The G810 Orion Spectrum is a full-sized mechanical gaming keyboard manufactured by Logitech. With a simplistic, minimalist design, the G810 Orion Spectrum sports small, refined bezels, a matte black base/top and glossy black sides. The G810 comes in at an MSRP of $159.99, but can often be found on sale for around $120. Competing in the same price range of other popular keyboards such as the Corsair Strafe RGB and the Razer Blackwidow V2, the G810 offers a unique typing experience with proprietary Romer-G Tactile switches, fantastic backlighting, and robust build quality.

The G810 is fully customizable with RGB lighting and a wide range of preset lighting effects. The keyboard features dedicated multimedia buttons (Pause/Play, Stop, Forward, Back) as well as a smooth-rolling volume wheel and mute button. These buttons are tactile and responsive, as well as backlit. The “gaming mode” button allows you to disable certain keys from being registered when activated, such as the Windows Key during gameplay. The G810 doesn’t come with a wrist rest, unlike the G910. However, since the case is shorter and lower profile, it’s definitely useable without one. Unlike most other keyboards at its price point, the G810 Orion Spectrum doesn’t have any onboard memory. The G810 also lacks dedicated macro keys that can be useful for both gaming and productivity. The keyboard also features 26-key rollover, so it won’t miss-track any keypresses while gaming.

Specifications

• Romer-G Tactile Switch (70M Lifespan, 45g)
• Width: 153 mm
• Length: 443.5 mm
• Height: 34.3 mm
• 2 – Year Warranty
• Weight: 1.2 lbs.
• Cable Length: 1.8m / 6ft

Pros & Cons

What’s in the box

The Logitech G810 Orion Spectrum arrives in a simplistic rectangular box. The front displays an image of the keyboard, along with the model number and logo. On the rear of the box, Logitech goes into depth with the Romer-G switch, talking about the lifespan and “speed” of the switches. The 16.8 million color RGB lighting and dedicated multimedia keys are also detailed on the back. Unlike companies like Corsair, Logitech includes no extra accessories, only a short User Guide and a warranty information slip. The absence of extra keycaps, a keycap puller, or a detachable wrist rest doesn’t reflect the premium price point of the keyboard.

Logitech G810 Orion Spectrum Keyboard

$167.99

Buy on Amazon

Logitech G810 Orion Spectrum: Overview

Switches

Logitech offers one switch type for the G810 Orion Spectrum – Logitech’s proprietary Romer-G Tactile switches. These switches are manufactured by Omron using two switch leaves, allowing it to achieve a lifespan of 70 million keypresses. Romer-G switches have a quiet, short actuation. Romer-G Tactile has a 45g actuation force and a 1.5mm actuation distance with a total travel of 3mm. These switches have a reduced travel distance (compared to standard Cherry MX Switches), allowing faster actuation. The key wobble is also reduced, due to the stability of the box-like design.

Romer-G Switches are available in two variants; tactile and linear, but the G810 only comes with the tactile variant. The tactile bump is quite small, similar to the bump found in Cherry MX Browns. They feel quite similar to MX Browns with O-ring dampeners. In terms of key feel, the switches are slightly scratchier than retooled Cherry MX Switches, though not by a significant amount. Due to the reduced tactility, heavy typists may not recognize the tactile bump. The bottoming out of the switch is slightly dampened, making the switch a bit quieter. However, this also makes them faintly mushier. Romer-G switches are shaped like a square, with the light rod in the center. This allows for bright, clean lighting with minimal light leaking.

Personally, to me, the tactile Romer-G switch isn’t great for typing, due to the short actuation distance (that may cause mistypes). For gaming, however, they feel decent, as key feel is less important then. The fast actuation is barely noticeable, with just a slight difference. The main advantage for Romer-G switches is their sound. They are quieter than their Cherry MX counterparts, and thus can be discreetly used in an office or gaming setup without disrupting others. However, traditional membrane/rubber dome keyboards are still generally more silent than Romer-G.

The Romer-G Switches have a quiet, short actuation.

