I fell for it. Fuckin' SteelSeries

Honestly, I really hate glowing keyboards I go out of my way to avoid them. Same with fans and cases with a LED lightshow built in.

The problem is that it's so hard to find components that constantly don't glow all the time. Even my computer has a LED fan in it, because it was all I could find for cheap. Fortunately it's a old "metal box" type case so except for a vent on the side the glow is almost unnoticeable... but occasionally when the rooms dark I'll see the slight glow seeping out and get annoyed all over again that a tiny fraction of the power my PC is using is for lighting up a closed box.

Build your own, then instead of a 150 dollar keyboard you can have a 350 dollar keyboard that also has lights.

Never understood that hype for everything RGB. I had two shitty mouses (mice?) with RGB, and it was annoying as fuck.

What I find more funny is the mechanical keyboard trend of smallkeyboards (no numpad) with custom everything (keycaps/switches) without any lighting being hundreds of dollars.

Seriously? Y'all are buying steel series? Oof.

Keychron offers superior keyboards for a 4th of the cost.

I bought two different Bluetooth controllers from them. The first one had a known issue with the shoulder buttons. Like an idiot, I bought a second one. Same problem. SteelSeries support told me it was a known issue and they wouldn’t do shit.

I refuse to support SteelSeries.

After just 2 weeks with an Aerox 5 wireless, I refuse to buy anything Steelseries again myself.

Bought it on their website, they refused my in-warranty 30-day refund until I talked with support. After dealing with their troll support for over a week, I then resubmitted for a refund and was initially denied because it was past the 30 days. I then had to argue I wanted the refund weeks prior.

Steelseries are just shit products now with a shit support.

Ended up buying one of the last Microsoft Mice only because it has reliable kailh button switches.

Don't buy shitty gaming keyboards with shitty software and shitty styling from shitty gaming companies.

Buy a decent mechanical keyboard from a reputable keyboard producer. Make sure it has VIA/QMK support and you will not need shitty software. Many also come with RGB, if that's what you want.

If you can avoid falling into the trap that is "the mechanical keyboard hobby", you will be set for at least a decade.

Weird that I feel a bit opposite compared to a lot of comments. I think maybe they find hassle with:

• Crappy proprietary software.
• Forced rainbow spin they can't turn off.
• The feeling this makes the component cost more.

Or other things.

I like the lights though. There's a custom Linux app specially for Corsair keyboards, so that works for me, but everything else listens to OpenRGB!

Soft ambient glow? Easy. Turning ALL of it off? Click. Making it bounce to music? Preset.

Responding to temperatures is useful but I think that might require a little more scripting.

For the longest time my 3090 wouldn't be read by OpenRGB, but eventually they figured it out. :)

Am I the only one who looks at the specs first and only see the RGB as a bonus?

Lit up keys are important, colour isn't.

The way I see it my computer shouldn't be visible and by keyboard should blend in with the desk as much as possible.

Keyboard is one thing. I actually have some slight use for individually customizable RGB on keys, RGB mouse starts to lose me, but at least it is within the range of things I interact with on my computer, But anything past that point, and I'm actively avoiding it as a scam

(Looking at you RGB RAM)

I find it increasingly hard to find decent stuff without that.

I suspect there's a huge chasm in this between older gamers and younger ones - much better something with better performance (say higher and more precise DPI on a mouse) and robustness (i.e. it doesn't break within a year) than the same kind of flashy light show as a battery powered kids toy.

From my point of view flashy lighting on a mouse is like flashy lighting in a power drill: why are you adding failure modes and weakenning the robustness of a tool to make it look more like a kid's toy?!

My favorite gag from My Deer Friend was the "gaming antler" that just glowed rainbow colors.

I hate that my graphics card has some kind of lights I can't turn off. I've never been interested in any of that stuff

Steelseries is absolute dog water with keyboards, same with Razer. If you want a good mech for cheap, get an Epomaker, or build your own. I personally got a barebones for like $10 from a thrift store, put $35 of Gateron Milky Yellow switches in, then got some nice keycaps for $15. Sounds/feels nicer than anything you can buy off a shelf, and it doesn't come packaged with shitty software for basic functionality.

I needed a backlit keyboard. A rainbow one was the cheapest backlit one I could find. Good enough for my "other" PC. The gaming one had a backlit one with mechanical switches but I got that on the cheap too.

Regarding RGB: Uninstall all the shitty software and install OpenRGB instead.

