PerformancePSU Verdict: 4/5
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From the Reviewer
I found the G915 tough to type on, the RGB led lighting is dull, I can’t see any shift modifiers at night with my light off and those darn G keys are terribly placed resulting in my fat fingers overshooting and hitting them at the wrong time. I found that for such a big keyboard it was a cramped typing experience. My personal opinion is that there are better mechanical gaming keyboards available on the market for a fraction of the price that have a superior typing experience and RGB backlighting.
Pros
- Beautiful exterior
- GL-Tactile switches are nice to use
- Volume scroller is crazy good
The Logitech G915 keyboard has been around for a while now seeing its initial debut back in June 2020. Since then, it seems that this keyboard and variations of it such as the TKL have come to dominate the eSports sector and our gaming setups. In a recent article, we investigated what the most popular gaming keyboards used by professionals was and to no surprise, the Logitech G915 come out on top.
With that in mind, we just knew we had to obtain one of these keyboards so we can see what all the fuss is about after all, it is one of the most expensive off-the-shelf gaming keyboards used by pros available right now.
This article is not sponsored directly by Logitech, instead, one of our readers donated the one we are looking at here so I would like to give him a big shout-out and say thanks for the support. You can check out his Twitch channel which has a big range of varied gaming content but a lot of mech stuff.
Specifications
The Logitech G915 gaming keyboard is a full-size wireless mechanical keyboard with GL-tactile low-profile switches and Logitech Lightsync RGB that produces more than 16.8 million colours (according to the specifications), clocking in at 1024g – it’s one of the heavier gaming keyboards we have reviewed recently.
| Logitech G915 Full-size Keyboard Specifications | ||||||||||
| Switches | GL-Tactile | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Switch Variants | Tactile only | |||||||||
| Form Factor | Full Size (Available also in TKL) | |||||||||
| Lighting | via LightSync Software | |||||||||
| Volume Adjustment | Scroller | |||||||||
| Connectivity | Wired & LightSpeed Wireless | |||||||||
| Colours Available | Black | |||||||||
| Weight | 1024 g | |||||||||
| Dimensions | 475 x 150 x 22mm | |||||||||
| Price | $197 in the USA or £229 in the UK | |||||||||
On paper, the specifications of the Logitech G915 are impressive. The only part I find hard to swallow is the pricing. Is this keyboard really worth over double the price of the Xtrfy K5 65% or even Roccat’s Vulcan TKL Pro? I’m not sure, but let’s look at what’s on offer from Logitech.
Unboxing
My first impression looking at the outer packaging is that Logitech put a fair bit of time into marketing and design. The packaging feels premium in the hand, a solid box for sure.
Upon opening the box, you are immediately presented with the G915 RGB mechanical keyboard which is wrapped in plastic to protect it during transport.
Underneath the keyboard is a braided, black charging cable and the wireless adapter as well as a few instruction books.
Aesthetics
The aesthetics of the G915 board are a definite high point of this review bringing a stunning low-profile form and some unique design options which ill get into in a moment.
The volume slider almost covers the width of the entire width of the number pad, is made from a metal alloy and has a smooth action.
On the left of the keyboard body, you have some “G keys” which are programmable via Logitech GHUB allowing you to map them to various shortcuts, keybinds, applications or games.
Across the top of the keyboard, there are some more shortcut keys. The M keys extend the functionality of the G915 by providing memory banks for your keybinds. This means while you have 5 GKeys on the keyboard, you can extend this to 15 by having different configurations you can control via the M keys.
The MR key is a ‘quick record macro key’ that allows you to configure macros faster than through the software.
The rear offers a clean design with an offset USB connector for both wired functionality and charging.
Build Quality
Let us start with positives; The materials used in the construction of the Logitech G915 are second to none coming with a brushed metal top board and a premium feeling volume scroller – no really, the volume scroller is the absolute best I have ever used, it is buttery smooth.
Much like the Logitecth G502 we reviewed, the Lightspeed wireless is phenomenally fast. Response rates are great and imperceptible from being connected via a cable which is likely a big reason why this keyboard is such a hit with pro gamers.
