Road Test: Using the G710+
After giving the G710+ a once over, I used it for about a month in order to give it a fair review. I always like to give keyboards a ‘grace’ period of about 2-3 days whilst I adjust to the new layout. Going from a rubber dome style keyboard to this gaming beast was a change on a few levels. This article (and a few others) were typed up on the G710+, not to mention more than a few hours of gaming – so I really did use it heavily during the review period. In terms of the underlying technology, I do have a preference for a mechanical keyboard when gaming.
Tactile response
Firstly, the tactile response is very different and the key presses felt a lot more solid than other non mechanical keyboards. There is also a difference in noise when typing – you can’t help but notice the click-clack of the G710+ when using it straight after a rubber dome style keyboard. It does give a different ‘feel’ to typing and they keys feel more separate or individual on the G710+. This could be because of the spacing of the keys, the back-light or the actual switches underneath but whatever the reason, it’s different and I can understand why mechanical keyboards are now becoming more popular with gamers and enthusiasts.
Back-light and Etching
The key etching and back-light is also very different to the previous G-series keyboards – the keys are easier to read in low (or no) light than the blue/red G110. The etching of the ‘shift’ functions is also reversed compared to a standard keyboard in that the ‘shift’ function is on the lower half of the key on the G710+ rather than it’s traditional home on the upper half of the key. With 4 levels of brightness and split zones for lighting controls, you can have the WASD and arrow keys set to a different brightness level than the rest of the keys – this can be managed by the 2 brightness controls on the keyboard itself. At full brightness, the back-light is pretty strong but not overpowering and remains clear under any room lighting conditions.
The back-light is a very clean white and not RGB like the G510. This is likely a trade off because each key on the G710+ is individually back-lit with its own LED and to have each key individually back-lit with multiple LEDs would almost certainly have pushed the manufacturing cost and price up. Personally, I like the individual back-light and the white seems to suit the G710 both practically and aesthetically. There are 4 keys not back-lit in white – the M1, M2,M3 macro set keys and the Macro Record buttons. These Macro buttons light up when active, remaining dull when not in use.
Durability
Having only used the G710+ for a month, I didn’t notice any quality issues – nor did I expect any flaws based on Logitech’s previous G-series keyboards and the asking price of this one. None of the keys squeaked or got stuck, the back-light was perfectly uniform for each key and the keyboard stayed where it was placed. This is one solid keyboard and it feels very sturdy overall – the only area that we thought looked less durable by comparison was the palm rest clips but the G110 has a similar design that has survived 2 years of abuse at my hands so far.
I looked for ghosting and issues with multiple key rollover but couldn’t fault the G710+.
