The SteelSeries Apex 3 gaming keyboard is a good one. But even though the keys are easy to press, the rubber dome switches have a long pre-travel distance, and the keyboard’s latency is pretty high, making it feel a bit slow. You can set macros to any key, but it doesn’t have dedicated macro keys for MMO players. Also, the RGB backlight is zone-lit, so you can’t change the color of each key separately.
Specifications
- 10-Zone RGB Illumination
- IP32 Water Resistant
- Premium Magnetic Wrist Rest
- Whisper Quiet Gaming Switch
Where to get SteelSeries Apex 3 gaming keyboard?
The Apex 3 is 17.5 inches long and 5.5 inches wide, but a magnetic, removable 3.1-inch wrist rest can make it a bit wider. As for the plain keycaps, the black plastic chassis feels thin, light, and a little bit cheap. The wrist rest, on the other hand, is surprisingly sturdy and comfortable. The software on the Apex 3 is pretty solid. It does this because it uses SteelSeries Engine 3, which has been one of the best programmes for gaming peripherals in the last few years. You can change the lighting, set up macros, and remap keys with this software. In fact, you can change almost every key on the device, which is something that many fancier keyboards don’t let you do.
The RGB lighting, on the other hand, is not very good. Instead of per-key lighting, you get 10 different “zones” to customise. This is normal for keyboards that cost less. But the lighting seems a little weak, especially in rooms with a lot of light. None of the colours are very bright, and the lighting isn’t anything special.
SteelSeries managed to put a lot of features into the cheap Apex 3 keyboard, making it an impressively strong piece of hardware. There are a few problems, like no passthrough, cheap cables, and membrane switches, but there is enough here to please all but the pickiest gamers. The luxury peripherals market is full of devices that cost a fortune, but the Apex 3 shows that you don’t have to spend a fortune to get a great-looking keyboard that works well.