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: