Steelseries APEX M800 Review
Category : Keyboards
Published by Luca Rocchi on 24.06.15
The Apex M800 from Steelseries is the companies flagship model. It features RGB backlight and Steelseries' own mechanical switches. The fact that this keyboard comes with a low profile form factor make it rather special and us curious if it can really convince.
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With the Apex M800 Steelseries offers a mechanical keyboard, which uses its own switches. The vendor has been able to squeeze them into a low profile chassis, which is unusual for a mechanical keyboard. Apparently the Apex M800 is Steelseries’ new flag flagship model and therefore there is an RGB backlight as well as several macro keys.
| Page 1 - Introduction |
| Page 2 - Photo Gallery / Delivery |
| Page 3 - Features |
| Page 4 - Closer Look |
| Page 5 - Software |
| Page 6 - Conclusion |
Photo Gallery
Delivery
The packaging is very well designed, a fair bit larger than other keyboards, but considering that the actual Apex M800 is 510mm wide Steelseries simply needed the space for it. Inside the box you have the keyboard, a quick start guide, a sticker and two feet, which are required to raise the height of the keyboard.
| Page 1 - Introduction |
| Page 2 - Photo Gallery / Delivery |
| Page 3 - Features |
| Page 4 - Closer Look |
| Page 5 - Software |
| Page 6 - Conclusion |
Features
| Model number: | Apex M800 |
| Keys: | Steelseries QS1 |
| Keycaps: | ABS |
| Materials: | ABS |
| Backlight: | RGB |
| Interface: | 2x USB2.0 |
| Cable : | 200 cm |
| Dimensions: | 510 (L) x 174 (W) x 41 (H) mm |
| Weight: | 1400 g |
| Page 1 - Introduction |
| Page 2 - Photo Gallery / Delivery |
| Page 3 - Features |
| Page 4 - Closer Look |
| Page 5 - Software |
| Page 6 - Conclusion |
Closer Look
The layout of the Apex M800 is based on a classical shape, which you find with all gaming keyboards from Steelseries. The company offers a low-profile design and there is a huge huge space bar. The Apex M800 is made of plastic, whereas there are different finishes. Although this is a low profile keyboard its width is massive, measuring more than 50 centimeters. A further look around shows, there are the classical keys and to the left we find the macro buttons. As we already mentioned the Apex M800 is a mechanical keyboard and Steelseries developed their own switches, which they call QS1. The key response is clear and precise, perhaps in our opinion better for typing text rather than long gaming sessions. In our opinion these switches behave in a similar way to Topre, which you can find with the NovaTouch from Cooler Master. Despite being a gaming keyboard with mechanical switches it is surprisingly silent, when being compared to CherryMX switches for example. At this point we also want to have a quick look at the backlight, which is uniform thanks to the fact, that the LED has been placed in the center of each switch.
On the left we find 6 programmable keys. In order to assign specific functions to these keys you need the Seelseries Engine Software, which is available from the vendor’s website. If you want to adjust the brightness of the backlight you can push FN and F5 or F6 simultaneously. While pressing FN and F7 to F12 to gain access to multimedia functions. We previously mentioned that the backlight offers 16.8 million different colors and its intensity can be changed according to your needs. On the back we find a black sleeved cable and two USB 2.0 ports.
Back
On the back of the keyboard there is the classic label showing the serial and apart from that there are the non-slip rubber feet. Regarding stability, we don't find classic feet, which allow different levels of inclination. If you wish you can swap the feet with the second pair in the delivery, which gives you even more possibilities to change inclination.
| Page 1 - Introduction |
| Page 2 - Photo Gallery / Delivery |
| Page 3 - Features |
| Page 4 - Closer Look |
| Page 5 - Software |
| Page 6 - Conclusion |
Software
Steelseries, like most other manufacturers today, does not include a software CD in the package. However, the software is free and can be downloaded from the official website. The interface is simple and intuitive, as the information and all the settings are easily accessible within just a few clicks.
| Page 1 - Introduction |
| Page 2 - Photo Gallery / Delivery |
| Page 3 - Features |
| Page 4 - Closer Look |
| Page 5 - Software |
| Page 6 - Conclusion |
Conclusion
| General | + | - | |
| Our final verdict regarding the Apex M800 gaming keyboard is more than positive as the company managed to create a solid, almost perfect high-quality product. We definitely like the fact that this a heavy keyboard, with an attractive but not excessive design, typical for gaming peripherals. The backlight is clear, precise and since you can change its intensity it’s never too much. |
- Design
- Mechanical but low profile - Silent |
||
| Manufacturing quality / Ergonomics | + | - | |
| Steelseries is using high quality materials for the Apex M800, which make this keyboard look and feel very nice. Apart from that the Apex M800 is very comfortable to use, the keys are well placed and they’re also easy to reach. The comfort of a keyboard is always a very subjective matter, we believe it would have been nice to find a palm rest in the delivery. The key travel is precise and linear, the response is always immediate and simply perfect. Steelseries uses a RGB backlight with this keyboard and it’s possible to choose colors individually for different sections of the keyboard. | - Build quality - RGB backlight | - Palmrest | |
| Software | + | - | |
| The software is simple, clear and has everything you might need. It is free and easy to get and this is a good thing in our book. | - Easy to use | ||
| Recommendation / Price | + | - | |
| The starting price of the Apex M800 on Geizhals.eu is about 199 euro excluding shipping costs. In terms of value, the keyboard is certainly a very good product with attractive features and mechanical switches but the price, however, is slightly higher than what we expected. |
- Gaming - Office |
- Price | |
| Rating | |||
| We gave the Apex M800 from Steelseries 4 out of 5 stars. | |||
| Page 1 - Introduction |
| Page 2 - Photo Gallery / Delivery |
| Page 3 - Features |
| Page 4 - Closer Look |
| Page 5 - Software |
| Page 6 - Conclusion |