Introduction
Mechanical keyboards are a breed of hardware that signal an old school vibe where you could really hammer on the keys without fear of breaking something. What happened the last time you rage quit MW3 because some little 12 year old noob-tubed you for the tenth time? Bet that went well for your keyboard.
Those $20 pieces of plastic junk called keyboards can’t withstand the pwnage, not to mention they feel like garbage when typing. So it should be no surprise that we’re seeing more mechanical keyboards on the market. Even that $80 membrane keyboard is probably overpriced for what you get in terms of function and value; once you use a mechanical keyboard, you’ll wonder how you survived without one. Investing a bit of extra money in a great keyboard is well worth the payoff, and the days of the cheap plastic boards may soon become a distant memory.

Today we’re looking at the Gigabyte Aivia Osmium mechanical gaming keyboard, a fully backlit board that sports bold styling and looks to cater to discerning consumers who want something unique. The Gigabyte Osmium is not your average mechanical board. Are you looking for macro keys? Check. Is 6-Key Rollover not good enough for you? Ok, try 64-key NKRO on the Osmium. What about integrated USB 2.0? Nothing special there, so how about USB 3.0 here on the Osmium.
That combination is pretty rare, so test driving the Osmium was certainly a priority. The price of entry here? It’s $129 for a keyboard that has an impressive spec sheet. That’s not exactly cheap, but good design rarely is. Question is: can the Gigabyte Aivia Osmium can stand out in a widening field of mechanical keyboards?
Let’s get to it and find out.

insane!!