Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard, My Thoughts... Your Thoughts? Options

[Gwakkle]

Well...

I fried my old Logitech Multimedia keyboard with an Orange Juice accident...

long story...

so after 2 weeks using a 10buk keyboard and unsuccesfully repairing my old keyboard... i decided to buy a new keyboard...

ive always been keen with logitech keyboards as they are good quality and feel good to type with (just dont spill OJ on them...)

The G15 does not let Logitech down at all...

aimed at gamers... its quite a decent keyboard considering both price and the fact it includes the LCD...

some key up points...

>> It has a numpad (the main reason i didnt like the Wolfclaw gaming keyboards)
>> Keys Have back lights (with 3 light settings - low, high and off)
>> Feels great to type with...
>> Is USB and includes 2 USB plugs on the back of it... (one either side of the LCD which is obviously centred)
>> The 18 "Gaming" keys on the left side are real handy, along with having 3 "modes" you have the option for up to 54 custom programed keys
>> Software doesnt use too much system resources... if you have 1GIG+ ram you should notice no difference and i havnt noticed any difference with any of my games in regard to CPU usage... considering im running an Athlon64 3500... id say thats a nice effort...
>> The LCD IS PROGRAMMABLE... To a point...
>> Has little channels underneath for channeling of audio or mouse cables etc... (though they could be bigger)

some undecided points...

<> Its not a small keyboard... but considering the keys are full size... when compared to the wolfclaw's tiny keys... and considering it has an extra 54 keys... it is only about 2 inches wider then the standard keyboard... and maybe 1 inch deaper... but it is still rather large

some down points...

<< The 18 custom keys are take a while to get used to... people with excellent "micro" abilities should fear not... as they are all within easy reach of your left hand... but people who struggle to remember where AWDS are... may find it dificult to master the use of...
<< The Software has aparently has a "3rd Party Program" clause or something like that... so im not sure what the deal is with customising say what appears on the LCD screen...
<< The key backlights could be a tad brighter... they are still relatively easy to read... but im guessing that the light is produced by maybe 8 little blue lights... so some keys have less light then others... F5 through to F12 show this significantly

im sure i will think of many more ups and downs and in betweens... but overall i think the Ups outweigh the downs... it is surely a step ahead in regard to gaming keyboards...
i wouldnt say a must have for all gamers... but for a decent priced gaming keyboard that would suit 50% of gamers... i think its a great buy!

my rating would be a 8.5/10

please post your thoughts if you have this keyboard...
or if your thinking about buying one and havnt... WHY THE FUCK NOT ALREADY???

im planning on doing some hard mods to mine once i manage to get it open... like changing of light color (is blue atm)

there is already a website where a decent ammount of freeware mods for the LCD screen can be downloaded ... i havnt tested any yet... but am in the process of
(www.g15forums.com)

stay tuned for more reviews

***PICTURES***
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v451/Gwa...1117-193105.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v451/Gwa...pawn/skaerm.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v451/Gwa...oard-713073.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v451/Gwa.../g15-700665.jpg

*update
i attempted to open up my g15 today... after unplugging the lcd cable... undoing 20 screws... taking off all the keys... i still couldnt get through to the bottom... so i still dont know wat sort of leds are used and if i can replace them with other colored ones etc...

[BumbleBJ]

Hey Gwak,

I'm in the market for a new keyboard. I fancy the G15 because of the backlight, plus i like the feel of it. You say you can get some freeware mods for the LCD screen. Don't suppose you know whether you can have music details appear? You know, track name, artist, album, etc? That would be cool. Given i'm not a huge gamer, i'd probably buy one if i could make better use of the screen. Glad you're enjoying it.

I may just do the evil thing and go for one of the Microsoft Natural keyboards. And before you all go vomiting in the bushes, they're good if you're doing a lot of typing... which sadly my job entails *groan*.

