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- Platform: Windows 98 / 2000 / Me / XP / Vista, Mac OS X
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Product Description
Manufacturer's Description
Manufacturer's Description
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What is a gaming keyboard? Up until the release of the SteelSeries 7G it was clear that in order to be considered a “gaming” keyboard it had to in some way glowed in the dark. Don’t take that the wrong way, we do like things that have lights and can be a bit flashy, but we don’t believe that’s what should define or set apart a keyboard for gaming. As we began to design the 7G, we wanted to offer a keyboard that would do more than emulate the bridge console on the USS Enterprise NCC-1701 and instead, we focused on raw performance and durability.
We took a long look at the most extreme use scenarios for keyboards and designed a keyboard that would meet and (in most cases) exceed every one of them. That’s why we refer to the 7G as the “heavyweight of gaming keyboards”. It’s not the prettiest chick in the beauty pageant. It doesn’t glow or pulse. But it packs a punch. A serious one.
The SteelSeries 7G keyboard sets a new industry standard for gaming keyboards by allowing users to perform at new levels with advanced key combinations. Utilising a powerful PS/2 buffer-system created specifically for gaming, the SteelSeries 7G keyboard eliminates “anti-ghosting” by supporting as many simultaneous key press commands as there are keys on the keyboard. What this does, for example, is allow users in a first person shooter game to walk, crouch, aim, fire and check the scoreboard simultaneously. Traditional keyboards do not allow this much functionality all at once.
The mechanical tactile system is ergonomically designed to ensure ease-of-use, and the no-click switches and iron-infused plastic make the SteelSeries 7G keyboard both comfortable and durable for professional or competitive gamers.
- Golden Quality - 18K gold-plated mechanical switches and USB connectors for extremely low latency
- Extreme Anti-Ghosting - Allows as many simultaneous key presses as there are keys on the keyboard
- Rapid Response Time - No-click mechanical switches ensure low latency and fast response
- Unrivaled Lifecycle - Guaranteed keyboard lifecycle of 50 million keystrokes
- Supreme Comfort - Large handrest assures superb comfort even during the longest gaming sessions
- Increased APM - All facets of the 7G are included to increase the users' actions per minute
- Connect Your Headset - Audio ports available for headphone-in and microphone-out
- Media Controls - Quick access to volume, mute and other audio controls
| The keyboard was built specifically to offer gaming-grade response times as well as an unmatched durability with a switch lifetime of 50 million operations, which is 10 or more times the lifespan of a typical “membrane” keyboard which has a maximum of 1-5 million total keystrokes in a lifetime. “Professional gamers demand top quality equipment that provides durability and quicker response times,” said Bruce Hawver, CEO of SteelSeries. “The time that we’ve invested into working with literally hundreds of gamers to design the SteelSeries 7G keyboard has resulted in a device that will truly change the way you play, limiting gamers only by their skill level – not their equipment.” The SteelSeries 7G keyboard is equipped with audio ports for headphone-out and microphone-in and includes a two port USB hub. With both PS/2 and USB connectors, the keyboard features the compact SteelSeries Media Controls, an essential gaming element that allows the user quick access to volume, muting and other audio controls. |
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SteelSeries 7G is built with mechanical no-click switches. The users experience with mechanical switches is very different compared to using the “soft feel” keys found on conventional keyboards or even laptops. So how is it different? Read on!
50 Million Key Presses
Traditional keyboards are built with small rubber domes under the keys. It is these rubber domes that provides the “soft feel” level of resistance when you type. When you operate a rubber dome keyboard, the keys needs to be pressed down until a membrane switch is activated. These membrane switches will slowly wear out, typically after one to five million key presses. You may already have tried this. After a while you will find yourself pressing harder and harder to get the keyboard to register key presses. Typing gradually becomes annoying and irritating – but when you’re gaming and you start missing critical in-game commands, frustration sets in. The 7G offers a lifecycle of 50 million key presses per key, which is more than 10 times of the amount than conventional keyboards.
Tactile Feedback
But the 7G offers more than just a long lifecycle. The rubber domes on a conventional keyboard will, over time,lose their tactile feeling due to rubber flexing. The keys you use the most will start to feel different. The physical construction of the mechanical switches used in the 7G, and the strict tolerance levels in which the switches are manufactured, is what allows the key presses on this keyboard to always feel consistent.
