As you could have observed during the last yr or so, I’ve tended to fairly like Steelseries’ PC peripherals. Two of their mice presently occupy prime spots in my best gaming mouse listing, and their Arctis 7 headset is my favorite bestest best gaming headset of all time. Their top-end Apex M750 keyboard, nonetheless, received’t be making any form of best gaming keyboard listing in any way. I’ve tried and tried to love this keyboard, however I merely can’t get on with it. And a whole lot of that has to do with its bizarre little ft.
Almost every part concerning the Apex M750 ought to scream high quality – and also you’d actually hope so given the actual fact it prices £150 / $130. It has a premium-feeling aluminium chassis, and Steelseries’ personal proprietary mechanical RGB switches really feel very related in really feel and velocity to Cherry’s MX Red jobs – which is simply what you’d need from a high-end gaming keyboard.
So it breaks my coronary heart (and mind) to see that not solely have Steelseries invented the worst keyboard ft on the planet, however that they’ve additionally determined to stay them on their flagship gaming keyboard. Just have a look at them! Them and their bizarre, rubbery, mud magnet floor. They’re a nightmare to connect correctly within the first place, as their odd, round bottoms by no means actually really feel like they had been ever supposed for the outlet they’re meant to be pushed into.
The M750’s rubbery plastic ft aren’t simply troublesome to fit into the underside of the keyboard. They additionally appeal to mud like no one’s enterprise.
There had been additionally a number of instances once I knocked them unfastened whereas shifting the keyboard throughout my desk, too, which solely added to my total sense of irritation. There’s a motive why so many gaming keyboards have flip-down ft – as a result of they’re the stuff of gods and don’t trigger you to pop a vein each time you attempt to alter them. Push-in ft, alternatively, are clearly the satan’s work and ought to be banned till the tip of time.
It’s not simply the Apex M750’s ft that upsets me, although, as I’m additionally apparently incapable of typing on it with out making a mistake not less than each 4 keystrokes. This evaluate took 83x longer to write down than regular due to how troublesome I discovered it to kind on, and it’s a miracle there aren’t any typos, to be trustworthy.
Granted, I had much less of an issue utilizing it for gaming because of the small variety of keys I had to make use of. But in the case of normal typing (which I at all times like to have the ability to do on any gaming keyboard I check as a result of most individuals, I think about, have a tendency to make use of their PC for extra than simply gaming), it was completely catastrophic.
That’s after months and months and months of use, too. And but, in on a regular basis I’ve spent making an attempt to be the M750’s pal, I’ve by no means actually been capable of pinpoint precisely why it makes me so susceptible to creating such frequent, irritating errors. Perhaps it’s as a result of the keys really feel unusually excessive in comparison with different linear-style keyboards I’ve used up to now. Perhaps it’s as a result of their gently curved surfaces are only a fraction too slippery to ensure I’ve hit the precise key correctly.
Or possibly it’s as a result of I’m nonetheless not used to having a single-height Enter key and resent the truth that each message I kind in Slack to the broader RPS Hivemind appears to be like like I’m making an attempt to be cool and ‘down with my fellow kids’ by including a # on the tip of every part. It is, I ought to be aware, a US format keyboard, so a number of the punctuation buttons aren’t in the identical place as I’m used to, however even after forcing it to consider it’s a UK keyboard in Windows it’s nonetheless infuriating each day, and I don’t assume on a regular basis on the planet could be sufficient to lastly get used to this rattling factor.
It’s a disgrace, actually, because it’s by far one of many much less ostentatious RGB gaming keyboards I’ve examined in fairly a while. Apart from a shiny Steelseries emblem tucked away within the prime proper nook, there’s little or no embellishment to be seen elsewhere. The aluminium chassis is simply plain black all the way in which throughout, and its RGB lighting doesn’t spill out too removed from beneath the keycaps.
Steelseries’ Engine three software program additionally gives extra customisation choices than I’ve seen in a very long time as effectively, together with the flexibility to reassign each single key to your liking. Want a quantity pad filled with recordable macros? Or a extra fully-featured Fn bar that builds on the present media and light-weight controls? The M750 will present.
That’s fairly beneficiant in comparison with different gaming keyboards I’ve examined up to now, however there’s no escaping the actual fact it’s additionally extremely stingy in different areas on the identical time. If I’m spending £150 / $130 on a keyboard, I believe I’d need one which additionally helps USB passthrough, for example, or on the very least a USB port I can use to cost up my cellphone just like the HyperX Alloy FPS RGB. Unfortunately, the Apex M750 has neither of these issues.
Perhaps I’m alone in my M750 struggles, however given the quantity of bother I’ve had with it, I simply can’t suggest anybody exit and purchase it over the cheaper and infinitely superior Fnatic Streak, for instance, or the much more cheap HyperX Alloy Elite. Both of these have USB passthrough and devoted media keys for lots much less cash, and can be found in a variety of Cherry MX switches to fit your most popular typing and gaming model. I’m sorry, Apex M750, but it surely’s into the bin with you.
