SteelSeries Shift

Interesting design ; Could work well for some games

Keys require differing amounts of pressure ; Not great for typing

The Shift is nearly a fantastic keyboard, but it’s ultimately let down by a few niggles - mainly the split Spacebar, lack of backlit keys and its price. With a few adjustments the Shift could be a winner, but sadly it isn’t there yet. If we were off to...

Good software interface. On the fly macro-editing functionality. Audio and USB 2.0 ports. Swappable keyset.

Uncomfortable palm rest. Quick-keys are oddly placed. Not backlit.

Conclusion The SteelSeries Shift offers a plethora of features for a good mid-range price, at least for a gaming keyboard. Unfortunately, the flaw in the Shift is ultimately in the design. An ergonomic palm rest is an important aspect of any keyboard...

The first impression consumers will get when unboxing the Shift is that this is a solid keyboard. It has a decent weight to it, which combined with the rubber feet, keeps it planted firmly on the desk. At 4cm thick, with an almost industrial look it...

quality and reliability

figured out had to install the original keyboard prior to installing any of the alternative key sets from forums

Frees up the 2 USB 2.0 ports that it takes up by having 2 more on the keyboard itself ; Can reprogram all the keys on the board to whatever you want, with the driver software that it comes with ; Has a pass through for headphones and mic (though you'll...

Space bar is almost unusable for right handers ; For the Key layout of the default lay-in, the Insert/Home/Pageup/Delete/End/Pagedown is staggard down which makes the typical layout awkward ; Driver Software will sometimes randomly disable itself ;...