Logitech G710+ Mechanical Keyboard and G600 MMO Mouse Review

In Practice: Work

I've actually been using the Logitech G710+ keyboard and G600 mouse while writing up this review, and hammering out something detailed while having to check specs and so on gives both peripherals a good working over in productivity setting. I'm particularly familiar with the G600, which has been out longer and in my hands longer, and I've tried it in quite a few different environments.

For typing, I have to say that at least by my experience with the G710+, I'm not a fan of Cherry MX Brown switches. While I personally enjoy the feedback and clickiness of the MX Blues the best for typing, they really are inferior for gaming to all the other switches, so the MX Browns are at least an attempt to balance things. The problem is that the Browns feel like they have higher resistance than the Blues, Reds, or Blacks even though they're actually specced to have the least resistance. They may actually be bottoming out faster, but either way they put vastly more stress on my wrists than the other switches do. I'll have to see how the Rosewill keyboard I have in house with Cherry MX Brown switches plays out, but I can tell you the G710+'s feedback feels more like stiff membrane keys than the other mechanical keyboards I've used. This is all subjective, though; undoubtedly you'll be able to play with the G710+ in retail and feel for yourself.

Meanwhile, the G600 has a very smart design that felt incredibly intuitive in my hand. Feeling out the hot button array on the left side was easy enough to do (I preferred using the lower array instead of the upper), but fair warning: this is not a mouse for small hands. This mouse will probably be very comfortable to users who either like big mice or have big hands, but if you have small hands like I do, it's liable to stress your wrist and hands a bit more. I found my wrist cramping up after about a half hour of using the G600, but your mileage may vary.

In Practice: Play

I tried a few games with the G600 and G710+, but the one that got the most attention (and the one that's been dominating my attention span over the past couple of weeks) is the closed beta of MechWarrior Online. I could go on and on about how awesome the game is even in its current, somewhat buggy and slightly unbalanced state, but suffice to say pretty much everyone I know has made a concerted effort to get into it and either lucked out with a beta key from registering or actually bought into the closed beta with a Founder's Package, and griefing heavy mechs with my idiotic little Streak SRM Commando has been a delight.

The same resistance, size, and weight issues I experienced in day to day use with both peripherals unfortunately still apply in gaming, but the MX Brown switches used by the G710+ still remain superior to the Blues for games and certainly a valid option. I still think the Reds or Blacks are ultimately preferable in either productivity or gaming (I probably give a slight edge to the Reds), but the Browns are perfectly serviceable.

On the other hand, I think the G600 is an absolutely killer gaming option for users who are built to enjoy it. A friend of mine with larger hands found it incredibly comfortable and intuitive to use, and the ability to configure a DPI shift (similar to Corsair's sniper button) to the third surface button for precise aiming is incredibly useful. Likewise, as a MechWarrior Online afficionado I can't help but appreciate the potential of using the button array to control the various firing patterns.