Capsule Review: SteelSeries Apex M500 Gaming Mechanical Keyboard
by E. Fylladitakis on June 10, 2016 10:00 AM ESTConclusion
I always try to use every keyboard that we review as my personal keyboard for at least a week. My typical weekly usage includes a lot of typing (about 100-150 pages), a few hours of gaming and some casual usage, such as internet browsing and messaging. I personally prefer Cherry MX Brown or similar (tactile) switches for such tasks, but I do not consider linear switches to be inconvenient either. The Apex M500 was actually a little tiring for such use, not because of the switches but because the height of the keyboard and the lack of a palm rest place a lot of stress on the wrists. It does work just fine for the occasional typing of an essay/report or any other <10-page text with a couple of breaks, but I would not recommend it to professional writers and typists.
The intended market of the Apex M500 however is advanced and professional gamers. As far as gaming goes, assuming that the left wrist will require limited movement, the Apex M500 is highly responsive and very convenient to use. Even though it lacks a palm/wrist rest, the Apex M500 did not feel uncomfortable after an hourly gaming session for me.
The software left me with mixed feelings. As I use a few complex macros that include mouse movements and button presses, I had to use a third party macro programming software, compile the macros to .exe files and program the keyboard to launch them as external applications. For simpler macros and layout changes however, the SteelSeries Engine works great. It is a very simple, smooth and stable piece of software that has great potential should the company decides to throw some more resources into it.
As a keyboard, the Apex M500 has a very specific market and design focus. It is minimalistic, without extra buttons, USB ports, or even custom keycaps. In terms of durability however, the Apex M500 is very solid and the high quality of Cherry’s MX switches is widely known. Even though its external body is plastic, the Apex M500 does not feel “cheap” at all, yet it probably does lose in terms of visual prowess and prestige against aluminum-based models. The designer was truly focused on designing a simple, solid mechanical keyboard specifically for gaming.
In summary, the Apex M500 is a durable, no-frills mechanical keyboard that is an excellent choice for casual and advanced gamers alike. Although the macro recording capabilities of the supplied software are limited, it is smooth and very stable. Hopefully the company will invest more on it as they release more mechanical/programmable models, as it has great potential.
The only issue that the Apex M500 has is its very high retail price. SteelSeries suggests an MSPR price of $120 for the Apex M500, which is very steep and has virtually no hope against the competition. We found the Apex M500 currently retailing for $100 including shipping, a more reasonable price, and yet it still has many direct competitors retailing for significantly less. For example, the aluminum frame and Cherry MX based Cougar Attack X3 is currently retailing for just $70, a difference of about 30%. The Apex M500 is a very good choice for a gaming mechanical keyboard, but as keyboards are very much a commodity market, we feel that its retail price needs to be lowered if it is to stand a chance against the strong competition.
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azrael- - Friday, June 10, 2016 - link
Steelseries Apex M500 ...or perhaps rather the Steelseries 6Gv3. Honestly, there's not much separating this keyboard from the 6Gv2 apart from the backlight.Also, the Apex M800 was the first (and hitherto only) mechanical keyboard from Steelseries which does *not* use Cherry MX keys. They've made several mechanical keyboards, the 6G, 7G and the aforementioned 6Gv2 (in at least two iterations). All these keyboards have met with high acclaim.
There's also nothing "unknown" about the origin of the keys on the Apex M800. They're a custom design from Kailh, better known for copying Cherry MX keys.
And lastly I'm sure you meant that the high price et al of the M800 *didn't* do Steelseries any favor. From what I've learned it's rather the large size of the keyboard and (especially) the custom sized spacebar, in addition to the high price, that turns off potential buyers. The keyboard itself should be very comfortable to use and also be very fast (cue hardcore/professional gamers) due to short travel time of the keys. Something which Corsair in conjunction with Cherry have just tried to emulate with the "Rapidfire" Cherry MX Speed keys. And apparently the M800 is also the quietest mechanical keyboard on the market.
Sorry for all the nitpicking, but the background information in this review doesn't seem very well researched.
JoeyJoJo123 - Friday, June 10, 2016 - link
>Steelseries Apex M500 ...or perhaps rather the Steelseries 6Gv3. Honestly, there's not much separating this keyboard from the 6Gv2 apart from the backlight.More to it than that, bro.
1) They removed the bottom left "Win" key for a "Steelseries" modifier key, used for volume and media controls. Most people who use the "Win" key for commands use the "Win" key on the left. ("Win" + Up = Maximize Window, "Win" + D to minimize everything to show Desktop, "Win" + X to show Mobility Center for common laptop functions, etc)
2) Windows key disabling as an option, rather than a "feature".
3) First actual ANSI mechanical keyboard offered.
4) Blue steel frame for blue-themed aesthetics and for evening out the glow from the blue LED backlighting reflecting from beneath the keycaps.
5) Red vs older Black switches.
6) Full N-Key Rollover/No Ghosting over USB. The older 6G v2 only supported 6 keys + modifier keys over USB and No Ghosting only via PS/2.
It's a pretty different keyboard, bro.
azrael- - Friday, June 10, 2016 - link
Most people would call this a new iteration, bro. Although not necessarily a good one ...or even a necessary one, for that matter. You do realize that the 6Gv2 also came with Cherry MX Reds, right? And what's with that obsession with the ANSI layout?JoeyJoJo123 - Saturday, June 11, 2016 - link
Because aftermarket keycaps are most commonly made in the ANSI layout.Only third-world countries use any other standard.
Findecanor - Tuesday, June 14, 2016 - link
Will you please stop acting like a child, JoeyJoJo123!JoeyJoJo123 - Tuesday, June 14, 2016 - link
Only when ignorance from non-US countries stop spouting nonsense about why people would actually want ANSI layout keyboards vs their preferred ISO layout keyboards, on a US based website, no less.Nobody was dismissing nationalities until non-US posters decided to throw the "You use imperial units, rather than metric units!" and "ISO is the world layout, not ANSI!" memes around. I can play that game, too, by throwing the "You're all third-world countries" meme back at them.
It was and still is my personal opinion that an ANSI layout keyboard is a welcome change, particularly when it comes to sourcing custom keycap sets.
Schliessmeister - Friday, June 10, 2016 - link
The polyhedral design of the underside is not due to aesthetics. This kind of design provides significantly more torsional stiffnes than a flat sheet metal of same thickness.Regards, Flo
TomSal74 - Wednesday, June 15, 2016 - link
How do other people use their keyboards....I never thought I needed "torsional stiffness" in a keyboard before...:)pencea - Monday, June 13, 2016 - link
It's been over two weeks and yet still no review for the GTX 1080, while other major sites have already posted their reviews of both 1070 & 1080.BigBdBen - Tuesday, June 14, 2016 - link
Quote: "Until recently, the company has been offering just one mechanical keyboard, the Apex M800 with their own custom QS1 switches."needs to be corrected in the article, to reflect that both the 6Gv2 (6G) and the 7G mechanical keyboards came before the Apex Series... JM2€ents...