[Daemo]

I may just do the evil thing and go for one of the Microsoft Natural keyboards. And before you all go vomiting in the bushes, they're good if you're doing a lot of typing... which sadly my job entails *groan*.

i wouldnt mind a natural keyboard.. ive wanted one for ages

[Gwakkle]

BJ the LCD comes with a media thingo as standard... which shows the basics... track name, artist... even a time bar thingo... and ofcourse you get all the basic controls also... stop, play, next, previous and volume

crap... i forgot to post picture... will do that now...

there are a few mods which make this alot more detailed (custom mods from www.g15forums.com)... theres even a couple of visualisations... like those bars from winamp... (do i make sense?)
and theres even a tamagotchi type thing someone made... a little pet which you have to feed etc etc... kinda sad... but its there anyway lol...

[Lawn]

I saw his keyboard on sat... its sexy I want one now!!!

[Zardoz]

Natural Keyboards FTW, IMO. Been using them for ten years.

That said, I love the LCD screen on the G15 - could be useful for navigating my music in-game. That said, I just bought the latest MS Natrual keyboard like, Thursday.. so... growl. Had my eye on the G15 but haven't played with one yet - illluminated could work for some LAN events but never had the need (that said, I'm comfortable with the location of the keys on my MS Natural).

But damnit, LCD screen ftw. I am a sucker for LCD screens, damnit. The G-buttons look cool for assigning macros to and whatnot.

[BumbleBJ]

Best deal at say MSY?

I might sidle on down there this afternoon and drop some hard earned dollars on one. Pleased to hear about the media display. That's awesome!

[Gwakkle]

for the g15...

myer had them on sale for 99buks a week or 2 ago... might still...

otherwise EBgames have them for 144 - 25%

i got mine from ebgames doncaster after getting them to match the myer price

[The Shadow]

Nice good to see this review as I'm looking at buying one too. I'll check it out at V3 and see how it goes.

[Ghosty!]

Thinking about getting one for ages...

BTW CentreCom has them for 110.

[Gwakkle]

ok i havnt had any luck getting any custom lcd programs working as yet...

i had one that, after booting... would continuesly start this little "virtual LCD screen program" ... until there was like 20 of them running on my computer LOL

will continue to check it out though... running nicely so far

[Evil ZeR0]

they good but my "a" key seems to be fading it kinda looks like a blue square now.

[Gwakkle]

ah yeh i heard something about that the other day...

ive been suggested to coat the keys with nail polish sometihng... i am yet to have any problems myself though

[InSyNeTxZ]

yes i know i read this on a g15 forum if u have this problem with fading keys and you have brought ur key board before 12 months you call the hotline tell them ur keys have been fading and they will give u a new keyboard for free and they will let you keep the old keyboard. the problem is that the coating fades and that they have replaced the old coating with a new coating

[Slash0r]

I was interested in buying this one and am not sure whether to go with it or a natural keyboard. I am not sure if I do enough typing for the far superior layout of keys on the natural to be useful enough. I only have a crappy basic MS one right now so this review does make my choice interesting.

[!gg!3]

I have the Z-board with interchangable keys & it is awsome!!! I cant see myself needing another keyboard really, but.....that is one sexy, sexy, SEXY keyboard haha, knowing me I'll probably buy one just cause it's pretty

What does everyone think of the z-board?

[WooKiE_MaN]

G15 keyboard is really good and works well!! however i fink its a little to big but u cant do nothing with that as its got the macro buttons on the side

but its ideal for night use and lcd screen is mad for music etc etc

be good to get some more software for the lcd screen that would make it compatable with some games!!

[!gg!3]

be good to get some more software for the lcd screen that would make it compatable with some games!!

Now that my friend, is a good idea!!!!! HAHA

[Deadeye]

look on the SDK forums of logitech... awesome place for apps and now im getting mine replaced becuase i have dead pixels on the LCD

[mang]

so is it realy worth buying??