INTRODUCTION

   2015 was a great year for gamers not only because we all witnessed the release of many interesting game titles for the PC (such as the Witcher 3, Fallout 4, Mortal Kombat X, Star Wars Battlefront, Mad Max, Just Cause 3, Batman Arkham Knight, Dying Light and many more) but also because there was a significant spike in the number of gaming peripherals released. That however was not as interesting as the fact that several manufacturers released mechanical gaming keyboards featuring their very own switches one of which was Logitech with their ROMER-G. The G910 Orion Spark was their very first mechanical gaming keyboard to feature their switches (co-developed with OMRON) and although it scored very high in all our tests it wasn't exactly what we'd call a compact keyboard. Well with so many manufacturers reducing the size of their keyboards just by removing the numpad (tenkeyless design) Logitech decided to take the same path and the result is the G410 Atlas Spectrum Compact Mechanical Gaming RGB Keyboard.

   Focused on innovation and quality, Logitech designs personal peripherals to help people enjoy a better experience with the digital world. We started in 1981 with mice, which (new at the time) provided a more intuitive way of interacting with a personal computer. We became the worldwide leader in computer mice, and have reinvented the mouse in dozens of ways to match the evolving needs of PC and laptop users. Since those early days, we have expanded our expertise in product design beyond the computer mouse, with a broad portfolio of interface devices that are the “last inch” between you and your computer or your console game, digital music or home-entertainment system. With products sold in almost every country in the world, Logitech’s leadership in innovation now encompasses a wide variety of personal peripherals (both cordless and corded), with special emphasis on products for PC navigation, gaming, Internet communications, digital music and home-entertainment control. For each of our product categories, we study how our customers use their digital devices, and then our designers and engineers set their sights on how we can create a better experience with those devices – richer, more comfortable, more fun, more productive, more convenient, and more delightful.

   As already mentioned the G410 Atlas Spectrum is basically a cut-down version of the G910 Orion Spark so aside the lack of a numpad and dedicated macro keys it pretty much shares the same features as its larger brother. So leaving out the obvious feature which are the ROMER-G switches (require 25% less actuation force compared to regular mechanical switches and are consider among the fastest ones in the market today) the G410 Atlas Spectrum offers individual RGB illumination for its keys, several lighting effects, anti-ghosting for all keys, media control keys and of course Logitech’s unique Arx Control Display which makes use of your smartphone or tablet to display various information screens. Once again Logitech decided to skip on placing USB ports on the keyboard (and we forgot to mention that unlike the G910 the G410 has no swappable wrist rests) but depending on the how good the end result is this may not impact our final results much (just like it didn't with the G910).

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

Just like with the G910 the box of the G410 has a large product picture at the front, the company logo and a drawing of the Romer-G switches.

With a total of 5 pictures Logitech showcases the main product features at the rear of the box (the features list is also printed at the rear in 4 languages).

Packaging is standard so again we see the keyboard wrapped inside a plastic bag and kept in place via an extension of the cardboard box.

If you were looking for a rich bundle you will be disappointed since aside the keyboard itself Logitech has only placed the setup guide and the warranty information paper.

THE G410 ATLAS SPECTRUM

Measuring 390.5mm in width, 185,2mm in length and 35.5mm in height the G410 Atlas Spectrum is roughly 20% smaller compared to the G910 Orion Spark.

Unfortunately the G910 was not here at the time we got the G410 but we did place it right next to the Poseidon Z RGB Gaming Keyboard by Tt eSPORTS to showcase its size.

The G logo is placed on the far upper left corner right over what seems to be a handle for carrying the G410 around with ease.

It may not have a removable wrist rest but the G410 does have a textured one which also has the model number/name.

Just like the G910 the G410 has a ARX pull-out tablet/phone stand.

This time over however the stand detaches entirely from the keyboard allowing you to place it anywhere you want.

The WASD and arrow keys feature specially designed keycaps to stand out from the rest.

F9 through F12 along with the print screen, scroll lock and pause break keys double as media navigation keys while right above them we find the windows lock (game button) and brightness level buttons.

