Gadgetory

this video is brought to you by NCI XCOM great technology selection and service mechanical keyboards have their place in the market offering great feel and reliability but they come at a cost which is simply unaffordable for many consumers the same goes for gaming mice though there are some notable exceptions as we saw in our $25 an under roundup call the Masters Devastator mouse and keyboard combo has been popular due to its low price point and solid value although it's membrane switches have always been one of the downsides still at $30 for a mouse and keyboard with gaming oriented features many first-time PC gamers choose to buy it the Devastator 2 is the refresh to this popular line and replaces its predecessor while keeping the super affordable $30 price point it also introduces cooler masters mem Kanaka switches so let's check it out you the Devastator turkey board is where coolermaster is focusing their attention since the mouse didn't get all not much of an upgrade from the previous version so take a look at that first it's a full sized board with a plastic build weighing in at around 950 grams for those who are familiar with the original Devastator line this keyboard really hasn't changed too much with the same textured plastic and etched angular lines it looks distinctive while the reflective plastic accents give it a bit of character call the master took thee if it's not broken don't fix it approach with this board and while I appreciate that I still have some issues with the overall design the reflective plastic is a fingerprint magnet and having it below the space bar means that your fingers hit it frequently and it dirties quickly I would have preferred a material that dirty is less in this position but it's a minor gripe at the price point remember at half of this $30 combo it costs just fifteen dollars the build quality sure is an exceptional either and the keyboard does have some flex but again it's quite decent at the price Coolermaster is asking we can't expect miracles here on the board we have media controls with play pours and volume control and these physical buttons actually feel quite good and work well on the bottom of the board we have to flip out feet and four rubber pads for grip and that brings us to the keys the Devastator has only single color backlighting in your choice of blue red or green depending on the model but for single brightness backlighting it looks pretty good while the LEDs aren't that bright their illumination comes across as clear thanks to the white undercoat CM is used similar to the Corsair strafe RGB this allows for more even and vibrant under glow and paired with the transparent switches means that the backlight looks pretty good my one critique is the Devastator doesn't have any built in memory meaning you have to re-enable the backlight every time your PC is turned on or rebooted well this backlighting is great unfortunately the UV coach key caps aren't fantastic when the backlight is turned off because the keys are transparent and not etched white like most keyboards it's hard to see the character markings so for those who rely on looking at the board for typing or during gaming this might be frustrating however this is where one of the big advantages of color masters mem Kanaka switches comes as these are cherry MX compatible this means you can simply put on your own key caps awesome is likely that keycaps will cost more than the Devastator itself so what are these switches Coolermaster says that while they use a rubber dome the plunger allows for a more mechanical feel with the 12 million click lifecycle that's a pretty incredible claim for a keyboard of this price an extended lifespan for an affordable product is great to see the keys have four millimeters of travel and coolermaster has a graph that shows the force required to actuate the switch now the switches on the Devastator are not as good as mechanical switches to be frank they don't have quite the same satisfying actuation even if they do keep the same four millimeters of travel distance as the cherry switches it's hard to convey but the switches just don't feel as satisfying and clicky it as even mxr eggs and they have more of a mushy feeling in many way these are an everyman switch one that will appeal to a wide audience since they're relatively quiet and quite accurate and don't require extensive knowledge of key caps before buying like various cherry amick switches do if we compare these mechanical switches to the Krueger 450k switches which are a similar design then there's still a noticeable difference the 450k switches have a much more clicker profile losing that Machinist that is present in the Devastator these mem Kanaka switches that the Cougar is opted for do feel much more satisfying than cool and masters offerings now here's a sound sample to get an idea of the volume of these switches however it twice the price of the Kouga keyboard alone the Devastator offers much of that feel at a lower price and the last important comparison is to membrane switches as that's what the Devastator is really competing against this is where the Devastator shows up with a better travel distance more satisfying actuation and overall better switch experience compared to the membrane switches on my Logitech G 15 the membrane switches feel far moisture again and the Devastator feels much better overall the switches aren't mechanical for sure and you'll be able to tell however they're much better than typical membrane switches and they make for a nice middle ground and for those who aren't as picky they could make a good alternative to mechanical switches over all the switches in the board of her great value at $30 for the bundle but of course we can't simply look at the keyboard as it is a two in one package here we have cooler masters Devastator Mouse which is also incredibly inexpensive now we just finished our budget mice under $25 roundup which you can check out here so I've got some solid comparison and testing for this mouse first up is the building design materials here are certainly not premium but a well-chosen the plastic isn't as nice as a soft touch finish but it's well executed I'm not a huge fan of the sharp angles but they haven't been uncomfortable and the soft rubber on the sides is nice the sensor is some rattle but it's nothing too major either if we look at the primary clicks this mouse is using cooler masters in house switch which makes it fairly good but nothing great and the side browser buttons are a bit mushy scrolling has defined scroll steps but the mouse wheel has some squeak which could get annoying over time on the top yard three illuminated areas with this really nice scroll wheel illumination dpi toggle and line motif the blue lighting looks good and matches the keyboard but unfortunately there isn't a way to toggle it on or off like the keyboard now let's take a look at the sensor it's using an optical sensor with 1000 1600 and 2000 dpi levels I'm not a big fan of this as I'd like to have seen a 400 or 500 dpi mode for those who use low sensitivities in game but optical there's a nice touch over a simple laser based design first up is the straight line test and it shows a fair bit of prediction which is something to keep in mind and the mouse doesn't have any added acceleration coolermaster advertises low lift off distance which is great and overall sensor performance has been pretty good in testing it has some slight issues with extremely fast movements but for 95% of use the Devastator Mouse holds up well and I can flick away in csgo with it registering for everything but the most extreme of turns this actually beats out many mice in the 25 to 30 dollar category the Devastator 2 Mouse isn't as exceptional as the keyboard but it performs well and makes a solid bundle for the keyboard overall this combo seems to offer some exceptional value with a very competitive keyboard with unique and overall satisfying switches great lighting and custom key cap compatibility and a solid accompanying Mouse without any major flaws for the $30 price point the devestated combo is a solid refresh to an already popular lineup and it's well deserving of the hardware canucks damn good value award so thank you for watching everyone if you enjoyed this review make sure to leave a like and comment if you have any questions or feedback I'm Aiden with Hardware Canucks make sure to subscribe for more videos and we'll see you in the next one