Customer Ratings & Reviews

This keyboard is a great addition for those looking to experience the click-clack of mechanical keys, but not have to drop significant cash. The cherry blues that come with this keyboard offer a great clicking sound without the high-pitch metal coil ring that you might get from a full mechanical keyboard using the same switches. It is tactile, and the RGBs are great. There are a number of options for alternating patterns. Additionally, I was sold by the side LED screen where you could modify keyboard settings without having to open the full on SteelSeries application--though you can do much more with that app. I also purchased the Rival650 (wireless mouse) by SteelSeries, and it has been an awesome combo for personal and work use. The number pad is great and the keyboard is crisp and flawless. If I had to buy a new keyboard again, I might go with a wireless option that offers USB charging, and also perhaps look into a 60% keyboard design to gain back some space on my table top. The 4 out of 5 for Ease of use refers more to the Macros functionality and setting that up using the SteelSeries software. If you want to learn it, you will have to spend a little time figuring out how to configure the custom macros (I still haven't had time to learn it myself). Overall, this is a solid quality build AND the magnetic palm rest bar is clutch.

This is my first gaming keyboard that I’ve owned. With all the choice available, and there are plenty, I decided on this one. To me Steelseries is newer company that I’ve only recently heard of compared to other industry heavyweights like Corsair or Razer. I’m thoroughly happy with my choice on Steelseries. They have five or six different keyboards available but I felt like this one is a great price with the features I was looking for without having to spend more. It’s clicky but not too clicky, the ENTIRE keyboard is addressable RGB with the Steelseries Engine software, and there’s a cool OLED mini screen that you can adjust or change to your liking. I can’t seem to get it to customize but that’s most likely my own inability to do so. They claim it’s water resistant but I’m not willing to test that out but I suppose it’s a plus for accidents. Overall a great keyboard with many features and low price. 5/5

So I bought this out of impulse, however, I love it. It’s so much better to type that on my MacBook keyboard. Love the volume control on the right. The support for your hands is nice and comfy, love for gaming. My issue is that I didn’t do full research and didn’t realize it was a blue switch which is very loud. Steel series I love. Just for this keyboard I would prefer to get a red one that has the feel but less clicky

the keys are just as expected wit the blue profile. Having the magnetic wrist wrest is a godsend. Matte finish is a fingerprint magnet, but a great product nonetheless. Software is available for both Windows and Mac, and very user friendly with unlimited customizability.

The product that I am using is Fantastic. The metal plate with hard plastic keys and a custom small display, to the RGB lights is very good. High quality and custom buttons used for playlists such as Spotify I highly recommend it

Keyboard is very quality and lights are amazing. I like the sound of keyboard

Solid keyboard with beautiful customizable RGB. You can download a gif and have it display on the mini screen at the top right of the keyboard as well as toggle between modes, which I thought was a nice feature. Keys are very clicky and responsive, much like blue mechanical keys. Overall worth the purchase.

I love it. The lighting is amazing. You have to experience it to appreciate it, you just cant get the appreciation for it until you use it. Every keystroke is cool looking. The mechanical buttons are crisp. I recommend this keyboard. I love it!!!

I find this to be a nice a keyboard. The wrist rest is really nice since it isn't made out of foam it maintains its shape and is also has nice feeling rubber coating. To get the full functionality from this keyboard can be a bit trick since the instructions to the software are vague.

I tried a few keyboards until I settled on this one. It is simple yet nice and fits all my needs. The hybrid mechanical switches are clicky and make typing and gaming easy.

Absolutely love this keyboard. I spent a bit of time looking at other ones but when i saw this one i grabbed it. Completely customizable, easy to use. No issues at all. The cute led display hasn't been used by me yet, but im excited still! Will always suggest this keyboard to everyone.

Really good keyboard if you like loud clicks keys like myself. The mini oled is not need, but you can add any gif you want to it. Very customizable rgb.

Love this keyboard. Been using it for about a year. Love the feeling, the build, the arm rest. Oled burned in because I forgot to change the gif but it’s fine.

IT HAS A DANG OLED DISPLAY AND A VOLUME WHEEL< IT VERY COOL

I love it. The colors lights the clicking noise is satisfying and just overall an amazing build. Had a membrane keyboard and this blows it out of the water

I am very happy with the purchase, it is more than I expected.

My son loves the keyboard he just can’t stop playing with it he likes how the keys light up in sequence it’s really cool and nice

Great keyboard that lights up, might not be for you if you don’t like loud clicky keyboards.

