Apex Pro TKL, Improvement in Input Latency and Measurments against other keyboards.
Posted: 24 Jun 2020, 07:42
I bought the Apex Pro TKL a couple of days ago because I kind off fell for the marketing in regards to responsiveness and input lag because I was sick of a very sluggish movement in games on my keyboards with content Red and Cherry MX Blue switches. I could just return the keyboard if it didn't improve anything.
However, I can now say that the difference between my other keyboards in games like CS:GO is noticeable when using the actuation point at 1 (lightest setting). Actually moving out from a corner and stopping to shoot before getting killed is possible sometimes now.
Also, the switches are INCREDIBLY smooth, like insanely smooth compared to any Red switch that I've tried before and using the actuation point at around 6 makes the keyboard almost more enjoyable to write on compared to my MX blue switches.
Anyway, if anyone wants me to do any tests (not sure what tests though) with this keyboard and compare it to my other keyboards then I'd be happy to.
Edit: I made some measurements.
Method: I loaded up D2 long in CS:GO and binded "fire" to the letter "p". I then proceeded to press "p" (as fast and consistently as I could) while recording in 960 fps on my smartphone camera until the first on-screen-reaction. Then I loaded up the recordings and measured each frame between my finger hitting the top of the keycap until the first on-screen-reaction. I did this for 7 times for each keyboard / actuation setting. Finally, I calculated the average frames, divided them by 960 and multiplied that with 1000 to get ms (I avereged it out to full ms). The FPS was locked at 237 and Freesync was activated. Now this test isn't very scientific and should be taken with some grain of salt so bear that in mind.
It took me around 4-5 ms from hitting the keycap top bottoming out which should mean that the difference between actuation points should be at the most 4 ms. Also, Simply based on the switch the Brown and Blue switches should theoretically be the slowest while the Red Switches should be in the middle and the OmniPoint with light actuation the fastest.
Results:
- Cooler Master MK 730, Cherry MX Blue Switches: 27 ms.
- Deltaco GAM 075, Content Red Switches: 24 ms.
- Ducky One 2, Cherry MX Brown Switches: 23 ms.
- Apex Pro TKL, OmniPoint Switches, Actuation setting 7 (heavier than medium, also heavier than Red Switches): 20 ms.
- Apex Pro TKL, OmniPoint Switches, Actuation setting 4 (what I believe is close to Red Switches): 19 ms.
- Apex Pro TKL, OmniPoint Switches, Actuation setting 1 (lightest): 16 ms.
Conclusion: As the testing shows, the Apex Pro TKL is somewhat faster compared the the other keyboard I had available and could test.
Regarding the Ducky with the Brown switches, it seems that it was faster than it should be since it was 4 ms faster than the Cooler Master with Blue Switches. Perhaps this has got something to do with the other electronics in the Keyboards,with the Ducky being the better one compared to the Deltaco and Cooler Master.
As for the Apex Pro TKL, it seems that the marketing actually holds some water in this case. SteelSeries claim a response time (debounce time) of 0.7ms vs 6ms in standard mechanical switches.In actuality though, I've read that Cherry MX Switches typically have 5ms of debounce. This should make the Apex Pro TKL just over 4 ms faster compared to regular switches, disregarding the actuation point. The Apex with actuation setting 4 (close to reds) was also just that, 4 ms faster than the ducky and 5 ms faster than the Deltaco keyboard. Using the lightest actuation force (basically tapping the button just enough to move), the Apex got even faster at 16 ms. All in all, using the lightest Actuation it seems you can gain around 6-8 ms of input delay using the Apex Keyboard compared to some other alternatives.
It definitely would be interesting to try some optical switches like on the Razer Huntsman keyboard but that's not something I'm gonna be able to do but according to Brandon Taylor, the Huntsman is even faster than the Apex Pro.
However, I can now say that the difference between my other keyboards in games like CS:GO is noticeable when using the actuation point at 1 (lightest setting). Actually moving out from a corner and stopping to shoot before getting killed is possible sometimes now.
Also, the switches are INCREDIBLY smooth, like insanely smooth compared to any Red switch that I've tried before and using the actuation point at around 6 makes the keyboard almost more enjoyable to write on compared to my MX blue switches.
Anyway, if anyone wants me to do any tests (not sure what tests though) with this keyboard and compare it to my other keyboards then I'd be happy to.
Edit: I made some measurements.
Method: I loaded up D2 long in CS:GO and binded "fire" to the letter "p". I then proceeded to press "p" (as fast and consistently as I could) while recording in 960 fps on my smartphone camera until the first on-screen-reaction. Then I loaded up the recordings and measured each frame between my finger hitting the top of the keycap until the first on-screen-reaction. I did this for 7 times for each keyboard / actuation setting. Finally, I calculated the average frames, divided them by 960 and multiplied that with 1000 to get ms (I avereged it out to full ms). The FPS was locked at 237 and Freesync was activated. Now this test isn't very scientific and should be taken with some grain of salt so bear that in mind.
It took me around 4-5 ms from hitting the keycap top bottoming out which should mean that the difference between actuation points should be at the most 4 ms. Also, Simply based on the switch the Brown and Blue switches should theoretically be the slowest while the Red Switches should be in the middle and the OmniPoint with light actuation the fastest.
Results:
- Cooler Master MK 730, Cherry MX Blue Switches: 27 ms.
- Deltaco GAM 075, Content Red Switches: 24 ms.
- Ducky One 2, Cherry MX Brown Switches: 23 ms.
- Apex Pro TKL, OmniPoint Switches, Actuation setting 7 (heavier than medium, also heavier than Red Switches): 20 ms.
- Apex Pro TKL, OmniPoint Switches, Actuation setting 4 (what I believe is close to Red Switches): 19 ms.
- Apex Pro TKL, OmniPoint Switches, Actuation setting 1 (lightest): 16 ms.
Conclusion: As the testing shows, the Apex Pro TKL is somewhat faster compared the the other keyboard I had available and could test.
Regarding the Ducky with the Brown switches, it seems that it was faster than it should be since it was 4 ms faster than the Cooler Master with Blue Switches. Perhaps this has got something to do with the other electronics in the Keyboards,with the Ducky being the better one compared to the Deltaco and Cooler Master.
As for the Apex Pro TKL, it seems that the marketing actually holds some water in this case. SteelSeries claim a response time (debounce time) of 0.7ms vs 6ms in standard mechanical switches.In actuality though, I've read that Cherry MX Switches typically have 5ms of debounce. This should make the Apex Pro TKL just over 4 ms faster compared to regular switches, disregarding the actuation point. The Apex with actuation setting 4 (close to reds) was also just that, 4 ms faster than the ducky and 5 ms faster than the Deltaco keyboard. Using the lightest actuation force (basically tapping the button just enough to move), the Apex got even faster at 16 ms. All in all, using the lightest Actuation it seems you can gain around 6-8 ms of input delay using the Apex Keyboard compared to some other alternatives.
It definitely would be interesting to try some optical switches like on the Razer Huntsman keyboard but that's not something I'm gonna be able to do but according to Brandon Taylor, the Huntsman is even faster than the Apex Pro.
