Package

The package that the 6G comes in is nothing more than your standard retail keyboard box. On the back of the box you can see a listing of several organizations under the “In association with:” section. This list consists of most of the powerhouse gaming organizations from the last 3 years with the likes of Team 3D, Team NOA, Mouz, wNv Gaming, SK Gaming, 4Kings and Complexity. I am not sure of the relevance of these names being listed, but if we are correct in assuming that these organizations played some kind of advocacy role in the creation of the 6G, then you can be sure this product means business.


Inside the box there is a pamphlet that explains the installation and product background, an extra keyset that includes a keychanger tool, a woven carrying bag, and a PS/2 to USB converter, and the SteelKeys 6G. The extra keyset is a flat grey color that is designed to provide the user with better visual navigation while gaming. For instance in a low light environment, if the gamer looks down at their keyboard and sees WASD in a different color tone than the rest of the keys, they will be able to position their hands on the keyboard in the correct place more easily than a gamer who has a bunch of identical and indistinguishable keys to choose from. While we probably wouldn’t use these extra keys for the virtue of them making the keyboard less attractive, they can potentially be used for practical purposes and show SteelSeries’ attention to detail.


Design
Then there is the keyboard itself. The SteelKeys 6G is the most simply designed keyboard we have ever used. In the gaming world, simplicity can be bliss. The bottom of the keyboard is totally flat, with no obscure curves or bumps of any kind besides two soft rubber dampening pads that aid in keeping the keyboard in place. This is useful for a gamer because it means the keyboard is lying flat on the table or desk and is uniformly supported throughout. The keyboard is also not overly large. Lots of keyboards these days, even the ones with no additional features like the SteelKeys 6G, tend to have excessively gaudy, curvaceous designs or other such features that make the unit unnecessarily large. For gamers that don’t have so much room on their desks, this is not a good thing. The SteelKeys 6G has only a very small amount of unused real-estate, keeping the design compact yet maintaining the full standard layout that most gamers prefer.


The locked function indicators (num lock, caps lock, and scroll lock) are fitted with bright blue LED lights. These are the only lights on the keyboard and they are integrated in a way that comes off very slick and professional looking. This is a keyboard that a corporate executive type could have on their desk without it looking out of place. Of course, if someone got close up to it and read the underneath the SteelKeys 6G label where it says “professional gaming keyboard”, they might have some explaining to do. The keyboard also includes an optional wrist rest that fits the simple design of the keyboard. The wrist rest also has the unmistakable SteelSeries logo on it, which makes it look so cool you might consider using it for that alone, we’re not kidding. Like pretty much all other keyboards, the SteelKeys 6G has collapsible feet on the bottom that allow a slight incline for more ergonomic variation. Unlike most keyboards however, these feet tuck away into their own inset cavities on the underside of the board when not in use, rather than double as an unsteady rear support. The final design aspect we found interesting was the cord. The cord is incased in a very high-durability woven material that makes it not only look cool but will stand up to being flung around in a micro battle and resist being crimped, which could cause damage to the actual wire.