Cooler Master has just made its much-hyped new streaming interface available for pre-order. The new Cooler Master MasterHub is a different spin on traditional stream deck interfaces, as its design is fully modular.
The new Cooler Master streaming surface takes on the likes of the Elgato Stream Deck and Razer Stream Controller for a place on our best stream deck guide, providing programmable controls for controlling your gaming stream or other applications. However, Cooler Master’s big new idea is that the MasterHub is completely customizable, thanks to its modular design.
This modularity means you can swap out and upgrade whatever controls or other features you like while maintaining the base module of the device. The separate parts – known as modules – currently consist of a rotary encoder with a central screen, a five-slider/fader module, roller-style encoders, a three rotary-knob module, and a large module with 15 programmable buttons sporting OLED displays (like the main buttons on most competing stream decks).
Thanks to all these options, you can customize the MasterHub to be much more in tune with your needs, rather than being stuck with, for instance, too many buttons that you don’t need and not enough fader controls. So, whether you want a control surface that’s optimized for audio mixing or video editing, rather than game streaming, the Master Hub should have you covered.
First unveiled at CES earlier this year, and having been in development for four years, the MasterHub is now available for pre-order via Cooler Master’s website. Cooler Master is saying there’s a Kickstarter for the project, but there’s no mention of the product on Kickstarter’s website, nor any way to “back” the project as such.
Instead, there’s currently a pre-order discount available, which gets you $100 or 40% off the final price of the unit (with three modules). You’ll have to be quick, though, as 70% of the discounted units have already been claimed, according to Cooler Master’s site.
As for that price, the MSRP is $399, with the pre-order discount bringing this down to $299. Even with the discount, that’s more expensive than the Razer Stream Controller, which includes six rotary dials, as well as lots of programmable buttons.
Meanwhile, the Elgato Stream Deck range starts at just $99 for the smallest unit, but even its Stream Deck+ uni,t which includes rotary dials and buttons, costs just $199. Ultimately, though, neither of those options offer the modularity of the Cooler Master. If you’re looking for a specific combination of features, the MasterHub could be the only option that fits the bill.
What’s more, if you want to be able to experiment with that modularity with complete abandon at home, you can order the Pro Kit. This includes one each of all the modules (more than can fit on the device at once), which would normally cost $549 but is discounted to $399 at launch – a huge saving of $150.
Perhaps the biggest question mark over this product will be whether the modularity continues to be useful post-purchase, or whether it would have just been better to produce two or three main variants of the design, aimed at different uses, with a lower total cost for each one. We certainly can’t wait to try one out to see just how well the design works, though.
In the meantime, why not check out Elgato’s latest innovation for its stream decks, which add extra USB ports or a microphone input to your Stream Deck+, turning it into an all-in-one interface for your computer? Or, for more ways to make your game streaming look better than ever, check out our best webcam guide for our top picks for a great pic.
