SteelSeries Apex 3
Main features
SteelSeries is known in the gaming community as a reliable and innovative brand. Their keyboards, mouse, and even headsets are trend-setters, hence why this list would not have been complete without them. We tested Apex 3 and noticed just a couple of things wrong that kept this gadget away from taking the first spot. One – it is quite pricy. Not exactly the most expensive of the gaming keyboards you could find, but definitely up there. Besides, we had to pay for the shipping, too. Later on, we’ll discuss how that price reflects quality, but the second thing that we didn’t quite like is that this keyboard is quite large, particularly with the hand/wrist rest. And the keycaps, apart from maybe ESC, are not easily replaceable. We know that some amateur or professional gamers get custom keycaps that can cost up to a few hundred dollars, so not being able to use them could be a real bummer. But now unto the positives. SteelSeries Apex 3 is IP32-rated water and dust resistant. It means that the maintenance should be smooth sailing. Also, the RGB rainbow illumination is fully customizable and can even adapt to certain games and apps! For example, Minecraft and Discord. With the former, the lights would alert you about durability, HP, and more, and with the latter, the lights would inform you about messages and other notifications. The hand/wrist rest is magnetic, meaning that it can be easily attached and detached from the keyboard, and the keyboard angle can be adjusted, too. While there are dedicated multimedia controls, the Fn keys, unfortunately, do not have indications of shortcuts. Finally, the switches in Apex 3 are really quiet, which is a matter of preference.
Design and Comfort
Apex 3 is very comfortable to use and has a modern, stylish design. Just like our No 1 choice and many other great gaming keyboards, this one is mechanical with RGB illumination. There are 10 zones to adapt to the player’s personal taste. Color schemes can be adjusted, too, and for gamers, perhaps, the best feature is that they can set the keyboard to light up when they’re under attack in the game. The illumination brightness can also be adjusted, however, neither the packaging or manual, nor their official website indicate what kind of light modes are there in general, so they would need to be set pretty much through trial and error. Nevertheless, another great design feature is a three-way cable routing. It means that the user can select which side of the keyboard they want the cable to go through, thus avoiding the clutter. Overall, with very few minor setbacks, Apex 3 is made for any gamer.
Value
Overall, SteelSeries Apex 3 has minor setbacks, still taking a coveted second place on our list. With a score like that, both Axeg Pro and SteelSeries are brilliant choices for professional and amateur gamers, except Axeg Pro is way more affordable, so it comes down to your personal budget and design details. We consider the main positives of Apex 3 to be water and dust resistance, hand/wrist rest, compatibility with games and apps, and multimedia controls. And the negatives for us were the price, lack of shortcut signs on Fn keys, and no information about the available light modes. So, it’s up to you to consider if it’s worth buying.