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The Steelseries Apex 3 gaming keyboard – with an MSRP of $49.99 – is one of the flagship products of the line, and we found ourselves quite surprised by the robust feature set and comfort of this budget gaming keyboard. The term “budget” comes with some connotations in the world of PC gaming keyboards. Statements of “made cheap,” or “without features and comfort” often characterize the consumer’s perception around such branding. This is our SteelSeries Apex 3 Review.
SteelSeries is out to change this issue with its new range of budget gaming devices, however, which includes the Apex 3. At its price range, the Steelseries Apex 3 faces stiff competition in the market for budget keyboards, such as Havit’s RGB Mechanical Keyboard and virtually the entire line of Pictek keyboards. However, the Steelseries Apex 3 has a great marketing advantage thanks to carrying the SteelSeries name; the firm is responsible for some genuinely incredible devices, such as the Arctis headphones and the Sensei series of gaming mice.
That’s much for the Steelseries Apex 3 to live up to, but it’s obviously up to the task, and even manages to minimize the low-points it makes along the way.
SteelSeries Apex 3 Review: Design
The Steelseries Apex 3 is a full-sized keyboard with a ten-digit numeric keypad, a unique media button, and a button, and it’s even quite light, especially when compared to some of the more high-end mechanical boards. It’s a bit higher than we’d like, but the bottom of the board is equipped with some surprisingly sturdy hinged feet. Inserting these gives a gentle slope to the device, but even then, the keys may feel a bit too high. Fortunately, the SteelSeries has a fantastic palm rest in the box.
It clicks magnetically into place at the front of the board and has eight rubber-clad feet, which prevents it from slipping during gaming. It sounds like a trifle, but this palm rest is rightly one of our favorite parts of this keyboard. RGB lighting has become almost synonymous with luxury gaming peripherals, but SteelSeries has managed to squeeze a fully featured lighting package into a budget board. The Apex 3 features 10-zone RGB lighting that is fully customizable through the SteelSeries Engine 3 software.
A handful of effects make your keyboard feel more dynamic and much more luxurious than the price suggests. Besides, you can program the lighting to respond to in-game action, such as taking damage or losing durability in Minecraft. In the software, you can also edit macros and the device’s polling rate-standard functions, but worth mentioning. The bottom of the board has a three-way cable guide channel, which is helpful to keep your workspace tidy.
Unfortunately, the cable itself is of relatively low quality. It would have been better to see a braided wire or something like that, but this is something SteelSeries doesn’t seem too worried about: even the company’s high-end peripherals – such as the Apex Pro and Rival 600 – use this very basic cable. This is frustrating because we found it sensitive to knots. Another notable miss is the lack of USB throughput. This is not something you’d expect to see on budget gaming keyboards like the Steelseries Apex 3. Still, the absence is a disappointment when you consider how completely different the keyboard is.
SteelSeries Apex 3 Review: Performance
Much of the marketing around the Steelseries Apex 3 touches on the sustainability characteristics of the device, and we are pleased to report that the board primarily lives up to its claims. Water resistance, to be exact, was a priority for SteelSeries, and although it is difficult to assess long-term sustainability, light water mist had no discernible adverse effects. Gaming oriented consumers are likely to discourage SteelSeries’ choice of diaphragm switches on the Apex 3 instead of mechanical switches, especially given that there is a market for budget-oriented mechanical keyboards.
Admittedly, this was the main concern of ours when we took the device out of the box, and it held up when we started typing and gaming. After using the keyboard for so long, the softer switches of the Steelseries Apex 3 felt slow and crumbly. However, performance is one of the Apex 3’s best features, and it’s hard to achieve that with the clickability of the mechanical switches.
SteelSeries’ Whisper-Quiet diaphragm switches undoubtedly live up to their name, making the Apex 3 the right choice if you are gaming or type a lot at night while others sleep nearby. After a while, our fingers have acclimatized to the Whisper-Quiet switches. We took the time to consider that SteelSeries sacrificed the speedy performance of mechanical switches in the name of relative silence, making the Whisper-Quiet design hard to appreciate. The Steelseries Apex 3 is a pleasure to play and work with.
Conclusion
SteelSeries has managed to fit a full range of functions into the budget-friendly Apex 3 gaming keyboard, and the result is an excellent robust accessory. There are a few drawbacks (no passthrough, cheap cable, diaphragm switches), but there is enough here to satisfy all gamers except the most demanding quickly. The luxury peripherals market is flooded with exorbitantly priced devices, but the Apex 3 proves you don’t have to break the bank balance for a keyboard that looks and performs excellently.
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