Travel Distance
It gets even better. With the 7G you don’t have to press the keys all the way down for them to register. Our mechanical switches will register key presses fast; the travel distance will be roughly 50% shorter than a conventional keyboard. You will type faster, with a consistent tactile feeling. Your Actions Per Minute (APM) can reach new heights with the 7G thanks to this feature.
| Audio Ports For convenience we have added two audio ports to the 7G, making it easier than ever to connect speakers or a headset to your setup. Headphone/speaker-out and microphone-in is built directly into the keyboard. This gives you easy access to your audio outlet, instead of having to move to the back of your computer, when changing or plugging in audio devices. USB Hub And for even more convenience we also added a 2-port USB hub to the 7G. Plugging in your mouse, recharging your MP3-player or cell phone is closer and easier. Braided Cord We have a lot of signals to transmit with the 7G, two audio signals, two USB ports, and the keyboard itself. That’s why our wiring is massive. Even more so because we use double braided nylon on everything, adding the final touch to a product that was built to be durable. Very durable. |
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We absolutely recommend using the PS/2 connector when possible. First,it will give you total freedom with no limit to the amount of simultaneous key presses. And, equally as important, using the PS/2 may just improve your overall gaming experience.
When you use a USB keyboard your computer is actually using CPU time polling your keyboard. The higher the polling rate the more CPU time is used to perform the polling. And because of the built-in debounce rate found on any quality keyboard, any polling rate above 200Hz is simply a waste of CPU time and really just a result of pointless marketing hype.
Unlike USB keyboards a PS/2 keyboard isn’t polled at all. The keyboard simply sends a signal to the computer as key presses are made, which causes a hardware interrupt, forcing the CPU to register the signal. The 7G is built with a PS/2 connector as standard, but we also included a PS/2 to USB adapter in the box. The choice is yours.
Gold
Our mechanical switches are plated with gold to ensure durability and performance. Why gold you ask? It makes the switches more durable. Gold doesn’t corrode over time like other cheaper metals.
Acclimation
It will take a while to get used to a mechanical keyboard, most gamers or typists acclimate in approximately 1 to 2 weeks. Once you are properly acclimated you will appreciate better tactile feedback, superior response times and ultimately greater control. Simply put: You will become a better typist.
And It's Heavy
We don’t just call it “heavyweight” because it packs the best performance in the industry. The 7G is also physically heavy. All keys are mounted on a metal plate within the keyboard to ensure durability. The plastic material used to create the keyboard has metal elements, also to help to improve durability. We’re just like you. That’s why we know you can get “frustrated” when you lose a game. You may even hit something in front of you when it happens. Like a keyboard. We tried to take that into consideration when we designed the 7G. Disclaimer: Don’t hit your stuff. It’s not nice.
Redefining Anti-Ghosting
Ever tried pressing a few keys on your keyboard and getting a beep sound? It either happens when you press too many keys at the same time, or when you press too many keys within the same cluster at the same time (like the keys around WASD which often used for movements in games). If your keyboard exhibits this behavior it will hinder your ability to perform certain actions, movement in a FPS games being one example. The industry has labeled this anti-ghosting. When using the PS/2 connection on the 7G, you can press as many keys as you want at the same time, all of the key presses will go through and be registered by your computer.
If you would rather connect with 7G via the included PS/2 to USB adapter,no problem. You can still use up to 6 keys plus modifiers at the same time, which is the highest spec limit a USB connection can accommodate.
More Gold
The 7G is built with gold-plated connectors for durability purposes. As mentioned elsewhere on this page, gold doesn’t corrode over time.
No Windows Keys
We like the Windows key for certain things and in certain situations. But not when we are in the middle of a gaming session. We have replaced it with a SteelSeries Key that won’t wreak havoc during a gaming by minimising your game or by opening a menu. The SteelSeries Key serves a different purpose: it’s a function key for the Media Controls found on the 7G.
To keep the 7G compact and easy to transport, we decided against adding additional rows of space consuming keys for this. Instead you can press the SteelSeries key and access the Media Controls via the first six F-keys on the keyboard.
