Logitech G710+ Mechanical Keyboard and G600 MMO Mouse Review
by Dustin Sklavos on October 9, 2012 12:01 AM ESTThe Logitech G710+ Mechanical Keyboard: Logitech's First, Best Effort
I've used Logitech gaming keyboards with varying degrees of success; one of the primary reasons I liked Corsair's K90 keyboard so much was the way it abstracted the gaming hotkeys away from the keyboard itself by lowering their height, allowing me to touch type the keyboard conventionally while being able to feel for the configurable keys if I needed them. Logitech's older G10, G11, and G15 keyboards were a bit more fraught; there were hotkeys on both sides of the keyboard, and they were very easy to accidentally hit.
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With the G710+, Logitech has essentially learned from their previous efforts and produced something that's arguably very distinctive and well thought out. The G710+ feels like it has a lot more thought and pragmatism put into its design than their earlier, in some ways flashier designs. More than that, they seem to have heard many of the criticisms levelled at other keyboard manufacturers, particularly Corsair. If you kept up with the K90 review, it won't take you long to see where.
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First and foremost, every key on the G710+ is mechanical except for the half-height controls/toggles at the very top of the keyboard. Logitech's rep was amusingly unforthcoming about which switches the G710+ employs, but that was easy enough to discern with two seconds and a keycap remover: Cherry MX Brown. It's an interesting choice, made more interesting by two wrinkles. First, the keyboard is entirely backlit with individual white LEDs under each key, and the LEDs can have their brightness adjusted in two separate zones (WASD/arrow clusters and the rest of the keyboard) using the toggle buttons at the top of the keyboard.
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Second, while mechanical switches are more durable and generally more pleasurable to use than conventional membrane switches, they're also noisier. Logitech has actually dampened the surfaces beneath the keys in order to reduce the noise produced by the G710+. It's still fairly noisy, but I have another keyboard with Cherry MX Brown switches in house (review forthcoming) and the difference is audible.
The G710+ features only six programmable hotkeys, but they're easy enough to reach without being confusing (as with the older G series keyboards and the Alienware M18x's). There are also three modes for an effective eighteen hotkeys as well as built-in macro recording. Finally, Logitech includes a removable wrist rest, conventional media controls (including a volume roller), and a toggle for the Windows keys. Amusingly the Windows keys also use the new Windows 8 logo.
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Cannyone - Thursday, April 11, 2013 - link
I prefer "Blacks" because they actually have some resistance... But everyone else seems to be such a bunch of wimps that complain about the actuation force. *deep sighStill if I had to choose between reds and browns I'd pick the browns hands down. Hence this keyboard is the first Logitech that's interested me in a few years. But that mouse is not going to cut it! Sometimes simpler is simply superior.
Swiper34 - Thursday, January 7, 2016 - link
A lot of League of Legends pros use the Browns, seems like its 50/50 between Browns and Reds.Source: http://lolsetup.on-winning.com
blackmagnum - Tuesday, October 9, 2012 - link
A decent evolutionary product of the Logitech gaming line, but compared to the Razer BlackWidow, it looks too awkward and distracting.Samus - Tuesday, October 9, 2012 - link
Logitech has been mainstream for years, it's getting really annoying. They used to release groundbreaking stuff at a palatable price but they're obviously playing catchup to almost everybody in every product segment.Remember the beginning of the MX-series mice? The G15 keyboard? The G25 steering wheel with a 6 speed shifter!? All affordable and good quality.
Not they just have run of the mill stuff with spotty reliability. My DiNovo Edge has died twice (now out of warranty) and it was a $150 keyboard...wont be buying another one thats for sure
Omega215D - Tuesday, October 9, 2012 - link
I'd never thought I'd see the day Logitech would put out a mechanical keyboard, let alone a gaming version with a brown switch (blues/ blacks seem to be the most common in gaming boards). The price is decent... maybe it'll grow on me enough to want to buy it.Chaitanya - Tuesday, October 9, 2012 - link
Finally, after so many days of waiting for mechanical keyboard, logitech delivered a good one. though like some other logitech products customisable backlight would have gone nicely with this keyboard.dishayu - Tuesday, October 9, 2012 - link
I love my Cherry MX "louder than hell" Blues in the blackwidow ultimate and have no plans to switch.HisDivineOrder - Tuesday, October 9, 2012 - link
I tried a Blackwidow Ultimate and the loudness was actually beginning to make my teeth rattle. I could feel the clicks in my bones. I switched to a Blackwidow Ultimate Stealth and briefly had them side by side.Let me tell you something. The typing experience on the Blues was very, very mildly better in tactile response and so insanely loud--a mind piercing clicking that could drive lesser men to become axe murderers--that I'd upgrade it to the Stealth 10 times out of 10. The Browns are quieter enough to make an incredible difference in usage. I remember reading one review of the BWU that said, "I started hesitating to use my keyboard because of how long it was." That was me. It was THAT loud.
That said, I can't imagine giving up the tactile response of the Blues or Browns, though. That's part of what makes them awesome for typing. I type more than I game, so the lack of response on the Reds or Black's is kinda meh for that usage.
For gaming, though, I can imagine Reds being better. Not Blacks, not with their higher resistance, but Red's being the Brown's without the feedback, I can see it.
Hell, the BWUS has better rollover, matte finish, is still blue backlit, and it is DAMN quieter. Oh, and it still feels worlds better than any other gaming keyboard. Yeah, BWUS. Forget BWU.
RoninX - Tuesday, October 9, 2012 - link
It's a matter of personal preference.I like the clickiness and audible (as well as tactile) feedback of the Blues on my Blackwidow Ultimate -- for both typing and gaming. But then, I also liked the original IBM PC keyboard, which was even louder.
RoninX - Tuesday, October 9, 2012 - link
On the other hand, I have refrained from bringing a BWU to work, since it might be a bit distracting in an office cubicle environment...