The biggest feature splashed across the box of the SteelSeries Apex 3 TKL is its waterproofing. This device has been designed to offer the most protection against accidental spills possible, which is fantastic for the price and well worth the peace of mind. Note: Our newer keyboard models have a new system for adjusting illumination called Prism, which will allow you to tune it for all the compatible devices. If you have an older keyboard from us, you will instead see Illumination settings alongside the top menu near key bindings, macros, key actuation, and more. Like their name implies, these switches are silent, and that’s partially due to them being membrane, rather than mechanical. Before you jump ship, let me tell you that I actually really enjoyed these switches, and I do not usually enjoy tactile bumps that much.

The settings are overall quite similar for the older models, but with some small differences. Stay tuned while Prism is still in Early Access. 4. Now you can adjust RGB settings of your SteelSeries keyboard, from presets for all the keys to any individual. Pros choose TKL keyboards because eliminating the ten-key numpad provides more space for large mouse swipes and allows for better ergonomics while gaming. Don't forget to press the Save button in the lower right when you're happy with the changes. 6. Save your Configuration and switch between saved RGB presets easily. Think of the settings as "Layers." The Layers drop down has three options, Active, Reactive, and Idle. Active simply means you are at your keyboard (not AFK). Reactive is for effects that happen while you press the keys. Idle is:, how do you want the keyboard to look when you're away? You can have a specific preset of RGB effects when you're away from it. You can use this to apply a specific color to your numpad keys, for example, or all the number keys, the Function keys, and so on. Get creative and make your dream keyboard RGB setup!Whilst we will do everything we can to meet the delivery times above, there may be factors outside of our control and we cannot guarantee delivery within this time frame.

There isn’t a whole lot I don’t like about the Apex 3’s design, but I didn't appreciate that the company flipped some of the legends around. For example, the 1 is above the exclamation mark, where it typically is underneath it. Unlike too many gaming keyboards, we have dedicated media keys here. While they’re a bit awkward to operate, they are better than nothing. Gaming-focused consumers are likely to decry SteelSeries’ choice to opt for membrane switches on the Apex 3 rather than mechanical ones, especially considering the fact that there exists a market for budget-minded mechanical boards. Admittedly, this was a primary concern of ours as we unboxed the unit, and it persisted even as we began typing and gaming. After using mechanical boards for so long, the Steelseries Apex 3’s softer switches felt slow and chunky. We've converted this review to Test Bench 1.3, which overhauls how key input is evaluated. We've added new tests for Single Key Latency, Multi Key Latency, Data Transmission, and Chord Split. We've also introduced a new Raw Performance usage and adjusted how the Gaming and Office usage scores are calculated. You can see the full changelog here. You can adjust the RGB on this board, but it is not on a per-key basis. Instead, it’s on an eight-zone basis, like a pizza! There are eight segments on the Apex 3 where you can adjust the RGB, and I think this is fair and looks great.Selecting the Layer changes the applicable effects. Let's go through the Active Layer first. Active Layer (while using the keyboard) Designed with IP32 Water & Dust Resistant for extra durability to prevent damage from liquids and dust particles, so you can continue to play no matter what happens to your keyboard. Reactive Layer: These are RGB effects that trigger when you press on a key. Use the drop down to determine what kind of effect happens. For example, Line will make an effect go across the whole keyboard, in the color you selected (the icon next to the drop down.) You can lower or increase the speed to adjust the effect.