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Above is the full in-depth video review.
$100 / £90
What's in the box?
Keyboard
Magnetic wrist-rest
Instructions
Build Quality
Amazing build quality, it's supposedly made of "aircraft" grade aluminium. As far as I'm concerned, it was very sturdy, had no flex and was a great pleasure to use. It felt very premium.
The cable is unfortunately not braided, but it is attached very well to the back of the keyboard and you won't be breaking it easily. The bottom of the keyboard has 3 routing options so that you can easily tidy your set-up, I haven't seen this on any other keyboards so big props to Steelseries for this.
The wrist-rest is quite comfortable and very supportive, it attaches to the keyboard magnetically but the material did pick up marks quite easily.
Feet
Only the back two feet can be adjusted and they have 2 positions. In either position, not using the wrist-rest is not comfortable. It is quite a tall keyboard which can make reaching the keys challenging.
Key switches
The Apex 5 uses a hybrid mechanical switch, but unlike other mem-chanical keyboards they claim it is a mechanical keyboard first. I can agree with this, the only difference is that instead of a gold circuitry at the actuation point they used a membrane actuation. This does only come with blue switches though does make it feel mechanical but I feel like it was done make it feel more mechanical than it actually is.
Despite this it was very responsive and nice to use, it was perfect for gaming and typing was very pleasant.
A typing sound test can be found here.
Layout
This is a full sized keyboard and has everything you'd expect. The only disappointment is the lack of dedicated media keys, instead you use the scroll wheel and button next to the OLED screen. A combination of clicks and scrolls will allow you to do what you want.
OLED
The screen is located on the top right of the keyboard, it can be used for changing settings and switching profiles. You can even put custom images or animations on it if your heart so desires. It's cool but completely pointless, it's just as easy to go into the Steelseries software and change it in there. It's a bit of a waste, a bit of a gimmick.
Lighting
The RGB on this keyboard is great. The LEDs look really good and are very vibrant, but it is a bit noticeable that the LEDs are at the top of the keys as the bottom is a little bit darker but it's not a big deal. It's all easily controllable within the software and there's plenty you can do. Steelseries always do a great job of the lighting and the software really backs it up. It's super simple to use and can do a lot to the keyboard.
To see these effects click here.
Verdict
The Apex 5 is a great keyboard, I can't find any faults with it. Everything is a price based approach, for $100/£90 I think it's a great value for money. If you're looking for a mechanical keyboard it does feel mechanical enough and the RGB looks great. It has nice but unnecessary features which do bring the price up.
Purchase the SteelSeries Apex 5
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