Lift your game
Metropol’s gadget guru Ian Knott puts the new Logitech G413 SE Mechanical Gaming Keyboard through its paces.
Logitech have a reputation for producing quality products whether at the lower entry-level end of the market, or the relatively high-performance end. Their latest keyboard -the Logitech G413 SE is primarily a gaming keyboard, and a pretty good one at that, but as a writer and graphic designer I thoroughly enjoyed using it for everyday purposes. Even though the keystrokes were a little loud for the average office environment.
The G413 SE is a full-sized keyboard, with number pad to the right, yet its minimalist design makes it seem a lot more compact than most. I did find myself hitting CapsLock a lot instead of Shift until my brain retrained my little finger.
Two features of the G413 SE really stick out for me – firstly the brushed aluminium case and the heavy (780g), solid feel of it, with no flex whatsoever. It feels somewhat indestructible and extremely well built. Secondly, I love the simple bright white back-light illuminating the all-black keys. Logitech has kept this simple, you can’t change the lighting apart from the brightness. No distracting rainbow of colours, no flashing, just bright white. Some keyboard manufacturers have taken to using odd font choices for their keyboards of late – many being hard to read at a glance, but Logitech have once again, kept things bold and simple. The keys are easy to read, which is accentuated by the back-light.
When it comes to gaming, the G413 SE is wired, so you don’t get the latency sometimes experienced with Bluetooth and proprietary dongle solutions. The USB2.0 cable is a generous 1.8m, which will suite any setup you may have.
Sitting under the high-quality plastic PBT (polybutylene terephthalate) keycaps are Long Hua Brown Tactile switches. Not the best on the gaming market, but more than adequate for your average gamer. They have an actuation force of 50g and a total travel distance of 4mm – which gives you the mechanical ‘clicky’ feel whenever a key is pressed.
The G413 SE also boasts a 6-key rollover with anti-ghosting. What this means is you can press a combination of up to 6 keys in a row without taking your fingers off each individual key – it will recognise all 6 separate keystrokes. Handy for gaming, but not much else.
If desk space is at a premium, Logitech have also released the G413 SE TKL model – the TKL standing for TenKeyLess, which means there is no number pad on the side. Many gamers prefer this set-up.
No matter what you choose to plug your G413 SE into, whether it be PC, Mac, XBOX or PlayStation – it will just work immediately. No extra setup, software or app control required.
If you’re a super-hardcore gamer, then you may want to consider a more premium customised product to give you that extra edge. But for the average gamer on a budget, the performance and durability of the G413 SE series is well worth exploring.
