SteelSeries Apex [RAW] Gaming Keyboard Review

1. Introduction2. Bundle & Packaging3. Software & Operation4. Conclusion5. View All Pages

SteelSeries ships the  Apex [RAW] in a black box with a clear image of the keyboard in its illuminated state on the front and some of its key features in the bottom left.

Inside the box are the keyboard, a quick start guide, 2 rubber feet to raise the keyboard and a SteelSeries sticker. Unlike the Apex, the Apex [RAW] does not have a braided cable. Instead, a thick rubber coating is used to protect the cable.

The areas between and surrounding keys have a glossy finish, whilst the keys and remaining areas have a more textured surface.

The top left of the keyboard houses the L1 and L2 keys. These keys are used to switch between the two available macro levels. Below these keys we find the MX1 through MX5 keys.

Along the top of the keyboard the M1 through M12 keys are visible. These keys have a raised profile, helping users find their way around the keyboard without having to worry about accidentally hitting the wrong F-key.

Moving down we can clearly see the space bar, which is significantly broader than the average space bar.

We can also clearly see the SteelSeries key on the right-hand side of the keyboard. The SteelSeries key functions as a modifier key for disabling the Windows key and accessing media controls by combining the F-keys.

Taking a closer look at the right hand side of the keyboard we can clearly see the extra arrow keys. SteelSeries claims these offer an extra bit of directional convenience which we'll be taking a closer look at later in this review.

The sides of the keyboard have a white trim with a hard bit of plastic in a scalene triangle shape that fits in nicely with the design of the keyboard.

The bottom of the keyboard shows the 4 rubber feet. The little cut-outs below the feet make it easy to remove them if you want to raise or lower the keyboard. The rubber feet also keep the keyboard firmly in place, as opposed to plastic feet.

SteelSeries has opted to not make this a mechanical keyboard in favour of rubber dome switches. The travel distance for each key is extremely short, which does help when gaming. However, for general usage this is not always the most ideal solution.

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