From the manufacturer
Easy and Secure Attachment
Red Mechanical Gaming Switches
Guaranteed for 50 million keypresses with consistently smooth movement from top to bottom without any bump, allowing for lightning-fast actuation.
OLED Smart Display
Adjust settings and see on-the-fly info straight from your game, music, or Discord…all without tabbing out of your game.
Premium Magnetic Wrist Rest
A simple magnetic solution for easy and secure attachment, full palm support, and a durable soft touch finish.
Unbreakeable Durability
Aircraft Grade Aluminum Alloy
The Series 5000 metal frame is manufactured for a lifetime of unbreakable durability and sturdiness.
Dynamic Per-Key RGB Illumination
Millions of color options and reactive typing effects make you the designer of your ultimate setup.
Five On-Board Profiles
Software-free customization for saving up to 5 unique profiles locally on the keyboard, from game to game and on-the-go.
Adjust Volume and Settings on the Fly
Dedicated Multimedia Controls
A clickable metal roller and media keys allow you to adjust volume and settings on the fly: change brightness, rewind, skip, pause and more, all at the touch of a button.
USB Passthrough Port and Cable Routing
Avoid crawling behind your desk: insert a flash drive, wireless transmitter, or USB device directly into the keyboard, and choose where the cable exits the keyboard.
100% Anti-Ghosting with 104 Key Rollover
Never lose a keypress, even in the heat of battle. 100% anti-ghosting means the keyboard will register every single keypress, no matter how fast inputs are made.
Amazon Customer –
3.0 out of 5 stars
Keyboard is 5*, but Amazon’s used warehouse has awful QC
I gotta start out by saying I love this keyboard. I love the brown switches, the OLED is nice, and it even get’s a little more cool once you have your system temps and info running on it. The lighting is bright and vibrant, and configuring it all within the GG software is a breeze. That being said, I did get this used from Amazon Warehouse under a “Very Good” condition, and all that was listed was that the box will be damaged. The box was damaged for sure, thankfully no huge dents and dings but it was in bad shape. I got the keyboard all opened, inspected everything and couldn’t find any dirt, scuffs, or anything like that on the keyboard. It was all super clean and for that I am thankful. It wasn’t until a couple hours of use that I noticed that 6 keys were in the complete wrong spot and a couple of them were even upside down. But alright, I can fix that. Pretty bummed that whoever checked this didn’t notice though. But then after connecting it to the GG software, the previous owner had some type of of weird custom picture loaded onto the OLED screen and while this screen isn’t super HD by any means, I could easily tell that the picture was not appropriate and most definitely of the “Phallic” nature. I’m an adult, so I’m not offended, but absolutely disappointed in Amazon for this. That’s why we are left with a 3 star. I can’t knock the keyboard as its absolutely fantastic. The only actual con with the keyboard itself is that the wrist rest is kind of short. I have big hands and if it was an inch or two longer, it would be perfect. Anyways thanks for reading. Hopefully Amazon does better in the future and nobodies children get a weird custom picture on their Apex 7.
3 people found this helpful
Anastasia –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very comfortable and very responsive.
I have nerve damage in one of my hands and this makes typing without errors not only possible but very easy to do.Great keyboard!!
Amazon Customer –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best keyboard for an affordable price tag.
Keys are nice and quiet and smooth, the digital readout is highly customizable ( I have mine set to show GPU and CPU temps constantly which I love for system health monitoring). Love the key spacing and the software that steel series presents is top notch! One of the main reasons I went with steel series peripherals this time around instead of mix and matching! Steel series is king! If you don’t have this yet… what the hell you waiting for!
Hook’s HollandsHook’s Hollands –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Awesome but Malfunctioned After 1 Year
**UPDATE: After using this keyboard for EXACTLY 1 year (coincidence?), the Home key suddenly has a malfunctioning LED and will not display any blue/purple/pink hues. Awaiting a reply from SteelSeries, but I imagine I’m stuck with the defective switch and will likely purchase a different brand as a replacement. Two stars have been deducted from my original review.What I love about the SteelSeries Apex 7 keyboard:1. Vibrant LED lights with superb visibility2. Ability to customize different light profiles that launch automatically with various PC programs/games3. OLED display that can be customized with logos or animated GIFs4. Magnetic wrist rest that detaches easily and is extremely simple to clean (no textured grooves to collect dirt!)5. SteelSeries software requires minimal CPU background usage compared to HyperX software on previous keyboard6. Red switches are clicky yet aren’t obtrusive. I know when I’ve pressed a key, but the whole house isn’t alerted that mom is gaming yet again.7. Very comfortable for my middle-aged fingers and wrists8. Looks nice with my SteelSeries dual surface prism mousepad9. SteelSeries Engine software is way more reliable than Razer Synapse10. Caps Lock key glows white when activated, which is a nice feature.What could be improved:My main gripe is that there are absolutely zero instructions included about the OLED display and the menu/functions within it. I initially had trouble loading the profiles I created in the SteelSeries Engine software to the keyboard, but I eventually fumbled through the OLED display menu on the keyboard and figured out how to load/activate each profile. The process is a bit cumbersome. SteelSeries support keeps promising me a comprehensive guide to the OLED display but has yet to deliver.Other than that, I really have no complaints and am very pleased with the Apex 7 vs. my old HyperX Alloy Elite. I didn’t opt for the Apex Pro keyboard because, as a middle-aged mom who only games casually, I felt no use for fully customizable switches. I’m a huge fan of the game Super Animal Royale, and I have won many matches with my new Apex 7! If SteelSeries would only make gaming earbuds (I get headaches from headsets) and a mouse with a tilting scroll wheel, I could completely ditch Razer and game 100% with SteelSeries gear. Just buy the Apex 7 keyboard already, it’s pretty spiffy! 🙂
7 people found this helpful
Quinn –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic keyboard but these are NOT brown switches. More like crispier Reds.