I will never give up my 1989 Model M..

I ordered the wooting 80HE. Because I hate money.

People like pretty things.

My steel series headphones blow ass, but my mouse.... My Rival 300 has been through a lot, so much that the rubber on the sides has a spot worn down to the plastic where my thumb grips it, and its still doing great a decade later.

But yeah, fuck their software.

Any recommendations on a quiet keyboard anyone?

I've been a gamer and intensive pc user most of my 45 years of my life, and my experience in the last years regarding input devices:

• razer sucked 20 years ago and sucks still
• never buy no-name input devices for more than minimal investment, even if the featureset sounds nice
• logitech (my brand of choice for a long time) is only held afloat by their brand name, not by their hardware quality anymore (the last good mouse i had was the mx-5, the last keyboard the G11)
• but there are exceptions: my roccat keyboard works like a charm, and my current roccat mouse is robust and comfortable (but no RGB compatibility with anything else -.-)

Sounds like they went to shit between when I bought my last one and now. That's a shame, will need to find another company now

i don't care how good a keyboard is, if the only option is RGB lights i'm not buying it

I don't mind keys with blue glow letters, but the crazy flashy RGB nonsense is just so goddamn distracting.

My 25 dollar steel series keyboard is fine I can turn blue lights off and I also have a areox wireless mouse works flawlessly and a wireless headset like a older one with micro USB charging and all works gud the software is ight compared to my last gear corsair I'd say steel series is ight now are they good to buy now maybe not especially for the price of some of thier stock. But all in all, my stuff works how I want it and sucks that others got worse experiences. Also lol meme.

I swear by das keyboard. I bought mine over a decade ago, it's still going strong. I guess my only problem is, they don't ever get my money because I'm not buying new keyboards.

I want a wireless mechanical keyboard that takes AA or AAAs

SteelSeries always seemed like the new-age version of Corsair. I used to have Corsair everything and got disillusioned with the build quality and software functionality loss over the years, and when SteelSeries came into play I watched some of my friends do the exact same dive. It seemed like they were a decently priced, decent quality peripherals brand when they started, but now it seems like they shared the same fate. I'm definitely done with brand loyalty, and I trust what I build more than anything I buy.

Last two times I've bought a keyboard, I struggled to find one without LCD. Like really. So idk if that's on the demand or the offer.

Meanwhile I have two BTC dome with slider keyboards I've picked up before their price got hiked on the retro market (people figured out they're pretty good keyboards and some have pretty good keyboard matrixes, and don't even have membranes (unless you're the tech illiterate that calls the rubber domes as "membranes")).

My main use for a keyboard's RGB is syncing it to rhythm games, really puts me in the mood seeing it flashing to the rhythm in my peripheral vision.

TBH It's really hard to find a keyboard without that "feature" unless you build one yourself or buy a cheap plastic bargain bin keyboard.

Got the look right and everything with this meme

I have a 30+ year old IBM Model M as my desktop keyboard, and a Microsoft Natural Keyboard Pro from the 90s that's connected with a long cable from my PC to my bedside nook. So so so much better than Bluetooth or RGB vomit. That said, to each their own!

The entry level cheap as fuck logitech black keyboard thank you! You won't get my razr naga though I'm too used to it

Wow am I the only one who’s had good experiences with them? Ran an apex 3 and sensei raw for years and loved it so much I made the upgrade to the rival 310 and apex pro, which I’ve been happy with ever since. Granted I don’t use their software cuz there’s open source stuff that’s better, so no comment on the engine, but otherwise it’s been flawless.

I'll get the Ducky one 3 when it's half off. There is no reason for it to cost £120

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I've had good experiences with their wired mice + soft, but I've never had a keyboard from them

Ahh of course no, but does it sound like food? Because if so, I would love to type on inedible cronches.

I got that 8bitdo retro mechanical keyboard and it is great. I don't know how it rates against more expensive keyboards but it was well worth the ~$100 (plus obviously I just had to get the numpad too)

One thing that annoys me with RGB lit peripherals is that the "rainbow" default mode is meant to advertise that it is RGB so you know when you buy it you can easily make it the color scheme you want. But too many people leave it on that default mode after they've bought it which makes you wonder if they even know they can customize it.

Growing up is realizing you don't want RGB products

I bought such a keyboard because it was a cheap mechanical keyboard, they cost around 200 euro for a good one because we have a hyper specific layout :'(

I paid extra to have mine look and sound like a 40yo kb.