The Logitech G910 is a keyboard that pretty much has it all – it’s mechanical, it lights up, volume rocker and media buttons, a phone dock, and even an app. But is Logitech’s newest foray into the mechanical keyboard market doing way too much?
Read on to find out.
Logitech G910 Orion Spark Mechanical Keyboard Review
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Logitech’s G910 Mechanical keyboard is a thing of beauty. The company touts the keyboard as “the world’s most advanced mechanical keyboard,” and that the keyboard was built to be fast, responsive, durable, and primarily for eSports. The same could be said about almost any other mechanical keyboard on the market today, especially with gamers clamoring for a competitive edge. It’s got a 104 key layout, of course featuring anti-ghosting, NINE macro keys that can each hold 3 functions (1 per profile), two wrist rests, a phone dock, and Full RGB LED back-lighting on each individual key. Yes, that means each key can be a different color.
So, what sets the G910 Orion Spark apart?
Developed in partnership with Omron, Logitech’s Romer-G switches actuate at a distance of 1.5mm – as a comparison factor, it takes 2mm’s of travel for Cherry MX’s. These switches are tested to last for 70 million keystrokes, with the same activation every time, meaning the keys will react the same when pressed on the 50th stroke to the 50 millionth and beyond. Tactile feedback and responsiveness is improved with these switches, and the patent-pending keycap design helps ensure more direct and reliable keystrokes. The Romer-G switches also offer a rather intuitive approach to LED backlighting – the switches themselves were built around the LED light. This strong emphasis in the design process pays off for the user because not only are the keys more luminant, the light leakage between the keys is virtually non-existent.
You also don’t get that loud clack-clack-clackclackclackclack sound as you type away, certainly not to the degree of Cherry Red Switches; I found these to be much smoother, a little softer, and honestly I wasn’t sure if I really liked them at first. After a few days of use, I was completely sold.
Logitech’s Gaming Software will be your hub for configuring the G910 to your liking – everything from the colors to the macros can be customized using the program. The software even includes heatmap functionality, where you can record and analyze your keystrokes – helpful for competitive gamers.
Another cool feature is the ARX control integration which allows you to get in-game state on your mobile phone, and is the reason for the phone dock on the keyboard. You can monitor your computer stats as well – CPU, GPU, RAM, etc; essentially Logitech replaced the on-keyboard LCD display of the G910/920/510 keyboards with your smartphone. The dock fit my Nexus 6 and my wife’s Galaxy S6 Edge well enough, and Logitech states that the adjustable dock can fit almost any Android or iOS device, though it’s literally just a pullout tray of sorts so really anything reasonable can fit (I put an iPad air in there). Now, this is all fine and dandy, but I found myself never using the app primarily because there’s no easy way to charge your device while it sits in the dock. This really hampers the practicality of the ARX because by default the app keeps your screen on, draining your battery in the process. A slot to clamp a usb cable, or Qi charging functionality would have made the dock more effect.
Now the lighting. Call me superficial but that is one of the coolest aspects of the G910 – you are free to customize each key individually or customize the many presets that are available to you such as Commands which show active options when playing a game, Zones which allows you to create different zones on the keyboard and give them unique colors, and Effects which has a variety of cool lighting effects such as breathing, color wave, and key press (my favorite).
I had two major gripes about the G910 Orion Spark in my time with it: the keys and the stand. I felt that the indented keys were a cool feature but it took my fingers so long to get used to the difference in feel from my previous keyboard that I wondered if it was worth the frustration. I also felt like the keyboard wasn’t elevated enough for me to comfortably use for long periods of time. Of course this may change the more I use the keyboard.
At a retail price of $179.99 (on sale for $159.09 on Amazon at the writing of this post), the G910 Orion Spark is a bit on the pricey end. Even so, Logitech’s G910 Orion Spark Mechanical Keyboard is quite honestly one of the best keyboards I’ve ever used. I was impressed by the remarkable build quality of the keyboard, and the features Logitech packed into the device. The Logitech G910 has earned our Fanatical Choice award and a score of 4.5 out of 5.