The Romer-G mechanical switches were designed to compete with Cherry MX switches (they land very close to the Brown ones) but feature a higher lifespan of up to 70 million actuations. According to Logitech their Romer-G switches feature the so-called light pipe to focus light onto the keycap and although this results in them not being the brightest ones around still it makes the fonts much easier to read.

At the base of the keyboard we find 5 rubber feet and two long height adjusters.

These height adjusters raise the keyboard roughly 11mm from the desk.

Here we see the ARX stand with a 5.5 inch smartphone mounted on it and the highest available brightness level (more on the ARX system can be found here).

LOGITECH GAMING SOFTWARE

Once again you will need to download the latest drivers/software from the official Logitech support page.

The Logitech Gaming Software UI is the same we saw when testing the G910 so the main screen shows you a picture of the keyboard and all the available options at the bottom.

From the first tab you can either program the G-Keys manually or use one of the ready profiles the software may (or may not) have already loaded for compatible games installed in your system (after that you can save your settings for use later on). You can also choose which keys you want disabled when game mode is on.

Again just like with the G910 you can choose between three lighting modes freestyle, zones and effects. Freestyle allows the end user to select individual keys to illuminate, zones allows you to group keys together while the effects mode can be used with several custom presets including color wave, color cycle, breathing, star effect and key press (you can also change direction and speed).

This is not the first time we've seen the key press heat map but although i don't consider this to be important i hear that it can be really useful for people who are looking for ways to improve their typing.

Here we’ve placed several of the available illumination modes and effects for all of you to see.

AUDIBLE FEEDBACK

Many people ask my opinion on what keyboard they should get for their needs. Some want a “silent” model for use in their living room or even in their bedroom while others ask for a model with good audible feedback for use in the office or for gaming. Because of this I decided to test keyboards by placing our ExTech HD600 vertically over each keyboard (5cm distance) and typing NikKTech a total of 6 times with each (after that the max recorded number - max hold - is placed in the graph). I have to admit that this may not be 100% accurate but it does give a good idea on what you can expect from each model since aside the type of switches used keycaps and keyboard material also matter.

CONCLUSION

   The G910 Orion Spark is one of the best Mechanical Keyboards to ever reach our lab although we all think it could had been even better had Logitech added powered USB ports. Naturally we thought the G410 Atlas Spectrum would be just another G910 minus the numpad and macro keys but after finishing our review I can say that this is not exactly the case. Of course you are getting the same ROMER-G mechanical switches we all liked when testing the G910 (a bit too soft for my taste when typing but very good when playing games) and you’re also getting individual RGB key illumination with several modes and effects but compared to its larger brother the build quality of the G410 just feels inferior. I don’t know if Logitech deliberately used different components to reduce the weight of the G410 (tenkeyless models are usually aimed towards people who attend LAN parties) but it just doesn’t have the same sturdy feeling as the G910 and that is something that I personally didn’t like (others didn’t seem to have that issue however). The ARX system remains the same here as well and although the base also doesn’t feel as “sturdy” as the one found in the G910 still I liked having the ability to move it around.

   So what about price? Well currently the G410 Atlas Spectrum by Logitech retails for USD129.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 122.59Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) a price which places it right next to several other RGB mechanical gaming keyboards. The problem however is that currently there aren’t many tenkeyless RGB models available from the leading manufacturers and with regular tenkeyless models priced a lot less the G410 may look expensive to some people. Fortunately that’s not the case since the G410 offers much more in terms of features compared to regular tenkeyless models so people who are really interested in something more will not have a problem with that. Personally I’d pick the G910 Orion Spark over the G410 Atlas Spectrum any day of the week since I like full sized keyboards more. Still I can’t deny that the G410 is a far more “complete” solution compared to regular tenkeyless mechanical gaming keyboards and for that it gets our Golden Award.

PROS

- Design
- Size (Tenkeyless Model)
- Full RGB Key Illumination (16.8m Colors)
- Available Effects
- Individual Key Illumination
- Romer-G Mechanical Switches (70M Actuations/Reduced Actuation Force By 25%)
- Anti-Ghosting
- Arx Control Integration (Removable Docking Port)
 

CONS

- No USB Ports
- Overall Build Quality