Great keyboard, the construction feels good and sturdy and the lights are very bright. The switches are very responsive and I find myself typing a tad too hard because I am not used to such light actuation pressure but I will relearn that eventually. The lighting is very bright and pleasing to look at, probably the brightest keyboard Ive had yet. The OLED, while a huge gimmick, is a very fun gimmick, and the media controls are very helpful.The biggest caveat is, these are not really CHERRY brown switches. They are crisper than real cherry Reds, I have another board to compare them too directly, but they are not clicky at ALL. There is essentially no tactile feedback to them. I cant imagine what the Red version is like. Its not worth returning and replacing. I think I like the rest of the keyboard too much without anything comparable, but if a clicky brown is the biggest feature for you, pass on this. They are relatively quiet though. Louder than red but not annoying. A bit of a *THOCK* sound.
One person found this helpful
Gabriel Martin –
3.0 out of 5 stars
I guess it’s ok.
I like the click sounds it makes and the lights are vibrant, but It’s kinda been hard to get past that it doesn’t have a complete lights-off timeout. i rarely unplug it from my machine, so it’s kinda annoying that it never shuts off after a period of inactivity unless your computer is shut down or if the keyboard is unplugged. I have lights always coming from my desk…
Se7en –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Loved this keyboard
First, this keyboard is worth every single penny. I would have given it a 5 star but one of the magnets came out from the wrist support thing. I super glued it back in. Definitely nice, no complaints. I would purchase another one of these and my son has a glorious keyboard and I would put this keyboard against his in a heartbeat lol.
tyler –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Ummmm most part w
Bad instructions but overall w keyboard
Oswaldo Acuña –
5.0 out of 5 stars
I love the keyboard
I have used this keyboard for a little less than a month, and I love everything about it, the brown switch keyboard is still kinda clicky but honestly it’s the right amount of clicky for me. The keys feel great under my fingers. Although I have had to readjust to the keyboard layout a bit. I love the RGB option, and the little OLED display is actually kinda neat, though Steelseries no longer supports showing the song and the artist, there is a GitHub page you can visit that can do it. I dont think Im missing anything else, but do let me know!
Richard Griffin –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good, but a little expensive for its build quality.
The product does what it is advertised to do and does it well. My only issue with the keyboard itself is that the build quality of the frame is not what i anticipated, but it is a great keyboard if you can get it on sale.
Audentes –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Solid, doesn’t slide around easily. Definintely has metal and it’s lit well
I haven’t read the manual yet, so i haven’t seen my choices of color modes yet. I bought it so I wouldn’t have to get up and cross the room to turn on a light. Yes, I know, first world problems. Sometimes I get started on the PC when it is still light out. Then, suddenly, I need to type something and I cannot see the keyboard. This saves me from not being lazy (lol). The default color changing is okay, but I definitely want to get around to reading how to change it to a solid, not changing, pattern. The volume control is a nice touch, but I won’t be using it as my physical volume control on my speakers is within easy reach and faster.I recommend this one to someone looking for illumination without wanting to spend big money on individual key lighting options. granted, it would be nice to highlight specific keys, but it’s not worth the money. this keyboard is worth the money. great illumination and solid, so it won’t easily slide around form an accidental bump.
Honest Unbiased Review GuyHonest Unbiased Review Guy –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Love how it looks and feels, but came with major issues
1st keyboard that arrived had a line of dead pixels in the OLED screen, but everything else worked fine. Being able to set up custom macros on the fly made my work easier, but I did eventually request an exchange to deal with the damaged OLED screen. The 2nd one had a perfect screen but has issues saving macros. Unline the first one, the only way to save the macros is if you uninstall the SteelSeries Engine 3 software, then set up the macros and save. The worst part is, anytime you want to make any changes, you will have to uninstall and reinstall the software because it will only save the 1st setting after every install.Although it’s not perfect, I do worry that the 3rd one will have a different defect, so I’ll just deal with the macro issue and keep the current keyboard. Luckily I’m able to save my configurations via cloud storage, so it’s not too much of a hassle.Aside from the issues mentioned above, the fact that this keyboard allows you to save 5 different profiles is amazing (a few profiles for party tricks or piano mode). U.I. for the software to change the colors/ reactive features is amazing and the fact that you can remap any key makes my work fly by.UPDATE: Macro issue seems to have resolved on it’s own. Not sure if there was an OTA update or not, but I am able to set macros on the fly without any issues
One person found this helpful
Jack –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic keyboard
It’s a little loud, but feels really good to type on. Wrist support feels good, and plenty of customization options on their driver
Joshua –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Solid
My first gaming keyboard. Did a ton of research, tried out a ton at local gaming stores and went through with the SteelSeries Apex 7 Full. Sound is great, not too loud. Great keying feel. The RGB is cool too
Devin Marlowe –
3.0 out of 5 stars
Horrible to clean, Horrible to fix, good for everything else though
Key cap thing broke on it while cleaning, opened it up to fix it and ended up breaking it more, beat it to death on the corner of my desk, very euphoric would recommend three stars because it pissed me off
Abdulrahman –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing keyboard, top-notch build quality.
I love the matte black keycaps and the feel and tactile feedback of the blue switches. The keyboard looks the part, and is great for typing. My only complaint is it gathers dust quickly, especially the OLED screen. Speaking of the OLED screen, it is great, lots of customization and ease of use. The software is intuitive and straight to the point, and the keyboard itself is just so customizable and fantastic — I love it! You can sync it with Discord to change a section of the keyboard’s RGB when you get notified, and speaking of the RGB it is great, bright, and accurate. The wrist rest is nice and comfortable — not better than Razer, but still comfortable. The wrist rest also unfortunately gathers dust quickly. It also comes with a USB port on the left side, however you need another USB slot on your device for it to work. Besides dust gathering, this is a near perfect keyboard, I really am in love with it, it’s great! Totally recommend.
Amazon CustomerAmazon Customer –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Keyboard!
I thought the K70 LUX and K70 RGB MK.2 were the best keyboards, but the magnetic wrist rest and the beefy top feet and brighter LED’s makes this one even better.It is also more compact, which I like.Software differences – who cares? – the OLED – who cares? EDIT: 5 months later, I actually care a lot and the OLED is perfect for monitoring CPU/GPU temperatures.Cherry Speed (silver) are good, but this is the best Cherry Red keyboard I have owned.
