Logitech G910 Orion Spark: review

I don’t think I’ve ever excitedly beckoned someone through to the room to demonstrate what happens when a USB device is plugged in, but the Logitech G910 gaming keyboard had me do exactly that. Upon sliding the trusty universal connector into the back of my PC a rainbow of colour erupted across the keys, travelling in a sparkly wave from left to right with every bright colour I cared to remember. It’s a spectacle that blew me away before I had even poked at a key. But let’s be honest, a flashiness of an introduction is how you grade a peacock, not a gaming keyboard.

The G910, also known as the Orion Spark, is the latest piece of gaming input hardware to come out of the Logitech labs. The finely-tuned invisible spec headliner this time around is that it’s the world’s fastest mechanical gaming keyboard. The “exclusive new” Romer-G mechanical switches register your input up to 25 percent faster than other gaming keyboards, which the press release assures us will give you the edge in battle where every millisecond matters. Truth be told, it’s hard to notice this improved responsiveness. We suppose if you were to compare the Orion Spark to another keyboard under lab conditions, exerting an equal pressure on the keys of each simultaneously, then the G910 will edge out ahead of its competition. However, in the wild west of fastest finger first online gaming, this isn’t going to give you the magic bullet in a knife fight. But it is a really, really shiny knife.

You may be able to tell from the excitable introduction to this review, but the colour that comes from the keys adds a real wow factor to this keyboard. Everything starts off with the default Logitech blue that shines out of most of their other G-line gadgets. As soon as you’ve plugged this keyboard in, we really recommend you boot up the latest version of the Logitech Gaming Software. As well as offering the usual array of custom bindings and technical information, it also unlocks the aforementioned rainbow that lives within this desk straddling beast.

With LGS loaded you can bring up a virtual representation of the G910 and paint every key individually with the click of a button. Whilst there are eight or so pre-defined colours, you can also create your own shades with a colour pallet that stretches to 16.8 million colours in the RGB spectrum. This allows you to mark specific button clusters or hot keys that are important for certain games, and colour code your keyboard to your own exact spec. By the end of it, if you don’t have what looks like a panel from Star Trek in front of you, you’ve done it wrong.

Whilst colouring keys is a purely cosmetic touch that probably won’t make you better at games, that doesn’t matter because the effect looks utterly brilliant. This isn’t a peripheral company that’s tried to make things impractically angular and Lamborghini-like for that sporty finish, but instead Logitech has created an accessible and customisable experience tailor made by you. It’s really well implemented too, with the colour contained to each key icon without an annoying amount of light seeping out underneath the keys to spoil the effect with an unwanted glow.

Anyway, getting back to the more functional aspects of the Orion Spark, we’re also happy to report it has nine programmable G-keys on board, all ready to be programmed with your favourite macros and keyboard shortcuts. It features a simple record function that allows you to press a button, record the key sequence, and then press another button to finish recording and instantly write the commands to a G-key. This allows you to do a variety of handy things in game, as well as a few lazy applications for when you’re going about your daily computer business (instantly recalling your email address with a button is really neat).

Aside from its super-colourful custom key array, the Orion Spark looks very dominating on your desk. At just over 50cm long it’s a little larger than an average keyboard, and at 1.5kg it feels heavier. It takes a bit more than a nudge to slide this thing about your desk, which is ideal for when you’re wrist deep in a game, but not so handy when you’re trying to clear space for a flight stick or notepad. It’s not a huge problem though, it just requires a little more effort than you will initially assume.

When it comes to the keys themselves, each one is specially shaped with a pitted groove that’s perfect for your fingers. They’ve been designed like this allegedly to help prevent mistyping, but each key cap also fits your fingertips like a treat, making it extremely comfortable for long gaming sessions, especially for those times when you’re just resting your middle finger on the W key. And if palm rests are you thing, the G910 comes with a couple for you to switch around and experiment with.

Its final party trick is a really nice smartphone dock that slides out at the back, allowing your second screen to stand vertically in your eyeline. While this can be quite handy for keeping an eye on the time or emails when in game, it’s actually designed to use with Logitech Arx Control app. This lets you do all sorts of things, like monitor your peripherals, hardware, media and can even display in-game information on your phone screen (although this feature isn’t widely supported at the moment).

All-in-all the Orion Spark G910 mechanical gaming is a real winner in our eyes. You may wince at the £159 RRP, but you’re getting a robust, comfortable and tech-packed gaming keyboard with all the bells and whistles attached. The customisable colours look incredible when tuned to your specifications, but features such as programmable macro keys and dedicated media controls make it perfect for commanding your rig. It’s as visually striking as it is technically impressive.