Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard

[shadowjagans]

i wanted to buy one of these, but is it worth it? its like AUS $90
and if it is... how does the LCD screen on it work, and wat does it work with? wat games? does it also show ur playing music and stuff?

 

[vulefu]

I didnt have seen eny in life.
But i read that it can display what song plays in winamp, how much ram do your games uses...

Meyb there is some extra software for it you get with she

 

[Guest]

Yes it shows the stats oon your media players. You have to see if the game supports this on the games home page. It can display your computers Processes and current Memory readings. I bought it mainly for the on-the-fly macro keys 18x3 with modifiers. They are great.

The only bad thing I noticed about this ketboard is that the keys paint wear off quickly.

 

[Vile]

I got that keyboard, I think it's awesome ! All my friends go 8O when they see it the first time lol.

It's got a bunch of features, you can run FRAPS while playing a game and see the framerate on the LCD. It's also useful for checking how much CPU and RAM are currently being used. You can also use it to display info of what song is currently playing. There's also a 'countdown' program, its basically a 5 minute countdown on your keyboard lol, a lil stupid. You can also have an analog clock, and from time to time new people make new little programs for the LCD.

The layout is very nice, the keys are a bit too noisy, the music controls are nice and well placed. The 2 USB ports on the back are hella helpful (cause I'd have to reach the back of the case to connect my Mp3 player). The background light is also nice...

The software is great, you can actually assing shortcuts to the G keys. Opening a program / game only takes the press of a key lol.

The macros are also very helpful in RPGs, but I havent really use this feature completely.

Also, the keyboard is somewhat large, make sure you got enough space.

Hope this helps !

 

[shadowjagans]

thnx guys

 

[Guest]

You can use a little proggy which enables you to view basically every possible info available. I use the LCD to display GC and MB temps (5 in total), Network stats (in/out), media info (winamp, media player), volume level, cpu load on both cores, RAM load. And all of this at once!

Yep that keyboard rocks. Not even to mention the key dynamics which I like very much. The background lighting is also sweet...

Logitech rules :twisted:

 

[shadowjagans]

DAM I WANT THE KEYBOARD

 

[RichPLS]

I got one, but the R and T keys stopped working... Gotta RMA it... ;(

 

[kda]

Thanks for mentioning the wear issues on the keys.

I had read that may be a problem with key wear in one of the reviews and it is the primary
reason I don't own one of the boards myself.

Anyone else having this problem? :?:

I suppose it depends on how much you use the keyboard, but what a shame a potentially
very nice product has such a flaw.

 

[waylander]

Yes the key wear is an issue. I play a lot of FPS and the WSAD keys are wearing out, especially the W as you are almost always moving forward. I give it another 2 months before I can't see anything on those keys at all, just a shining blue key. This has taken about 4-6 months to come about playing on average 15 hours a week.

I'm actually quite pissed about this, you pay $100 for a keyboard, rather than the $15 OEM ones you can get and this happens.

BTW I have also had a Saitek Eclipse for over a year and this is not an issue with those keyboards.

 

[HeathenAsparagus]

the good:

they didnt go with the flow and change the alignment of the
insert,page down,page up,end,home,delete keys the way ms keyboards (and some logitech keyboards too) nowadays have

the macro keys could come in handy

backlit keys are nice

the bad:

what a huge price tag, is in no possible way justified

still corded

the useless:

lcd panel. what on earth would i use that for ?!


I am sick and tired of companies adding useless features to products, pricing them frivulouslly, and trying to sell them as so called 'gaming' products.
there is no way in hell that 100USD justifies a keyboard.
i use an old packard bell keyboard for gaming.
and its the best
_______________________

Athlon 64 3800+
1Gb ddr400 ram (Kingston CL3)
Leadtek Geforce 7800gt 256mb
Logitech Mx510
and a very old packard bell keyboard i borrowed from a friend 8 years ago

 

[Guest]

Can't support the key-wearing-out issue at all; and I use this thing 10 hours a day since it hit the stores. And yes I am gaming a lot on that thing. Yet I don't bang my fist on it when I lose. (whether this is because I never lose? Answer that for yourself :lol: )

Keys are all perfectly fine so far.

@Heathen: Why the hell did you buy this thing if you don't know what the panel is for?



Edit:

Whoops; sorry for posting twice. I had a big lag and clicked twice. Can some mod pelase delete this post?

 

[Guest]

Can't support the key-wearing-out issue at all; and I use this thing 10 hours a day since it hit the stores. And yes I am gaming a lot on that thing. Yet I don't bang my fist on it when I lose. (whether this is because I never lose? Answer that for yourself :lol: )

Keys are all perfectly fine so far.

@Heathen: Why the hell did you buy this thing if you don't know what the panel is for?

 

[HeathenAsparagus]

i didnt buy it
for the specific reason of the enormous unjustified price tag
hopefully a person searching before buying this will see what i wrote and not spend an unnecessary 100$

 

[kda]

Yes the key wear is an issue. I play a lot of FPS and the WSAD keys are wearing out, especially the W as you are almost always moving forward. I give it another 2 months before I can't see anything on those keys at all, just a shining blue key. This has taken about 4-6 months to come about playing on average 15 hours a week.

