The Logitech G513 is a very good wired, full-size keyboard. This is an excellent choice for gamers, as it has customizable RGB backlighting, a comfortable wrist rest, and the tactile switches on our unit offer a light and responsive gaming experience. That said, there are linear, tactile, or clicky switches available as well. Unfortunately, while you can set macros in the companion software, they're limited to the function keys, and there's no onboard memory to save your settings. While this board used to be available with Romer-G Tactile and Linear switches, it's now only available at most retailers with GX Blue, Red, and Brown switches.
Our Verdict
The Logitech G513 is an excellent keyboard for gaming. The tactile switches on our unit offer a light and responsive gaming experience. The frame is made of plastic and aluminum, which feels sturdy and doesn't exhibit any noticeable flex. It has RGB backlighting, which can be customized in the companion software. Unfortunately, the keycaps are made of ABS plastic that feels cheap and will attract oil from your fingertips. Also, while there are macro-programmable keys, they're dedicated to the function buttons only.
- Light and responsive gaming experience.
- Wide variety of switches available.
- Good build quality.
- Comfortable, detachable wrist rest.
- Macros only available on function keys.
- Straight profile.
The Logitech G513 is a good keyboard for office use. The switches on our unit are quiet and offer a light typing experience. On the upside, they're quiet enough not to disturb those around you. The ergonomics are decent, as it comes with a detachable wrist rest and one incline setting, which should help reduce pain and fatigue.
- Wide variety of switches available.
- Quiet switches on our unit.
- Comfortable, detachable wrist rest.
- Straight profile.
The Logitech G513 is a wired-only keyboard and can't be used with a mobile device.
The Logitech G513 is a good keyboard for programmers. The tactile switches on our unit are quiet and offer a light typing experience. Its frame is made of both aluminum and plastic that feels sturdy and doesn't show any signs of flex. It also has full RGB backlighting, which can be customized in the companion software. It has macro-programmable keys, but they're dedicated to the function keys only.
- Wide variety of switches available.
- Good build quality.
- Quiet switches on our unit.
- Comfortable, detachable wrist rest.
- No multi-device pairing.
- Macros only available on function keys.
- Straight profile.
The Logitech G513 is bad for use with a home theater PC. It doesn't have wireless connectivity, so you'll need to run a cable from the couch to the computer, which isn't ideal if you're worried about tripping over wires. Additionally, you need a separate mouse to navigate because it doesn't have a trackpad.
Changelog
- Updated Oct 01, 2024: We've added a link to the newly-reviewed HyperX Alloy Rise to the Hardware Customizability section.
- Updated Nov 29, 2023: We've converted this review to Test Bench 1.3.1, which adds a new estimated PCB latency test to the Single-Key Latency section and a new Analog test to the Switches section of this review. You can see the full changelog here.
- Updated Oct 30, 2023: We've converted this review to Test Bench 1.3, which overhauls how key input is evaluated. We've added new tests for Single Key Latency, Multi Key Latency, Data Transmission, and Chord Split. We've also introduced a new Raw Performance usage and adjusted how the Gaming and Office usage scores are calculated. You can see the full changelog here.
- Updated Jul 13, 2023: We've added a disclaimer in the Backlight Features section of this review after receiving community feedback about the blue LED lights failing sooner than other colors.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Logitech G513 is available in two colors and in a wide variety of switch variants. While this board used to be available with Romer-G Tactile and Linear switches, it's now only available at most retailers with GX Blue, Red, and Brown switches. You can see our unit's label here.
Popular Keyboard Comparisons
The Logitech G513 is a wired, full-size keyboard, excellent for gamers. It looks and performs almost identically to the Logitech G413, but features a detachable wrist-rest and full RGB backlighting. Like many gaming keyboards on the market, it's available in a wide variety of switches.
For other options, check out our recommendations for the best RGB keyboards, the best gaming keyboards, and the best mechanical keyboards.
The Logitech G513 is an upgraded version of the Logitech G413 that includes a wrist rest and full RGB backlighting. They perform almost identically. There are some slight differences in the pre-travel distance and operating force, but it's fairly minor and shouldn't be noticeable to most people.
The Logitech G513 and the Logitech G815 LIGHTSYNC RGB are quite different. Although they're both full-size keyboards, the G815 is a low-profile mechanical keyboard, while the G513 has a more standard height. The G513's Romer-G and the G815's GL Tactile switches have fairly similar pre-travel distance and operating force, so they perform almost identically in terms of responsiveness. The main difference is that the low-profile switches have a shorter total travel distance. The G513 provides a better typing experience mainly because the G815's keys wobble, and some people might not like the shorter travel because the keys bottom out sooner. The G513 comes with a nice wrist rest, but the G815 has dedicated media controls, dedicated macro keys, and onboard memory.
The Logitech G512 Special Edition and the Logitech G513 are two very similar keyboards that perform almost the same, but the G513 is more comfortable as it has a detachable wrist rest. Other than that, the main difference is the type of switches. Both options use Logitech proprietary switches; the G512 is available with different GX switches, while the G513 uses Romer-G switches. The GX Blue Clicky switches on our G512 unit have a longer pre-travel distance and require more force to actuate than the G513's Romer-G Tactiles. However, the G512 provides a better typing experience because the tactile feedback is more pronounced, and the longer pre-travel helps reduce typos. That said, the typing experience changes depending on which switch type you get. Other than that, the only other difference is that the G513 comes with a wrist rest.
