Title: Tech Review: Logitech G910 Orion Spectrum Mechanical Keyboard
Author: TheStrangerHAZ
Recovered Author: TheStrangerHAZ
Published Date: 2017-03-22
Original URL: https://geeknode.co.za/2017/03/tech-review-logitech-g910-orion-spectrum-mechanical-keyboard
Wayback URL: https://web.archive.org/web/20170809200829id_/http://www.geeknode.co.za:80/2017/03/tech-review-logitech-g910-orion-spectrum-mechanical-keyboard/
Recovery Confidence: high
Categories: Tech
Tags: logitech, Logitech G910, Mech Keyboard, Orion Spectrum

- Manufacturer Logitech
- Release Date April 14 2016
- Where we got our copy Logitech ZA
- Where to buy Price Check , Rebeltech , WebAntics

- TheStrangerHAZ

- 5 months ago

- 0 0

Gaming in general is a rather interesting beast to tackle. For those of you just jumping into the deep end, it’s very easy to be overcome by a state of thalassophobia. Thousands of options across hundreds of configurations await, starting with the simple and ending with the downright insane, as an end to the path of the ultimate comfort draws ever nearer. This journey ignites a fire within yourself pushing you forward; drawing you away or perhaps towards…something, as you gain momentum moving ever faster and faster and FASTER until you reach it.

“What is this madman rambling about?!” you think to yourself. “Has he been smoking the devil’s lettuce?!”. No, dear reader, I have not.

This is how I like to visualise the creation of a personalised gaming setup. If you’re anything like me, you’ll spend many hours researching and agonising before buying that sweet new gaming mouse with more buttons than you’ll know what to do with or that keyboard that looks like it was found among the remnants of a meteor strike. From one pilgrim to another, perhaps I can be of some help; I present the review of the Logitech G910 Orion Spectrum.

The Visuals

If the Razer BlackWidow Chroma V2 I previously reviewed, was a modest option then the G910 is definitely the more (if not most) flamboyant one. Its full-size frame is packed full of extra buttons, branding and strange angles that give it a very futuristic – almost alien – look; one I am quite a fan of.

There are nine extra macro keys in total, five of which are on the left-most side separated by a small gap with the other four being found above the F1 to F4 keys. Also included are three, very small macro switching buttons and a fourth macro recording one, situated just above the Escape key.

On the right-hand side of the keyboard, a total of seven extra buttons can be found which contain the media functions, an LED on/off switch and a “gaming mode” toggle. A rubberised volume scroll wheel is also situated here. All the main keyboard switches are RGB LED-lit with the macro profile keys being orange backlit and the media buttons (and buttons situated around them) being blue backlit.

My very first thought upon seeing the G910 in action was how well the regular keys are lit. Since the LEDs are located inside the key stems themselves and are completely covered by the keycaps, there is absolutely no colour bleed between the different keys from what I could tell. This allows you to easily have multiple, crazy colour combinations going on at once without them muddying each other’s colour. Well done Logitech. I previously faulted the BlackWidow V2 for using white status illumination lights for the various lock function keys, which made them incredibly difficult to see in natural light. The G910 seems to fix this problem by using blue status illumination LEDs which honestly makes a world of difference especially in harsh light. Unfortunately, it’s still not the RGB illumination I was looking for, however this choice still performs well.

Using the G910’s media control keys were easy and never left me feeling frustrated. The volume scroll wheel is also situated in the perfect spot for volume to be quickly changed without you wasting time away from the mouse.

A hard plastic wrist guard is built-in to the front of the keyboard with a RGB-backlit cutout (that has “G910” printed across it) embedded into the wrist guard, just below the space bar.

The Build Quality

I felt the G910 to be a lot lighter than the BlackWidow V2 even though it has far more buttons and doodads (a weight which I quite enjoyed the V2 having). Unfortunately, the G910 has only a thin rubberised cable which – at this price point – really should have been braided to give that extra layer of strength. The cable is also offset to the right-hand side of the keyboard which may negatively affect those that have keep their PC’s on the left.

