Logitech G13 Advanced Gameboard vs Logitech G915 Lightspeed

Design and features Logitech's G13 is an interesting add-on for those who don't have enough macro keys already — particularly the WoW crowd or laptop gamers. Designed to sit on the left-hand side of your keyboard (as is evident from the thumb stick being placed on the right and being non-removable), it features 28 customisable buttons (22 "G" keys, a four-way thumb stick and two buttons on either side of this) which through Logitech's software can be assigned either single keystrokes or user-definable macros. You can also set how often the macro repeats (that is, whether the button needs to be held down or whether it's a toggle), insert unicode supported text blocks, assign a shortcut, or set it to be an email, web browser, media player, calculator or My Computer quick launch button. You can disable some keys if you keep hitting a button by accident, rather than swearing uselessly at it or setting a key that no one hits

A close second would be my monitor arm. All of these combined freed up a ton of space on my desk and contribute to a clean simple aesthetic that I really appreciate.

What would logically be the WASD keys on this gameboard are also equipped with a convex spherical protrusion from the center of the keys allowing your fingers to easily determine which keys they are to rest back on them after key presses. The small gray buttons near the analog stick has more of a click-y, springy feel to them instead, but still feel pretty good, if still a bit heavy. The keys are all (except the analog stick and the two small gray keys near it) backlit, but the backlighting is a bit dim for me, personally. The LCD screen is nothing high-res or anything phenomenal or ground-breaking, but it certainly does it's job well and will display plenty of information to you, provided you have the Logitech Gaming Software, which is what I will discuss now

- You cannot edit a specific key on the keyboard besides the G-Keys. I was expecting to be able to edit just about every key, whether it's disabling "E," or changing it to a macro as an extra G-Key. With the software, you are only able to edit 6 buttons; you can edit the 5 G-Keys, and the Game Key. With my previous keyboard, I was able to disable specific keys, or change them to another key (such as changing "E" to "K")

On the plus side, there is a C# SDK for writing your own software that interacts with the LCD. The G13 has decent ergonomics and is mostly comfortable to use, but feels strange because the keys aren't staggered like on a standard keyboard. I find the G16 key difficult to press. The backlight is almost fully customizable (it gets glitchy if you try to go for pure white) and kind of cool, but the keys don't show up very well if your head isn't directly over the G13 (mine is positioned in front of me on my desk, so the backlighting doesn't show well on the keys)

I'm bummed it doesn't have a case because it may just wind up commuting with me to work. As a keyboard I REALLY like it. The keys are dished rather than flat like some competitiors, and that is a really nice feel. Ergonomically it is really working for me

Compared with even the best gaming keyboards, like the Editors' Choice Corsair Vengeance K90, with 18 programmable macro keys, the G13 offers even more controls in a much more comfortable design.

Instead of a keyboard, so the dual angle, adjustment at the bottom is necessary for better ergonomics. They have smooth out the edges on the corner, s...

The software is also where you are allowed to modify the LCD backlight color. Using the windows built-in color chooser, you can select any value of RGB to backlight your unit with. Each memory setting (1 - 3) can have its own backlight. This gives you an easy way to distinguish quickly which profile you're on

That was the deal breaker for me, as I don't expect the keyboard to last long, and then I'd have to recycle a perfectly working Li-Ion battery for no good reason. Not green at all. Oh, and I also didn't like how the backlight settings are reset to default on every reboot, according to reviews and the manual. I personally don't need it at all, and I would like it to be able to turn it off permanently without having to use any bloatware, but that's not an option

it's not graphically arranged like the keypad.) Ultimately, the single thing that accelerated my ability to get used to the device was this: I created a large (full-size sheet of paper) template with the button configuration. I mapped each ability to a button -- it took a while to consider which abilities are used most and layout the abilities in with some organization that actually makes sense (I had to re-map 2 or 3 times until I found a layout that really "worked" for me

I have the software installed on my Home PC without issue, but the software still is bloated and buggy. - The shift values on the keyboard are printed below the non-shift values. For a screenshot see the (as of this posting) the third image for the product that shows the middle of the keyboard and says 'Lightspeed Wireless' View the ? and / keys to the left of shift. Normally, on most keyboards I have used, the Shift value ? is printed above the non-shift value /

Using the joystick for movement frees up my index, middle and ring finger for using skills and lets my thumb do something more than hit the space bar. I was also a long-time console gamer, so I am used to using my left thumb to move my character, so this setup actually feels more natural. The joystick can also be used to activate skills (each direction can be a different action) if you still want to use the main keys for movement. On the build quality, this is clearly a Logitech product as it is solidly built and exudes quality

The frame the switch and the key cap, many of you probably expecting pvt key caps for this price point they're not, however, they're extremely solid a...

Not always intuitive but works well overall. Discontinued. I'm only writing this "review" to tell people: it was about $100 back in the day. It doesn't have any "special sauce" that makes it worth 489$ today

★★☆☆☆ | 2 stars out of 5. It is okay, but it is way overpriced for the issues I have with it. It is not "premium" and not majority aluminum (lots of plastics). Questions? Hit the comments! This review is for theLogitech G915 TKL - Clicky