The gaming world turned head over heels in 2011-2012 for mechanical keyboards. Going ga-ga for these bouncier, louder typing tools came and left abruptly after major game peripheral brands began producing high-end boards to meet the demand of clicky keys and all the traditional gaming needs, such as macro keys and plenty of controls. Find more keyboard alternatives with our list of the best gaming keyboards.
In that sense, Logitech took a reserved approach with the G710+, its first mechanical gaming keyboard. This model looks on par with the G110, a short-lived low-end gaming keyboard, not to be confused with the much more powerful (and expensive) G19 or upcoming G19s. The G710+ is the start of a separate keyboard line, but it’s also experimental (thus the “+”).
Logitech focused the design on the typing experience, and made gaming secondary. Don’t misconstrue the meaning, hardcore gamers: a keyboard should always be type first, play second. All gaming features are placed in the G710+ with care and subtlety. Non-traditional keys are seated at the edges; macro keys are orange or delicately highlighted; lighting has multiple settings so the cold blue light isn’t bothersome; nearly every aspect of the G710+ is fine-tuned for an expert typing experience, down to the quiet type.
Related: Find more great keyboards by reading our Rii RK100 review
That’s not to insinuate that the G710+ lacks gaming and multimedia features. Logitech includes its famed “gaming” button, which just disables the Windows key but does have a light indicating when it is active. Four media keys, plus a mute and volume rocker sit on the top right of the keyboard. The backlight is adjustable with four brightness settings, and is split between the whole keyboard and the WASD keys. The biggest misstep is that the brightness does not adjust for lock commands (NumLock, CapsLock, ScrollLock); when active, the light indicators are obnoxiously bright.
Typing on the G710+ is excellent. Mid-profile keys provide solid bounce and don’t slow type speed with hard key pressing. The sound is also highly suppressed, a miracle for typist gamers. If you love the feel of mechanical keys but hate the noise, the G710+ is a great, still noisy, but very usable option.
Within a week of use I ran into a consistent problem with the space bar. It would get stuck on the right side because the activators on the right and left don’t have springs to push the key into place. In other words, the space bar springs back only from the middle, where it registers the keypress, and can get stuck. Removing the key and cleaning it helps, but it is not a permanent solution.
Related: Read our Logitech G910 gaming keyboard review
Outside of the space bar, the G710+ is a very impressive keyboard. Additional features like the USB pass through port, anti-ghosting keys, key layover (enter up to 26 keys and even if your computer isn’t receiving them the G710+ stores them so they aren’t lost), and an additional palm rest and tilt legs are just the delicious icing. The feel and usability matches the best mechanical keyboards while still fulfilling the needs gamers demand. The G710+ is very much worth the $150 price tag, which is low considering all the features included. Good luck finding a better typing experience on a gaming keyboard for the same price.
Editor’s Rating:
[Rating: 4/5]
Great
Bottom Line: A well-priced mechanical keyboard that’s great for typing and for gaming.
Pros:
- Excellent type experience
- Quiet-ish keys that belie the “mechanical” part
- Long list of useful features for gamers and non-gamers alike
- Great price considering all the included features and the excellent type
Cons:
- Brightness settings do not apply to Lock functions
- The space bar is poorly designed and needs regular maintenance
