Logitech G810 Orion Spectrum keyboard review

The Logitech G810 is the third keyboard in Logitech’s lineup to use its own proprietary Romer-G switch. It trims off some features and flair from the flagship G910 to bring the price down a notch and appeal to the masses. Focusing keenly on gaming, the G810 has incredible aesthetic appeal.

We don’t normally delve too deep into the technology behind the keyboard’s switches, but since the G810’s Romer-G switch is one of a kind, it has a few note-worthy highlights that deserve some extra ink.

The Romer-G switch spawned from a partnership between Logitech and the Japanese switch manufacturer Omron. It’s designed to be an extremely fast, gaming-oriented switch while still retaining a degree of tactile feedback. To achieve this, the Romer-G is set to actuate at 1.5mm with just 45g of force. A surface mounted LEDs sits in the center of the switch, something Cherry lacked for a long time until just recently. Another advantage of Romer-G is its redundant contacts. It has two separate sets of copper contact plates to register every keystroke.

The Romer-G has a distinct feel that sits at the mid-ground between Cherry MX Red and Cherry MX Brown switches. Its key travel becomes smooth and consistent after the tactile point. The travel distance is very shallow, which helps its rebound speed. It’s also relatively quiet when bottomed out; our sound meter showed 75dB at the source and 63dB at around 50cm away. For the sake of comparison, the Cherry MX Blue, the loudest of Cherry MX switches, hit 85dB at the source and 70dB from 50cm away.

While gaming, the Romer-G is like a jumpy rabbit after ten shots of espresso. Thanks to its high actuation point and light actuation force, the Romer-G is lightning fast and effortless to press. While this undoubtedly gives you an edge in spam-intensive games, its sensitive nature also causes it to fire with the slightest pressure.

The Romer-G’s short key travel is a hit or miss for typing. If you’re used to rubber membrane switches, you should be right at home with the Romer-G. If you’re coming from a Cherry MX or Kailh-based keyboard however, it does take a little getting used to. The keys feel like they’re dampened when bottomed out, softening the feedback to our fragile joints.

We’re not too fond of Logitech’s decision to use Cherry stabilizers instead of Costar for a premium product. With that said, the G810’s Cherry stabilizers are actually quite nice. Key travel is consistent, responsive, and smooth. There was none of that “mushiness” Cherry stabilizers are infamous for.

The G810 does not support n-key rollover (NKRO). Should this bother you? Not really. (That is, unless you have more fingers than there are letters in the alphabet.) Keystrokes only start to skip if more than 27 keys are pressed simultaneously. Anti-ghosting technology helps protect you from key signals getting crossed as well.

The G810 uses a tough plastic casing to house its important switches. It withstood flexes and shakes, but we could do without its glossy side bezels. The keycaps are nothing fancy: they're just laser engraved ABS keycaps that are a dime a dozen.

Dedicated media control buttons is tucked away in the top right corner. A “gaming mode” button turns the Windows key off when gaming. One thing we can’t get enough of is the convenience of the volume adjust wheel. It’s easy to access, feels great to use, and melts seamlessly into the chassis.

To keep the keyboard stable on the desk, the G810 comes with six of the largest rubber feet we’ve ever seen. The multi-level elevator feet is also a nice touch.

The Logitech G810 really turns up its charm once it’s plugged in. The keyboard's surface-mounted LEDs illuminates the key printing evenly and brilliantly. All of the keys, including the dedicated media keys, have one installed underneath.

To adjust the backlight pattern (among other things), there’s the Logitech Gaming Software. Lighting effects include breathing, wave, and keypress. For the creative (or obsessive-compulsive) individuals out there, you can program a unique color for each key. Upon first installation, the Logitech Gaming Software will detect what games you have installed and display the key bindings for each game. While we didn’t find them to be too much of help, we did like the included macro manager to re-program the function row.

Anything proprietary is going to cost you a pretty penny. Tipping the scale at $160, the G810 positions itself in the higher end price category. Whether it’s worth your hard-earned cash has a lot to do with personal preference. In our eyes, the G810 with its Romer-G switch is a toss-up. We like its responsiveness for gaming, but we prefer a deeper travel for typing. Speaking from a utilitarian perspective, it’s hard to push aside our beloved Cherry MX keyboard in favor of the Logitech G810. With that said, Logitech set out to create a gaming switch, and the Romer-G certainly lives up to the expectations.