SteelSeries Apex M800
£139 inc VAT • steelseries.com
The SteelSeries Apex M800 is a gaming keyboard, announced back in 2015 and is one of our favourite gaming keyboards. It has a low profile design, based lightly on the design of the original Apex gaming keyboard. It’s been built at an ergonomic low angle for extra comfort, and the linear key layout cuts down on finger travel. This means that you’ll be able to reach the keys you need, when you need them, and thus speed up your reaction times.
However, it isn’t the ergonomic design that pleases us most about the M800 – it’s the illumination it offers – a choice of 16.8 million colours. This means that, using SteelSeries software, you can design your own custom lighting schemes for various different games.
As well as custom designs, the M800 also comes with a handful of pre-set light effects, including Breathe, Colour Wave, Cooldown Timers and Reactive Keys. These really give the M800 the ‘wow’ factor it deserves, any we can pretty much guarantee that every person that see’s the keyboard lit up will comment on it.
Apart from the aesthetics, the M800 packs some serious technology. First, it has dual processors, with one CPU dedicated solely to key presses, which stops any ghosting issues. In fact, it can handle up to 256 keys to be pressed at once with no issue.
The M800 also boasts switch technology specifically designed for this keyboard. SteelSeries paired up with experts in switch technology to create the QS1 switch. The improved QS1 provides a smooth linear action, as well as 25 percent faster actuation than standard mechanical switches. The keys only require 45cN (centinewton) of force to register a key press, which allows for lighter key presses and faster reactions.
And if that wasn’t enough for you, it even features a USB 2.0 hub and a series of macro keys, which can be programmed via SteelSeries’ software for both PC and Mac.
This is the ultimate in gaming keyboards, in our opinion, and is really only for hardcore gamers. It’s a chunky keyboard despite its ergonomic design, but in return you get a powerhouse of a keyboard that can provide lightning fast responses when you need them most. The individually lit keys are also a bonus, as they allow a higher level of customisation than standard gaming keyboards.