Logitech’s G413 gaming keyboard was probably my favorite budget gaming keyboard last year. It still is. Why? It tackled all of the things that I care about not only as a tech nerd and reviewer but as a consumer. It was well-built, functional, affordable at just $99 (at that time) as well as being ideal for gaming and everyday use. It was a keyboard that I could and would easily recommend to anyone who had an interest in a great all around keyboard. It’s a new year and Logitech has a refresh of the G413 with the G513 gaming keyboard. Refreshes are a good thing. They get right what was once wrong and you get your product exactly the way wanted it the first time. If it’s really done right you get can get this at no additional cost. While last year’s G413 was affordable coming in at just under $100, the G513 is $50 more. What’s changed and is it a worthy pickup at this price point?
The G513 is just as clean and sleek as its predecessor. It has a heavy weight and sturdy design while being mostly plastic with a brushed aluminum and magnesium cover plate for the top layer. There isn’t a design shift at all with the G513. It looks exactly like the G413 but there are nuances that separate the two keyboards slightly. First, the G513’s floating keyboard has a little more room than the G413 that makes key travel smoother and cleanup a lot easier. Unlike the G413 the G513 has a per key RBG lighting setup that allows you to have customizable lighting setups and syncs with other Logitech devices via their LightSync technology and it’s gaming software. The RGB lighting on the G513 is really bright and vibrant and if you like to work in a dark rooms, its super dope to look at while you type and the two colorways of silver and carbon are just perfect to go with all that color.
The G513 also comes with a leather palm rest that adds a layer of comfort while typing or gaming. I didn’t think I would ever need one of these. I always found them to be more of a nuisance than not but as of the past year I’ve been gaming more frequently and for much longer intervals, now, I can’t use my PC without that palm rest. It’s heavy weight and doesn’t shift around so it’s a great add-on.
On the downside there are some things about the G513 that I would have liked to see included or changed. Starting with the USB pass through. It’s still USB 2.0. In 2018 I’m having a hard time understanding why peripherals, especially peripherals in excess of $100+ dollars don’t use USB 3.0 as a standard. Logitech confused me on this decision. The lack of dedicated media buttons on the G513 is also a noticeable omission. While I personally don’t use media buttons, there are a lot of people who do and will buy a keyboard or not based on this feature. For a keyboard that has a $149 price tag this should be an option considering that for the most part gaming keyboards are multimedia peripherals anyway. Not a deal breaker, quite possibly it could be considered in the future.
Using the keyboard
The G513 just like the G413 uses Logitech’s Romer-G switches for its keyboard and what you get with that is a tactile, clicky feeling when you’re typing that remains surprisingly quiet. Romer-G switches such as the ones on the G513 make you realize what it’s like to do your best typing and play your games at a max level when you use them. Yeah, Cherry MX switches are cool but for the most part they work best if you’re gaming exclusively.
Logitech’s Gaming software is available to all of its devices that can support it. It’s simple to use while giving you a great deal of control of your keyboard. With the G513 having more options than the G413 (mostly with the RGB lighting) customizing is much more of an experience. Where the G413 has single red lighting the G513 allows to map out your lighting in a gaming setup, primary keys for work function, editing or really any setup that are important to how you use your keyboard daily.
Mapping out your macros and function toggles remains a feature and depending on the game you’re playing, type of music or movie you’re watching you can coordinate your lighting via Lightsync, this works exceptionally well with the G560 speakers as well (you can pick them up HERE) So if you got some extra cash and no speakers, check those out and enjoy the light show.
Should you pick this keyboard up?
The G513 is an incredible keyboard. It’s built well, sleek, functional and great for gaming and everyday use. There are issues it possesses that aren’t related to its performance directly but things that would’ve made it perform that much better overall if they were included. The lack of media buttons would’ve been nice but not a dealbreaker. No USB 3.0 is also not a huge deal although I can’t figure what’s Logitech’s reluctance on this. These are fixable things. They just tend to be amplified because of the cost at $149. It’s a bit steep and what should make the G513 stand out as an incredible keyboard, one of the best actually, is now subject to being pitted against its competitors with similar offerings or better just because of its cost. That being said, I still look at the G513 as a great option and a keyboard I would recommend it anytime. I have switched out my G413 for the G513 and I love it. If Logitech could get the price down just $20 this keyboard would be a super sweet deal. If you are the market for the G513 you can pick it up HERE and get yourself one.