The keycaps themselves have more of a hardened-plastic feel to them, however the (what I assume to be) laser etching that each key is marked with gives them a very nice texture; which further extends to the WASD and macro keys that have a different pattern engraved within them to give a unique feel.

The Performance

The G910 has only one mechanical switch choice and that is Logitech’s own “Romer G” switches. They are linear switches with a somewhat large tactile bump, a very light actuation point and short travel distance.

It took me quite a while to get used to these keys are they feel more like a traditional membrane keyboard than I expected. After using them for some time, I gradually got used to the sensation and now thoroughly enjoy it. The keys are fast to respond and are unlikely to cause finger fatigue.

It’s a shame Logitech has only given us one choice as switches are very much personal preference, however for the only switch they have available, they could’ve been much, much worse and I personally think these are a great transition switch for those who still use membrane keyboards.

One of the two major problems I had with the G910 was the wrist guard. In my opinion it is too short and at too steep an angle to be comfortable for long periods of time. I could definitely feel the fatigue on my wrists after I had been at the keyboard awhile. The cover of the wrist guard is removable but the wrist guard itself is not. Having the option to replace the current wrist guard with something more comfortable would’ve gone a long way in improving the usability of the G910.

For those worried about how many neighbours you’ll be waking up during your early-morning gaming sessions need not fret. Unlike the BlackWidow V2 that sounded like a Clicker (see: Last of Us) had broken into the house and was busy mauling the family pet; the G910 is incredibly soft and you’d be hard pressed to find a softer mech keyboard out there.

The Software

This is my second problem and boy, is it a big one. Compared to other high-end manufacturers, there are a few very important missing features such as the ability to rebind keys, the ability to set dynamic custom lighting profiles such as waves and the use of profiles to be responsive for in-game events.

Firstly, the fact that you can’t rebind the G910’s keys may be mostly unmissed functionality for most of us however it could also carry substantial weight for those who are perhaps rebind their key defaults for whatever reasons, especially since this functionality is present in most other keyboard software suites.

Secondly, perhaps the most puzzling of the problems; the inability to set multiple dynamic lightning effects. Don’t get me wrong, you can have dynamic effects such as waves, however you will be unable to change anything else related to those effects (such as the basic colour of the keys, after the wave has passed or the direction for example). This is an extremely limiting factor for creativity and is just disappointing more so than anything else. You do however have the ability to download custom lightning profiles (many of which are incredible) and a programming SDK (which uses Java as the main language) is available.

Lastly, the in-game profiles. Fortunately, Logitech currently has the largest library of in-game support for their Gaming software (and by extension, keyboards). Unfortunately, however, that doesn’t work as you would expect it to. Unlike with the BlackWidow V2, your keyboard doesn’t start doing crazy things when you enter a profile supported game. There are no health bars on your number keys or cooldown indicators on your QWER keys. The most I got was just a solid colour representative of the game and (after digging deep into the hidden settings) specific actions that I could bind to the macro keys for that game (a fact I will explore in much more depth in a video review).

One unique feature that comes with the G910, is the ARX dock. This is a small pullout at the back of the keyboard which allows you to mount your mobile device and (after downloading the companion app) allows you to monitor your system usage as well as use specific in-game functionality. This was largely unsuccessful for me as I wasn’t able to get the ARX app to find the profiles I had already added to the Logitech Gaming Software desktop application. I was able to use the system usage functionality without fault however, perhaps giving those without multi-monitor setups the ability to monitor their system stats while gaming.

The app connects to the computer by finding the Wifi network your system is connected to. This was incredibly intuitive and required very little effort on my part to get working, albeit without being able to use its full functionality on account of the missing game profiles. I perhaps would’ve preferred a cable connection to the keyboard itself as that might’ve circumvented the fact that the ARX functionality is incredibly performance intensive on your device and drains its battery very quickly.