He love it he use it he share it with his brother loves the light on the keyboard

TYPING/GAMING EXPERIENCE: It reminded me a lot of typing on a membrane keyboard but with a tactile bump and clicky sound. The keys seem closer together than other keyboards I’ve tried. I found myself making more mistakes than normal. I usually type around 100 – 130 wpm. I’m not sure if this was due to the switch itself or because I wasn’t allowing the switch to fully reset since I’m used to switches resetting at a different point. It does have 24 key rollover which is good for gaming. Meaning you can press multiple keys (up to 24 of them) and they will still register. For gaming it did a good job. I did not like it nearly as much as my mechanical keyboards as I felt that the problems that I was having with making more mistakes in my typing bled over into my gameplay as well. I didn’t feel like I had the same amount of control as I usually do. I’ve also found that for me personally that I prefer linear key switches when I am gaming because they feel more responsive than clicky/tactile. But it’s the opposite for when I am typing. Where I prefer to have tactile/clicky. Honestly, for the mass majority of people this will do the job just fine. Especially, if you are coming from a membrane switch. If you’re trying to become a Pro Gamer, or are a crazy fast typist, then buy a true mechanical keyboard. You won’t regret it. For everyone else this should be a consideration. KEYBOARD AETHETICS/FEEL: The font itself is very nice. It is not gamer like. It is big and easy to read. One of my favorites that I have seen. However, for certain keys such as the Caps Lock, Shift, Tab, and Enter it just shows an arrow instead of the word which looks cool but could be difficult for first time gamers trying to get used to keyboard controls (see picture). Interestingly the insert, home, page up, page down, and delete key are labeled as macro keys first with their normal function listed below (see picture). The keyboard’s frame is made of aircraft aluminum which obviously feels high quality. Normally you don’t see this at this price range. The keys themselves are your normal ABS plastic which attract finger oil easily. You can easily replace them as the switch itself is the usual. I would worry about the spacing between the keys if you were to replace them with PBT keycaps. On the bottom of the keyboard there is great cable management which you also usually don’t see even on more expensive keyboards. That allows you to either put it to the top left, top middle, or the top right. The cable itself is covered in a malleable plastic which leads to a single USB. There is no USB passthrough. The keyboard legs themselves are huge and solid. The absolute biggest I’ve ever seen which isn’t a complaint. They only go up one level. The small volume rocker is 10/10. It takes a moderate amount of pressure to move, doesn’t wobble at all, and is made of metal with a nice texture. You can press it which produces a nice click. As does the multimedia key. The shift and other long keys have stabilizers. Which makes the pressure feel even no matter where you hit. Last, the magnetic wrist rest feels high quality with a matte rubber feel to it. It attracts oil easily. Doesn’t provide a lot of support. But attaches seamlessly via magnets. Which you usually only get on more expensive keyboards. SOFTWARE: When I first downloaded the software, I was met with an immediate firmware update. It was simple to install. The software itself is very basic and easy to figure out and learn. It works, and it works well. You can upload your own custom stuff to the OLED which is actually awesome. Such as your gamertag or name. It’s a small thing but makes this product so much more personable than any other keyboard out there. SteelSeries is the only company that I know of that has OLED displays no their keyboards. As for the RGB lighting. For this price point it is excellent as it competes with keyboards that are a lot more expensive. But is not equal to more expensive keyboards. But you really aren’t missing out on anything unless you are over the top about your lighting. Most keyboards at this price range will either not be backlit, be a single color, or a handful of colors. With this one you can adjust all the keys individually (except for the multimedia key) between 16.7 million colors and they also have some effects you can choose from. Such as base effect, reactive layer, AFK effect, and lock key color. The colors themselves are quite accurate which a lot of keyboards struggle with. Even white. The keys are not completely balanced when lit. Especially, the num pad as they are left of center. The LED has a thick piece of plastic right through the middle of the light which is what I think is taking a lot of that brightness away. If you press the SteelSeries key it will change the F9 – F12 to red. Which are used for switching profile, on the fly macro, and brightness down and up. They keyboard itself also has no LED other than the key. Which means when Caps or Num Lock are on it will change they key LED color to notify you if it is on or not. CONCLUSION: This keyboard for its price is fantastic. You can find other keyboards around this same price, but they won’t give you all the features this one does. You have hybrid mechanical keys, full RGB lighting, can create different profiles, can create on the fly macros, and can fully adjust what each key does on the keyboard which is then saved to onboard memory. It also comes with a wrist rest and is made of aluminum which means it isn’t going to break easily. If you need a new keyboard this should be among the considerations. HYBRID BLUE MECHANICAL GAMING SWITCHES: *This is a high-level overview. This combines two common key switches: 1. Membrane Switch. Which is soft, squishy, long travel time, and quiet. Cheap to make, wears out faster, not as accurate. 2. Blue Switch. Which has a tactile bump felt when typing, with an audible “click” per press, shorter travel time, and loud. More expensive, lasts longer, more accurate. 3. This leads to a hybrid mix. Leading to a key that takes a. 50 grams of actuation force, b. with a total travel of 4 mm, c. actuation point of 2 mm, d. with a lifespan of 20 million keypresses. 4. A normal Cherry MX Blue switch is clickly/tactile, a. requires 60 grams of actuation force, b. with total travel of 4 mm, c. actuation point of 2 mm, d. and lifespan of 50 million keypresses. 5. So, enough of the fancy talk. What does that mean? That you are getting a switch that feels almost exactly like a Blue Switch but just doesn’t last as long and isn’t quite as accurate, but you are saving money doing it.