Logitech G13 Programmable Gameboard with LCD Display

I will say right off: This is the best of at least 3 auxiliary keyboard/gamepads that I have owned. I love it, but it is not perfect. Before I begin my review, let me describe my play style as it may give my comments more relevance. I am a long-time COMPUTER gamer. (I remember and played on virtually every machine since the Atari 800, and all of the Intel/DOS/Windows based machines. I tend more towards rpg/mmo games as opposed to fps or simulations. I also have a "mouse dominant" as opposed to a "keyboard dominant" play style. This means that I prefer to mouse-click on the gui to activate actions, as opposed to keyboard activation. That being said, I have long sought a way to put those keyboard commands I DO use, under my left hand with no need to shift my hand around the keyboard.The Good: The G13 is a fully programmable auxiliary keypad. If you want a way to put almost all of your keyboard commands under one hand, this is it. It has 22 keys on the main pad, and 2 more and a mini-joystick for thumb control. All of the keys can be set to be individual or macro keystrokes. And profiles can be created for each game you play and set to be activated by the game's start-up file or shortcut. This makes it both extremely flexible and useful. The rest for the heel of the hand is non-slip padded enough to be comfortable. All of the main-pad keys are through-lit and thus easily seen in a darkened play areas. And the G4, and G10-G12 keys, normally set to WASD have a slight extra dishing to make them locate-able by feel. The spacing and stroke length is identical to the throw on my primary keyboard (a Logitech G15). Though the keys are aligned vertically rather than staggered as on a full keyboard. This may be annoying to those who prefer the newer chick-let style keyboards.The not sot Good: The reach is longer than I would like. I found that until I moved the heel of my hand up a bit on the rest, that a long game session produced a fair amount of fatigue. Moving my hand up on the rest gave my fingers more arch, and really reduced the fatigue. Unfortunately that moved my thumb out of position for the buttons on the thumb-pad. This has not been a major problem for me, as I have mapped a thumb button on my mouse to Spacebar. But could be a real problem if you can't do this. I also find myself wishing the key stroke-length was a bit shorter. If I could do a redesign on the G13 I would make the keys just slightly smaller to improve reach, reduce the stroke depth just a bit, and do something to allow the thumbpad to be moved along the edge of the pad to make it fit the individual user's hand position.The LED screen is a nice feature but of limited use in active gameplay, as I don't have time to look at it. It does give some interesting information if I have time (or remember) to look at it while I play. All in all, as I said at the outset, I love my G13. It is the first gamepad I don't have to consciously remind myself to use. And I find that I don't have to put my hands on my keyboard except to type messages. And can replace my hand back on the pad, in the correct position, almost as easily as I do my right hand on my mouse. Can I say any more? 4 of 5 stars.UPDATE, After more than 4 years of daily use: I LOVE this pad! It is still as functional as the day I unboxed it. If it were to die tomorrow, I would simply order another. It is one of the best gaming purchases I have made. I have made a few adjustments in the way I use it. And those have made all the difference.1) I always use my own custom set-up for each game. I have developed a "standard" layout for my games. i.e :a) I dropped the movement keys (usually WASD or arrows) down one row, for easier reach, and to make the top row available for number or function keystrokes.b) I program the keys for things like inventory, map, character stats, etc. in the same locations regardless of the actual game's key assignments. This let's me just play the games, rather than learn specific layouts.c) I don't try to use the "Thumb-stick" to control movement. Instead, I assign the direction positions to keystrokes or macros. (Usually both Right and Down, and Up and Left, to the same action.) This lets me do things like "Throw the Hutt-ball" in SWtoR, or make a special attacks in other games, by just flicking my thumb.2) I took an old corrugated paper box and some duct tape, and made an angled rest for my G13 to give it MY perfect play angle. I wrap this stand in a micro-fiber towel for additional comfort for my forearm. I can play for hours without fatigue. Yes, I am a true Geek, and as I am now retired, I have the time.3) I don't worry about the automatic game select function. Most of my games run through Steam, and getting them to auto-select is more bother than just using the LED Screen to scroll through to lock onto the game I am going to play. The USB trickle-charge keeps the game selected after my computer is shut down.For the above reasons, I have changed my rating from 4 to 5 stars.

