When it comes to keyboards (and accessories as a whole, frankly), I can be a bit boring. I'm a huge fan of offering a broad slate of features and mechanics for users to take advantage of, but I also like a keyboard that blends into my desk and becomes part of the fixtures, if you will, and not some sort of eccentric statement piece. To this end, when Logitech presented the G316 X 98, I was rather quickly intrigued.
As the name implies, what we're talking about here is a 98% layout device, meaning you get the full functionality of a regular keyboard but in a slightly more compact frame. That's an immediate plus to me, as while I don't at all count a dedicated number pad as necessary on a keyboard, I enjoy having it on-hand, assuming it doesn't lead to the device becoming an elongated monster. In the case of G316 X 98, we're talking about a rather focussed gadget, a device that offers exactly what it needs to offer and without much additional fluff at all.
In fact, if you turned off the RGB element, you could quite easily think of this keyboard as a regular productivity accessory, the sort of device that would fit right in at an office. Again, it's subtle and tidy, well put together and intentionally designed, and RGB aside, the only element that betrays this keyboard's disguise is found in its upper right, where a twistable knob can be found, a small interactive dot-matrix that displays basic information is located, and also in Logitech's Game Mode button to reduce unnecessary interruptions.
So as you can see, from a design standpoint, the G316 X 98 gets very high marks from me. The build quality is excellent with high-grade plastic used for the body and keycaps, the switches are high-performance tactile mechanical ones that are responsive and reset quickly, and the shape and structure is so subtle and clean that I could see this device being my go-to keyboard for a long while to come. And while I can take it or leave it with RGB, the lighting effects on this device are bright, offer broad customisability, and beyond the under-key lighting, there's only one other subtle lighting zone, meaning it doesn't bombard you with 'gamerfied' colours.
As for the performance of the G316 X 98, it's very much a plug-and-play device, one that can be tweaked and enhanced to your needs through the ever-impressive Logitech G Hub software. There's options to switch the report rate from 1000Hz to 8000Hz, should you ever require that kind of performance, and beyond that, there's not much else you can (or really ever could need to) tweak. Would it be lovely if the keyboard had a wireless option too? Without question, but if wired is a way to offer it at a more affordable price point, I'm fine with what we're getting, as more often than not, your keyboard is staying on your desk and barely moving if at all.
With the G316 X 98, we're talking about a keyboard that does exactly what it sets out to achieve. The design philosophy of this gadget is immensely intentional, and yet there is still room for a sprinkling of added flair in the dot-matrix, which is a fancy way of telling you if caps lock is on, or if you're turning your volume up or down by twisting the knob. But again, aside from this dashing of spice, this is a keyboard that aims to offer what it says on the tin, and as a fan of focussed and straightforward engineering in accessories, there isn't much else I could want from this gadget. You could argue that £109.99/€119.99 is quite steep for a keyboard, but I've seen many options that are more expensive and offer less than this device does. So if you're searching for a new keyboard to serve you for years to come, a keyboard that won't look out of place on your desk and yet still ticks the game-related requirements you may have, the G316 X 98 is a good place to start.
