Logitech G413 SE & TKL – Review

Keyboards, oh how you have changed. From being the undervalued stepchild of the peripheral family to becoming an essential piece of kit for anyone and everyone who wants to build a good setup. I have always been in favour of making the keyboard the last upgrade as it has to do the least important job. After many keyboard reviews I have changed my mind completely, don’t buy the cheap and nasty office keyboards, get a good one, and thanks to Logitech, a good one, does not need to cost an arm and a leg…

I was instantly intrigued when Logitech announced their new and improved G413, now with a TKL version as well Cherry switches. This means you are getting a mechanical gaming keyboard, which is a TKL, minus some RGB, as the Logitech G413 TKL SE does not have RGB, all for an extremely budget price!

Logitech has taken a mechanical keyboard and stripped back many of the features that spike the price while keeping the essentials to make the Logitech G413 TKL SE a superb entry-level mechanical keyboard

Packaging and Design

What has always struck me about the Logitech G range is how minimal, yet, eye-catching their packaging is. They do a good job to provide strong and suitable packaging while keeping it so familiar with fonts and designs that make them instantly recognizable amongst the competitors, the G413 SE & TKL packaging is no different

Logitech has in recent years refined the design of their gaming keyboards. With the less-is-more approach, their keyboards might all seem very similar on the outside, but it is the finer details, and most certainly what lays inside, that sets the Logitech range apart from each other. The Logitech G413 SE and TKL sits towards the lower end of the range, serving as the first step into the mechanical keyboards. First and foremost, as the name suggests, the Logitech G413 TKL SE is Numpad-less which makes for a great compact design that can easily be confused for a GPro keyboard.

The Logitech G413 SE & TKL continues with its clean design throughout the keyboard. The cable, which is unfortunately not detachable or braided, has plenty of length. The media keys are not standalone but built into the F-row and can be accessed using the Fn key. The peculiar thing is that Logitech has decided to flip the Logitech logo, which is usually RGB, on the left corner but instead on the Logitech G413 SE and TKL they have decided, to go with a shiny silver logo placed on the right side, accompanied by the Caps and scroll lock lights. Another nod to the “less-is-more” in terms of RGB that they have taken with the G413 SE and TKL.

Stepping into the shoes of its much bigger and more expensive brothers, the G815 and G915, that features a metal top plate, the Logitech G413 TKL SE itself features a beautiful black brushed aluminum finish that certainly makes the G413 TKL SE feel much more premium than its price suggests.

Features

For some the G413 name might sound familiar, and you are right, there has been a G413 before. that featured Romer-switches, USB-passthrough, 26key anti-ghosting, and two options of backlight colour. All of these sound nice from the marketing side but they all add to the price. Logitech has decided to strip a lot of these “nice-to-haves” away while still producing a purist gaming keyboard.

Although the Logitech G413 TKL SE does have Cherry switches they are not original models so they are unfortunately not hot-swappable, this means you will need to do some soldering if you were to want to change them out.

The Logitech G413 TKL SE also features only 6 button anti-ghosting. I say “only” because the G413 model before had 26 key anti-ghosting, but if you think of it realistically, you cannot press more than 6 buttons simultaneously, by accident, so I think a 6 button anti-ghosting is a very acceptable level.

Did I mention the bright white RGB? As previously mentioned, the G413 TKL SE only features one backlight colour, being white. But it once again compliments the design and styling of the G413 TKL SE. The fonts on the very well-made PBT keycaps are clear and precise and with the white LED lighting them up they really give the G413 TKL SE a great look while keeping the light bleed at a minimum.

Naturally the Logitech G413 SE fullsized keyboard has the added numpad to the right of the keyboard. If you are planning on using this keyboard for some work related jobs and then switch over to some gaming later, this keyboard has you covered. With the rather quiet switches, this keyboard won’t drive your office colleagues insane like some of the more clicky keyboards can.

Verdict

Logitech has taken a mechanical keyboard and stripped back many of the features that spike the price while keeping the essentials to make the Logitech G413 SE and TKL a superb entry-level mechanical keyboard. For those who have experienced more premium keyboards, might not gravitate towards the G413 SE or TKL, but if you are looking for your first mechanical keyboard, or in need of a budget-friendly replacement, the Logitech G413 SE or TKL definitely ticks all the boxes, while looking cool, calm and collected.

And if you are in the market for something that can cater for both work and play, the Logitech G413 SE bridges the gap perfectly while balancing a good pricetag with good quality materials and a all-round good-looking piece of equipment.

Special thanks to Logitech South Africa for the reviewed product