SteelSeries - Apex Gaming Keyboard - Black

The keyboard overall is better than most of the ones I've tried over the last year. It has a very comfortable feel to it. The colors are so visually stunning that I sometimes just sit with the lights off and enjoy the light show. Good Job!!!

The keys are lit really well, the zones are easily programmable. The software is not too bad to use it could be a little more user friendly. Over all the best keyboard for the money.

I was looking for a backlit keyboard that I planned to share between my self-built Windows 7 PC and a Mac Mini. I purchased a KVM (keyboard video mouse) switch to share this keyboard between the two computers. It wouldn't work with three separate powered Trendnet KVMs or one unpowered Aten KVM. According to the Steelseries tech support people, it requires a powered KVM. I am going to try one more powered KVM, and then sell the thing on EBay or Craigslist if it won't work with that KVM switch. It looks beautiful in the dark and works well with media keys to operate music playback, change volume, etc. It is also very programmable as it has two groups of customizable extra keys for gaming use. But if I can't share it between two computers it's useless to me.

Good product, no complaints, works as intended, recommended.

When my Razr Deathstalker kb died, I wanted to replace it with something that wasn't too expensive but still performed well as a gaming keyboard and as a word processing keyboard. The Apex was in my price range and the only feature I wanted that it didn't have was mechanical keys. The Apex actually has a solid feel to the keypress and the response is as good or better ingame than the Deathstalker, so mechanical keys ended up being a non-issue. The backlight is much brighter too, and the colors are customizable via software (more of a vanity thing than a gaming necessity for me). I find I have no use for the extra diagonal arrow keys on the inverse T, but then again, they don't seem to get in the way either. Other than that, the keys are laid out well and I can find most of them without looking down (except for the ESC, which is larger than usual but farther away). When I do word processing, it responds to touch typing well enough to function, but there is no gap next to the Caps Lock key, so I hit it accidentally a lot more than I would on a regular kb. It comes with 2 USB interfaces, but 1 is for the keyboard itself and 1 is for the integrated hub, so if you don't want to use the hub, you only have to plug in 1. There is no media included with it, so if you want to use the color change or macro features, you have to download it from their website.

Returned a Razr Anansi for the SteelSeries Apex, and I am VERY pleased with this thing!!! First, be aware, if the area you are going to be using this in is small, make sure the keyboard will fit, because it is ginormous. It has on the fly macro creation, gaming mode to lock out the windows key, 6 zone of back lighting customization (that is bright enough to see in a sunny room), and one-button swapping between "layers" for macro sets. Lighting is very pretty, each key done individually, with lighting on the lateral edges too. Space key is HUGE and very easy to get to. UI for macro/key programming is easy to use and very unobtrusive. I don't know if it's just me, but the program does love RAM, mine is currently using 82MB just as I'm typing, though not an issue that I think effects performance (I have 32GB ram). Lastly, when you have to leave behind play for work, it is very nice to type on.

I love the available options to change the lights on the different sets of keys via the system, the keys are close together so if you had a keyboard with more space between keys it may be difficult to get used to. Also, I could have used less macro keys, such as the macro keys to the right of the number pad, I never use it and don't plan to use it and it just adds extra length to the keyboard. Keys press softly and nicely, I have not had any ghosting issues and no longer get stuck trying to move with unresponsive keys in Battlefield 4 with my old keyboard. It is easy to set up macros, I quickly set one up to use with Shadowplay to record recent gameplay. You may have a hard time getting adjusted to the keyboard but give it a few days or weeks depending on your use and you will enjoy it.

I've always been a fan of thinner style keyboards which is why it was obvious when I bought the new Logitech I wasn't a huge fan of it (I'm bias it really is a nice keyboard regardless) This keyboards access to everything is fantastic, the macros, the media keys etc. It's quick and responsive. The only issue I've hit so far is my enter key rarely needs s double tap because it does not register right away. Other than that everything works like a dream.