Gigabyte Osmium review - Introduction

It is not the first time we review a keyboard from Gigabyte as we tested their KM7600 series which was targeted at the generic PC user. Then a year later Gigabyte started with the AIVIA keyboard series targeted at gamers, once we reviewed the K8100 we where certainly impressed as their first ever entry in the gaming scene keyboards wise had been a successful one.

More recently mechanical keyboards have become the norm for gamers though and as such Gigabyte decided to drop the good old dome based keyboards and pursued the cherry MX switch based keys as well. As such today we'll have a peek at the all new Aivia Osmium keyboard. For their first real 'mechy' quite an impressive product.

The Osmium has been released under Gigabyte's Aivia branding and comes with a lot of features that should be appealing to you as a gamer. For example integrated USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 ports (through a HUB). The Osmium is a mechanical keyboard, as such is has been equipped with RED flavored switches (preferred by many). These keys have will be long-lived and can withstand a severe beating bringing you the stuff you as a gamer like so much.

We have seen it on several keyboard before already, but the Osmium is equipped with anti-ghosting capability which means multi-key presses at the same time are an option, again something gamers are after. You can press many keys at the same time without the keyboard input coming towards a grinding halt, using my ten fingers simultaneously was not an issue.

The Osmium comes with several macro-keys, some local storage for the macro profiles and quick cycling through macro-profiles.

• Interface USB 2.0
• Activation Cherry Red Mechanical Switch
• Switch life 50 million times
• Key Profile Standard
• Travel distance 4mm to the bottom
• Pre-travel 2mm to actuation point
• Peak force 45g
• USB Hub USB3.0 + USB2.0
• Report Rate 1000Hz
• Audio Microphone-in/ Earphone-out
• Weight 1500g ±10%
• Dimension 454(L)* 257(W)*45(H) mm
• Cable length 2.0m ±10%
• Support OS Windows XP/ Vista/ Windows 7
  Certification CE, FCC, BSMI
• Color Black

The overall design of the Osmium  is appealing in a nice a nice black dark design. The keyboard feels very comfortable at your hands and is adjustable in height. You will spot two scroll-wheels give you analog control over its blue LED brightness, and volume. As  stated the keyboard is illuminated blue and features a large (removable) wrist rest. If you are a PC gamer, you know how important it is to have the best mechanical gaming keyboard that suits your needs. And this one looks pretty nice to us.

The Aivia Osmium mechanical keyboard as mentioned has a mechanical switch under every key there is on the keyboard, including the five macro keys on the top left corner of the keyboard.

Obviously the keyboard is programmable as we'll show you later in in the article. The keyboard has onboard memory, you may program five macro keys with it. Priced at roughly 90 EUR / 100 USD let's have a peek what more this keyboard has to offer shall we ?, please go to the next page.