Talking about Lightspeed wireless; I have a bone to pick with you Logitech.
Why can’t I connect my keyboard to my very expensive Powerplay mouse mat!?!? Yes, so, I can connect two devices at once to my Powerplay mousemat, but one of those is not this very expensive keyboard – one of the most expensive off-the-shelf keyboards on the market coming in at over $229. The whole point of a wireless setup is to reduce the number of cables on the desk – you didn’t achieve this nor did you maximise compatibility with existing products.
Software & Customisation
Logitech’s GHUB software centralises all of their products into one program which includes the G915. My setup includes a Logitech G Pro, Powerplay Mouse Matt, G915 and a Blue Yeti microphone.
There is plenty of ways to configure the keyboard from static colours, breathing effects and even the famous rainbow wave.
On the note of lighting, it seems someone didn’t think it would be a good idea to allow the light to shine through the keycaps. This means at night if you want to use any shift modifier to say type a percentage sign (%) or some quotes (“”) – you can’t, well, you can but with a lot of effort. This is because the backlighting doesn’t shine through – this means you absolutely need a light on at night otherwise you feel like a detective having to get close to find out where stuff is.
A design oversight maybe? sure, but it’s an annoying one that they could have definitely revised in the past 3 years – we are in 2023 after all.
Typing Test
I have wanted a Logitech G915 since its release. When I brought my SteelSeries Apex TKL Pro it was a toss-up between the two – I ended up going with the Apex purely on price. Having a board in front of my now, I am glad I didn’t pull the trigger on the G915.
Is the typing experience better than the Apex? Absolutely, the sound is night and day – these GL Tactile switches are really nice to use but does it beat other, cheaper keyboards on offer right now? I don’t think it does for the price.
For such a big keyboard that takes up so much space on my desk, it feels like my fingers are cramped and typing on an Apple laptop – I am unsure how it can both take up so much space but also feel like a small keyboard to type on.
I found myself constantly mis-pressing G keys instead of the CTRL key when gaming and needing a clutch hip-fire in Apex Legends. The reality is, I found myself undoing mistakes or being let down not just in games but when writing long-form content too. I just couldn’t find ‘it’.
Final Thoughts
I won’t lie, I was really excited when Mecha turned up with this keyboard. He knew I wanted a Logitech G915 for a long time – ultimately, it’s been my dream setup keyboard since its debut release back in 2020 but, after finally getting my hands on it – I’m seriously underwhelmed, it’s disappointing.
Maybe at the time when it was released, it would have stood a better chance but I think being 3 years on from its initial release, there are better keyboards you can buy.
Yes, the build quality is second to none. The GL-tactile switches are great to use and I imagine with a little lube would sound great but there are just too many over-sights by Logitech for me to recommend this over other keyboards available.
For starters, the backlighting is not very vibrant and I found it extremely hard to get the colour tones I wanted – as with most RGB products, purple was almost non-existent with just a ‘purple-ish hue’ in its place.
Next, the typing experience for my big man fingers was exhausting and quite frankly frustrating. So much so, I am writing this article on the Xtrfy K5 I reviewed a couple of weeks ago which, so far, has proven to be the best keyboard I have used in all of my keyboard reviews – one of the cheapest.
The G-key positions could have been better thought out too, I found myself pressing them way too often. Being the size that it is, I don’t expect this to happen.
Overall, this keyboard has more negatives than positives for me. I am sitting here wondering how on earth the pro gamers are managing considering from our research, it’s currently the most popular eSports gaming keyboard there is. Now, I don’t know if the professionals know something I don’t or if Logitech just got in there first to sponsor them.
One thing is for certain, unfortunately for $ 197 USD or £ 229 GBP, I won’t be recommending this keyboard. I had such high hopes, but the Logitech G915 low-profile keyboard just doesn’t live up to the hype and expectations. As much as it’s an amazing feature, I don’t think lightspeed wireless and a brand name can make up for the poorly designed layout, dull RGB lighting and cramped typing experience.
Sorry Logitech, but on this occasion, this didn’t impress me at all. Having been a dedicated customer since my teens (well over 20 years), this was a disappointment.