For gaming, the Logitech G513 scores better than the Logitech G613 LIGHTSPEED mainly because the G513 has backlighting and the G613 doesn't. We tested the G513 with Romer-G Tactile switches, the same ones as on the G613, so they perform almost identically in that regard. And even though the G513 is wired and the G613 is wireless, latency is only slightly higher on the G613 and shouldn't be noticeable. The G513 feels better built and has a USB passthrough, while the G613 has dedicated media controls, multi-device pairing, and a column of dedicated macro keys.
Test Results
The Logitech G513 is a full-size keyboard that takes up a lot of space on your desk and even more so when the wrist rest is attached.
The Logitech G513 gaming keyboard's build quality is good and is very similar to the Logitech G512 Special Edition and Logitech G413. The faceplate is made of aluminum, and the plastic bottom frame exhibits almost no signs of flex. The rubber incline feet are decent and grippy enough to keep the keyboard from sliding around. Unfortunately, the keycaps are made of cheap ABS plastic that will attract oil from your fingertips over time. If you'd prefer a board with PBT keycaps, check out the Logitech G413 SE.
Note: We've received community feedback that the blue-colored LED lights in this keyboard's backlighting may tend to fail sooner than other colors. For more details, see the Backlight Features section below.
The Logitech G513 has decent ergonomics. It has one incline setting and comes with a detachable wrist rest that should help reduce fatigue.
If you're looking for a full-size gaming keyboard that offers more hardware customizability, check out the HyperX Alloy Rise.
The Logitech G513 has full RGB backlighting. Each key is individually-backlit and can be customized further through Logitech's G HUB software. You can also control the brightness directly on the keyboard by pressing FN+F7. If you're looking for a keyboard with flat tile keycaps and transparent switches designed to better showcase the RGB backlighting, check out ROCCAT Vulcan Pro.
Note: We didn't experience any issues with this keyboard's backlighting during testing, but we've received community feedback indicating that the Blue LED lights on this keyboard may tend to fail sooner than other colors. This may be because blue LEDs require more voltage than red or green, and this is a known problem that isn't unique to this particular keyboard or the Romer-G switches it uses. However, the volume of reports online from other users may indicate this issue is more commonly experienced with this keyboard for unknown reasons.
We encourage readers interested in this product to purchase under warranty directly from Logitech or an approved reseller and to contact Logitech support in case of any issues.
This keyboard has a non-detachable braided cable that's fairly long. It's very stiff and retains kinks easily.
This is a wired-only keyboard.
The Logitech G513 has a few nice features. There's a USB passthrough that allows you to plug in other peripherals and charge devices. There's also a 'Game Mode' key, which is essentially a Windows Lock key to prevent accidentally minimizing your screen during gaming sessions. Unfortunately, only the function keys are macro-programmable. If you prefer a keyboard where every key is macro-programmable, check out the HyperX Alloy FPS RGB.
Typing on this keyboard feels good overall. Our unit uses Romer-G tactile switches, which offer a small tactile bump and feel like a mushier version of the Cherry MX Brown switches. It's also available with clicky or linear switches. The keycaps feel solid and don't wobble much, but are made of cheap ABS plastic and may get slippery over time due to the oil in your fingertips. On the upside, it should feel comfortable due to the plushy wrist rest and shouldn't cause any fatigue. While this board used to be available with Romer-G Tactile and Linear switches, it's now available with GX Blue, Red, and Brown switches only.
Our unit's Romer-G Tactile switches are quiet and shouldn't bother those around you. That said, there are variants available that may be too loud for an office environment, such as the GX Blue switches, which are loud and clicky.
Our unit uses Romer-G Tactile switches, which have a small tactile bump right before the actuation point. They have a very short pre-travel distance and require very little force to actuate, making them feel responsive and light. While this board used to be available with Romer-G Tactile and Linear switches, it's now available with GX Blue, Red, and Brown switches only.
The Logitech G513 has exceptionally low latency. You shouldn't feel any delay while on the desktop or gaming.
This keyboard has good software support thanks to Logitech's G HUB. You can customize the RGB backlighting and program your macros from here, and create unique profiles to suit your needs. Unfortunately, there's no onboard memory to save your settings, and an account is needed if you want to use the Cloud Sync feature. If you want a keyboard that has onboard memory to save custom profiles, check out the Corsair K60 RGB PRO Low Profile.
There weren't any software issues during testing, but many users online have reported various problems trying to use the Logitech G HUB software, including but not limited to startup issues, freezing, and connection issues with some devices. If you'd like to share your experience using Logitech G HUB with this keyboard, feel free to leave a comment in the discussions section.
The Logitech G513 has decent compatibility. It's fully compatible with Windows, but the 'Pause' and 'Scroll Lock' buttons don't work on macOS. The G HUB software is, unfortunately, not available on Linux.