Which SteelSeries Gaming Keyboard is Right for You? | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  6Gv2 |  7G |  Merc Stealth |  Shift |
| Integrated Media Keys |  | | | |
| PS/2 Connection Option | | | ||
| Mechanical Switches | | | ||
| Extreme "Anti-Ghosting" | | | ||
| USB Hub | | | | |
| Gold-plated Audio Ports | | | | |
| Dedicated Gaming Terrain | | (w/ optional keysets) | ||
| Illuminated Keyboard | | |||
| Record Macros Directly on Keyboard | | |||
| Interchangeable Keysets | | |||
Product Description
SteelSeries 7G Gaming Keyboard Black 64018 Gaming Gaming Keyboards
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Amazon Verified Purchase
Fun:
4.0 out of 5 stars
I was tired of my old zboard and i never made much use of the keyset swapping in practice.
I decided to look for a new gaming keyboard, but i had no need for macro keys, lcd displays, key sets, lots of extra control buttons etc. I also wanted to loose the numpad, as it's redundant and i planned to have a seperate gamepad beside the keyboard too (Something that never never came to pass.).
I decided to look for something pleasent to type on, as the cheap membranes simply aren't. I found plenty of information about the Cherry MX series of key switches and what the different types of these were and how the reacted.
This keyboard uses the MX Black (Linear) type switches. While these actuate at half the full key press, there is no claimed tactile or audible feedback, only an increase in resistance as the key travels down. This makes them the ideal choice for gamers who need to make rapid key presses in quick succession or hold keys down for a long time. Of course they are still noisey just like any mechanical switches.
This keyboard also features one of the other higher quality elements of a keyboard, an N-Key rollover. This allows all keys on the keyboard to be pressed at once, while still registering each key. This also eliminates ghosting on keys and other such anomalies on cheaper keyboards that do without. This is however only supported on the PS2 input -- the default for this keyboard -- as the USB spec only allows for 6 key presses at the same time.
This keyboard is in a custom version of the UK layout (The product images are marketting ones depicting US and Swedish layouts.). It has an oversized return key compared to a normal UK layout, taking up the space of the # key.
By default, the keyboard comes with the # moved to the location of the ` key, while the ` key now replaces half the backspace key -- shortening it. Because this switch breaks the default UK layout, it won't be recognised as such when using a default UK layout in your operating system.
To return the layout closer to the UK one, you can simply pop off the ` and # keys -- very easy and safe to do because of the MX switches having interchangable key caps -- to return them to the more traditional layout. This will then match a normal UK layout in your OS and is what i recommend doing -- rather than relearn the key positions and change the layout in your OS.
The changed position of the # key will then be your only obstacle to typing on this keyboard. I found i got used to the the shorterned backspace easily, but i'm still learning to deal with the new # key location and often hit return when trying to hit # -- or even when i miss the ' key.
One of the big selling points of this keyboard for me, was the ingenious method of implementing media key. The left windows key -- something often undesired on gaming setups -- is turned into a special media key modifier. When holding down this key and pressing the corresponding function keys, you have access to mute, volume -, volume +, play/pause, previous and next media keys. I enjoy having independent media keys as global hot keys for music players when in full screen applications -- especially when gaming with music playing -- so i was glad not to loose these, yet still save space.
The keyboard has excellent rubber grips to prevent sliding, and the wrist rest is basic but does a surprisingly great job.
There are 2 issues with this keyboard however, and they're very minor:
The USB hud on it -- when connecting the independent USB cable to support these -- is USB1 and not USB2, making it a poor choice for most of today's USB devices.
The LEDs for the lock keys (Num, Caps, Scroll.) are not offset from direct view with plastic to carry the light to the surface of the casing as is the traditional method on devices. Instead they are simply recessed just below the keyboard casing resulting in being far too bright. When leaning forward and in a more direct view of the LEDs, they are near blinding in brightness. My simple solution to this was some coloured electrical tape. This dulls the light a good deal, and allowed me to pick a colour other than blinding white (blue for now), yet still allows for a brigher result than traditional devices.
I did however encounter a issue with mine, that the key caps are not of a consistant fit, with some (2-3.) so loose they had come off during shipping. While they stay on fine under desktop conditions and are a small minority, a few knocks during travel -- likely for those gamers who LAN alot --, and they can fall off and get lost. I suggest if you travel with this keyboard, you ensure it's in a bag or case of somekind and not out in the open to avoid this.
As the title of this review says, you really do get what you pay for with this keyboard. High build quality and with top performance features to match, yet it still manages to offer some extra features (Media keys, USB hub, wrist rest, audio ports.) than the keyboard it's seemingly based on -- the Filco Majestouch N-Key Rollover, Linear Action (FKBN104ML/EB) -- doesn't, while having an RRP of roughly the same price. At the time of writing, the Filco equivlant does not offer a UK layout, this is expected to be released in early 2010 at £[].