I'm actually quite pissed about this, you pay $100 for a keyboard, rather than the $15 OEM ones you can get and this happens.

BTW I have also had a Saitek Eclipse for over a year and this is not an issue with those keyboards.

Thanks for the information. Actually 4-6 months is much better than I expected from the review .... which I assume
didn't last that long or involve that much (15 hrs/day) use. Still, for the money, I'm wondering why they didn't make it
like other really good keyboard keys that seem to never wear off?

Anyway, your post contained much new and useful information ... thanks!

One last question ... how is the key feel. I really hate those keyboards that make it feel like you are trying to type
in a bowl of oatmeal ... if you get what I mean. I'd like some type of positive feel and feedback? Your thoughts on this?

 

[lordslashstab]

I game a lot and I know sometimes I might get sweaty hands when i'm smokin the tweed, but There is no wear as of now. I had it about 3 months now. I baught it for 75 a while ago on www.pricewatch.com (i just looked and it went up to around 80 now). Long live OEM!

the key feel isn't the best i've ever had, I like'm soft, but they are all pressure sensed the same, and if the light gets to you, you can choose between three light modes BRIGHT/DIM/OFF. If you know how to program in C, then you can do whatever you feel like w/ the LED screen.

 

[borandi]

wow, is that a review from a non-owner? Could've fooled me *sarcasm*. Seriously mate, how can you justify the pros and cons of a keyboard you do not own, when it is basically out of stock (here in the UK)?

I'm looking to get one of these myself to replace my old 1998 keyboard. I'm certainly not going to listen to some half a$$ed 'review' by a non-owner. IMHO, the G15 comes with a lot of good features that set it apart from the 5 quid OEM ones.

People are writing personal scripts for the LCD screen and more programs have functionality with it - frags, deaths, accuracy, FRAPs, or imagine going to a lan with your tag name on a twisting magical display?

As regards to the key wear and tear issue - get you old keyboard out, and place transparent nail polish on all the keys. Let it dry, and see if you like the feel. If you do, apply to the G15 and it should act as protection against wear and tear for a time. If you need to RMA it, get a cotton ball and some nail polish remover. If you dont like the feel, dont apply it in the first place.

In the UK the cheapest I've seen this keyboard is 40 quid, and it goes out of stock so fast 8O It also retails at other places for 70 quid, and goes just as fast if not quicker 8O I'm putting in my order next week

So to the 'non-owner', if you had a choice, G15 or Das Keyboard II? No wear and tear on that...

 

[RichPLS]

the useless:

lcd panel. what on earth would i use that for ?!


I am sick and tired of companies adding useless features to products, pricing them frivulouslly, and trying to sell them as so called 'gaming' products.
there is no way in hell that 100USD justifies a keyboard.
i use an old packard bell keyboard for gaming.
and its the best
_______________________

I like the LCD display, one of the reasons I bought it. It works great and is very customizable. You can display your PC health stats or other info your choice.

But the durability of the keys is its biggest drawback.

 

[Adk_Eric]

But the durability of the keys is its biggest drawback.

Yup, I've been eyeing this keyboard. I'm waiting for logitech to fix this issue (I hope they do), and then I'll buy one.

 

[Guest]

To be honest, I don't know how people are able to wear out the keys of this board... Are you using hammers to play games? I used it (as already stated above) since it came out. For playing games. And my keys are perfectly fine. As long as you treat this keyboard right that will be alright trust me...

 

[grtmoby]

I have this KB and its screen display is highly customisable through lcdstudio program. u can design your own display and include almost anything like msn display on it. It is really very nice and I love it only the huge size compared to other kb and being wired. still not big deals though.
there are two forums for it that provide lots of help and nice add-ons ....etc
http://www.g15forums.com/
http://www.g15mods.com/

hope this helps....

 

[end-you]

I've had one of these keyboards since the day they hit stors (Aug 11th).

The 2 most useful programs I've found for the LCD is the plugin for Motherboard Monitor 5 for keeping tabs on all the temps ect, and the new beta Ventrilo's native support this is handy as hell when like me you run full screen, and have turned off all sound notifications like who's left or joined the channel ect.

The macro keys are both good and bad for me anyway. The biggest issue I've seen with them for anyone who switches from a regular keyboard to a G15 is that they throw off your sense of where keys are at times. Mainly where you goto hit the "esc" key and end up hitting the "G1" key instead

As for the paint wearing off the keys, Logitech is replacing keyboards with those issues for free. All I had to do is call them up, give them the date I purchased the keyboard, the model & serial #'s and they mailed me a brand new one within 1wk. So I now have 2 G15's sitting here since they don't require you to send back the old one.

 

[Evad_jr]

The first run of these keyboards was missing a chemical component. I forget if it was in the ink for the keys or a coating on top of it. Something like that.

Anyway that explains why some of you have the issue and some of you don't. The problem is that I don't think Logi will exchange the keyboard out if you call and complain about the keys wearing off. Its worth a try though...

Overall the G15 is a solid keyboard, and the LCD is uncessary, albeit a neat addition. I'm just not talented enough to look at the LCD display and not get killed.