Love this! First I'll address some items that I had trouble ascertaining from product description, questions and reviews:1. May be a no-brainer to some, but I wanted to know if my laptop would take 3 input devices with no problem (mouse, keyboard and gameboard). It does! But I switched my mouse and keyboard to Unifying wireless receiver (from Logitech) to take up one less USB port. I understand wireless mouse and keyboard is not the best for hardcore gaming- I've had hardware hesitations in WoW using wireless input.2. I really wanted this for repetitive PC tasks, with gaming far secondary. So happy it has no problem with almost anything I want in several pc programs. It's great for many things as long as you figure out the shortcut keys for your programs. It will not program any mouse cursor movement (only mouse clicks).3. The image makes it appear that it will sit upright. I hoped it would sit upright but it doesn't. I wanted it to take up less desk space. I would be very happy if it didn't have the handrest. But I suppose it needs a handrest for hardcore gaming hours on end. Perhaps next iteration can include a removable handrest or some sort of upright stand device.Right now I use it for several repetitive PC tasks including:1) -entering my name - saves seconds but it's worth it2) -entering email3) -highlight the address bar in Chrome, copy it, then switch to another tab in Chrome and paste it.4) -switching to a certain tab in Chrome without looking at the keyboard for the right number.5) -selecting a full sentence in Chrome (three clicks), copying it, alt-tab to OneNote, then pasting6) -alt-tab without me accidentally hitting the windows button. also eliminates any human delay. same for copy, paste, ctrl-t to open a new Chrome tab, ctrl-shift-t to reopen a closed tab.7) -open a new tab, enter an address and go to it. great for often visited websites like email, news, etc. I also have a sequence of opening several tabs with all the websites I work in.8) -click, tiny pause, click, tiny pause.... (one task I do takes hundreds of clicks - it sucks. Note: I do not set this up for hundreds of clicks itself, but rather 5 to 10. so I cut the hundreds of clicks by 5 or 10 times).9) -middle mouse click to open a link in a new tab - this way I can use two hands for more efficiency, instead of the right hand both moving the mouse and clicking the middle mouse key.10) -open Chrome download screen without memorizing the right Chrome keys or moving mouse and finding it in Chrome settings.11) selecting a whole sentence and replacing it with a common phrase I use.Even though several of these save me mere seconds, those seconds add up fast with all my repetitive tasks. Plus, since many of my tasks follow one another very soon, I can memorize the key pattern and that saves me even more time.Many of my multi-key settings involve things that I would normally have to move the mouse to do; moving the mouse takes an amount of time that quickly adds up.I don't understand people qualifying their review with "it takes some time to set up." Of course it takes time, but one time set up, plus testing, are exponentially outweighed by the time-saving benefits.- I will use it for gaming in the future. It works so well with my repetitive tasks that I'm sure it will be just as awesome in WoW and StarCraft.

If your like me then you bought this out of boredom and just wanted something to change. Overall i would say that this is the better of the few peripheral devices out there. It is sturdy and comfortable. Honestly i bought this because every time i would brush up against the caps lock button on my corsair vengeance, battlefield 4 would alt tab and go into windowed mode. I cant even explain how ungodly annoying that was. So this takes the place of my keyboard while gaming. The screen works like any logitech product that has an added lcd screen. Presents you with as many options for filling it as people can think up. Things like the clock, stopwatch, date and rss feed are kind of pointless to me but others might like it. The cpu/ram usage screen is invaluable. It gives me statistics on my computer whilst i am in game and alt tabbing would lead to certain death.Cons? Well... That depends on how you look at it. If your an avid gamer then it wont take you long to get used to it. If you are a once and a while gamer, it may take a wee bit longer. All in all it is (imho) worth it.It puts all of the useful keys that take 2 hands or god like omnipotence to reach with one hand in the time you need right at your finger tips.Ive had the equivalent razer devices and even a corsair one (yes i shop that often) and so far this one has the most useful features and least buggy programming.For those that enjoy it, the lights can change color and have multiple settings so you can pretty much change it with your outfit or your mood. Obviously your call.What dont i like about it? The fact that i put that much money into one object and i still go to bed lonely and frustrated. Would one hand job kill you? Really?!?!Beyond that the world is fantastic over here. Hope the review helped