One person found this helpful
S M –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Superb keyboard with one minor gripe
This keyboard is great, and I love almost everything about it. It’s so customizable, great to type on, and overall just a solid board.The one issue I have is that there’s a few lights on it which can’t be turned off, meaning short of unplugging it/turning off the computer, these lights will always be on. One of these is on the USB port at the back, which makes it hard to apply a black-out sticker onto as well. Since I like to sleep in a pitch-black room, this is most unfortunate. Hopefully future revisions of this keyboard will allow you to turn off all of its lights.
2 people found this helpful
robie88 –
3.0 out of 5 stars
Wobbly Keys!
Lots of great features on this keyboard, but I’m disappointed bigtime with the amount of key wobble. Literally makes it difficult to type. Not sure if its the particular unit I got, or the product in general, but I’ve never seen this much side-to-side movement in a mechanical keyboard. Considering returning…
WirelessMike –
2.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful, great feeling keyboard (that doesn’t work on Win 10)
I did lots of research before purchasing this keyboard and got a great deal here on Amazon for it. It’s a beautiful keyboard with some wonderful features. The display is very cool and the keys making typing so easy and smooth. The lighting is gorgeous and fully adjustable. I wanted so badly for this keyboard to just work, but here’s the issue that forced me to return it:If you want to use this keyboard with a usb switch (kvm-style) on any machine with a Win 10 OS, look elsewhere! I just could not get it to work consistently. It will work on Win 10 for a while, then it will start blinking, which renders it unusable. I had to switch it back and forth to make it stable again, but it wouldn’t last. I tried a few different tricks I tracked down online including direct connection (which is definitely not a long-term fix, since I need to use it on the home and work PCs– One of which, being Linux, worked flawlessly), changing power settings in Windows, and disabling the Steelseries software app, but nothing worked for more than a few minutes under load.Such a great keyboard– I sure hope they work out these issues one day because I’d love to try it again sometime, but for me, I need the primary purpose of the keyboard to just work every time.I have nothing but praise for Amazon who talked this over with me and resolved this for me. So glad I bought this here. I’ll be buying an alternative keyboard through Amazon, as well, with even more confidence having had such a good experience come out of this unfortunate situation.I’ve settled for the Razer Blackwidow Elite, which is nice from a typing perspective, but requires the proprietary software for lighting effects (where the Apex does not) and is not on the same level of solid quality as the Apex, nor are the switches as smooth, but it will do for now. I’m going to keep an eye out for the next Apex from Steelseries in hopes that it will not have the same issue with Win 10 that the 7 has. I still believe Steelseries makes the best overall gaming keyboard and look forward to trying it again someday.
2 people found this helpful
Scott –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great keyboard
After having two failures of keyboards due to quality control issues from a competitor starting with “R” I am pleased to say I don’t have any issues with this keyboard from SteelSeries. All keys are clicky as ever, great responses from key presses, lights are bright and lighting works very well. Been using the keyboard for a little while now and it is a solid keyboard with good build quality. Keys have just a little wiggle to them but not much. Nothing seems to be cheap on this one, which yes, includes the price, but at least you’re getting what you pay for on this one.
One person found this helpful
Dazhuko –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Just as good as I hoped
This was the last piece to the Steel Series setup (keyboard, mouse, RGB mouse pad). The only disappointment was the mouse pad. I got the Brown switches for tactile but silent. Coming from Razer Blue Cherry keys took some time as i miss hearing the loud clicking noise, but this is better for streaming and Teams meetings. For everyday and gaming use I highly recommend. For comparison, my wife has a Black Widow v3 with the same type of keys (Razer Orange i think) and the key press is slightly heavier on the Razer. After time you get used to the presses regardless, but that is something to consider.
Rachel ZornRachel Zorn –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fun AF
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Great keyboard all in all. I use it largely for graphic design and CAD, so the individually programmable keys are great for highlighting hotkeys/etc. The SS software is decent, and didn’t take too long to figure out. Gaming-wise.. it’s ridiculously cool to have my keys rainbow glow while playing pinball. For FPSs, highlighted keys help me remember those game features I’d probably forget otherwise. The LCD is cute by itself with easy to get animations, and can be setup to monitor your CPU & GPU temperatures. There’s also a USB pass-through, though it’s not the easiest to use as it’s a bit too crisp and tight to easily swap peripherals.
One person found this helpful
Danielle Bishop –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing.
Wow, I did a lot of research on mechanical gaming keyboards and I kept coming back to this one. This is my first mechanical keyboard since I’ve always used laptops, so I’m not used to the loudness of the keys. But man this thing is a beauty! I absolutely love the OLED function, I added the marvel flipping animation and it’s so cool to look at it. Worth the money in my opinion. I’ve been really impressed with Steel Series lately, this is a great match for my Sensei 310 mouse since I’m one handed (left hand only). The LED back-lit key features are so fun to look at. I have it to were whenever I hit Enter, there’s a wave of LED lights that shoot out in both directions. Great keyboard and I’m extremely happy with my decision. Obviously you buy what’s right for you and works better for you, but if I was building my PC all over again with my new experience, I’d buy this keyboard still. That’s just my opinion.
Zach P –
2.0 out of 5 stars
LEDs die after a couple years
I’ve had this keyboard for about 2.5 years now, unfortunately the LEDs in the keyboard have started to go out. This happens to all of them at some point so buyer beware. Usually happens first to the blue LEDs on commonly used keys.
alyssa kittrell –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful keyboard.
I absolutely do not regret buying this. Sounds and feels amazing.
Grace Beasley –
1.0 out of 5 stars
Failed in 2 years
Used this product for two years. Loved this product for two years. Then key switches started failing. At first, it was just the “s” key. I cleaned it. It worked fine. Then it started to spread to more and more keys. Not all keys. Just some keys at random intervals across the board. If I cleaned them with Isopropyl Alcohol, they would work again for a bit, and then the issue would return a few days later. The issue was double-pressing and/or failure to capture keystroke. Just a failure of the switches. Support told me it was software-related. Walked me through resetting the board, reinstalling drivers, etc. I had already done these things, but I did them again. No dice. Then I was informed that due to the 1-year warranty, I was out of luck. I bought a different brand of keyboard. Worked immediately. I am typing this on that keyboard now. No issues. And to think I used to waste my breath telling my friends, family, and clients about how much I liked my Steelseries keyboard. 160 bucks for 2 years is not the type of return on investment I’m interested in. Don’t waste your money on a company with quality control issues who won’t back up their product.
