At first we would like to thank SteelSeries for offering the Apex M500 Mechanical Gaming Keyboard for testing and reviewing.

 

About SteelSeries:

"From day one, SteelSeries has been focused on making high performance gaming gear used by the most demanding, top professional gamers worldwide and peripherals that provide superior quality and a competitive edge to gamers of all skill levels. We believe, as most gamers do, in winning, not trying!

 

What originally began with two people who recognized the need for superior, high-quality/performance gaming gear that would give gamers a competitive edge, has grown into a global leader in gaming and entertainment gear sought after for their high performance capabilities.

 

Fast-forward to today, and we’ve come a long way since our first glass mousepad. We have global offices in North America, Europe, and Asia, providing an integrated portfolio of products designed specifically for gaming. Fueling our growth is you, the gamer!

 

While we are proud of our technology and product innovation, we are even more excited about how these products are developed to meet the needs of gamers. Many companies may claim to develop superior gaming products but few actually do. Instead, they spend countless hours with lab engineers trying to force fit a new technology with bells and whistles and mediocre functionality for the end-user.

 

At SteelSeries, we develop our products with a small internal team and a vast network of technology partners, channel partners, game publishers, and gaming communities around the globe. We aren’t afraid of being challenged and implementing new ideas. Our main goal is to always to listen to the collective feedback of our professional gaming community.

 

We won’t bore you with cheeky slogans, trying to underline our authenticity as gamers. We fully acknowledge that the best professional gamers in the world know more about what they want and what will make them better, than we do. We are proud to be working with our partners, but we can’t take credit for their invaluable input and feedback. Instead we tell it like it is: they help us. We want to know what works and what doesn’t. For this reason, SteelSeries creates innovative solutions that provide a competitive advantage for all gamers.

 

Critical to our company’s success is also our reinvestment in the gaming communities and the individuals who support them. As a result, our corporate philosophy is to take a substantial portion of our revenue and put it back into the gaming community to help spur industry growth. We support our community in numerous ways, ranging from co-hosting tournaments like Iron Lady and King of the Hill, and supporting gaming competitions of all sizes, to promoting the top and up-and-coming gaming teams/organizations.

 

Put simply, SteelSeries does not claim to invent or reinvent the gaming industry. Nor do we focus on one specific product, copy other companies or follow the crowd.

 

Instead we leave it to you, the gamer, our customer/partner/inspiration, to decide if we are deserving of such declarations and accolades. What we do promise, however, is to remain committed to you. We will continue to work with you and the gaming community to make the best products possible and give you that competitive edge. We will continue to do our best to support the growth of the professional gaming industry and give back to the gaming communities. By doing so, we don’t just talk a good game, we win!"

eSports Legacy

 

The Apex M500 adds to the legacy which began with our release of the first mechanical gaming keyboard, the 6Gv2. With the addition of Cherry MX Red switches, the M500 creates a new standard for pro-performance and durability.

 

Outlast The Competition

 

Guaranteed durability! Cherry MX’s keypress guarantee ensures your switches will work and feel the same for more than 50 million clicks. That’s over 5 times longer than that dusty old membrane keyboard on your desk.

 

Full Anti-Ghosting

 

Every gamer knows the feeling of knowing that you pressed a key in the heat of battle and having it not register in-game. Unlike the competition, we didn’t cut corners. The M500 offers full Anti-Ghosting and N-Key Rollover.

 

More Than A Feeling

 

It doesn’t matter if it’s the first keypress or the millionth, your keys will always feel brand new. Every switch maintains their same key feel over time, which is critical for building the muscle memory needed to play at the highest levels.

 

Cherry MX Reds

 

Featuring the industry-leading Cherry MX Red Mechanical Gaming Switches, the Apex M500 delivers the game-winning performance required by pros. The low force and actuation point of the switch results in dramatically faster gameplay making Reds the undisputed choice of professionals. Games are decided in seconds, and every advantage is essential.

 

The Design

 

Products shouldn’t look like they came through a portal from the future. We designed the Apex M500 to get the job done. The sleek and minimalistic design gives you everything you need in a professional gaming keyboard, without any of the fluff.

 

Built Like a Tank

 

A durable keyboard is essential. Created with the toughest plastics and reinforced with a battle-hardened steel back plate, we’ve gone to extra lengths to ensure the construction and materials can withstand anything thrown its way.

 

Blue LED Illumination

 

Brilliant blue LEDs under every single key provide the brightest visibility and eye-catching style. Take it a step further and choose between 3 different breathe settings with 4 individual levels of brightness.

 

Standard Key Layout

 

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. A standard key layout means no learning curve and no surprises. With Cherry key stems, gamers can swap out the keycaps for a custom set and everything fits perfectly.

 

Underneath it all

 

Cable Management

 

The unique cable management system gives you multiple ways to straighten up your battlestation. Three individual guides let you choose where your cable comes out of your keyboard, eliminating any cable issues on your desk.

 

Quick Access Media Control

 

No need to Alt-Tab out of the game to get your media settings just right.

 

Adjustable height

 

Large and sturdy adjustable feet give you the perfect angle for attack. Because you know what they say about keyboards with big feet...

 

Engineering 101

 

We didn’t place the pattern under the M500 just because it looks cool. Every shape was engineered to dramatically increase the structural integrity of the keyboard.

 

Customization - Make it yours

Limitless Customization

 

Apex M500 has the largest arsenal of customization options compared to other mechanical gaming keyboard in its class. Customize and re-assign any and all keys to make yours one-of-a-kind.

 

Macros Galore

 

With SteelSeries Engine, take control with the most expansive set of macros and personalization options. Text based, key-press, and-on-the-fly macros can all be programmed and set with ease.

