The shortened-keyboard trend started some years back with the tenkeyless models that simply lopped off the number pad, but the newer “60% keyboard” brigade takes the keyboard cutting even further. Cooler Master has embraced the 60% layout with the SK620, SK621, and SK622 keyboards. These boards are quite similar, which can make it hard to figure out which one might be right for you, but some nuanced differences between the models can help guide the decision-making process. Let’s put the diminutive Cooler Master SK622 ($119.99) under the metaphorical microscope. It’s a shortened mechanical keyboard with some small issues, and one big one: the price.
This Layout Isn’t Quite Played Out (Yet)
The Cooler Master SK622 is available in the Space Gray and Silver White colorways; our review unit is a Space Gray model. (Note: Cooler Master actually refers to the gray colorway as “Gunmetal” in its tech specs, and Amazon uses that name as well.) The keyboard doesn’t quite match the expectations set by Apple’s marketing department, but the keycaps are still “almost-but-not-quite-black,” so co-opting Cupertino’s popular color-branding is fair.
Not that its keycaps are the Cooler Master SK622’s most noteworthy cosmetic feature. The board features an anodized-aluminum top plate, per-key RGB backlighting, and a “lightbar” that runs along the bottom of the case. All of these features culminate in a surprisingly well-lit keyboard defined more by the chosen lighting effects than the color of the keycaps on its face. This isn’t a particularly novel design, but it’s well-executed, and it’s still refreshing to see gaming keyboards opt for an understated aesthetic instead of the ostentatious designs of yesteryear.
Enough about the Cooler Master SK622’s form; let’s consider its function. The 60% layout has become more common in the last few years, especially among gaming keyboard makers. It allows people to save room on their desks—which is particularly useful for gamers with gargantuan mouse pads—without requiring them to sacrifice functionality. There is a fairly steep learning curve associated with adopting the form factor, though, especially since manufacturers have yet to agree on a universal standard for the multiple input layers and copious key-combo shortcuts these keyboards rely on.
The Cooler Master SK622 itself features contoured keys that make it easier to touch-type than the flat keys found on the SK631. Beneath those keycaps are TTC Low-Profile Mechanical Switches in the linear Red, clicky Blue, or tactile Brown variants. Our review model features Blue switches, and most of the keys offer a satisfying “click” when they’re pressed. (The space bar squeaks a bit, which could probably be fixed with some lube, but we’re considering the keyboard as-is.) Switch preference is incredibly personal, though, and Cherry MX die-hards should consider the Cooler Master SK621 instead of the SK622 or SK620.
Cooler Master built two feet into the bottom of the SK622, so people who prefer typing at an angle have a more ergonomic option available to them, but it’s disappointing that the keyboard offers only two angles now that a fair number of its competitors have started to offer two.
The Cooler Master SK622 can be used with a wire or without one. The wired connection is enabled by a high quality, 1.8-meter-long, braided USB Type-A-to-Type-C cable that can be detached for easy transport. The wireless connection is enabled via Bluetooth 4.0; there’s no 2.4GHz option for people whose systems don’t offer Bluetooth connectivity.
It’s worth noting the Cooler Master SK622’s polling rate is set to 1,000Hz in wired mode, but switching to wireless drops that polling rate to 125Hz, so it’s not ideal for fast-paced games where input lag matters. This is likely a battery-saving measure, and it works. Cooler Master doesn’t offer an official battery-length estimate, but I used the SK622 wirelessly for a week without any issue.
60% of the Time, It Works Every Time
Every key on the Cooler Master SK622 serves more than one function. The number row is also the Function row, for example, and several of those keys are also tied to multimedia controls. A single key is assigned to the equals, plus-sign, F12, and Volume Up functions by default. Other keys are assigned system functions—the “U” key is also the Print Screen key, for example, and the “P” key is also the Insert key—and still others are used in conjunction with what Cooler Master calls the On-the-fly System. On-the-Fly controls everything from the board’s RGB lighting to recording macros.
Adding complexity, the SK622 is also compatible with Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS, which means the functions of several critical keys change based on what device the keyboard is paired with. It’s not enough to learn that the key featuring Cooler Master’s logo allows you to take advantage of another key’s secondary functions; you also have to remember in which mode the keyboard is set to take advantage of common keyboard shortcuts across those operating systems. This can be overwhelming at first.
The complexity is reduced if you use the keyboard with a single operating system (although that means the additional symbols printed on the bottom row are more of a distraction than anything else) or if you only try to learn it on one at a time. This form factor is fundamentally different from full-size or even tenkeyless keyboards; having to wrap your head around the idea of multiple input layers is probably going to take a while. That struggle can pay off, however, as long as you’re willing to approach the Cooler Master SK622 on its own terms.
You can also use the (amusingly redundant-named) Cooler Master MasterPlus+ software to manage various aspects of the keyboard without engaging with the On-the-Fly System. This is standard third-party keyboard configuration software. It can be used to enable various lighting effects, assign different functions to keys, or record macros for later usage. I prefer not to install apps like this simply because they can clutter up my system and run even after I’ve told them not to. But folks who prefer a visual interface for configuring their keyboards should be fine with it.
Small Issues, Big Price
It seems fair to describe the Cooler Master SK622 as a jack of all trades but master of one. (Not a typo.) The keyboard supports every major platform, offers wired and wireless connectivity, and makes it easy enough to control practically every aspect of its configuration without software. Cooler Master’s decision to sculpt the keys has also made it more friendly to office work, but in my experience it’s still better suited to gaming and simple WASD-ing around. Having to hunch over the diminutive keyboard and constantly look down at a key to decipher its secondary function for office work has literally been a painful experience. The ergonomics make sense for gaming, but not for long stretches of productivity.
The $119.99 MSRP also works against the Cooler Master SK622. It’s a solid keyboard, but it doesn’t do much to distinguish itself from more affordable options. Maybe its portability will make it worth its cost when travel becomes more common again, but for now, we’d rather spend $60 on a keyboard for office work and another $60 on a 60% keyboard for gaming than pay out for the Cooler Master SK622 (though many of our favorite 60% gaming models, such as the HyperX Alloy Origins 60 Gaming Keyboard, are still at or around $100). It’s not hard to find this keyboard on sale, though, and at that price, shoppers looking for a small mechanical keyboard still might want to consider the Cooler Master SK622.
