Just less than two weeks ago on February 4th, Logitech announced the G810 Orion Spectrum, a full-size RGB mechanical gaming keyboard (unlike the compact G310 Atlas Dawn) that features Logitech’s proprietary Romer-G mechanical switches, for US$159.99 (~RM659.56). Logitech Malaysia has since confirmed that the G810 Orion Spectrum will only arrive in Malaysia in April, for RM799, though the local product page is already up: http://gaming.logitech.com/en-my/product/g810-orion-spectrum-rgb-gaming-keyboard.
The keyboard’s design is very understated compared to Logitech’s own G910 Orion Spark. It doesn’t have a wrist rest or the programmable G-Keys along the sides. Logitech said the unassuming design is to focus more in delivering peak gaming performance. Needless to say, it made away with the aggressive design of most gaming peripherals in favor of a perfectly rectangular shape. The top is matte in texture, while the sides are glossy. There are four flip-up feet to give it three levels of angle: zero degree when retracted, four degrees on the first level, and eight degrees when the second level feet are extended. Apparently the whole keyboard also feels solid because it has a solid steel plate embedded inside. The keyboard cable is braided to ensure extra durability.
Even the keys now adopt a classic keycap design in favor of the faceted design on the G910 that many may dislike. Because of how the Romer-G switches are designed, it allows for G810’s 16.8 million colored light to shine through the center of the key, and not the sides, preventing light from “bleeding” to the corners of the keys. Romer-G switches are also said to be quieter, with Logitech claiming that it is 25% faster (thanks to the 1.5mm actuation point) and has a 40% longer lifespan than standard Cherry MX mechanical key switches.
The Logitech Gaming Software (LGS) is crucial here because you can use it to completely customize the backlight colors and lighting effects to your heart’s desire. They way the G810’s keys are designed, the letters, numbers, and symbols are not painted and are also black in color when the RGB lights are off. That means you can color-code only the keys that are needed in a particular game, and the rest of the keys won’t be distracting to you during gaming. LGS can be used to synchronize G810’s lighting effects with other Logitech G gaming gears too, including light effects that respond to onscreen events in around 300 games that Logitech supports. Logitech has SDK for developers to incorporate this feature to their games.
Though there are no G-Keys, the function keys (F1 to F12) can be programed with macros. These macros can auto-load depending on which supported games are being played, and the macros include executing certain in-game combos, or even just inserting blocks of canned text. There are a few media keys like play/pause, stop, next track, and previous track buttons, plus a dedicated “Game Mode” key, a backlight on/off key, a mute key, and a huge cylindrical volume control wheel. Unfortunately there are no USB passthrough ports here on the G810 Orion Spectrum, unlike say, the G710 Plus.
In the US, for US$159.99 (~RM659.56), the Logitech G810 Orion Spectrum is bundled with The Division, a multiplayer open world shooter by Ubisoft. Here in Malaysia, you’ll be paying RM799, around RM140 more and with no The Division bundling. Plus, it will only arrive in April 2016 from Kaira Technologies (M) Sdn. Bhd. and MCL Bhd., though it does come with a two-year limited hardware warranty. In the meantime, visit G810’s product page for more information: http://gaming.logitech.com/en-my/product/g810-orion-spectrum-rgb-gaming-keyboard.
The post Logitech G810 Orion Spectrum is an unassuming full-size RGB mechanical gaming keyboard, coming to Malaysia in April appeared first on TechAttack.my.