Case/Internals

The entire outer housing of the keyboard is made out of plastic. The top and bottom are matte black, while the edges are shiny, glossy plastic. The switches are PCB mounted, but the internal plate is steel. This gives the keyboard some weight and heft, as well as minimal case flexibility. Five rubber pads are placed on the bottom of the keyboard to prevent slippage. Two front-facing raised feet allow an incline adjustment of 4o or 8o, enabling you to choose the right height.

Keycaps

The G810’s keycaps are in OEM profile, made out of ABS plastic. The legends are transparent and located directly in the center of the keycap. However, at around 1mm thick, the keycaps feel quite flimsy and are prone to cracking and damage. The black keycaps also attract fingerprints, which is something to keep in mind.

The Romer-G switches use a different keycap stem than Cherry MX Switches, and thus don’t have any third-party options available for purchase. If you’d like to swap out or replace your keycaps, your only choice is to purchase another stock set directly from Logitech.

Cable

The G810 Orion Spectrum uses a standard, braided 1.8-meter long cable to connect with any USB 2.0 devices. The cable is quite thick and stiff, and feels durable. However, minor amounts of fraying have occurred on the braiding of my cable. Although it’s just a minor aesthetic issue, this may be annoying to some users. The keyboard end is shielded in thick casing that seems obtrusive against the low-profile case.

Software

The Logitech G810 can be used with either the Logitech Gaming Software (LGS) or Logitech G HUB. I’ll be going into depth with LGS, as G HUB still has some bugs/issues, and LGS is still the mainstream software for customizing your Logitech G peripherals.

Logitech Gaming Software has a fairly simple, uncluttered user interface, though it is packed full with features. There are 5 main tabs; Home, Macros, Gaming Keys, Lighting, and Keymaps. Unlike Razer Synapse, LGS requires very little resources and I haven’t experienced any freezing or bugs within the software. Overall, it’s a great, simple tool that allows you to further customize your gaming peripherals.

You can read our Logitech Gaming Software guide right here.

Lighting Effects

Within the Logitech Gaming Software, a whole new set of lighting effects are available. Ranging from Fire to Datafall effects, the software allows for much more backlighting customization. Each key’s lighting can be individually set, and there are many preset lighting profiles for popular games.

One of the most interesting features of LGS is in-game lighting integration. Logitech Gaming Software automatically detects over 300 popular games, such as CS:GO and League of Legends. The lighting integrates with the game, lighting up gaming keys and adding many visual effects to your gameplay. For example, in CS:GO, the entire top row lights up green as your healthbar, and turns red as you get hurt. Although this isn’t too useful in-game, it’s a pretty fascinating lighting feature.

Macros/Key Customization

On the G810, only the function row keys can be reprogrammed. This is a bit of a letdown, as you’d need to download third-party software to program any other keys. As for customization, you can assign and program macros, set shortcuts, and assign mouse/keyboard functions. You can create multiple profiles and switch between them in the software.

Performance/Latency

The Logitech G810 utilizes Romer-G mechanical keyswitches, which boast a 5ms response time compared to the standard 6.7ms. Although the slight latency difference is negligible and barely perceptible, the keyboard doesn’t have any noticeable latency nor lag. During fast-paced shooter games, the G810 feels very responsive and on-par with other mechanical gaming keyboards from reputable brands. There should be no problem at all with competitive gaming on the G810 Orion Spectrum.

Our Verdict: 7/10

The Logitech G810 Orion Spectrum is a simplistic, yet stylish gaming keyboard with unique switches and mesmerizing lighting. The Romer-G Tactile Switches are fantastic during gaming, with a fast actuation and low latency. The typing experience is quite mediocre, due to the short travel distance allowed and the dampened, mushier feeling compared to a standard MX switch. The LGS software is very clean, organized, and quick, along with a full range of lighting effects and game integration. The keycaps aren’t great and wear easily, but the keyboard itself is solid and built very well. For a basic gaming keyboard with a lack of macro keys and onboard memory, the G810 may not be worth the $159 MSRP to everyone. However, if you can find it on sale, it’s a decent pick for a mid-range mechanical gaming keyboard.

Logitech G810 Orion Spectrum Keyboard

$167.99

Buy on Amazon

Sources

• Logitech G (https://www.logitechg.com/en-us)
• Logitech Support (https://support.logitech.com/software/lgs)