my logitech G510 arrived, my thoughts
Hello all,
My new G510 gaming keyboard arrived a few days ago and I would like to share my thoughts on it with you.
Product page : http://www.logitech.com/en-us/keyboa...d/devices/7246
wikipedia page : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logitech_G510
Ok from what I can tell, this is the successor for the discontinued logitech G11 keyboard. I have owned the G11 keyboard and used it for a year and a half until it broke recently. I decided to just buy this model instead of going to ebay looking for a another G11 because I got a %50 discount off the retail price of the G510.
I will be comparing the G510 to the G11.
Pro's of G510 :
1 - has monochrome LCD screen that can list what profile you are using, what your HP/MP is in a game, computer performance info, etc. You would have to push a few buttons and then select what info you would like the LCD to show.
2 - nice and big keyboard. I really like the size of the G510 keyboard, some would say it is too big, but I think it is a decent size when you add up all the features it has.
3 - buttons galore!! the G510 has 18-programmable G-Keys that you can use the logitech software to program what key does what in you're operating system or game or program. I believe the logitech SDK uses scripting language Lua to make applets or form advanced macros, but you do not need to do this unless you need something advanced. Note, isboxer/innerspace can take advantage of the G-Keys if you would like to map to any of these keys. All you need to do when choosing the key you press to activate the mapped key, just choose any G-Key you like in the dropdown menu.
4 - Nice media buttons. I like the size and look of the media control buttons, they do not take up much room and they are easy to press. The volume button is neat as it is not really a button but a scrolling wheel, easy to increase/decrease volume.
Now for the cons:
1 - the keyboard sits lower then my G11 used to, I even have the little "keyboard raisers" open and still the angle is weird as the keyboard is not lifted as high as I would like it.
2 - lack of USB hub. Nothing too serious, but the G11 had a USB 2.0 slot on each side of the back of the keyboard. This was very useful for me as I could just plug my multiboxing usb hardware into the usb slot or I could plug in my ps2 controller to pc hardware into the usb slot instead of going to the back of my computer and routing the cables to where I am sitting. The G510 has a headphone/mic input instead of USB, which, in my opinion is quite useless these days.
3 - Buttons do not press down fully. You actually have to push the keyboard key in the middle part of the key to get the button to go down fully. If you hit the key toward the edge of the button, the key(s) sometimes get stuck and get caught on something not allowing the button to go fully down. This is hell when typing, I am always having to go back and correct my typing as I may have missed a few letters.
4 - smaller keys then the G11. I had a problem with the G11 keys being somewhat small, but the G510 keys are even smaller. I find myself hitting multiple keys at once or hitting the wrong keys that I wanted. Combine this with the button pressing problem and you have an annoying time, especially when you are gaming or need to type something fast.
5 - lcd screen buttons. there are 5 buttons under the lcd screen, but they are not labeled. When you are looking at the lcd screen, it will tell you what button to press to scroll down or accept. Though I would of just preferred to have dedicated keys that allows you to scroll down and or accept. just a nitpick here.
6 - key lightning effects. The cool thing is you can change the color of the key backlight in the logitech software. The problem is when you change the color of the keys, the lcd turns that color as well. Not sure if there is a way to separate the two. Another problem is it does not matter what color you set the keys to, the lights just are not that bright and is so dim that in the dark, I still can barely see the lights.
7 - pain in wrists. because of the lower height of the keyboard and the use of the wrist rests, I am finding myself rubbing my wrists and taking more frequent breaks as my writs are very sore and stiff. I will have to find a way raise the height, might have to mod something to the bottom of the keyboard
overall this keyboard is decent if I paid $30-$40 for it. But this keyboard retails at a whooping $100 + tax + shipping in most online and brick and mortar stores. I paid $64 for this keyboard and I feel I did not get what I thought I was going to get. in a way you can say I feel jipped. comparing this with the G11, this is not the successor of the great G11, but rather a version of the G11 where they seemed to fix a few problems but ended up making more problems.
If you are in the market for a keyboard like this, try to find a new boxed G11 if you can find one. although you may be paying more for the G11 in the long run seeing as it is discontinued and stock is low. If you can not find a G11 anywhere and would like the 18 g-keys on a keyboard, then I would look into one of the cheap "x-keys" keypads and a $20 multimedia keyboard.
I can not really recommend this keyboard for multiboxers and gamers who rely on perfect timed and accurate key presses. You may end up just getting frustrated and trashing the keyboard and going back to look for another keyboard.
