Tag: Logitech

Update On My New Logitech Peripherals

Posted on by Nimgimli

A few weeks ago I posted about buying a new set of Logitech peripherals. Now that I’ve been using them all for a while, I wanted to follow up with my thoughts on each one.

First up and the one I have the most issues with, the keyboard.

Logitech G915 TKL Wireless Tactile Version

I love the feel of this keyboard, which is obviously the most important aspect of a keyboard. It is mechanical but isn’t super loud and the keys are fairly low profile. They make various versions of this keyboard so this being the “Tactile” version is important to note. You can customize the F keys but I haven’t messed with that at all. In fact there appears to be a way to set up 3 versions of the F keys (and you can set up different profiles for different apps/games). The RGB lighting can be handled by the Ghub software or it can be connected to Windows 11’s Dynamic Lighting. I’ve done the latter just cuz, but honestly I didn’t notice this doing much. I eventually switched back to the Ghub system using a theme that marks the last key you hit in a different color. Why? I dunno, it just seemed interesting!

One nice perk for some is a “Game Mode” where you can disable certain keys, like the Windows key. I don’t use that since I use the XBox Game Bar for captures and such and it requires the Windows key, but I bet a lot of folks would appreciate this feature.

Now the downsides. The secondary functions of keys, like the $%^& symbols, do not light up and in a dark room you really can’t see them. It’s OK if your fingers are already in position since you probably know where these are, but if you’re just reaching over to hit the ^ key or something, if you’re like me you might not remember that’s on the 6 key. So that’s my first issue. My second is that when the lighting goes out, which it does pretty soon after you stop typing, the letters are really hard to see in a dark room. I generally have to tap a key to kick the lights on, then I can place my hands in the proper position. Ideally the lights would stay on a little longer and/or using the mouse would keep the keyboard lights on. Or, y’know, maybe have lettering that is readable even with the backlight off.

Of course you have to charge the keyboard (which is maybe why the lights go off so quickly) which isn’t a huge deal except the charging port is a micro-usb port and I’m surrounded by USB-C cables at this point. I bought a little micro-usb to usb-c adapter so I can just unplug my game controller and plug that cable into the keyboard to charge it, but a built in USB-C charging port would be welcome.

So that’s a lot of words about downsides but the important thing is I LOVE the feel of the keyboard so I’m still pretty happy with it. And even though I got the Wireless version just because it was what was available and I was too impatient to wait for the wired one to ship in a week, I’m pretty happy I did since it is nice to easily move the keyboard around without a cable knocking things over and such.

Logitech G502 X Wired Gaming Mouse

Very happy with this mouse. It has that asymmetric design where there is a kind of shelf for your thumb to rest on, and the mouse is very light. I keep it at 1600 dpi by default but it can go all the way up to 25,600 DPI. I set it that high once and that is just crazy and unusably fast, but it’s there if you’re The Flash or someone. The scroll wheel has both smooth and ‘ratchet’ scrolling with a button below the wheel to toggle between the two. You can save multiple profiles and there’s a second button to toggle through those. The scroll wheel pushes in and also clicks horizontally left and right. Next to the main left button are 2 extra buttons you can hit with your index finger pretty easily (by default they toggle DPI up/down) and on the side are three more that you can hit with your thumb. All of these can be customized per game and the Ghub software even offers Commands for a bunch of games. Like pick the Once Human profile and there’s a Summon Motorcycle command that is really just rebinding “G” but you don’t have to remember that the default key for Summon Motorcycle is apparently G.

I don’t have any downsides beyond I am still working on developing the muscle memory to hit all these buttons. I’m slowly adding custom button presses for the games I’ve been playing. Overall, super happy with the mouse and glad I got the wired version just because I have to assume a wireless version would be heavier due to the battery inside.

Logitech G Pro X SE Wired Gaming Headset

Really over the moon happy with this headset, but I do want to stress that I am not a true audiophile and a certain amount of hearing loss runs in my family as we age, and I am definitely experiencing that, along with a lot of tinnitus. So keeping all that in mind, the headset is super comfortable and really blocks out the world to where I have to tell PartPurple I’m putting them on so if she calls me and I ignore her, it isn’t that I’m being rude, I just can’t hear her. Music sounds really good, games sound great. The surround sound works really well, the mike SEEMS to work really well in testing though I still haven’t actually spoken to anyone using it. The Ghub software lets you set equalizer profiles, which I did, but once I found something I liked I just left it. As with the other peripherals you can set up custom profiles depending on app/game but I haven’t bothered so far.

Again, really no downsides. I maaaaybe should’ve gone with a wireless set, but since these are dedicated to using on the PC there’s something to be said for never having to worry about if they’re charged and what not. But having the cable dangling around is a bit of a hassle, particularly since Lola somehow always winds up with it wrapped around her paws (one of her MANY beds is right next to my gaming station).

So in conclusion, I guess this was a really boring post because basically I love all this gear. I won’t get any clicks for this! I should chosen something I hate as my topic for today.

But yeah, I’m just in this honeymoon PC gaming period. I LOVE my new PC, I love these peripherals, there are SO many games I want to play. All I need now is to win the lottery so I can quick my day job and just hang around playing all day!

Tonight We’re Going to Peripheral Like It’s 1999

Posted on by Nimgimli

I’m not a dad but that doesn’t mean I can’t make dad jokes.

