The Logitech G510 Review
The G510 is the heir of the G110 and has undergone quite a handful of upgrades, the most viewable is the LCD display on top of the keyboard similar to G15. The G510 comes prepackaged in Logitech’s standard green and black colored theme box in a stylish yet elegant boxing to reduce the chances of receiving a damaged product due to improper shipping or miss handling. Logitech’s sales team did marvelous job detailing the products highlights on the outside of the box so even if you never heard and or read about the product you can get quick condensed facts about the keyboards features all located on the back of the box. The box includes paper documentation, a CD including software and driver support; which I personally like, there is nothing worse than receiving and item that you cannot use because the manufacturer failed to include drivers or software. A palm rest was also included as part the keyboard accessories.
At first glance the G15 seems like a hefty keyboard but holding it in your hands shows it’s light weight yet still inhibit a sturdy feel. Along back top section of the keyboard are two legs used to tilt the keyboard. The bottom back section of the keyboard has to two large rubber sections, which perform a great job at keeping the keyboard in place. The key placement follows a traditional pattern so besides the new macro buttons on the far left side and the new function buttons on the top row it’s an extremely clean design. The USB 2.0 connector is attached on the center of the keyboard right behind the back of the newly added GamePanel LCD and on the far left upper corner is an on board USB audio which supports 3.5mm sockets.
Installation is a breeze; I’ve always loved this about all Logitech products. The Logitech Gaming Software gives you fast and easy access to all related controls on the keyboard mainly GamePanel LCD, Profile settings adjustments and backlit color control. The customizable “G” command keys on the left can be edited via this interface but it’s not required since you can set them on demand. Profiles can be saved on the keyboard itself so you can take you pre-configured profiles on the go from machine to machine! It’s extremely easy to setup, sync and manage profiles using the gaming software so easy that and end user wouldn’t really need to read a manual in order to use.
I enjoy bad news first so let’s get the cons out of way, after a few weeks of usage I’ve ran into a few things which I don’t particularly enjoy. I’m a full keyboard typist and I’ve noticed that the G command keys on the far left take up quite a bit real estate making the main keyboard a bit uncomfortable. I’ve found myself hitting the ‘G3’ or ‘G6’ command key when stretching my pinking while trying to use the ‘Esc’ key. This may be something that I would probably get accustomed to over time but its rather gloomy that the change over from a traditional and or ergonomic keyboard doesn’t carry over to well in this regard. I would get rid of 2 macro rows and work on the keyboard layout design to make it more comfortable to use for full keyboard typist. Second issue I have is the overall feel of the USB cable. The cable itself is too rigid in my opinion, I feel that the material should be more flexible and or perhaps the usage of a different material would be in order to give the keyboard ease of use while moving it around the desk.
Now with the bad news out of the way let us cover the pros! The macro keys are great addition for RTS games although it has usage for MMORPG I feel it has a stronger attunement towards RTS. Reaction time is fast when using the macro keys even on long command playback. The illumination provided by the G510 is remarkable! You get a soft color tone under directly lighting conditions but a subtle glow under poor lighting conditions. The choice of picking the spectrum of your choice is great compared to picking from a handful of colors like its previous predecessors. The rocker control for the volume is smooth and a well placed mute button is right next to it, right above these two mainly abused controls are the multimedia key handling play, pause, stop, forward and back. The GamePanel LCD is a great addition I see myself viewing the panel while gaming and even debugging code as I sit there to keep an eye on CPU and Memory allocation. The onboard sound card is a nice feature if you forget your G35 at home and you have your cell phones 3.5mm headset with you with microphone and audio mute right above the USB audio controller.
In conclusion, the overall build is excellent and you’ll feel like you’ve purchased a high grade quality product. They keyboard’s key layout will take time to get used to from your left hand perspective. You’ll see yourself hitting the right G-keys even while you’re focused on a game but you’ll find yourself stretching your pinky as you try to hit that first macro row on the far left. It’s a great purchase when you analyze the grand design, performance and build quality it’s certainly worth its value.
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