The Logitech G512 Carbon, regardless of the type of switch, is one of the most amazing keyboards I've ever used. I love its size. I love the way it looks. I love how much more responsive it is than other switches. Ireviewed the Romer-G Tactile key variant before. And in that review, my main (very subjective) conclusion was that it was almost perfect for my use except that it was kept back by one nagging thing - the feel of the switch. The GX Blue was designed to appease people like me - people who love clicky, noisy, very tactile keys. So I went ahead and got a Logitech G512 Carbon with GX Blue switches. Did it do the trick?
While the differences between of the Romer-G and the GX Blue models are minimal, there's still quite a bit to unpack.
Dimensions
Length: 132mm (5.2 inches)
Width: 445mm (17.5 inches)
Height: 35.5mm (1.4 inches) - 1.5mm taller than the Romer-G Tactile/Linear. You won't be able to tell the difference, trust me.
Weight: 962g (2.12 pounds) - It's 143 grams lighter than the Romer-G Tactile/Linear variants.
Cable length: 6 feet
One of the things I enjoyed about the Logitech G512 is the size. It's nice and compact. Perfect for the space on my desk. And despite the size, it still has a full 10 keypad, which I think is essential for productivity tasks. In this regard, the Romer-G switches and the GX Blues are about equal. The GX Blue Logitech G512 is about 140+ grams lighter. Does this matter? Not really. It's still heavy enough to stay in place. The rubber pads help. If anything, the lighter weight is a bit of an advantage when you're lugging it around.
But because it's a little small, there's no room on the board for additional surfaces, casuing your palm to either rest on or strike the bottom row keys, like the alt and the fn keys. To remedy this, I found a very nice faux leather wrist rest for about $10 with shipping. That's way better value than the included wrist rest that the G513 has for an extra $50.
Key Switches
Durability: 70 million keypresses
Actuation Distance: 1.9mm (0.4 longer than Romer-G Tactile/Linear)
Actuation Force: 45g
Total Travel Distance: 4mm (0.8mm longer than the Romer-G Tactile/Linear)
One of the best things about the Romer-G switches is that it's incredibly responsive. Noticeably so. And even though the GX Blue keys have a slightly longer actuation distance, they feel almost as responsive. It strikes a great balance between clicky, tactile feedback and that rapid short actuation distance responsiveness. The longer total travel length of the GX Blue keys is there more for the feel of the button press than anything else.
After all is said and done, the GX Blue keys still have a shorter actuation distance and lighter required actuation force than some Cherry MX keys, which were designed for typing, not gaming.
Connections
Connection Type: USB 2.0
USB Passthrough: USB 2.0
RGB Lighting: Yes, per key
The most obvious aesthetic difference between the Romer-G and GX Blue variants is the letter positioning. It can be argued that the Romer-G's look better because their letters are smack dab in the middle of the key because the switch was designed to accomodate for lighting specifically. To accomodate for the clicky mechanism, the lights on the GX Blue are at the "northern" part of the keycap and to make sure that the letter is illuminated from the center, the lettering is also placed up top. I guess some people would dig this look but it doesn't look as classy as the Romer-G. Still looks good, though.
And just like the Romer-G Logitech G512, you can program all the colors and lighting effects on the Logitech Gaming Software, which again, needs a new name.
One big drawback to that way the letters are placed on the keycap is that the shift functions for all the keys are printed at the bottom. This is literally the opposite of how it's usually done, so that might be a little confusing for some people, especially for beginners and those who don't illuminate their keys.
Special Keys
Lighting controls: FN+F5, F6, and F7
Game mode: FN+F8
Media controls: FN+F9, F10, F11, F12
Volume controls: FN+Prntscrn, Scrlk, Pause
Programmable FN keys via Logitech Gaming Software
It is a compact keyboard so it understandably doesn't have any extra special keys. All special functions are done using combinations of the FN key and the F# keys. which does diminish their utility, but they're there if you wanna use them.
Look and Feel
The Logitech G512 Carbon, regardless of switch, is a majestic looking keyboard. It wouldn't be out of place on any office or mancave desk. The aluminum body looks sleek and feels premium. Coupled with the brushed finish, the body even seems like it's more expensive than it actually is. The matte keys themseves feel fantastic. Add the clicky tactile feel of the GX Blue, and you've got your self a great looking and great sounding keyboard.
Extras
The keyboard doesn't come with much, unlike its big brother, the Logitech G513, which comes with a wrist rest, a keycap remover, and a few extra keys. The G512 is as barebones as it gets. It comes with a sheet of paper for warranty, and that's pretty much it. There is no aftermarket keycap support, and there is no way to be able to replace the keys if they do break. Let's hope Logitech stays true to the 70 million keystroke durability rating.
It also has the same threaded hole that no one knows the purpose of so hopefully that sees some support in the future.
Underneath the board, there are six rubber feet, ensuring that you'll never move it by accident. It stays put. It also has a couple of stands, which you can tuck away, that can slightly elevate your board. It only has one height, though.. And you've got a passthrough for cable management.
All in All
9.3Overall10Design9Usability9Value
I absolutely love how clicky and responsive the GX Blue switches feel. I absolutely love it.The switch pushes the Logitech G512 over the top - it is as close to a perfect compact keyboard as it gets. It does have a few shortcomings, though. It doesn't have aftermarket keycap support, which is a bummer, because it also means there's no easy way of getting to your switches if they fail. The compact size means that there's no real room for comfort, which almost necessitates a 3rd party wrist rest. But if you can get past those issues, the clicky GX Blue switches make the Logitech G512 an absolute pleasure to use.