Logitech has a proven track record of creating consistently high-quality products. With its newest entry, the G413 SE, Logitech seems to be aiming for longevity and performance. Armed with LongHua brown tactile switches and a sleek design, the G413 SE aims to bring gamers a competitive gaming board at a more cost-effective price.
With this desire for a cost-effective solution, though, it's inevitable that some features that gamers are accustomed to aren’t present on Logitech’s G413 SE board. In some respects, the board could be classified as a stripped-down version of the G413. With this in mind, it does make one wonder if what is present in the G413 SE makes up for what isn’t. So without further ado, let's take some time to answer that question. Grab that coffee, kick back and check out our review of the Logitech G413 SE.
Specifications
- Current Price: $79.99 (Amazon)
- Configuration: Full-size 104 keyboard
- Switches: Long Hua Brown Tactile
- Actuation Force: 50g
- Total Travel Distance: 4.0mm
- Connection Type: USB 2.0
- Backlight: Yes(white per-key LED lighting)
- Keycaps: PBT Keycaps (Polybutylene Terephthalate)
- Water Resistant: Yes
- Heat Resistant: Yes
- Casing: Aluminum top case with hard plastic base
- Dimensions
- Length: 435mm
- Width: 127mm
- Height: 36.3mm
- Weight: 780g
- Cable Length:1.8m
Built Logitech Tough
On the surface, the Logitech G413 SE seems like a pretty simple-looking board. Its all-black design is accented by a simple gloss finished silver logo in the upper right corner. However, upon closer inspection, you quickly realize that there is more going on than meets the eye.
For starters, the top case of the board has a beautiful brushed aluminum finish that looks sleek and clean. The underside of the board is composed of hard, durable plastic with a matte finish giving the whole board a clean, simple look. The keycaps are made of polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), a high-quality plastic designed to withstand extreme temperatures and is resistant to all sorts of solvents.
Essentially the keycaps are designed to withstand long gaming sessions with sweaty, Cheetos encrusted fingers mercilessly mashing the keys. Though I can’t attest to the Cheetos encrusted finger test as I’m more of a pretzel guy myself, I can say that the keys look and feel durable with almost no fingerprint smudges left after my test sessions.
The keys are Long Hua brown tactile mechanical keys which translates to a soft tactile typing experience. Rated for 50 million cycle lifespan so you’ll be getting plenty of use out of your A, W, S, D keys. A simple white backlight illuminates each individual key once again leaning into that clean simple look. A 1.8m USB cable isn’t anything fancy but does provide plenty of length to run to your nearby tower.
The overall look and feel of the G413 SE are simple and functional. It's designed to endure some serious punishment. With the brown tactile keys, it also tries to strike a balanced middle-ground for gamers, giving them a quieter, tactile gaming experience. Overall the board is clean looking, feels nice on the fingers, and gets the job done.
Features
I referenced the G413 mechanical board in the introduction to this review. I did this because it's tough to look at the G413 SE without comparing it to its brother. Where the G413 offers USB passthrough, support for Logitech’s G-hub software for customizable profiles, lighting effects, macro support, and additional gaming-specific keycaps, the SE doesn’t.
The G413 SE is a basic, plug-and-play board. There are some basic function key supports such as key light brightness, 5 lighting effect settings and basic media controls. Aside from those though, there really isn’t a whole lot more the SE brings to the table. It feels a bit barebones when compared to the G413 honestly, at least from a features standpoint. This makes it a bit of a hard pill to swallow when you consider how closely the two keyboards are priced.
Now that being said, the features that are present all perform exceptionally well. I would argue that this is actually to the board's advantage. For gamers like myself that already run a lot of different software suites to manage aspects of my gaming experience, it was actually quite nice to simply plug the G413 SE in and start using it. Another aspect of the included features is that I didn’t need a manual to figure out how to use things like lighting effects, media controls, or brightness.
All of these are clearly marked on the board. On that note, I wanted to mention that I really appreciated specifically where the markings for each feature are. Instead of cramming it on top of the keycap as most boards do, Logitech strategically placed them on the side of the keycap. This makes it visible and clear as to what the key does at a glance. It's a simple thing that actually made a much bigger difference in my experience than I would have thought.
The bottom line is that the Logitech G413 SE is designed for gamers that don’t want the fuss of adjusting features and customizing colours. This board prioritizes function over features and that definitely shone through in my testing.
Performance
The G413 SE comes equipped with all of the performance pieces needed for a solid gaming experience. The LongHua brown tactile switches feel and perform like my Cherry switches on one of my other mechanical boards. Side by side the tactile experience felt exactly the same. The tactile response I get from the LongHua switches feels exactly like that of the Cherry switches.
Though I can’t attest to the longevity of these, they are rated with a 50 million cycle life span so I expect them to be able to handle anything I throw at them over the long haul. Keystrokes gave the kind of subtle response I have come to expect from the Cherry brown switches. Also, the LongHua brown keystroke sound delivers for those of us that like a little click in our keystroke.
Speaking of keystrokes, the G413 SE also boasts a 6-key rollover with anti-ghosting. This essentially means that you can face-roll up to six keys simultaneously with all six keys registering the keystroke. In practice, I found this to work quite well. During my gameplay tests, I never experienced a moment where the board didn’t register a keystroke, even during more hectic moments. In today's gaming experience, having anti-ghost keyboards is a must and the G413 SE delivers.
One of the other aspects of this board that tested well is its resistance to showing wear. The board doesn’t seem to leave behind real fingerprints on the keys themselves. Though it's worth noting that the brushed aluminum top case is susceptible to oil residue from your fingers which means it will smudge.
The G413 SE performed exceptionally well in all my tests. With its lack or need of G-Hub support for performance, it is actually an ideal keyboard for those who use it on multiple devices across different platforms. In my case, I was able to quickly unplug it from my gaming rig and connect it to my Macbook Pro and continue working.
This may seem like a simple thing but for anyone who has ever tried to plug a gaming peripheral into a Mac, it is usually fraught with confusion, things not working and a general level of frustration. The G413 SE removes that. It works wherever you plug it in. This included my Mac, Xbox Series S, and my PS4 Pro. There is an appreciation when things just work without a hassle and the G413 SE excels at just working, no questions asked.
Final Thoughts
The Logitech G413 SE is a solid mechanical keyboard that excels at what it does. It doesn't come packed to the brim with all of the fancy RGB and macro programming we expect from a gaming board but it also doesn’t come with the headaches associated with setting up and maintaining boards like that. What it lacks in features it more than makes up for in function. Its simple, durable design means it will fit a host of settings and configurations without a lot of extra work required.
If you’re looking for a solid, reliable keyboard from a trusted brand, the Logitech G413 SE delivers. Though it does lack some of the features of its brother, the G413, it still performs exceptionally well and offers a long-term solution for your gaming needs. The challenge is that the two are so closely priced that it might be tough to decide which is the better board for you. Ultimately it will come down to what your preference on features is. If you are looking for a plug-and-play experience with little hassle and ease of use the G413 SE is a solid choice. With an MSRP of 79.99USD, the G413 SE from Logitech is a board worth considering.
The product described in this article was provided by the manufacturer for evaluation purposes.