One person found this helpful
Gregory Kent –
3.0 out of 5 stars
Gimmicky screen and loud keys – solid performance
What can I say about this keyboard? I bought it to replace my aging Logitech G-15S and was hoping for a useful screen and comfortable keys. So far, the keyboard has been great for gaming and work, but some “features” are just not developed as they should be.+ Keys are responsive and have a great tactile sensation+ RGB is impressive with huge amounts of customization+ All the keys are customizable with macros and when you press a key, you can have them light-up differently+ USB pass-through is fast and lights up too!- Keys are friggin LOUD! I was not expecting this as I chose the quieter “green” switches. You definitely can hear them on Zoom calls and if someone is trying to watch shows near you.- No media keys. You do get Pause/Play and mute, but previous/next will need special macros. Honestly, they should replace the macro keys, who needs to switch profiles constantly anyway?- The screen is gimmicky. I just leave it on a random animation. Unlike the Logitech, I can’t see my media player info, or game information. It’s just underwhelming and not super-useful.Overall it’s a solid keyboard and I’ll keep it. Wish the keys were a bit quieter and the screen was more useful though.
Calvin WangCalvin Wang –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Solid, but sounds like nails on a tin roof
I just picked up this apex 7 along with a rival 310 as part of my desktop refresh. I’ve gone through a ton of cheap keyboards, and wanted to go through the mechanical keybaord experience. The first thing I noticed was the heftiness of the metal build. The keys also felt solid under my fingers when I typed. I got the red switch, which is supposed to be the quietest version, but the keys are still noticeably loud compared to its non-mechanical counterparts.For the additional features: the magnetic wrist support seems okay, although I might end up not using it if it eats up too much desk real estate. The LED display and multimedia volume wheel on the top left are other examples of things that are cool, but probably not what I’m going to utilize very frequently.Overall, it’s a solid keyboard with a long long lifetime even when under constant duress from gaming. It was a bit pricey at $140, but worth it for such a workhorse product.
7 people found this helpful
Kindle Customer –
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not Cherry MX Keys – LEDs didn’t last
Okay, I knew that before I bought it, but I thought it would feel like Cherry MX Blues, since they were calling them blue clicky keys. For background I’m coming from a HyperX (a Razor before that). These feel more like the a Razor than the HyperX with real Cherry MX Blue keys. They do click, but feel odd… The click isn’t as pronounced and there’s not the upward bump that I feel in the MX blues. I think that’s it anyway. Also, the key caps are almost slippery… not what I was expecting at all. I know I could change the key caps, but that’s ridiculous at this price range. I’m going to give it a chance… Just because something is different doesn’t make it bad necessarily.Couple of notes: Yes, you can adjust the brightness (or even off) on the keyboard. The software seems to be fine, and it retains settings if shut the app down. I don’t like have extra stuff running.UPDATE: Very disappointed that one of the LEDs went out already. it’s not a bad keyboard, but I expect it to last longer than this.UPDATE: Lost another LED. I like the keyboard, but can’t recommend with the LEDs failing. Time to look for a replacement… already.
8 people found this helpful
DaGo2Money –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Even at My Old Age, Love The Features and The Quality of My Product
So Excited to Hook It Up to My MONSTER DESK TOP, And Now I Can Enjoy it Fully… 👍👍
My EMS Supply –
3.0 out of 5 stars
Warranty Expired 2 Weeks Ago, Backlighting Fail
I’ve had the Apex 7 keyboard for 1 year and 2 weeks and it has been great. My use is not for gaming and it is used in an office environment. Today there are two keys which no longer backlight as blue. They appear as green. One of the colors which compose blue must have burned out. The only color that makes all the keys the same color is red. I checked the SteelSeries warranty and it only covers the keyboard for one year. With my luck here it is two weeks later and the keyboard LED’s are burning out. Otherwise it is a great keyboard and so much better than the $5 keyboard you get from HP.
alex200800 –
2.0 out of 5 stars
It’s alright but some key features/functionality are flawed and customer service is bad.
I bought this keyboard about a year ago intending to keep it for at least 5 years but now I’m planning on selling it. The Apex 7 replaced my old Logitech G-510 keyboard which I used for 5+ years and really liked.What I like about the Apex 7:- The LEDs are bright- It looks and feels like it is built well- The magnetic wrist rest is nice- USB pass-through is nice to have even if I didn’t use itWhat I don’t like about the Apex 7- The OLED screen is fairly useless since it is not visible from a normal sitting position, it is obscured by the keys of the keyboard.- This is personal preference but I ended up not liking the long keystrokes of the Cherry MX Red Switches and I don’t think keyboards with long keystrokes are good for work or gaming.- Steel Series only recently added system monitoring on the OLED screen, it took them well over a year to add this basic functionality and it doesn’t even work properly with AMD Ryzen CPUs.- The wrist rest is rubbing the finish off the main body of the keyboard.- The finish on the main body of the keyboard is a magnet for dirt and is hard to clean.- The Keyboard firmware is buggy and sometimes the LEDs get stuck displaying a certain color as well as the color you tell it to display. Believe it or not this is not a hardware issue as the problem did go away eventually but while it was happening multiple factory resets did not fix this problem. I still don’t know what made this problem go away but it did.- The media controls suck. I settled for not having dedicated play/pause, stop, back, and forward and I regret that choice.- There is no “gamemode” button like what logitech keyboards have. It’s not only useful for games but for work too, I ended up hitting the windows key on accident far to often while working.- It is too expensive for what it is- It only has a 1 year warranty despite the high price tag.- Steel Series customer service sucks. When I was having the issue with the LEDs that I mentioned earlier I wasn’t asking for a RMA I provided detailed information on what my problem was and what I had done to try and fix the problem on my own, I even linked them a video of the problem. They didn’t acknowledge my problem and just gave me a copy paste response to start the RMA process. The RMA process is very convoluted and they ask you to destroy your own product. It reminds me of those internet scams that trick people into putting their i-phones in microwaves to charge them. It’s a pretty ridiculous policy to have IMO. I felt like they where treating me like the problem and that I was trying to somehow scam another keyboard out of them when all I did is ask some questions on troubleshooting.Closing Thoughts:I am selling my apex 7 and have already replaced it with a Logitech G-910 Spectrum which I typed this review with and probably should have bought in the first place. I have had to RMA Logitech products before but at least their RMA process has always been great and they have certainly earned more trust from me then steel series has, especially with how long my Logitech G-510 keyboard lasted. If I where you I’d stay away from the Apex7 and consider other cheaper options from brands that actually value their customers or at least make an effort to make sure that their customers get what they pay for.
