Steelseries Apex M500
Mechanical keyboards for all.
The M500 is a budget model — a solid slab of matte black plastic, with enough metal in its base to give it a decent weight and purchase on your desktop. Each key sits atop the dependable Cherry MX Red switch. There’s no option to change the switches out, but they’re comfortable to use, and with a rating of 50 million clicks, they should last a while.
There’s some clever cable management going on underneath the keyboard, with three positions for the captive two-metre USB lead to exit from the back. This is such a simple idea, it’s remarkable that it doesn’t appear on more of the topend keyboards. While under there, you’ll find two feet to raise the keyboard’s angle, and some shaped rubber pads that retain their grip.
Thanks to the lack of bells and whistles on offer, one of the first things that strikes you as you look down at the M500 is the typeface used on the keys. It’s a large friendly sans serif, and understands that a W is not an upside-down M. The punctuation, secondary functions and numbers could be bigger, particularly the media keys, but with the blue backlighting, it’s still clear and easy to read.
SteelSeries’s Engine software enables you to program macros (F keys) and other customisation options, including profile switching across compatible mice and headsets, as soon as you launch a game. There’s full anti-ghosting and 104-key rollover.
Concentrating on the basics is what makes a keyboard great, and creating one that feels good under the fingers is the key to a good keyboard relationship.