Logitech G710+ Mechanical Gaming Keyboard with Tactile High-Speed Keys - Black

I wanted to fully test Logitech's as much as I could before writting this review, so rest asured that I have done my homework and like the tittle of the review says, this is a Gamers Dream. (Bought in December of 2012 and have been using it since)First, its features:Dual zone lighting, at first I thought this to be a simple gimick, but if you play in low to-almost-no-light rooms, the dual zone comes in handy. With the press of a button, you can adjust the brightness of the entire keyboard, but also isolate the W,A,S,D and arrow keys, so you can have the entire keyboard off with only those keys on. I found this to be extremely useful for when playing games like BF3.Macros, both on the fly and pre-gaming. Macros can be done on the fly. LUAs are done before hand. Whatever your style, you'll find this to be an easy task and will become familiar fairly quick. Logitech has experience with macros, so if you've used their keyboards before, you should have no problems here.As expected, and which should be the standard with gaming boards, the G710+ has a "gaming" key, which will render the windows key useless while playing games, so no risk of accidental window mode taking you to the desktop while playing.USB 2.0 passthrough. Great for peripherals, such as mice, headsets, etc. I tested it with a razer mamba and had no issues, I also tested it with Logitech's own G700 mouse and worked perfectly.Media keys, which enable playback, track foward/back, stop and a very useful and well built volume wheel, which feels solid and extremely responsive.Now, the main reason this keyboard is a beast and a gamers dream...The superb, anti-ghosting mechanical keys. These are excellent in every sense of the word. If you are an avid FPS player, this keyboard will improve your input/output ratio with great results. Each key has a Cherry Brown switch made by the masters at ZF Electronics, which used to be called the Cherry company. Do not fear though, the quality is still there and you can feel it.While playing BF3, the board did an excellent job at translating my every key stroke into a perfect output, each key stroke engages its respective switch, eliminating ghosting. Multiple key functions are also improved, going to prone, to crouch and slidding at the same time is done with such ease that I my hands/fingers felt more natural and at rest, even after hours of playing.During RPGs, RTS and other genres, I found the macros to work as I had them programmed. Reaching for the keys was never an issue. Menus and their subs, such as inventory, quest, etc. worked with each key stroke as well.Typing: not really the reason why I bought the board, but worth mentioning. Have you ever tried to login into your email acount and mistakenly press more keys when entering your password? With the G710+ you won't, because as you get to use it more and more, your brain will adapt to the fact that each key represents a single digit, period and you'll feel it as well.Build:Well made, high quality parts. Heavy, but not like a brick either, it's hard to describe. It is well balanced and feels very comfortable to use during long gaming sessions.Noise:Logitecs claims this keyboard to be very quiet, but that's not the case. They tried to decrease the amount of "click" noise by including O-rings under each key to function as noise dampeners, which work to an extend, but if you are migrating from a common rubber membrane style of board (Logitech G19, G510, Razer, etc), you will notice the noise even more. But quite honestly, it can't be avoided. Don't be fooled though, the noise is not incredible loud either, I've heard statements such as "if your neighbor (gaming neighbor) doesn't like noise, then mechanical is not for you", this far from true, the fact is , it does make noise, but not hammer and chisel noise. If you have a rubber membrane board, press on a key, it makes noise right? well, the mechanical does the same but it is more of a dry, more pronounced noise.In conclusion. If you are a PC gamer, you should defenitely give the G710+ a try. You can trust me and buy this keyboard. If not, go to your local PC store and play around with their display models. I did and tried Razer's Blackwidow Ultimate, which uses Blue switches, I also happened to try (from a friend)the "stealth version", which uses Brown switches, and quite honestly, the amount of noise was just about the same, but the "tactical" feel was a bit loose, at least for my taste.So there it is. I tested this bad boy and as always, Logitech delivers. Not only has it made an excellent mechanical keyboard, but it has kept it at an affordable price with hight quality parts. The software is easy to use and the user experience from gaming to typing has improved, at least for me.

First off, it should be known that I never consider price in my product ratings - I just focus on the product itself. If I would consider the bang-for-buck ratio for the G710+, it would be poor. Mechanical keyboards are great, but in hindsight the added benefits aren't worth the additional cost over rubberdome. Brown keys feel like rubberdomes anyway (although mechanical keys are known to preserve their pressure points throughout; i.e., they don't change). Some people might not like the rattly feel of the keys.Pros:+ Macro keys are perfectly accessible (no accidental presses) and save a lot of time (high productivity is possible if you are creative).+ Logitech software is user-friendly.+ The G710+'s brown switches are perfect for gaming and typing. It is extremely satisfying to type with blue switches, but in FPS gaming they are a pain. I have not tried blacks and reds.Cons (most of these are mostly minor - that's why I give a rating of 5 stars):- The worst part of this keyboard is the palm rest: It is too short, unstable, and it doesn't fit the keyboard properly.- Inconsistent design of the material. In the center, there is a glossy black finish and on the outside there is matte black material. It would have been better IMO to use matte throughout, because that doesn't attract dust.- If your games block software level macros you are SOL. There is no hardware-level programming.- There is only one USB port on the keyboard (to which you can connect a USB headset, flash stick, smartphone charging cable etc.) and the USB port is only 2.0, not 3.0. The positioning isn't that great, it would have been better if it were more visible or on the side.- USB charges my Samsung Galaxy, but I am only able to access its files rarely (it doesn't recognize it almost always). If I use any other port on my PC, I never have any problems; the issue is with the hub.- No microphone or audio port for a non-USB headset.- No internal memory.- No OLED/LED display on keyboard or individual keys.- No wireless option. I prefer wired (low latency), but I should have the option to disconnect the wire and only hook it up to the cable when I need to recharge.- The silvery logo on the bottom blinds me because it has five edges and I have a desk lamp. Repositioning of the lamp is restrictive. This logo isn't necessary and shouldn't have been added (less is more, in this case).- It would have been better if there would have been 12 or 18 physical macro buttons on the side, instead of 6 (despite being able to switch between M1, M2, and M3 for a total of 18 logical macros).- The symbols on the keys are not illuminated, only the respective letters/numbers.- Why do the WASD keys need to be specially singled out in illumination control? It would have better to have an increaseLuminosity/decreaseLuminosity instead of increaseWASD/increaseAllOtherKeys- Some of the LED's are bright and cannot be disabled.- No tool was provided with which one can remove the keys. No black WASD keys were provided for those that want a consistent/non-gamer look.Neutral:- Most of the extra features are really useless to me. I have never once in my life accidentally clicked on the Windows key when I didn't want to (so, the gaming mode key is useless to me). Further, I always keep the light at the lowest level, so I don't see a point in being able to configure it. I also never program macros on the fly. The media buttons are too far away from my hands, so using program shortcuts is much faster for me.- The design and colors are a matter of taste, but I would have preferred something more conservative.- As mentioned before, if you can't afford luxuries, I strongly advise against buying this keyboard as there are many keyboards are out there that are almost as good (rubberdome with macro keys) and cost a fraction of this one. Even if you use your keyboard 12 hrs a day and are a perfectionist, there is little accumulated benefit.