One person found this helpful
Chase Shields –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent keyboard for gaming with a solid design
Disclaimer: I originally received the package empty because someone stole the keyboard before it was sent to me. It was a frustrating situation, but Amazon customer service followed up with me and refunded me by the next day, which I was happy with. I ended up buying the same model with brown switches the next day from the steel series store, and ended up saving $20 on the original $170 priced blue-switch keyboard.It’s got a nice feel to it with both brown and blue switches, and has good resistance, but I prefer the brown over the blue because the clicking was a bit too loud for my taste. I like the OLED Display for it being customizable and can display the settings as well. I like the wrist rest as well, the material is comfortable on the wrist, but dust and other small particles, tend to stick to it easily, but nothing that can’t be easily wiped off.The things I don’t like is that the caps lock is easy too accidentally press, since it doesn’t have any space between the A or Shift key, which some might like, but I don’t. Also, when turning the LED lights off, the passthrough port and the media control button of the top right do not turn off. This can be annoying if you have this in a bedroom.Overall, I do recommend this keyboard if the above issues are not a problem.
One person found this helpful
Lee C.Lee C. –
5.0 out of 5 stars
My best gaming keyboard yet!
I’ve always had Razer brand keyboards before this, starting out with an Ornata Chroma and then the Blackwidow V3. Unfortunately, my Blackwidow began to have issues with registering and muffled switches and their customer service didn’t seem to know how how advise me on properly cleaning it more than what I’d already done, so I sought out a more knowledgeable friend than myself who had mechanical keyboard experience and this is the one he recommended to me based on what I wanted (RGB, clicky switches, and the ability to customize keycaps).The blue switches are incredibly precise, tactile and clicky (just how I like it, since I love auditory feedback when typing and gaming). The software driver for SteelSeries has a ton of customization options, and I was pleasantly surprised with all the options it gave as to lighting patterns, lighting responses to key presses, and more. The board itself and the cable feel sturdy and durable, and this is the first time I’ve liked and used the wrist rest that came with my gaming keyboards. It’s a pleasant smooth material and doesn’t hinder anything when gaming like the ones I’ve had in the past. I can now thoroughly enjoy gaming again 🙂 a great board and absolutely worth every penny, I hope to enjoy it for years to come!
Michael Anderson –
2.0 out of 5 stars
Keys start ghosting extra letters
I’m going to continue to use this keyboard because it’s good for gaming. But for typing it’s not so good, bad even. I constantly have extra letters pop up, and the tactile feel is very very low. It’s very clicky though, but the response of seeing a letter pop up and the sound of the click doesn’t match up every time. This is not a keyboard for typing.The keys feel kinda wobbly on their posts and the caps wiggle a little. For the price of this keyboard it should feel more put together and it doesn’t.The LED programmable window is purely for .gifs and doesn’t do anything remotely useful other than look pretty.The scroll wheel volume control is nice.The button to control media is not programmable (at least through the windows app) and doesn’t do anything useful that I can tell so far.The SteelSeries cap button is programmable but by default doesn’t behave like nearly any other keyboard I’ve used, I’m used to that button being ‘right click at cursor’ like a mouse command. And it’s only a function key to access alt keyboard commands until you program it correctly. It doesn’t allow programming beyond some very basic functions.The app to program the keyboard when you try to save configs locks up when saving and when you try and close the program it says it’s going to revert changes. But doesn’t.The color programming is extensive, but nothing special. Every other keyboard brand does the same thing visually.The wrist rest is very nice though, it detaches and is magnetic. It is slightly matte and grips well. It feels soft but isn’t.
J. M. Beauchemin –
4.0 out of 5 stars
A nice, premium feeling, solid keyboard
I got the brown switches on the keyboard which I kind of instantly regretted, wishing I had gotten something a little more positively clicky. The blue switches maybe? idk. I’ve never used a KB with these switches before so I was really just guessing. Also when I start typing fast it feels like some of the keys have some frictional resistance to them, like they’re hitting the side of the housing or something. Maybe I’m putting some lateral force on them or something idk. The keys and body feel like they’re made out of premium materials, though, and the action feels really nice even though it’s a bit off from what I prefer. I don’t like how fat and chunky boi the body is, preferring Logitech’s super slim design. I also didn’t like the honkin’ 4AWG cable coming out the back for the dual USB and was wishing it was wireless. However, after using it for a few hours and getting somewhat used to it, I’m pretty happy with it, functionally. Aesthetically, as well. Except for that cable, lol. I’m going to re-arrange my office a bit though so I can get my Cintiq hooked up to my work PC, maybe I’ll be able to hide the cable when I do. Overall, I like it enough to keep it for a few years, and at some point I’ll probably get a new set of switches for it. 3/5
Olivia WeissOlivia Weiss –
5.0 out of 5 stars
An absolute gem
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This keyboard exceeded my expectations. I play a lot of different games for long sessions including mmos so I needed a keyboard that was going to give me more feedback than the one I was currently using. I decided to try out this steelseries one because I am a huge fan of their mouse lineup. This keyboard exceeded my expectations.Pros:- I got the blue keys so they are very clicky and tactile which I love. You can feel an instant press.- The rgb lighting is bright but not too bright with a ton of customizable options- Font on the keyboard is large and easy for me to read- The OLED screen isn’t too extravagant but being able to add a cute little gif is a plus in my book- The scroll wheel by the OLED screen is great for easy volume control- I am a num pad user and despite this keyboard being full sized it’s perfectly compact and organized without too much spacing- the keyboard is metal and very firm, this will not bend or break easily at allCons:- the wrist rest is comfortable but definitely not plush. It could take some getting used to.- the wrist rest is also rubber and a fingerprint magnet- cord is thick but not braided
One person found this helpful
Orumus –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Works great and at a good price point!
