home to a small USB-C port that is used alongside the braided USB cable in wired mode or for charging. I did notice that the USB-C opening was quite small, and did not support a few of our USB-C cables, which could prove to be unfortunate if you wanted to use a custom cable with the CK721, which is quite popular.
Flipping the CK721 over reveals two legs with multiple adjustment options to suit your tilt needs, along with rubber feet to keep the keyboard in place during use. A small Cooler Master logo has been molded into the bottom of the base as well.