For those that want quality over gimmicks, this is the keyboard of choice but it commands a justly deserved premium.
I decided to look for a new gaming keyboard, but i had no need for macro keys, lcd displays, key sets, lots of extra control buttons etc. I also wanted to loose the numpad, as it's redundant and i planned to have a seperate gamepad beside the keyboard too (Something that never never came to pass.).
I decided to look for something pleasent to type on, as the cheap membranes simply aren't. I found plenty of information about the Cherry MX series of key switches and what the different types of these were and how the reacted.
This keyboard uses the MX Black (Linear) type switches. While these actuate at half the full key press, there is no claimed tactile or audible feedback, only an increase in resistance as the key travels down. This makes them the ideal choice for gamers who need to make rapid key presses in quick succession or hold keys down for a long time. Of course they are still noisey just like any mechanical switches.
This keyboard also features one of the other higher quality elements of a keyboard, an N-Key rollover. This allows all keys on the keyboard to be pressed at once, while still registering each key. This also eliminates ghosting on keys and other such anomalies on cheaper keyboards that do without. This is however only supported on the PS2 input -- the default for this keyboard -- as the USB spec only allows for 6 key presses at the same time.
This keyboard is in a custom version of the UK layout (The product images are marketting ones depicting US and Swedish layouts.). It has an oversized return key compared to a normal UK layout, taking up the space of the # key.
By default, the keyboard comes with the # moved to the location of the ` key, while the ` key now replaces half the backspace key -- shortening it. Because this switch breaks the default UK layout, it won't be recognised as such when using a default UK layout in your operating system.
To return the layout closer to the UK one, you can simply pop off the ` and # keys -- very easy and safe to do because of the MX switches having interchangable key caps -- to return them to the more traditional layout. This will then match a normal UK layout in your OS and is what i recommend doing -- rather than relearn the key positions and change the layout in your OS.
The changed position of the # key will then be your only obstacle to typing on this keyboard. I found i got used to the the shorterned backspace easily, but i'm still learning to deal with the new # key location and often hit return when trying to hit # -- or even when i miss the ' key.
One of the big selling points of this keyboard for me, was the ingenious method of implementing media key. The left windows key -- something often undesired on gaming setups -- is turned into a special media key modifier. When holding down this key and pressing the corresponding function keys, you have access to mute, volume -, volume +, play/pause, previous and next media keys. I enjoy having independent media keys as global hot keys for music players when in full screen applications -- especially when gaming with music playing -- so i was glad not to loose these, yet still save space.
The keyboard has excellent rubber grips to prevent sliding, and the wrist rest is basic but does a surprisingly great job.
There are 2 issues with this keyboard however, and they're very minor:
The USB hud on it -- when connecting the independent USB cable to support these -- is USB1 and not USB2, making it a poor choice for most of today's USB devices.
The LEDs for the lock keys (Num, Caps, Scroll.) are not offset from direct view with plastic to carry the light to the surface of the casing as is the traditional method on devices. Instead they are simply recessed just below the keyboard casing resulting in being far too bright. When leaning forward and in a more direct view of the LEDs, they are near blinding in brightness. My simple solution to this was some coloured electrical tape. This dulls the light a good deal, and allowed me to pick a colour other than blinding white (blue for now), yet still allows for a brigher result than traditional devices.
I did however encounter a issue with mine, that the key caps are not of a consistant fit, with some (2-3.) so loose they had come off during shipping. While they stay on fine under desktop conditions and are a small minority, a few knocks during travel -- likely for those gamers who LAN alot --, and they can fall off and get lost. I suggest if you travel with this keyboard, you ensure it's in a bag or case of somekind and not out in the open to avoid this.
As the title of this review says, you really do get what you pay for with this keyboard. High build quality and with top performance features to match, yet it still manages to offer some extra features (Media keys, USB hub, wrist rest, audio ports.) than the keyboard it's seemingly based on -- the Filco Majestouch N-Key Rollover, Linear Action (FKBN104ML/EB) -- doesn't, while having an RRP of roughly the same price. At the time of writing, the Filco equivlant does not offer a UK layout, this is expected to be released in early 2010 at £[].
For those that want quality over gimmicks, this is the keyboard of choice but it commands a justly deserved premium.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
By B. Hogan
Amazon Verified Purchase
Sexy, black, functional, square, heavy, solid, refined, responsive. I love this keyboard. I love it for typing, I love it for gaming, I love it for the way it just sits there on my desk looking all dark and mysterious.