Had this now for about 4 months and it’s working fantastic. Only one minor gripe is I thought there would be more use for the screen but the keys block the view of it unless you are looking almost straight down at it. In a future model if they keep the screen, raising it about an inch with a slight 10 or 15 deg angle towards the user would be helpful in making the screen more useful for gaming.
2 people found this helpful
Kristopher G Battles –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Works great!
I really like this keyboard. This is my very first Steelseries keyboard and I think this will be what I buy from now on. I don’t what you can really say about a keyboard but I really like it. lol
ArgosDex –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Gimmicks, gimmicks and more gummicks. Don’t love it, don’t hate it.
Pros:Good build quality.Solid wrist rest magnet, you can actually move the keyboard without it coming off.Neutral:Keys, ok but my preference would have been for slightly firmer keys. If you put the tip of your finger on any key there is a slight motion, not a huge deal or a deal breaker but I am replacing a keyboard with rock solid keys.Cons:Cable: hard stiff plastic rather than braided, since it has a “pass through” that’s to be expected, do not expect it to sit neatly on your desk and do expect problems if you have to pass it behind your desk to a case sitting on the floor.Cable #2: Steelseries touts the keyboard as having a “pass through”, yeah, no, it’s just a fancy term for “extension”. Yes, the keyboard has a USB port but I could have just as easily bought an $8 USB 3.0 cable if I’d wanted an extension that badly and had a keyboard with a more traditional cable. I will NEVER use the keyboard’s USB port.Wrist rest: ergonomic enough but covered in this rubberized material that is slightly sticky, your wrist will not effortlessly slide on it. I don’t sit on my desk eating Cheetos all day but everything floating in the air with stick to it. I’m having to wipe it down twice a day with a wet rag. I would have been fin with just a good quality plastic wrist rest.Software: was NOT looking forward to having yet another driver on my computer. In 40 years in IT I NEVER had software for a keyboard but without it you’ll be out of luck setting per key colors.OLED: The biggest gimmick, It’s hard to see, you have to lean forward to make use it. I can often see it moving out of my peripheral vision so it’s something fiddling on your keyboard out of the corner of your eye. It is also mostly useless, since if you want to customize your keyboard to your taste you will have to use the software.Caps Lock, scroll lock, and key lock: There are NO lights on the keyboard indicating that the keys are pressed, rather they keys change color when depressed. Individual LEDs for those keys would have been far more useful than the OLED.Weirdness: Turn your computer off and the lights on the keyboard will turn off, unless you touch a key, then the xmas tree comes on again.There is a general tendency to over complicate everything, that’s why we have $500 car keys (fobs). This keyboard replaces my 7 year old AZIO MGK1, that keyboard had custom colors, and per key colors WITHOUT software, no “pass through”, a braided cable, standard LEDs for the lock keys. In short a pretty standard keyboard whose colors could be customized.Perhaps Steelseries should consider an APEX 7 “Basics”, I believe that there is a market out there for people that don’t want to do all the fiddling that this model requires. I am not saying the keyboard is terrible it’s just that they went overboard with the bells and whistles.I paid $119 when I purchased it on November 2022, it was ok since I’d paid $100 for my old keyboard. Now it’s $159, I would not have paid that much for it and would have gone for something else.
9 people found this helpful
AxisAmazing –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not as quiet as I’d hoped
I ended up going with the Apex 7 Brown version of the keyboard. I was coming from a Logitech G510 rubber dome keyboard.After using it for a while, I’ve noticed a few things:The keys are a little bit higher, so my hand sits at a slightly different angle than I’ve been used to for almost a decade; so that has been an adjustment. I never used the G510 wrist rest, and I currently don’t have it on the Apex 7. I may need to start though because it does compensate a little bit for the shift in key height.Despite the description of the keyboard, the “tactile/quiet” doesn’t quite accurately describe the sound. Playing games can be quiet if you’re only using a smaller subset of the keys (WASD type deal) and press them less frequently, but if you are typing fast (or even average speed), the keys are noticeably louder than the rubber dome keys. I’d say so much louder that I cant imagine the clicky keys on the blue is much louder when typing. My wife has complained about the loudness of my typing now that we share an office.In terms of key feel, I really like it compared to the rubber dome. I wouldn’t say it is similar in feel by any means though. It takes less force to push a key down, but because it feels less “mushy” I feel like my typing is more precise. If you were to go with the clicky blue version, I’d say you’d get more of that “key pressed” feel you get on the rubber dome when you push past the force required to activate a key. On the brown switches, you can push a key slowly down and only feel a minor bump when activating the key.Having per-key color customization and profiles is a neat feature especially if you’re going for A E S T H E T I C S on your build. Definitely an improvement over the G510 in terms of brightness and color definition.The inclusion of 6 macro keys is a nice carryover option from the G510, and I definitely didn’t need 18 of those. Haven’t really had an opportunity to use this feature yet, but it is nice that it is there.One feature I miss is having a clock on the LCD screen. I’d say that as of now, the LCD screen is useless for my purposes with the current app options available. I currently just have a gif on it and the screen serves no functional purpose. The only apps available for the LCD screen from steel series are games I don’t really play, or visualizers I won’t ever use. If you want a clock, or to display song info (from things like spotify), you’re going to have to find someone that has made it and install it manually, or code it yourself.The volume slider is exactly as it was on the G510 and I’d say its even better since you get a little tactile bump each time you spin it. This is a feature I’m glad is exactly the same.The single play/pause/skip key under the volume wheel took a little bit of getting used to, but works as intended. The only negative I’d say is that unlike the G510, when you use the button to play/pause/skip and your monitor is asleep (but PC is still playing music in the background) it wakes your monitors up. The G510 buttons did not do this, and it is something I miss from that keyboard.Final thoughts is that this keyboard has enough features (that I wanted from my G510) to warrant the upgrade. It is a nice keyboard that should hopefully last me the next 10 years. The difference between brown and blue switches is probably just feel and not necessarily noise level (and the reds didn’t interest me at all).
8 people found this helpful
Steve –
5.0 out of 5 stars
It’s perfect.
This product is perfect. Went with the brown switches so I didn’t annoy my wife while gaming. Looks great and feels great if it ever breaks I would buy the same one over.
