Community guest reviews are back and this time we hear from Harry “Fir35t0rm” Cox with a review of the Logitech G613 Wireless Mechanical Keyboard. Here’s a deep dive into his thoughts.
For me, peripherals are something that you want to feel comfortable on, even through multiple PC builds as I don’t tend to update my gear often. Recently, I was due for an upgrade as my Logitech G510 that I have had for years has worn badly, and yet, I was a little hesitant on finding the right one. Thankfully Logitech had an interesting keyboard to add to their highly known G range. It’s mechanical, full-sized and has the latest wireless technology for gamers in mind, so behold the Logitech G613 Wireless Mechanical Keyboard!
The first thing you’ll notice is how solid and heavy this keyboard is, with a great emphasis on heavy as its thick back plate and irremovable palm rest brings the total weight to 1.46 kg. At least you won’t be knocking and moving this keyboard around unintentionally, and the significant use of rubber padding will keep it planted on your desk. Being a large keyboard, Logitech included a discrete set of media controls that works as intended with a game mode switch, a couple of connection buttons on the top right and six macros keys on the left. There’s even a power switch on the right side in case you need to stow it into a bag, otherwise the G613 does turn off when left inactive. Pop the bottom cover and there’s a slot to fit the included Lightspeed wireless dongle and two AA batteries to power the keyboard. Logitech claims the batteries will provide power for around 18 months, though that’s depending on how much of a chronic typist you are. When the batteries begin to run low, the battery LED indicator will illuminate reminding you to get some new batteries.
Logitech claimed that the Lightspeed wireless dongle will deliver a wired-like performance with a 1ms response time, even in the most saturated wireless environments. It may seem like an overstatement but if I based my experience with their older G900 mouse, and many large-scale LAN parties (a true test for many wireless devices), you won’t notice any lag and therefore a flawless performer for Esports players. It can also connect to other devices via Bluetooth with a touch of a button, such as a notebook if you’re on the go or your phone. Keep in mind, if you are going to use the G613 over bluetooth on a notebook, you won’t have any functionality on the G-macros keys and it’ll act more as a standard Bluetooth keyboard. Logitech even included a phone stand and while it can be useful to quickly type some social media posts or replying to messages via your phone, these days it feels more of a pointless piece of plastic since you now have phone integration features on Windows 10 and MacOS.
The G613 comes with the Romer-G tactile switches and are comparable to the Cherry MX Browns in terms of feel and feedback. The actuation of the key switches consists of a noticeable bump as soon as you press on them, followed by a linear travel the harder you press. If you’re more of a clicky or linear switch fan, then you’re going to have to look elsewhere as the G613 doesn’t come with different key switches. For both gaming and typing, they do feel nice to use. It handled my keystrokes just as well as a wired keyboard and if I’d compare the G613 to my previous keyboard, there’s simply no contest for a nicer typing experience. In fact, as a quick benchmark, I used 10fastfingers to measure my typing performance and I’m confident to say that not only my WPM (words per minute) improved, my errors also dropped.
The keycaps are a simple black colour with the symbols printed in white, or blue for the G keys, the fonts are bold and therefore easy to see when typing, even in dim light. There’s no form of backlighting that would help the letters easier to see in dark rooms, but these ‘luxury’ features would significantly cut the battery life of the G613 and raising the overall cost. My concerns with these keycaps are the durability of the printed letters, since they may rub away from the oils on your fingertips over time. More importantly, when it is time to replace a keycap, the Romer-G design is different enough from the Cherry MX that you are forced to look for keycaps that are designed for those switches. So those fancy custom keycaps that would fit on most other mechanical keyboard? That’s not going to happen.
To fully use the G613, particularly the G macro keys, you’ll need to download the Logitech G Hub software which is available for Windows and MacOS. Unfortunately, the G613 does not have any on-board memory so the software is required to configure it. From there, the keys can be configured to use a single or a combination of keystrokes, launching applications, or have dedicated app commands for various programs like OBS or Discord. Also, within the G Hub, you can adjust which keys you want disabled when you flick that game mode switch on – a handy feature if you tend to press certain buttons elsewhere while reaching that high APM.
When it came to using the Logitech G613 as a daily driver along with the G900 mouse, the first benefit I noticed is the absolute freedom of a complete wireless setup. I’m no longer restricted by the length of the cable which did became useful for racing sim nights. Before I would have to reach over the steering wheel to type in an awkward position, but now I can shift both the mouse and keyboard away without knocking things over and still be in a comfortable position. The real magic came when it’s time to pack up and setup at a LAN party. The tiny profile of the USB adapter meant I can leave it plugged in the back of the tower and not have to worry about it breaking off. Sure, you may not get the attention from the lurkers who crave RGB lighting, but at least you’ll get the nod of approval from other mechanical keyboard users.
At the time of this review, the Logitech G613 can be found for $159 and while personally this would make the G613 the most expensive purchase I’ve made on a keyboard, it is a very compelling package for a daily driver. I’d describe this keyboard as a ‘jack-of-all-trades’ and it’d be highly suited for those who do more than just gaming. The key switches give a pleasant typing experience and you have a full number pad for office work. It’s also a full wireless keyboard that you can move around with ease and use on multiple devices.
So there you have it, if you are currently in the market for a new keyboard, the Logitech G613 has a lot on offer. A big thanks to Fir35t0rm for this community guest review. Keep an eye on all the Game on AUS socials and Twitch Channel for all the latest in news, reviews and interviews.
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Written by: @ChrisJInglis
