An often-overlooked component of the PC gaming arsenal is the keyboard. PC gamers will spend hundreds of dollars searching for the ideal mouse that offers the correct levels of comfort, sensitivity, and accuracy. Many people who consider the costs of premium keyboards shudder at the expense of expensive keyboards and determine that the rubber dome devices they already own are sufficient.
Now, SteelSeries has released its own inexpensive keyboard that promises to simulate the feel of a mechanical keyboard, or at least provide a similar sensation. If you get the chance to use an Apex, the weight of it will be the first thing you notice. It is far more sturdy than you’d anticipate from a membrane keyboard, even while it lacks the commanding weight of a mechanical keyboard.
[content-egg-block template=offers_logo hide=price]Given that it resembles SteelSeries’ Apex M500 mechanical keyboard, it serves as another illustration of the company’s trickle-down design philosophy. In order to achieve this, it does away with the Apex M800’s curves, macro keys, and comfort elements like the wrist guard.
The Apex’s attractiveness and solidity are the first things you’ll notice; a slightly thick base is emphasised by a matte bezel studded with shiny stripes (the only place glossy belongs). Even though it weighs an equally substantial 2.42 lbs, the large spacing makes it feel heavier (not that I’m complaining). With the assistance of two extendable legs and strategically positioned rubber pegs, the keyboard can be raised to almost ideal typing angles for gaming or other intense activities.
The only additional accommodation for this is a genuine “gaming keyboard,” which is fairly humiliating as there is no wrist rest or other comfort features. In case (as SteelSeries sarcastically adds) the game “gets intense and you spill your drink, we’ve got you covered,” the two slits on the bottom are really drain holes. Hey, don’t laugh; if you’ve ever been around some rowdy gamers, you know that liquids fly when things get heated up.
Fortunately, the Apex does not come with any added bulk or dedicated macro-key options; instead, it is a conventional QWERTY-style keyboard with full-size Shift and Backspace keys and high-profile keys (bless you, SteelSeries). The top-row Function Keys’ full power, which includes normal media playing and the ability to dim/brighten the LED backlight, are unlocked by a SteelSeries-branded button that replaces the second Windows key.
The SteelSeries Apex Gaming Keyboard is a wonderful entry-level alternative for gamers and typing enthusiasts who yearn for the noise and feel of more expensive models thanks to its incredibly sturdy structure and superbly responsive keystrokes.