Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard (Black)

Rating:

It sure looks awesome all lit up, and I like the little LCD which appears high tech too. And the build quality looks decent too, externally. Can't complain about the macro software (even the os x one, which I am using) or about the layout. I have one, and it's suitable for the kids, but not me.

Here's my beef with Logitech: The number one purpose of a decent gaming keyboard is rapid and precise response. And that's where this keyboard falls flat on its face. This is a non-mechanical, rubber dome membrame keyboard (examples of mechanical switch gaming keyboards are the Deck Gaming Keyboards, Steel Series 7G, or I-rocks KR-6230-KB). So what does this rubber-dome membrane "thingy" mean?

It means this keyboard uses two plastic membranes with circuit traces printed on them. There is a rubber dome membrane sitting atop, that the keys plunge down upon to make the key contact. To properly register a key, the key is squished down into the rubber dome until it collapses and the membranes contact. It's a very inexpensive way to build a keyboard, compared to the mechanical switches, but it's going to make your game suffer.

1. Key press/release latency
2. Poor tactile feedback
3. Keys unstable in movement
4. Rubber domes wear unevenly (keys WASD and whatever ability you spam, for example)
5. premature breakdown

All of these are remedied by using mechanical switch technology, like the competitors listed above. With all the other great features from the largest keyboard manufacturer on earth, with the best drivers and software, we should all be asking the question, why they are building this keyboard for a user base that is all about accuracy, speed, and reliabilty?

I think the answer was that until recently there was little user education on this topic, and there were no strong competitors in the gaming market.

That's all changed - but will Logitech rise to the changes in the market? It remains to be seen.

Rating:

Pros: screen, backlighting, keyboard quietness, g-keys.
cons: memory usage of the drivers

this keayboard is great. the screen and backlighting are controlable through a button on the board. on some of the games i have the keyboard shows redundant info (its on the monitor), but on other games it has very useful info. I was shocked by the quietness of this keyboard the noise is very minimal. the g-keys are quite useful in game and can be programed with macros or computer functions. you also have the quick macro record function(useful in game). each game has a profile with customised g-keys. the drivers (the g-key profiler and the lcd manager) take up a combined 24556k and then any program you want to run on the lcd is another 1900k-5100k. so you need a fair amount of memory to run both drivers (you dont need to run both to have functionality).

Rating:

I've owned now the original Blue version of this keyboard and two, yes two, of the orange. This tends to be my go-to keyboard of choice as the feedback from the keys is just wonderful. I can type a slight bit faster on these keyboards than other keyboards (which is saying something since I figured I had capped out).

The memory functions for the G keys is fun, I like to create simple loops to help my hands in WoW. Likewise being able to turn the windows button off is super helpful. Other keys can be mapped in programs to do other things as well (like the media keys up top).

The screen uses LUA scripting now, I don't really play with it but I like being able to see the time at the drop of a hat.

My complaints though are two fold, small but problems still.

The legs that the keyboard stands with are extremely fragile and Logitech doesn't stock replacements (I'd have been willing to buy them) and the keys themselves are extremely fragile around the bottom edges. I was removing them to clean the keyboard, something I've done with roughly a hundred keyboards (it was one of those jobs folks suckered us into a lot at CC and BB...yeah I worked at both in the last five or so years :( ), and the alt key shattered like I had pried at it with a crowbar! I was shocked and very disheartened.

These keys also cannot be replaced, you'd have to replace the entire keyboard which is a supreme shame. I'd be willing to spend 50 cents to a dollar per key on this sort of thing. I'm sure others would too.

Otherwise! It is a fantastic keyboard, I have been using it for quite a while now and really don't see the purpose of using any other keyboard.

Rating:

Everything about this keyboard rocks. The keys are lit very weell for nighttime gaming/typing. The "apps" on the display are very useful and easy to manage and see. There is really nothing I can say bad about this thing.
Just buy one, its worth it!

Rating:

Absolutely love this keyboard, I was a little hesitant on buying it after reading reviews and some people said the keys were stiff or hard to push, I don't have this problem at all. I would consider myself a heavy gamer and i have not found any of the keys to be "wearing" or letters rubbing off like some have said. Screen works great, kinda cool the way it shows your stats on world of war-craft as well as who's talking on Ventrilo. Highly recommend this item and would purchase it again. Only complaint would be if they could of threw in a extra led color for the keys other then that awesome!