14 DAY TRIAL // Cooler Master has released a peripheral which, while not quite rugged, nonetheless looks quite robust no matter what angle you behold it from. The keyboard also happens to have one of the most unusual backlighting systems out there.
We don't mean that the product has some sort of programmable backlight with 16.9 million colors and the ability to set up different color zones.
While the keyboard would have no doubt looked interesting if it had been given the ability to shine like a rainbow, that's not what happened here.
Instead, Cooler Master chose to install a white LED backlight system, complete with three brightness levels. You can also turn it completely off of course.
The Cooler Master Suppressor
Suppressor is the name that the company chose for its new peripheral, even though the keyboard doesn't actually suppress anything.
Indeed, if anything, it allows your gaming skills to barrel forward without any restraint the moment you launch your game and start playing, but it's not totally clear why Cooler Master chose that name.
As you might expect, the newcomer comes with its fair share of multimedia keyboards, although they're not separate but integrated with the Function keys.
What does stand out is the column of macro keys, numbers M1 through M5, located on the left-hand side, right next to the tab/shift/ctrl/ caps lock line.
Thanks to integrated memory of 128 kb and the 32-bit / 72 MHz ARM Rapid Engine processor, you can store up to 75 macros assigned to the five swappable keys in groups of 15 per profile.
And because the memory is integrated onboard, you can take the peripheral with you to a friend's house or a LAN party / club and play there immediately, using the same settings you favor at home. The detachable USB cable will ensure easy transport.
You'll have to make sure you own a mouse with its own integrated memory in order to carry everything over though.
It's possible to record macros via hardware or by using the software downloadable from the Cooler Master website. The manual will tell you what to do and how to go about it.
Availability and pricing
The Cooler Master Suppressor should be up for sale soon, if it isn't already, in Eastern Europe and Russia, for the price of €45 / $57. Retailers may not have them up for sale until December this year or January 2015 though, so don't get your pantaloons in a knot while you wait and fret.
