The SteelSeries Apex M750 Mechanical Gaming Keyboard Review: Set Apart by Software
by E. Fylladitakis on September 7, 2018 9:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Peripherals
- Cherry MX
- SteelSeries
- Mechanical Keyboards
- QX2
Mechanical keyboards may be a relative new market trend but they definitely are not a new technology. Actually, most of the first PC keyboards back in the 70’s and 80’s were mechanical. Their use dwindled after the introduction of electronic keyboards because of their much lower cost. Electronic keyboards served their purpose for decades and had their part in lowering the overall price of a PC to make it affordable by the masses, yet early-day enthusiasts and professionals never forgot how much better the feeling of a mechanical keyboard was.
This style of keyboard was reintroduced into the consumer market almost a decade ago, after several patents expired and the overall production cost of mechanical switches was lowered, allowing the design and creation of affordable products once more. As the cost of a mechanical keyboard still was many times that of a common electronic keyboard, their market growth was slow, yet steady. The market kept growing and ever more manufacturers introduced new products. Nowadays there are dozens upon dozens of mechanical keyboards available, for every user and budget.
SteelSeries is one of the most renowned manufacturers of advanced PC peripherals, including several mechanical keyboards. Recently, the company introduced not only new keyboards but also new mechanical switches of their own design, the QX1 and the QX2. In this review, we are having a look at one of their most impressive mechanical keyboards, the Apex M750, which also gives us the chance to test their new QX2 switches.
Packaging and bundle
We received the SteelSeries Apex M750 Mechanical Keyboard in a well-designed, strong cardboard box. A vibrant image of the keyboard dominates the front side of the box, surrounded by abstract shapes and very succinct information about the main features of the keyboard. Detailed information is printed on the sides and the rear of the box. The box is very sturdy, offering ample shipping protection to the keyboard.
Inside the box, we only found a simple manual and two rubber feet for the keyboard. There are no keycap pullers or other accessories and the software has to be downloaded from the manufacturer's website.
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kaesden - Monday, September 10, 2018 - link
Translation: You're reviewing products he doesnt care about and apparently thinks everyoen caters to him.speculatrix - Monday, May 13, 2019 - link
Sarah terra, you're clearly far too intelligent for this website and its readers who enjoy keyboard reviews, I suggest your find somewhere where your opinion and wisdom will be appreciated./s
m16 - Sunday, September 9, 2018 - link
For the price it's not a bad offering, but I would rather go with the Masterkeys MK750 if I wanted a smaller keyboard with numkey attached. It's a bit more expensive ($140 ish the brown switch model, the others range from $150 to $160). The magnetic key rest and the incredibly comfortable keys are a mega plus, and it's very silent even with blue keys compared to other offerings.But then again, I've yet to find one that is as nice as the old Vengeance K70 ( Corsair's new one is odd and not as good), although that was one noisy keyboard.
dishayu - Sunday, September 9, 2018 - link
Set apart by software, how exactly? What does is do that any of the other 3 significant players in the space (Razer, Logi, Corsair) don't? If anything it's far less functional.bug77 - Tuesday, September 11, 2018 - link
"SteelSeries's Engine software is practically the main feature of this keyboard." - aka nothing special here if you're not using Windows :DApparently if not on Windows, you won't even be able to switch profiles (not that switching profiles works any better on my G.Skill keyboard with dedicated keys for that purpose).
numberlen - Wednesday, September 12, 2018 - link
The software really isn't anything special especially when compared to the level of customization that actual programmable keyboards (via qmk) have. The ability to map a single key to multiple functions via layers or tap dancing is unmatched by most offerings, since there's no tradeoff of losing your normal key functions while adding extra macro functions, without the need for extra macro keys.I'd like to see a review of the Tada68 or other similar fully programmable products, if possible.
discordaudio - Saturday, July 18, 2020 - link
<a href="https://thakoni.com/discord-audio-cutting-out/&quo... audio keeps cutting</a>discordaudio - Saturday, July 18, 2020 - link
https://thakoni.com/discord-audio-cutting-out/