There’s no stopping the current “mechanical keyboard wave” that is taking over the market for gaming-grade peripherals. Gigabyte has just added a mechanical model to their Aivia line, the Osmium, which features USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 ports, audio connections and five macro keys. Let’s first describe it, and then analyze the product.

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Figure 1: Osmium keyboard

The Osmium is a robust and heavy keyboard, weighing 3.3 pounds (1.5 kg). What first catches the eye is the bank of dedicated macro keys (G1-G5) on the upper left side and the two wheels that control the illumination and volume. The wheels are both dented and illuminated.

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Figure 2: Macro keys and control wheels

On the upper right corner, there’s a panel with the Aivia logo that houses the Scroll/Num/Caps lock LEDs and also serves as a button switch for the user profiles. The panel changes colors to indicate each of the five profiles chosen.

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Figure 3: Aivia panel