Racer WB –
3.0 out of 5 stars
Read the reviews
I read the reviews about the keyboard losing power often. Lots of “hey it is their motherboard” answers from the manufacturer.The keyboard loses power often. Doesn’t make sense when, but it happens on 3 different motherboards. You will be playing a game, typing, or it is just sitting there and it powers off. Plugged into the motherboard, and power drops. You have to unplug and replug in to get it to work again. Kind of hard when playing games.As I said I tried 3 different motherboards, many different USB connections. I even put a USB power tester in line to try to see what is happening. The Keyboard stops requesting power, powers off, then powers on (like a rest). The motherboard power was good.I tried it on a powered USBs (yes, the instructions say to plug into the motherboard but I was troubleshooting to find where the problem is). The powered USB was fine, providing power and the keyboard went through the power cycle.Great keyboard other than that. Did I need the lighting, no. Blinky lighting, no. But it is great to play with.As for the keyboard when powered on, it is great. Very responsive, perfect amount of noise when typing, a great keyboard until it powers off. Then it earns its 3 stars.
One person found this helpful
S Sha –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very good keyboard
Overall build is very nice. I had another steelseries headset prior to this keyboard to using the Steelseries software wasn’t to new for me. The OLED screen became a necessity for me once i set it up with their system monitoring screen which shows temps , load%, and clock speeds. I personally don’t use macros but it looks very easy to record and playback with the screen itself. Switching lighting profiles is very easy even if you customize your own. Came from a Razer Ornata Chroma so maybe my standards might bust be low but I like it anyway.
Brian –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Perfect Level of “Clicky”
I’ve had this keyboard for 18 months and it’s been a champion. Keys feel excellent, and it keeps up with Steel Series reputation of excellent PC Gaming accessories. Highly recommended.
Jason SanchezJason Sanchez –
3.0 out of 5 stars
Almost perfect
Really great keyboard. Love the lighting, love the switches, love the screen, love the magnetic wrist rest. Love the build quality. I’d say the keyboard itself is great. Now for the 3 star rating. This is a really great Keyboard. The hardware is on point, but the software to back the hardware isn’t that great. The keyboard doesn’t go to sleep when my PC goes to sleep as it should. The lighting Profiles don’t switch as it should when switching from different accounts on the PC. You have to manually switch the lighting profile everytime you switch to a different user account on the PC in order to match the lighting scheme. I know it seems like I’m just being picky at this point. Coming from a logitech mechanical Keyboard. I never had these issues. I almost returned this keyboard because the horrible software backing this keyboard. Would I recommend to a friend? At this point I’m not too sure. If I didn’t buy this keyboard just to have something different, I’d say stick with corsair or logitech.
One person found this helpful
Dan Deer Park, IL –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Update after 8 months: Quality control lacking, OLED display useless, otherwise fantastic
Updating my review after 8 months of use. Aug 13th, 2021After getting use to the feel of the keys I have come to realize this is the best keyboard I have ever owned. This is comparing it to my Corsair K95 Platinum XT keyboard, my Razer BlackWidow, and my Logitech 710+.The ability to adjust the actuation of the key, the actual action of the keys, and the lack of noise when typing cannot be beat. You do not have the traditional mechanical feedback but it is obvious when a key actuates. I have never mistyped due to lack of tactile feedback.The ability to adjust when each of the primary keys activates it fantastic. When I game I rest my finger a little harder on the A key than the WSD keys. To compensate for this I simply changes the activation setting on the A key. Problem solved.They keyboard is very responsive. I do not feel like I have to type any differently on this keyboard vs any of my others.The lack of noise is great for working from home and when on comms for gaming.The ability to switch between profiles directly that not only controls lighting but the key settings is great. I can work all day and then at the end of the day switch profiles directly from the keyboard is great.Yes, you may get a keyboard that is broken but if you can handle dealing with the return it is worth the trouble.The bad.The frame is aluminum so they must have a piece of ferrous metal inside the frame for the magnetic wrist rest to attach to. On my KB there is no ferrous metal on the left side so only the right side attaches. Frustrating.I picked the brown switches. They are defiantly quieter but feel like chicklet keys. Almost zero mechanical feedback to let you know the key actuated. This is after using reds for the last few years.The OLED display is basically useless since it sits flush with the KB. It needs to be raised at least a 1/2″ to really be useful.The good.The form factor is compact but still has a number pad.The KB feels well made. I expect it it to last a long time.The software is easy to use for the basic functions. Per key lighting, profiles, OLED display.Overall a nice KB but the too common issue of poor quality control is frustrating. I have to return my KB and there are none in stock from authorized sellers so I am not able to get a replacement. Very frustrating.
One person found this helpful
Dilldog –
4.0 out of 5 stars
A solid keyboard!
Owned for 6 months now and it’s as great as you would expect, one downside is the wristrest, the thin gummy layer ontop is peeling and everytime I slide my wrist across it when I’m typing it let’s out a high pitched squeek that echos throughout my house and pisses my bird off.
B.L.B.L. –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Tactile yes, Quiet? Not really.
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To premise this review, I am a mechanical keyboard enthusiast and not a gamer. I looked for a long time before I bought this keyboard because I was looking for the specific qualities of a 107-key layout, volume rocker, usb pass through, and the ability to swap out for third-party keycaps, in particular the ones I had laying around. If you’re looking for all those things, this is a really great buy. Plus the LED screen and the ‘apps’ included with the Steam Engine 3 software are really fun. I have one that shows me the song playing on spotify on my LED, and I think it’s great.Regarding a full keycap replacement, this one was perfect for me. If you look at other brands, be careful of their bottom row, I saw a lot with small Fn or Windows keys and I wanted to replace ALL the keys with a full set.I am very satisfied with this keyboard in terms of its functionality, colors, and overall build. However, a small nitpicky issue I have is that version of browns is quite loud. Coming from gateron browns (which I lubed), this had more of a ‘ping’ sound that irked me. Therefore, I decided to treat this mechanical keyboard the way I do with my smaller ones — take it apart and insert some felt below the pcb. I also lubed the key switches and stabilizers. Unfortunately this didn’t change the sound at all. I didn’t want to use o-rings because I don’t like how they feel.I originally had the hyperx pudding keycaps on this board because I wanted to take advantage of the RGB, but the sound seemed to echo in it, perhaps because it was thinner around the edges. Still wanting see the RGB in all its glory, I took out another set I had laying around — some Thick Outlined ABS keycaps that I had bought from Massdrop. I never felt like this set fit in with my other keyboards, but I am happy to report it found its home. This set did the trick and change the sound to something heftier and slightly quieter. Gone was the springy sound before these mods.Of course I would not suggest that you make these changes unless you are comfortable (you may void your warranty). However, I’m very pleased with this keyboard now. If I could replace the plastic bottom of the case, I think I could have something even more special. I’ve included a sound test of me typing a 1-minute test. I average about 90 words per minute most of the time and this keyboard does not slow me down (nor make me faster).
