Gaming keyboards… They’re… all the same nowadays, aren’t they? Black plastic body,
RGB lighting, mechanical switches, that one gimmicky feature that doesn’t really matter…
pretty much. In my reviews, I rarely focus on those random gimmicky features because
you forget about them within a month or two. With that in mind, the gaming keyboards that
really stand out to me are the ones that really go all-in on a good design, without sacrificing
the actual ergonomics or normal functionality of the keyboard.
I think Logitech has done a good job in achieving this with the G413 that I have here today,
though it’s not perfect. The G413 comes in 2 flavors: Carbon and Silver.
The Carbon is a darker theme with red backlighting, and the silver, the one I have, obviously
features a silver metal plate with white-ish lighting. And it’s freaking beautiful.
The compact nature of the keyboard is the first thing I noticed. It’s not any longer
or wider than it needs to be - haha funny male genital joke here - but it doesn’t
cram the keys together. It’s super slim, I absolutely love it - especially with my
multi-keyboard workspace. I complemented the G430 on not taking up as much space as most
gaming keyboards, but this is even thinner. The keys all sit above the backplate, allowing
dust and crumbs to easily be cleaned up, and giving it a very nice look. The white backlit
Romer-G switches shine off of the aluminum-magnesium alloy silver plate, revealing one of my issues.
The silver plate does a great job at highlighting just how blue white LEDs can be. At a glance
it might look white, but look at it long enough and it starts to look very blue. Thankfully,
blue and silver still go well together.
The font here isn’t obnoxious or gamery. I find it kind of pleasant. The keycaps are
nice to use, but they actually include more “tactile” keycaps for Q W E R A S D and
1-5, for gamers who really want to feel their gamer keys doing gamer things while they game
at a gamer. No, but really, I do appreciate the inclusion
and the fact that they’re optional. Especially since Romer-G switches and Cherry keycaps
don’t exactly get along. While I was tying a video script on this,
the keycap on the C key fell off. It’s not broken, it went back on correctly, and I can’t
recreate whatever happened. But… it happened.
A function key is included, adding media keys to F9 through F12 and the Printscreen, Scroll
lock, and pause buttons, as well as a brightness toggle to F7, and a “Game Mode” to F8.
Strangely, they only included LED indicators for caps lock and game mode. I love the sleek
design of these indicators, but they totally had room for at least NumLock, and I would
have really preferred they keep it on there. This time the Logitech G logo does not light
up, and actually looks pretty slick in the corner.
Behind the corner logo is a USB port. This is where I have another problem with the keyboard…
The USB port is on the right side, which means anything you plug into it might interfere
with your mouse usage. Since the USB cable isn’t detachable, you’re stuck with this
monstrosity. Okay, it’s not that bad - it’s a thick, soft braided cable that’s a joy
to run until it clings a ton of dust. BUT the dual USB ends for both the keyboard and
passthrough, with no indication of which port you need for just they keyboard really bugs
me.
Back to good points. The keyboard is heavy for its size, and super rugged. No flex, and
it won’t slide out of the way while you’re using it. The rubber feet and solid risers
on the bottom do a lot to help this, as well.
The Romer-G switches are a delight to type on. As I mentioned in my G430 review, they
have a short actuation time, making them feel a little “stubby” on first use, but very
easy to use once you get used to it. They feel way more comfortable to type on than
almost any MX switch I’ve used with my hand issues, and they’re a lot quieter. I plan
to make a full separate sound comparison video, but here’s a quick sound sample:
realizing the keyboard market needs less gamer-y flair, and more slick designs, and they have
delivered! For only 90 bucks, too. I would love to see them support Mac and Linux more
with their software, though.
While they’re at it - G15, G510, something like that. Please, give us a mechanical backlit
version. I’m begging you. I’d pay like 150 to 200 bucks for it. Please?