Logitech has unveiled the G Professional X 60, its newest mechanical gaming keyboard. Much like the peripheral maker’s G Professional X TKL from final yr, this can be a wi-fi mannequin aimed toward competitive-minded avid gamers at the start. Not like that machine, it has a smaller 60 % structure, which suggests it lacks a devoted operate row, quantity pad, arrow keys and nav cluster however takes up a lot much less house on a desk. This generally is a boon for video games as a result of it leaves extra room to flick a mouse round whereas retaining the most typical motion keys. Naturally, it’s additionally extra moveable.
The G Professional X 60 is up for pre-order at the moment 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 available for a couple of days previous to at the moment’s announcement and have principally been impressed, although I’d have a tough time calling it a terrific worth.
Let’s begin with the nice: This factor is well-built. Its aluminum high plate is surrounded by a plastic body, but it surely all feels sturdy, with no actual flex or give while 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 way of cleanly. All of the keys are angled comfortably, and there’s a set of flip-out toes 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 exhausting to surrender — but it surely’s simple to achieve together with your pinky, so you may alter quantity with out having to carry your different fingers through the warmth of a recreation. There’s additionally a devoted change for flipping on Logitech’s “game mode,” which deactivates keys you would possibly in any other case hit accidentally; these embrace the Home windows and Fn keys by default, however you may add others by way of 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 traditional 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 machine 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 too can 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 primarily based on my testing to this point, however the actual quantity will fluctuate primarily based on how vibrant you set the RGB backlight.
One of the best 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 exhausting carrying case within the field. Extra corporations ought to do that! It makes the machine a lot simpler to move.
Alas, this in all probability is not a keyboard you’d need 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, they usually 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 obtained the G Professional X 60 simply after testing a bunch of mechanical keyboards for an upcoming shopping for information, so I’m a bit of spoiled on this level. Some folks could 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 unsuitable. For one, its switches aren’t hot-swappable, so you may’t simply take away and substitute them with out desoldering. Sure, this can be a area of interest factor, however so are $180 gaming keyboards as a complete. With 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 easy, although.
Taking a step again, a rising variety of the G Professional X 60’s friends have some type of analog performance, which suggests they will reply to various ranges of strain. The highest choose in our gaming keyboard purchaser’s information, the Wooting 60HE+, is an effective instance: Its magnetic Corridor impact sensors allow you to set customized actuation factors, so you may make every key additional delicate whereas enjoying a quick FPS, then make them really feel heavier and extra deliberate whereas typing. Additionally they allow a “rapid trigger” characteristic that allows you to repeat inputs sooner, which could be useful for, say, strafing forwards and backwards throughout an in-game shootout. Different fashions from Razer and SteelSeries present related performance. However the G Professional X 60 lacks any type of adjustable actuation or speedy set off mode. That’s in all probability not a dealbreaker for most individuals, however the individuals who would use these options are the type of hardcore avid gamers Logitech is focusing on with this machine.
What’s here’s a new remapping system known 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. This can be a handy strategy to get round among the design’s lacking keys: I made it so holding Alt quickly turns WASD into arrow keys, for instance. But it surely additionally permits you to base totally different actions on whether or not you press, maintain or launch a key, so you could possibly 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 could have G Hub open for some bindings to remain lively. Nonetheless, it’s higher to have this type of flexibility than not. Logitech says extra of its keyboards will obtain Keycontrol help sooner or later however declined to offer 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 of 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 value a lot much less, too. However the G Professional X 60 isn’t a foul alternative in order for you one thing compact and wi-fi, so it could be worthwhile throughout a sale.
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