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Logitech G413 Mechanical Gaming Keyboard review – Comfortable gaming, troublesome for typing

For the last few months I’ve been looking for a new keyboard that is both great for gaming and comfortable to type on throughout the day.

The problem I face is that when it comes to keyboards I’ve become something of a snob in recent years and nothing can impress me unless it has a loud “click clack” sound and that sweet mechanical response.

So when the Logitech G413 arrived at htxt.africa HQ, I jumped at the chance to review it.

My heart sank when I learned that Logitech was using Romer G switches rather than Cherry MX switches. It sank even further when I learned the price of this keyboard with single colour LED lighting, and no dedicated macro keys, has a recommended retail price of R1 899.

That having been said I had already nominated myself to review the keyboard so let’s jump into that. Note the G413 is available in both Carbon and Silver versions. The Silver version sports white back-lighting while the Carbon (which we reviewed) features red lighting.

Logitech G413 Mechanical Gaming Keyboard review – Click clack

The G413 sports per key LED lighting but sadly you will have to settle for red lighting in one of four intensities or off altogether. By downloading the Logitech Gaming Software (LGS) you can customise the lighting a bit more. By this I mean you can set the lights to breath, if that’s what you want.

There’s a small amount of light bleeding from beneath the keys but I quite like it, especially when it gets darker in my room.

The brightness can be adjusted on the fly by hitting FN + F7  and I never noticed it clashing with any of my games.

As this is a keyboard for gamers I found it odd that the button beside the left control button was a Windows key. This can (thankfully) be disabled by hitting FN + F8 with an LED above the number pad indicating whether this is enabled or not.

Speaking of the number pad the G413 doesn’t notify the user when Num Lock is enabled. A bit of a niggle but not a deal breaker.

No Numlock LED can be a bit annoying at times.

The tactile feel of the keys as you type reminds me of Cherry’s MX Blue switches though I found the Romer Gs a bit softer.

The keyboard also features pass-through USB which you can plug a wireless mouse receiver into or indeed a corded mouse if like me you use a Razer Orochi which has a 5cm cable.

While this is a nice touch it means that the G413 requires two USB slots on your PC and you can’t use just one so keep that in mind.

Logitech G413 Mechanical Gaming Keyboard review – For gaming

Logitech includes an array of keys (Q, W, E, R, A, S, D, 1, 2, 3, 4) that feature a channel so that your fingers can find them more easily when you aren’t looking at the keyboard.

These keys are slightly larger which helps with identifying them while gaming but I found them a bit odd while typing. They’re shallower and larger than the other keys and more than once I’ve had to look down to readjust my positioning. It’s not a problem I’ve ever had with my daily driver save for the first day I started using it.

Staying with gaming for a second, using the stock keys is fine but the indented keys that you can swap out do make it easier to hit the right key when you need to.

Something I would have liked to have seen are dedicated Macro keys. You can programme your own macros using LGS and assigning commands to the F keys.

Users can choose from a set of predefined hotkeys to set as macros on the F keys or make their own in LGS.

The software itself is very simple to use and Logitech already has a ton of “profiles” for many games available at the moment. For instance I can simply load up the Dota 2 profile and a list of commands within the game can we assigned to the F keys.

There is also support for those that want to programme their own unique macros. LGS also allows you to programme which keys are switched off when you hit FN + F8 and enter Gaming Mode.

What is annoying is that the first time I launched a game after installing the software LGS decided it needed to have its own overlay. This can be disabled.

What I like about LGS is that it adds a bit more functionality to a keyboard that – out of the box – is pretty plain.

The G413 also has 26-key rollover which is nice if like me you’d rather not fuss with macros.

Logitech G413 Mechanical Gaming Keyboard review – For typing

The G413 is being positioned as a gaming keyboard, and it’s great for that but I found typing a bit uncomfortable especially if you pull out the standard keys and use the ones which seem primed for gaming. These keys are larger than the ones which come installed a bit shallower.

While I do like the larger keys I wish you had the option to replace them all. Why? Well how often are you willing to swap out your keys so you can type properly? I stopped after the second time.

The gaming keycaps aren’t ideal for those that spend more time typing than they do gaming.

Another quality of life improvement would be one extra LED above the numpad to indicate whether Numlock is on or off. Caps lock has a light, the Windows Key lock has a light but not Numlock.

Honestly I’m not all that impressed with the typing experience of this keyboard, and considering that’s what I’m doing most of the time, the G413 is not ideal for multitaskers.

Logitech G413 Mechanical Gaming Keyboard review- Verdict

So, is the Logitech G413 going to make you 1337? No, but then no keyboard really will. What the G413 will do is provide a great experience for gamers. Something that may have helped typing ever so slightly is a wrist rest, especially with an asking price of R1 899

The use of two USB ports is a bit of a bug bear for me and I can see this being a problem for users of notebooks. That having been said, the inclusion of a USB pass-through port lessens my irritation slightly.

So the question then is the G413 going to replace my daily driver? No.

The G413 is set on being a keyboard for gamers and if that’s what you spend most of your time doing then I’d recommend heading to your closest brick and mortar store and asking them if you can test out the G413.

If however, you want a good keyboard that is comfortable for gaming and typing you might want to look for something else.

[su_box title=”Logitech G413 Carbon Specifications” box_color=”#f37021″]

Connection 2 x USB 2.0 (1.8m braided cable), USB 2.0 pass through

Lighting Single colour (five brightness levels)

Form factor Full size

Special keys Windows key lock, media controls, backlight control (accessed via F key + Function combos)

Key switch Romer G

In the box Gaming keycaps, keycap puller

Recommended Retail Price R1 899 [/su_box]

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