Performance

Gigabyte definitely focuses on gaming with the Osmium and it is, in that respect, a full-out gaming keyboard with mechanical key-switches. The emphasis on gaming is evident with the five macro buttons located at the top left side of the keyboard, right next to the two scroll wheels. Right now, Gigabyte only makes the Osmium with Cherry MX Red key-switches, which are great for the average gamer. It would, however, be neat if they, like many other gaming keyboard manufacturers, opened up a user customizable button mechanism. Unfortunately, the lights scroll-wheel cannot be remapped in Windows, which would be good for those looking to use it for some in-game function instead.

Gigabyte delivers one feature packed keyboard with the Osmium. It has both a USB 2.0 and a USB 3.0 port, which is neat. You also get audio pass through the keyboard's cable, which is nice if you like neat cable management.

Gaming

Gigabyte has launched the Aivia Osmium keyboard with Cherry MX Red key-switches. These key-switches make the transition from membrane keyboards very easy since their actuation force is quite similar. The layout is standard with the addition of five macro keys, two scroll wheels, and a profile-switch button, which is the entire lock-LED status cover. You get blue back lighting on all the keys, including the macro ones. The scroll wheels also have the familiar scroll-click mechanism that allows you to quickly mute or shut-off the lights.

A quick test in CS:S showed that the keyboard definitely equals all the other MX Red based gaming keyboards out there. Its easily adjustable back light is a plus if you are gaming in a dimly-lit room. The volume-control system is also much more accurate than using function-key combinations. The macro keys are placed rather awkwardly because you have to lift your hand to operate them. They are, even though they are placed relatively close to the WASD-area, still a bit of a hassle to use. The advantage of the macro-key array that Gigabyte choose is that its macro keys are next to one another horizontally rather than on top of each other and off to the side of the keyboard; something Razer, amongst others, likes to do.

Typing

Gigabyte's standard layout means that it is very good to type on. The Cherry MX Red key-switches do lack some tactile feedback at the actuation point in order to be really good for speed typing. Now, this keyboard has a few tricks up its sleeves when it comes to typing comfort. For one, it has a large wrist rest which provides very good support. The bottom plane of the keyboard can also be raised both at the back and at the front. These small tweaks are very welcome and while not everyone may use them, they are certainly nice-to-haves.