Forget the crappy USB hub, just pretend it's not there. Just run your fingers over those beautiful mechanical keys and... and.... and perhaps I've gone too far.
Forget the crappy USB hub, just pretend it's not there. Just run your fingers over those beautiful mechanical keys and... and.... and perhaps I've gone too far.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By J. Anderson
Amazon Verified Purchase
Fun:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Pro's
+ A joy to type on, used to use a mushy Saitek keyboard, you'll love to learn that clicking noise from the mechanical keys, talking of which;
+ Very quiet keys for being a mechanical keyboard, the "Razer Black Widow" in comparison was painfully noisy :(
+ Having a function key rather than a windows on the left side of the keyboard is handy for a quick mute if you dont have a speaker control handy and also means your finger wont hit the windows key midgame by mistake
+ Very compact size wont hog your desk (as long as the wrist rest is off which I never use), this was important to me.
+ The sound quality from the audio out is perfect, very useful for using short cabled earphones
Con's
- The LEDs for capslock/scoll/num are WAAAAAY too bright, using a bottlecap to block them from sight at the moment, this is the largest problem.
- The USB's arent USB 2.0, not too bothered about this myself as they're still good for using joypads
Overall it's the best keyboard I've ever used, if you use your pc in a very bright room or can change/filter the LED's that come with this keyboard I'd completely recommend it.
If you're curious this is what the 7G does over the 6G v2;
- 2 USB sockets, audio and microphone jack too.
- Comes with attachable wrist rest
- Correct key placement, the 6G v2 has the backslash at the wrong side which is personally a problem.
+ A joy to type on, used to use a mushy Saitek keyboard, you'll love to learn that clicking noise from the mechanical keys, talking of which;
+ Very quiet keys for being a mechanical keyboard, the "Razer Black Widow" in comparison was painfully noisy :(
+ Having a function key rather than a windows on the left side of the keyboard is handy for a quick mute if you dont have a speaker control handy and also means your finger wont hit the windows key midgame by mistake
+ Very compact size wont hog your desk (as long as the wrist rest is off which I never use), this was important to me.
+ The sound quality from the audio out is perfect, very useful for using short cabled earphones
Con's
- The LEDs for capslock/scoll/num are WAAAAAY too bright, using a bottlecap to block them from sight at the moment, this is the largest problem.
- The USB's arent USB 2.0, not too bothered about this myself as they're still good for using joypads
Overall it's the best keyboard I've ever used, if you use your pc in a very bright room or can change/filter the LED's that come with this keyboard I'd completely recommend it.
If you're curious this is what the 7G does over the 6G v2;
- 2 USB sockets, audio and microphone jack too.
- Comes with attachable wrist rest
- Correct key placement, the 6G v2 has the backslash at the wrong side which is personally a problem.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
good
it's a very good keyboard. it let me can play games and get a comfortable feeling. fast deliver. i like it
Published 12 days ago by Dongling Xu
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great mechanical keyboard with only one niggle
This is a great keyboard to use and the keys have a wonderful, yet sometimes too lighter feel to them. Great for gaming, but mediocre for typing work. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Sonny
5.0 out of 5 stars
Awesome! Raised my APM by at least 30+
So, agreed it takes awhile to get use too. And i thought after a while i dont get the hype! Then i went to my friends and played on his set up, I was initially disgusted with the... Read more
Published 21 months ago by J. G. Barnes
4.0 out of 5 stars
Still getting used to it..
Hugh differnce to standard keyboard, i still feel a little strange using it. Did not realize a mechanical keyboard would be so differant.
Its accurate and quick to use. Read more
Its accurate and quick to use. Read more
Published on 8 Feb 2011 by Mark Knight
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very nice keyboard
I would suggest this keyboard to any gamer, despite the fact that it is a bit expensive. It it very ergonomic, especially that plastic handrest, it is very basic, but it's way... Read more
Published on 24 Jan 2011 by andreasf93
3.0 out of 5 stars
Steelseries 7G on Mac OS X
This review is written by a user of Mac OS X.
The keyboard arrives in clunky packaging with a few keys usually shook loose, but they are easy to push back in and,... Read more
The keyboard arrives in clunky packaging with a few keys usually shook loose, but they are easy to push back in and,... Read more
Published on 11 Nov 2010 by HJartigan
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