The Conclusion

I could only find two retailers that stocked the Orion Spectrum locally (with all others stocking the older Orion Spark which uses the same G910 nomenclature) namely, Rebeltech and WebAntics at prices of R2844 and R2999 respectively.

So would I recommend it? Well at a price similar to that of the BlackWidow V2, it would’ve made fantastic competition considering its vast array of physical features; in the current state of the Logitech Gaming Software and ARX control app however, I just can’t.

This is a fantastic feeling keyboard that is chock full of useful features and good quality components, which makes it all the more disappointing that a lackluster software suite holds it back from reaching its full potential. My only hope is that Logitech is able to patch out all the problems with the Logitech Gaming Software in the near future.

Gaming in general is a rather interesting beast to tackle. For those of you just jumping into the deep end, it’s very easy to be overcome by a state of thalassophobia. Thousands of options across hundreds of configurations await, starting with the simple and ending with the downright insane, as an end to the path of the ultimate comfort draws ever nearer. This journey ignites a fire within yourself pushing you forward; drawing you away or perhaps towards…something, as you gain momentum moving ever faster and faster and FASTER until you reach it. “What is this madman rambling about?!” you think to yourself. “Has he been smoking the devil’s lettuce?!”. No, dear reader, I have not. This is how I like to visualise the creation of a personalised gaming setup. If you’re anything like me, you’ll spend many hours researching and agonising before buying that sweet new gaming mouse with more buttons than you’ll know what to do with or that keyboard that looks like it was found among the remnants of a meteor strike. From one pilgrim to another, perhaps I can be of some help; I present the review of the Logitech G910 Orion Spectrum. The Visuals If the Razer BlackWidow Chroma V2 I previously reviewed, was a modest option then the G910 is definitely the more (if not most) flamboyant one. Its full-size frame is packed full of extra buttons, branding and strange angles that give it a very futuristic - almost alien - look; one I am quite a fan of. There are nine extra macro keys in total, five of which are on the left-most side separated by a small gap with the other four being found above the F1 to F4 keys. Also included are three, very small macro switching buttons and a fourth macro recording one, situated just above the Escape key. On the right-hand side of the keyboard, a total of seven extra buttons can be found which contain the media functions, an LED on/off switch and a “gaming mode” toggle. A rubberised volume scroll wheel is also situated here. All the main keyboard switches are RGB LED-lit with the macro profile keys being orange backlit and the media buttons (and buttons situated around them) being blue backlit. My very first thought upon seeing the G910 in action was how well the regular keys are lit. Since the LEDs are located inside the key stems themselves and are completely covered by the keycaps, there is absolutely no colour bleed between the different keys from what I could tell. This allows you to easily have multiple, crazy colour combinations going on at once without them muddying each other’s colour. Well done Logitech.I previously faulted the BlackWidow V2 for using white status illumination lights for the various lock function keys, which made them incredibly difficult to see in natural light. The G910 seems to fix this problem by using blue status illumination LEDs which honestly makes a world of difference especially in harsh light.…

Tech Review: Logitech G910 Orion Spectrum Mechanical Keyboard

Tech Review: Logitech G910 Orion Spectrum Mechanical Keyboard

2017-03-22

TheStrangerHAZ

Logitech G910 Orion Spectrum

Pretty Good - 7

70
7

A fantastic keyboard which is otherwise held back by lackluster software issues.

User Rating: Be the first one !

7

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TheStrangerHAZ

Tech Editor / Gaming Author at Geek Node

Gamer, programmer and pc masterrace-er, my heart has pumped all things digital for longer than I can remember. I firmly believe that if you want to see the best of human ingenuity and passion, you need not look further than your local group of gamers.

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Article Tags:
logitech · Logitech G910 · Mech Keyboard · Orion Spectrum

Article Categories:
Tech · Tech Review
