Logitech has unveiled the G Professional X 60, its newest mechanical gaming keyboard. Just like the peripheral maker’s G Professional X TKL from final yr, this can be a wi-fi mannequin aimed toward competitive-minded players at the beginning. Not like that system, it has a smaller 60 p.c structure, which implies it lacks a devoted perform row, quantity pad, arrow keys and nav cluster however takes up a lot much less area on a desk. This could be a boon for video games as a result of it leaves extra room to flick a mouse round whereas retaining the commonest motion keys. Naturally, it’s additionally extra transportable.
The G Professional X 60 is up for pre-order as we speak for $179 within the US or €229 in Europe. It’s obtainable in three colours (black, white or pink) with both the linear or tactile model of Logitech’s GX Optical switches. The corporate says it’ll be obtainable at main retailers in “late April.”
I’ve had the keyboard readily available for just a few days previous to as we speak’s announcement and have largely been impressed, although I’d have a tough time calling it an awesome worth.
Let’s begin with the nice: This factor is well-built. Its aluminum prime plate is surrounded by a plastic body, but it surely all feels sturdy, with no actual flex or give whenever you press down. Its doubleshot PBT keycaps are pleasingly crisp and may keep away from any of the shininess that’d develop with cheaper ABS plastic over time. The legends on the keycaps are neatly printed and clear, so any RGB backlight results you set will come by cleanly. All of the keys are angled comfortably, and there’s a set of flip-out ft on the again.
I’m not loopy concerning the side-mounted quantity curler — when you’ve blessed your keyboard with a full-on rotary knob, it’s arduous to surrender — but it surely’s straightforward to achieve together with your pinky, so you possibly can regulate quantity with out having to raise your different fingers throughout the warmth of a recreation. There’s additionally a devoted change for flipping on Logitech’s “recreation mode,” which deactivates keys you would possibly in any other case hit by chance; these embody the Home windows and Fn keys by default, however you possibly can add others by Logitech’s G Hub software program.
The keyboard can join over a removable USB-C cable, Bluetooth or a 2.4GHz wi-fi dongle. Per typical with Logitech gear, the latter’s connection is rock stable; I’ve had not one of the hiccups or stuttering I’ve seen with some wi-fi keyboards from much less established manufacturers, notably when waking the system from sleep. There are buttons to swap between Bluetooth or the two.4GHz connection constructed into the board, in addition to a useful compartment for stashing the adapter itself. You may as well join the G Professional X 60 and sure Logitech mice concurrently utilizing one dongle. Logitech charges the battery life at as much as 65 hours; that sounds about proper based mostly on my testing to this point, however the precise quantity will fluctuate based mostly on how vivid you set the RGB backlight.
The most effective factor concerning the G Professional X 60 might need nothing to do with the keyboard in any respect — it’s the truth that Logitech features a arduous carrying case within the field. Extra firms ought to do that! It makes the system a lot simpler to move.
Alas, this in all probability is not a keyboard you’d wish to take to the workplace. The linear GX Optical switches in my take a look at unit really feel completely nice: They’re quick sufficient for gaming, and so they come pre-lubricated, so every press goes down easily. Since they’re optical, and thus not reliant on any bodily contact factors, they need to additionally show sturdy over time.
However they aren’t precisely quiet. Logitech has match a pair layers of silicone rubber contained in the board, however there isn’t the wealth of sound-dampening foam you’d discover in another choices on this worth vary. To peel again the curtain a bit: I acquired the G Professional X 60 simply after testing a bunch of mechanical keyboards for an upcoming shopping for information, so I’m a bit spoiled on this level. Some folks might like the apparent clack of every press right here, too. I can’t think about their coworkers or roommates being as thrilled, although, and a few modifier and nav keys like Alt, Ctrl and Tab sound hollower than others.
Moreover that, my points with the G Professional X 60 are extra about what’s lacking than something the keyboard does incorrect. For one, its switches aren’t hot-swappable, so you possibly can’t simply take away and change them with out desoldering. Sure, this can be a area of interest factor, however so are $180 gaming keyboards as an entire. Having the ability to pop in new switches isn’t only a plus for long-term repairability; it’s half the enjoyable for some keyboard lovers within the first place. Swapping keycaps is simple, although.
Taking a step again, a rising variety of the G Professional X 60’s friends have some form of analog performance, which implies they will reply to various ranges of strain. The highest choose in our gaming keyboard purchaser’s information, the Wooting 60HE+, is an efficient instance: Its magnetic Corridor impact sensors allow you to set customized actuation factors, so you may make every key further delicate whereas enjoying a quick FPS, then make them really feel heavier and extra deliberate whereas typing. In addition they allow a “fast set off” function that permits you to repeat inputs quicker, which might be useful for, say, strafing backwards and forwards throughout an in-game shootout. Different fashions from Razer and SteelSeries present related performance. However the G Professional X 60 lacks any form of adjustable actuation or fast set off mode. That’s in all probability not a dealbreaker for most individuals, however the individuals who would use these options are the sort of hardcore players Logitech is focusing on with this system.
What’s here’s a new remapping system referred to as “Keycontrol.” By means of G Hub, this lets you assign a number of totally different instructions or macros to every key, with three separate management layers. It is a handy method to get round a number of the design’s lacking keys: I made it so holding Alt quickly turns WASD into arrow keys, for instance. Nevertheless it additionally permits you to base totally different actions on whether or not you press, maintain or launch a key, so you can tie complementary actions in a recreation — casting a few buffs in an RPG, maybe — to 1 press. A number of the analog keyboards famous above can work like this, too, and you should have G Hub open for some bindings to remain lively. Nonetheless, it’s higher to have this form of flexibility than not. Logitech says extra of its keyboards will obtain Keycontrol help sooner or later however declined to present extra particular particulars.
All of this makes for a keyboard that’s stable in a vacuum however faces some stiff competitors. Rival gaming keyboards just like the Wooting 60HE+ and SteelSeries Apex Professional Mini Wi-fi are a bit richer with performance-focused options, whereas a barely bigger choice just like the ASUS ROG Azoth sounds higher and gives extra customizable {hardware} for keyboard geeks. There are many nice non-gaming keyboards that price a lot much less, too. However the G Professional X 60 isn’t a nasty selection if you need one thing compact and wi-fi, so it is perhaps worthwhile throughout a sale.
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