Back in the days of yore, say 1999 just to riff off the song, Logitech was pretty much THE PC peripheral brand, at least in my circles. Microsoft took a shot at going after Logitech and had some success for a while, and they still do make mice and keyboards, but I have to admit I had to go check Amazon to see if that was even that case. Logitech was king.

Times change and particularly in the world of gaming, new brands came along. Razer, Corsair, Redragon and Steel Series come to mind. A couple years back (2019) I decided to be like the cool PC gamers and invested in a Steelseries RBG keyboard and mouse, the former being a mechanical keyboard that feels OK but is pretty noisy. I think I went with Steelseries because the gaming laptop I had at the time had a Steelseries keyboard built in. I can’t remember for sure.

Anyway after about, I dunno, a day of using these peripherals I pretty much forgot about them. The mouse was a mouse. The keyboard made letters appear.

Except every peripheral brand has to have its own software to go with it, and the Steelseries software has caused a certain amount of trouble for me. An update of it completely broke my laptop keyboard and after I got it rolled back I had to be careful to never let it update. On my new machine it has helpfully installed a bunch of virtual audio devices for some reason. I’m 99% sure this was operator error and I installed something I shouldn’t have, and they don’t seem to cause any issues but it’s annoying having them there (none of them seem to do anything).

Screenshot of my sound settings showing lots of extra virtual devices
So many devices! I just want to hear the lamentations of my enemy’s women!

But hey, I roll with stuff like this because I’m lazy.

Meanwhile, I’ve had a ton of issues getting a microphone to work with both my last PC and my current one. I’ve been working from home long enough, and being on Zoom and Teams meetings enough, that I now feel pretty comfortable chatting with people (my work machine has no issues with the headset attached to it). I kind of thought, who knows? Maybe I can talk to other gamers? Eventually I bought a cheap USB “gaming headset” and eureka, the mike worked. The sound was OK for gaming, but not for music, so I ended up having 2 different headsets hanging off the machine, one for music and one for gaming. Except, again, lazy, so I rarely switched to the gaming headset with the working mike.

A few nights back I decided to give this voice thing another go. Put on the gaming headset which clamped onto my head like I’d stuck it in an alligator’s mouth. I have a big fat head and a lot of stuff doesn’t fit well (one-size-fits-all caps? they don’t fit this noggin). I took the headset off and tried to gently bend it open a bit and SNAP! It broke in half. I guess that’s what you get for $20

Undeterred and embracing the idea that a gaming PC is just a black hole that sucks up money, I headed to Amazon and picked out a better headset, and I thought back to the olden days and decided to go with Logitech. Specifically the Logitech G Pro X SE. It arrived the next morning (how does Amazon manage that?) and it is fantastic. It is comfortable, the sound is really decent, and the mike works perfectly as far as I can tell (haven’t actually talked to anyone cuz no friends). But of course, new brand of peripheral means new software, in this case the Logitech G-Hub software. But this software seems pretty slick. It even has an equalizer that comes with presets, and other owners with more time and confidence than me can upload theirs as well. Took me just a few minutes to find something that sounded good to me. It I was a REAL real gamer I’d swap to one profile for music and another for gaming. Oh also it is a surround sound headset; I have no idea how the physics work to create surround sound in a headset but damned if it doesn’t work really well. I nearly jumped out of my skin the first time I heard an NPC say something from right “behind” me.

Anyway while all THIS was happening, I was also looking to use more custom buttons on my mouse for PC gaming. This Steelseries mouse has 4 extra buttons, 2 on either side, but the two on the outside, which I guess you’re supposed to hit with your ring finger, are really hard for me to use. And anyway I wanted MORE! MORE BUTTONS PLEASE! And by now I was on a spending roll, so back to Amazon I go and order a Logitech gaming mouse, the G502 X Wired mouse that has I think 13 buttons altogether? More than I need, anyway. This thing is SO light it feels fake. Like an empty shell. And it feels really good in my hand. Early days but I think I’m going to really like it. It has no RGB on it though so… fail? (Kidding, I really do not care about lights on my mouse.) I assume no RGB because it isn’t wireless. I believe the wireless model of the same mouse does have a light strip.

Screenshot of the Ghub software
The family is all together. How cozy!

And just so I could get rid of the Steelseries software, I bought a Logitech Keyboard, too. (The G915 TKL Wireless with “Tactile” mechanical keyboard.) They make a few versions of this keyboard, all mechanical but with different levels of clickiness. This one is pretty quiet which I really appreciate. ( @partpurple doesn’t believe it is mechanical because it doesn’t make a racket.) I bought the wireless version mostly because it was what I could get fast. I just wanted media keys and a backlight and a good typing experience — the keyboard does have RGB and you can program the colors through the Ghub software or through Windows 11’s Dynamic Lighting system. I’m pretty happy with a solid backlight color. I am so boring. The keyboard is going to take a little bit of getting used to but it really hits the sweet spot of feeling good without being loud. My ONE gripe with it is that the symbols on the number keys (#,$,%,^, etc) are not backlit. After 50 years of typing you’d think I would know where they are, but…I don’t. LOL

So now you get the dumb title of this post. I am back where I started, using all Logitech peripherals. They may not be what the cool kids use, but I’m really happy with all three of them so far. Granted it is early days, so if some weird issue crops up I’ll be sure to share.

Now I just need a new chair, and maybe a new desk, and then… just maybe, I can stop spending money on returning to PC gaming! Though you know, my widescreen monitor is only 1440P. 4K widescreen OLED monitor, maybe?!