// PC GAMER — GAMING
Logitech G316 X (tactile) gaming keyboard review
What could have been a promising keyboard, offering some gaming-oriented features and nice lighting for a mid-range price tag, is unfortunately let down by how its keys feel. They might be nicely clacky, but they're incredibly stiff and not tactile in the traditional sense.
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Logitech has expressed its desire to have its 'G3' products constitute its 'affordable'—but not necessarily budget—range of PC gaming peripherals. Given the general state of the economy and the fact that the quality-but-affordable market is my usual stomping ground, I was naturally excited to get my hands on this G316 X. Alas, what a disappointment.
My experience here is coloured very much by my experience with this keyboard's white 'tactile' switches, which are the switches in the version I was sent, as apparently this is all that will be available in the UK with a UK layout. The US will be able to get a version with linear switches, which will hopefully be at least somewhat better.
There are some things to like about this keyboard, such as the lighting and the sturdy keycaps, but it's impossible to look past the awful keypress experience, most pertinently for gaming. There's little more important than key feel for a keyboard, and there's little more important than having a good gaming key-feel experience in, well, a gaming keyboard. And this keyboard unfortunately struggles on the first front and completely fails on the latter.
On trying the G316 X, my first surprise was that the keys didn't feel tactile at all. Admittedly, it's been a while since I used any tactile switches (for good reason, as linear is king for most kinds of games), but to my memory, 'tactile' is supposed to mean you feel a bump partway down the keypress, and that's when the key actuates. That's good because you can press only that far, then lift back up a little, and press again, all the while being sure that your key has actuated.
Switch: 'Tactile' (but no mid-press bump)Keycaps: Double-shot PBTLighting: Per-key RGB and 30-zone light barConnection: Wired USB-C to USB-A, detachablePolling: 1–8 kHzWeight: 880 g / 1.94 lb (without cable)Price: $120 / $110 / €120
That's not what you get here, though. The G316 X's 'tactile' switches essentially feel like linear switches that require a ton of initial force to get them moving. I suppose they feel tactile in the sense that such tremendous initial force is required that you can't help but slam the keys into the keybed, but that's not truly 'tactile' in the original sense of the term.
It does sound clacky—though not thocky, if that's your jam—which is a genuine plus as long as you don't mind a loud keyboard, but it essentially feels like nothing more than a very stiff membrane keyboard. I wouldn't consider it in the same class of key feel as any other mechanical keyboard I've tried, only membranes.
If you want the feel of a stiff membrane that also has a bit of clack to it, then you might enjoy it. But even then, I'm not convinced. I spent a couple of days typing on the keyboard during work, and while initially the stiff, clacky keys felt and sounded nice, by the end of the day my fingers were quite fatigued. It does sound great if you prefer more of a 'clack' to a 'thock', but it is probably only worth it if you don't spend extended periods of time typing.