Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard

Reviews: Peripherals

Accessories | Gaming Devices | Keyboards / Mice | Printers

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Anthony Fiti
Kurtis
Logitech
Mar. 7, 2006

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Testing

One may find it difficult to test a keyboard. You can't benchmark key response time or other properties like that, so it comes down to subjective analysis. On this keyboard, the keys feel good and spring back fast after you let go. You can hear an audible contact between the key and the surface underneath when you press the keys. This aural feedback gives you the indication that the key press has been registered. The standard keys are laid out in the typical keyboard configuration. The standard QWERTY key layout, the ESC and F1-F12 keys above. The arrow keys are in the standard configuration as well as the Insert, Delete, Home, etc in the standard three columns and two rows, and number pad at the far right, in its typical configuration. The only addition is the 18 "G Keys" located to the left side of the keyboard. The button locations are intuitive, as well as being labeled using fairly standard iconography.

One of the features that I found that I like is the on the Caps Lock key. The key is not the full height across the length of the key, so you can feel a gap when you run your fingers over the keyboard. This is useful for me to locate the home row when typing, or when using the "WASD" keys for moving around in games.

One nifty feature is that the keyboard additionally functions as a two-port USB hub. While these ports are not powered (the power, up to 500mA for all downstream devices including the keyboard, that has to be delivered comes over the USB cable from the computer to the keyboard), they still are very useful. I have my Saitek joystick and my digital camera hooked up to my two USB ports and they both work fine. I was never a big fan of USB hubs in other devices until one day I realized I owned about 8 USB devices and more USB ports within my reach was a beautiful thing.

There are four multimedia keys located at the top center of the keyboard, just below the LCD. The four buttons are Play/Pause, Stop, Forward and Back. In the middle there is a volume wheel that will spin around to turn up or turn down your main system volume. When the wheel is turned, you feel it settle into a groove for each increment that the turn goes through as the volume goes up or down. The wheel exhibited no odd behavior when being turned quickly. And just to the right of the multimedia keys is one more button that will allow you to mute the system audio. I tested these buttons with Winamp, iTunes and Windows Media Player and they all worked. Winamp caused me some problems because I didn't have my global hotkeys turned on, but once I turned them on it worked just fine.

Above the multimedia keys is the LCD. The LCD's angle can be adjusted, and even folded and closed flush with the keyboard so it doesn't get damaged when you take the keyboard to a huge LAN party or throw it down the stairs. When the LCD is closed, the multimedia keys are not accessible. Between the multimedia keys and the hinge that the LCD is attached to are five buttons (one round and four flat) - these buttons can actually control the applets that run on the LCD. With the software that comes with the keyboard you switch between the currently running applets.

To the left of the multimedia controls is a switch that will toggle between regular use mode to a gaming mode. While it may sound fancy, all the gaming mode does is disable the Windows key. So while you're playing your favorite full screen game, accidentally hitting the Windows key won't throw you back to the desktop. While it may just disable one key, I cant tell you how many times I've hit that Windows key before when trying to hit the Control key on the keyboard and been taken to the desktop in the middle of a game. (Ed. - With some games, such a mistake could actually mess up the display or sound when you go back to the game and force you to exit out and restart the game.) On the right side of the multimedia controls there is the mute button mentioned above and the other button is to manipulate the backlight. There are three modes for key backlighting - off, dim and bright.

The back of the keyboard has many USB routing channels to put wires through, including a place for headphone wires, to clean up the area around the keyboard.

Logitech has provided an API, or Application Programming Interface, for software developers to create applets which utilize the keyboard's LCD to work with their software. One of the pieces of software which leverages this API is FRAPS, a program that can be used to measure fps (frames per second) rates in-game.

Their LCD applet provides the current frame rate, as well as a graph showing historical frame rates for the past 15 or so seconds. There are also third party programs that can control the LCD. The most popular is LCDStudio. LCDStudio allows you to create your own custom LCD applets that will display whatever you specify. There are many popular LCDStudio profiles that are available which have been created by other people in the community. One such profile was created by "danielrouse" from G15Forums.com that uses Winamp's EQ visualization as well as song progress information and a dancing Master Shake from Aqua Teen Hunger Force.

The "G Keys" are useful, and Logitech was very smart when they designed this feature. First, the three buttons above the macro keys are to select between three groups of macros. So while there are just 18 G Keys, you really have 54 programmable macros you can put into three groups, depending on what you're doing in the game. Also, the Logitech software that comes with the keyboard is designed to store multiple game profiles. You can have one set for World of Warcraft, one set for Quake 4, etc. And when you enter the game, the Logitech software will automatically load the appropriate macros you have created for that game - no need for you to change them yourself. Profiles can be exported into files, and you can share them with your friends who have the G15 keyboard if you'd like or back them up for safe keeping.

One of the good things about this keyboard is that there is a large community that has formed around it, which is unusual when talking about keyboards. Fans who have purchased this keyboard have created two major websites (G15 Forums & G15 Mods) to help those who are new to the G15 community, as well as to share LCD mini-progrmas, tips and tricks. Each site has a set of forums to discuss issues, mods and more. Even if you are not a programmer or hacker you can still take advantage of the work others have done to make your G15 more useful, or at least more entertaining.

The biggest downside for me was that the single most requested applet, a World of Warcraft status display, has not been created by Blizzard. And while I am not a lawyer, if you were to create one you are most likely to end up violating their EULA for World of Warcraft (section 2.C.iii), running the risk of being banned from the game, and who wants that?!

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Page 1: Introduction / First Looks
Page 2: Taking a Closer Look / Setup
Page 3: Testing
Page 4: Conclusion

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1 User Comment

1 - Posted by Sergiy_Canada on May 5, 2008 - 7:25 am

This is the best keyboard I have ever had...!!!!!

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