6 people found this helpful
Enrique Nunez III –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing Keyboard! But read just in case.
It’s the best keyboard I’ve ever owned. Usually I would buy Razer I felt like after the years I wasnt getting much more in upgrades and their software would interfere with my gameplay. After searching for hours this was my final choice and wow it’s amazing! So many options to customize and being able to change profiles thru the OLED screen, RBG and will customization, macros, apps and everything I’m so impressed. But the only thing that was a bummer was my experience was that when I played music it won’t display on the OLED screen unless you paid for an app they sponsor. Other than that it has it all and the key switches are perfect quiet but it’s clicky.9.9/10
Sofia ISofia I –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Awesome keyboard
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This keyboard is not quiet at all but I still like it. It’ll take me some getting used to but the colors are great. I love the aesthetic and I love the fact that you don’t need to download software to customize the colors. I’m using a company computer so they don’t let me download applications. So that was super important for me. So far so good with this keyboard!!
Mark (Bump) –
1.0 out of 5 stars
3rd bad SteelSeries keyboard, no technical support; I’m done with SteelSeries
The first SteelSeries keyboard had a bad J key that would only work if I smashed it repeatedly.The second keyboard had two keys with dead LED’s.This, the third keyboard, worked fine for 6 months then would start flashing different colors soon after boot, and generally refused to show the color layout I setup for my games.The SteelSeries GG software is practically useless. I fails to recognize any of the games I’ve setup so I have to manually switch configurations.SteelSeries has no support phone number and no chat. Only a webform to send them email. And good luck with that; I’ve never received a reply. Just check the Google reviews for SteelSeries and you’ll quickly learn that support from SteelSeries is non-existent.Meanwhile, my 4 year-old Corsair K95 still works flawlessly on my old PC. Today I moved it to my new PC, where it works with no trouble.Why didn’t I just buy another Corsair keyboard in the first place? Well, I thought I could save some money and I liked the idea of having the OLED on the keyboard to display my system load and temps. Which is pretty much a useless feature: You have almost zero control over the display format, it requires a separate application from SteelSeries which requires approval to run with Admin privileges each time it runs.I’ve bought a lot of computer products from a lot of manufacturers over the past 40 years. I can honestly say that this is one of the most disappointing brands I’ve ever encountered.
2 people found this helpful
Amazon Customer –
2.0 out of 5 stars
Keys started dying after a year of moderate use
After over a year and two months, the ‘a’ key stopped fully working. This is outside their warranty period and customer support couldn’t help me. The key will randomly stop working and then spring back to life. I clean the board regularly and have never spilled anything on it, I did really like this board but having keys die this quickly from moderate use is highly concerning and enough to put me off recommending it.
Tyler B –
2.0 out of 5 stars
LEDs started breaking after 3 years. Volume roller broke after 2 years.
The keyboard is overall pretty solid and the customization and RGB software is actually decent compared to many other brands. However on my keyboard the LEDs started displaying the incorrect colors (random keys are starting to display deep yellow instead of white) after almost exactly 3 years of very regular use. Very disappointed because even one bad LED basically makes the RGB kind of pointless. Will be looking for a new keyboard from a different brand.Also to note: this is my second failed product from SteelSeries. I bought an Aerox 5 Wireless mouse from them that had multiple LEDs failing after a year of use.
Shane –
2.0 out of 5 stars
Semi clicky, amazing keyboard when it works
When it works. It’s an amazing keyboard. The back-lit RGB is fully customizable through the steelseries app that you install to your PC.However, I have had software issues with this keyboard where the keyboard is completely unresponsive from keyboard to PC. It will respond on the keyboard with the flashing lights that typically ripple or flash when typing a key.This issue has happened with both my initial purchase and the warranty replacement that i have received within a year of purchase. SteelSeries customer support is extremely helpful, but tend to be delayed to respond. I really wish I could give this a 4 star or higher. But the ongoing issue with this keyboard has made it impossible to use after 6 months of use.
Matthew CleggMatthew Clegg –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brown switches are the truth!
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I want to say spending $175 on a keyboard was upsetting, but upon receiving it I can not begin to emphasize how important a quality keyboard is to the quality of your PC experience.Now, I know that sounds a bit over the top, let me start by saying Ive had multiple different brands of keyboards.What I learned: how many keyboards do you have to buy before you invest in a quality keyboard you wont find yourself replacing every 9-15 months.The brown switches are amazing.The OLED display can be modded (like my bongo cat), but seriously dont expect this be anything more than the RGB; cosmetic fluff.If youre ready for that keyboard thats very well built, lit, and performs amazing then this is for you.
3 people found this helpful
Amazon Customer –
3.0 out of 5 stars
Has a few faulty key switches
8 months after purchase, the “S” key and colon/semicolon key switches on my keyboard began to fail, and I don’t use my keyboard nearly intensely enough for that to be reasonable. Unfortunately, this fell after the product support period expired for me so I guess I have to look into replacing the switches myself, but this is pretty annoying.
Rachel –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great product
My 15 year old son loves this! It has a bright display and is made well.
Ronald R.Ronald R. –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Customize, Ergonomic, Amazing Quality. Love It!!!
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I use this as my work keyboard 5+ days a week. I love it and how it works with my work space. Would really love a wireless option but am not complaining. I thought the wire/cable would be annoying and it’s not. A ton of slack to move it around. Best keyboard I have used and love the fact I have customization options from RGB illumination to key settings and more. The OLED screen adds a nice touch as well. Would recommend this to anyone. I went with the brown keys. Can’t go wrong.