Cooler Master claims the MK850 is a mechanical keyboard with a first-- it features Cherry MX switches with analogue pressure-sensitive technology, allowing for "unparalleled control in even the most demanding PC games."
Dubbed "Aimpad," the technology adds IR sensors to the Cherry MX switches in the QWERASDF key cluster. According to Cooler Master, the IR sensors "sense the entire 4mm range of a key press versus competitor analogue keyboards that are only capable of measuring 2mm of analogue movement and do not utilize Cherry MX switches." Or, in short, the pressure sensitivity allows for smooth increments in the control of speed, yaw, pitch and the like, similar to what is offered by analogue joysticks.
Using the Aimpad keys does involve a bit of a hassle, mind-- Cooler Master warns users need to calibrate the pressure-sensitive keys every time the technology is reactivated. Furthermore, the LEDs enabling analogue input need up to 5 minutes to "warm up," and improper calibration can lead to misregistered inputs.
As for the rest of the keyboard, the MK850 includes twin knurled control wheels one can configure to adjust volume, dial in DPI or change lighting colours, x5 dedicated multimedia keys, per-key RGB backlighting, removable USB-C cable, anodised aluminium top plate and a magnetic wrist rest. Powering the keyboard is an ARM Cortex M3 controller with 512KB memory backup, while response time clocks at 1ms.
The MK850 is available from March 2019.