 

Unlimited Profiles

 

Your profiles aren’t limited to just your keyboard. Program any key to cycle between your keyboard, headset, and mouse profiles. You can even create an unlimited number of profiles that auto-deploy your exact settings right when you launch your games.

 

 

After taking a look at the high-end Rival 700 gaming mouse from SteelSeries, we will now concentrate our attention at a mainstream gaming product, which is the Apex M500 mechanical keyboard. The manufacturer clearly desires to cover all price ranges in this competitive market, by also having the M800 model for the high-end crowd but also the Apex 350 and the Apex 300 which do fit in-between (these are not mechanical though, but membrane-based). The Apex M500 does come with a single type of Cherry MX switch available, the MX Red (linear with low actuation force, at 45 cN) which is the most frequently used among gamers. The product is shipped inside a medium-sized cardboard enclosure, which does feature the SteelSeries signature box art:

 

 

 

A closer look reveals the fact that SteelSeries has pointed out M500 does come with the discussed MX switches, which are LED-lit individually:

 

 

 

The opposite area informs us of the compatible operating systems:

 

 

 

On the box side, we will also learn that the switches are rated for 50 million actuations, while the M500 does also come with full N-key rollover. This feature means that each key is scanned individually by the keyboard hardware, so each keypress is correctly identified, no matter how many keys are being pressed or held down at the time:

 

 

 

More details regarding the product can be observed on the bottom side of the enclosure, in multiple languages:

 

 

 

After unsealing the box and lifting the top cover, we will find the main product, which is also wrapped inside a transparent plastic bag:

 

 

 

Apex M500 is also supplied with a Quick Start Guide, which includes the main steps to get things started:

 

 

 

 

While the M800, Apex 350 and Apex 300 do have a similar looking base, M500 does look like a regular gaming keyboard, with no extra macro keys available to the user or separate multimedia functions:

 

 

 

The extra blue plastic layer is meant to create a more uniform LED-lit surface while the keyboard is operating, since it sports the same color as the LEDs themselves:

 

 

 

SteelSeries has integrated some of the necessary functions with the F-keys; besides the regular multimedia buttons, we also have the ability to change the LED brightness as needed:

 

 

 

 

On the right side of the Spacebar key and to be more precise near the Alt key we do have a SteelSeries logo key, which is basically the regular Fn:

 

 

 

The top right corner of the keyboard does feature a subtle dark grey SteelSeries logo, along with separate LEDs for Num, Caps, Scroll and Windows key lock functions:

 

 

 

On the lateral sides of the product we will get to see embossed SteelSeries logos, which are a nice touch!

 

 

 

M500 is a very sturdy mechanical keyboard, while the bottom base seems to confirm this by sporting a futuristic look:

 

 

 

The included rubber feet also seem to follow the modern design:

 

 

 

 

The kickstands do help the gamer to raise the keyboard at an angle, if necessary:

 

 

 

 

The chosen design is not only for eye-candy; SteelSeries have created three separate cable routes, so we can use the one which fits our current setup placement; unlike Cooler Master mechanical keyboards, this time the cable is not removable:

 

 

 

In the frontal area of the keyboard, we usually see USB hubs on some models, but now it is not the case:

 

 

 

Same thing goes with the cable braiding, which is not available with this model; however, two cable ties are pre-installed on the cable which are handy during travels:

 

 

 

The cable ends up with a custom-shaped USB connector:

 

 

 

At the maximum intensity, the M500 can shine quite bright and fortunately we have the ability to tune the LED light intensity as needed; of course that we also have the option to turn off the LEDs completely when not needed:

 

 

 

After installing and running the SteelSeries Engine unified software, the keyboard will be detected and listed up in the main menu for configuration purposes:

 

 

 

The dedicated software interface does come with different configuration areas: the left one where we do manage profiles, nearby we do have the area where we do assign functions to the selected buttons, a central preview area, while on the right we have the illumination setup, Polling rate but also the selection for the keyboard layout:

 

 

(click to enlarge)

 

We can choose to configure the whole set of keys at once or only specific areas:

 

 

Each key can be re-mapped with a different function:

 

Default Assignment

 

 

Keyboard Buttons

 

 

Macros

 

 

Media Buttons

 

 

Mouse Buttons

 

 

Selected keys can be also deactivated if necessary:

 

 

 

We can also launch a certain application by pressing a programmed key:

 

 

 

Same thing goes with different configuration profiles:

 

 

We can assign certain pre-defined OS Shortcuts per key:

 

 

A button can be also set as a Macro recorder:

 

 

The LEDs can be configured to work in a steady state or breathing mode:

 

 

The Macro manager does have a section of its own, where we can easily record new sequences:

 

 

Besides Keypress Macros, we can also define Text Macros:

 

 

Casual and more advanced gamers on a budget which do not need extra Macro keys, RGB LED lighting or an integrated USB hub can surely take into account when making a purchase the Apex M500 keyboard, which does sport the well-known Cherry MX Red switches which are rated up to 50 million actuations. The keyboard does still feature per-key LED lighting but only in blue color and can be further configured via the powerful SteelSeries Engine software.

 

Speaking of the SteelSeries Engine unified utility, we can assign a ton of other functions to the Apex M500 keys, adjust the Polling rate, set the keyboard layout but also create multiple profiles. The software is easy to work with and if we have multiple compatible SteelSeries gear hardware, some of the configuration options are shared (like the “Launch Configuration” option, where we could work with one of the Rival 700 profiles).

 

While the Apex M800 can be currently purchased for about 150 Euros, the Apex M500 model can be had for just 96 Euros, which is a healthy 54 Euro difference!

SteelSeries Apex M500 Mechanical Gaming Keyboard is Recommended for:

 

 

We would like to thank again to SteelSeries for making this review possible!