There are times when you might find yourself in a situation in which you would just love to have the chance of playing around with some macros to simplify some of your ingame tasks. There are times when you would like to have more control over your overall gaming experience or maybe even get the job done quicker and in a more efficient fashion. Its times like those that you might have considered investing some money in a gaming keyboard, but the problem arises when you start thinking about which one to pick. A few years ago that would’ve been an easy question, yet lately the market has been invaded by these so let’s try to narrow our search down and start with the Logitech G510 gaming keyboard.
Overview
Logitech is well known for their high quality peripherals and keyboards are not different, as Logitech keyboards always delivered a high level of quality at a good price. Now the question is, does the Logitech G510 deliver on its end or did the manufacturer try too hard to get into the market and offer us a product which couldn’t compete with the competition? Well, after the first looks at the keyboard as soon as you remove it from its box, you might think that they are well on their way of setting new standards here as well. From the first look to hours later during your hardcore gaming sessions, the Logitech G510 won’t try and hide its gaming pedigree, but is this enough to fight off the competition?
Logitech G510 Gaming Keyboard Reviewed - will it be able to hold its ground?
Features
Logitech’s G510 gaming keyboard comes with a number of neat tricks to help out the gamer in us. As such the company added 18 macro buttons which can record a total of 54 different functions thanks to the 3 profiles the keyboard can store. The layout is standard so you won’t be forced to accommodate to anything too weird and despite of the added macro keys, the keyboard doesn’t feel oversized or bulky. You can record keyboard macros ( you can’t record any mouse commands, since I’ve seen the question pop up a number of times ) by pressing the macro record key and then selecting the macro key you wish to save them too. You can change between the 3 profiles and seeing as you have 18 macro keys, you will be set in almost any game.
There’s also a heads up display which can perform a number of functions – display a FPS’s HUD stats ( life, armor, ammo, etc ) or display computer relevant information. You also have some multimedia keys and a volume rocker which I did enjoy quite a lot.
Testing
When looking at the keyboard as a whole there’s nothing really too unusual or different, which in this case is something very good. I don’t like keyboards which try too hard and end up giving the user more headaches than actually solving problems and being helpful. You’re already way too tied up fighting off opponents, the last thing you’ll need is stop and start looking for keys, so there’s one good thing.
The keys have a nice feel to them, although they operate on rubber domes so it’s not mechanical. This is the first big downside of the keyboard, but considering its pricing, this is to be expected. Despite not being mechanical like other top of the range gaming keyboards, the keys themselves have a good overall feel to them. They are covered in a rubbery material and are also illuminated, which can help you out in those gaming sessions moving through the night. For those playing around with MMO’s this keyboard is a must in my opinion. Seeing as you have 3 different profiles, a huge array of special macros which can be recorded as well as the multimedia aspect of it, you will never have to stop and look for your spells, or your inventory items, just spam away. It will take a short while to get used to their positioning, yet once that is that it will all feel natural and responsive.
The Logitech G510 Gaming Keyboard comes with adjustable light schemes
The keyboard also comes with a built in audio card, so you’ll easily be able to connect your headphones and your mic to it without any problems and thanks to the volume controls you can turn the volume up or down, mute or unmute your mic and so forth. There’s also a gaming keyboard specific key, which disables that annoying Windows key, which again comes in as a nice bonus.
However and this is where the bad starts in my view, I feel that it’s far too cluttered for the hardcore gamer. Note that by hardcore, I don’t mean little Jimmy who plays 4 hours a day, but more of the hardcore veteran who plays 8 or more hours a day. The keys aren’t as responsive and don’t have the same feel of a mechanical keyboard and the number of macro and media keys make it feel a touch cluttered at times. Note that despite that being a good thing in some situations, I wouldn’t want to send my drop in Starcraft 2 in a wrong direction, I wouldn’t want to start loading a macro saying “PWNED” when I actually want to reload my weapon.
Although the layout is great and everything, I feel that it doesn’t cover the hardcore sector well enough. Mechanical key switches would have been the first thing to be added and again, in a really hardcore environment, I can’t see the point of 18 macro keys – pro’s do everything manually, because that’s how they roll.
Prices and availability
The Logitech Gaming Keyboard G510 is available through a number of sources. Pricing on Amazon can vary a great deal, with offers for the keyboard going as low as $84.25 or as high as $119.99. The Logitech Gaming Keyboard G510 is also available via the manufacturer with pricing being set at 119 Euros for those in Europe and $119.99 for those of you from the US.
Note that there’s also the option of buying a used one and pricing for those is really low, however because of the rubber dome keys I wouldn’t recommend that, but if you are short on cash and see that the keyboard is in good condition, you could give it a try.
Conclusion
If you love MMOs you'll love the Logitech G510 Gaming Keyboard
I know that I might’ve just convinced you on buying a Steelseries or a Razer or even a Das Keyboard, but the truth is that this is not a bad keyboard. The problem is that in my view it shouldn’t be marketed as one dedicated to the hardcore sector. Your average game will love the huge array of functions, the easily configurable macros as well as the layout. Even someone who types for a living will find the key strokes as solid and reliable, however I keep feeling that this keyboard could’ve been more than it actually ended up on being.
So the conclusion is that if you play MMO’s, if you like to spend a couple of hours a day playing and if you like to have huge control just at your fingertips, the Logitech G510 is great value for money. The build quality is top of the notch, the keys feel great when pressed and the overall setup of it is just brilliant – another high quality peripheral from Logitech. However, if you are playing over 6-8-10 hours a day ( first of all it’s not that healthy ) and don’t need the macro keys, there’s nothing really in favor of the Logitech G510 and I would direct you to the high end gaming keyboards.
As such, for you dear hardcore gamer, I recommend a Das Keyboard, a Steelseries 6Gv2 or a 7G maybe even a Razer BlackWidow Ultimate ( although that one also has some macro keys, yet those are too reduced in number to count really ).
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