Logitech G413 SE mechanical keyboard review: Affordable, but not cheap enough

A common complaint about mechanical keyboards is that they are expensive, especially if you prefer a well-known brand. But Logitech is challenging that with its new G413 SE, which is one of the company’s cheapest mechanical keyboards. At $80, it barely falls into the budget category, and there’s also a $70 keyless version.

Logitech offers quality, slightly unusual typing. The conservative design of the G413 SE will also win over users who feel that mechanical keyboards, especially gaming devices, have become too bright.

Despite a reputation for high prices, $80 mechanical keyboards still have a lot to offer these days. But when comparing the feature sets of budget mechanical keyboards, the G413 SE is more expensive than it should be.

Limited opportunities

I don’t know why Logitech classifies the G413 SE as a gaming keyboard and not a general use keyboard. The device lacks the impressive feature set of the company’s other gaming clickers. Even the non-SE G413 offers more and costs $10-$20 less at the time of writing.

G413 SE does not work with Logitech G Hub software. So, unlike the non-SE version, which allows you to program the F1-F12 keys, including via macros, there is no programming option here at all.

In addition, the 2017 non-SE G413 has a USB pass-through port and cable management designed for gaming mice and headphones. It comes with a red (instead of white) backlight option and claims to support 26-key rollover, allowing the keyboard to register 26 key rollovers, compared to 6-key rollover. It even comes with extra keycaps and a keycap remover.

We haven’t tested the non-SE G413, which has non-SE tactile mechanical switches (Logitech’s Romer G Tactile) and uses ABS keycaps. The G413 SE’s move to PBT plastic seems to be the only obvious improvement over the non-SE, though as updates roll in, that’s nothing to sneeze at. This helps the G413 SE stand out when typing, but the more expensive special edition of any keyboard should really have more advantages over the standard edition.

Black and basic

Some mechanical keyboards combine bright, retro, or bold color schemes with bright, multicolored backlighting on the keys, body, or even wrist rest. The G413 SE seems to take a different approach: it doesn’t want to be seen. In fact, until you turn on its white backlight, the dark lettering on its black caps is hard to see.

Users who find beauty in sophistication or who need a sleek black body to complete their setup may appreciate the G413 SE. But combined with the lack of unique features, this overall design can best be described as “simple”.

The most striking aspect of the keyboard is its white backlighting. Since the writing on the caps was illegible from my sitting position, I always needed a backlight. The G413 SE’s bright LEDs are non-RGB, but they shine through dark keycaps, creating a glow between the keycaps that is visible when viewed from top to bottom.

This backlight is a step above the base one. It has five effects: in one effect, lighting appears and disappears; in another, the keys are highlighted brighter than the rest for a second after being pressed. Effects, as well as brightness (three levels plus off), are controlled by pressing the Fn, F12 and F1 and F2 keys, respectively. However, placing all the lighting controls next to each other would be more intuitive.

Soulless lightweight plastic with a slightly glossy finish makes up the bottom of the case. Meanwhile, the aluminum top plate gives more imagination. The subtle matte finish on the top gives the keyboard more texture and weight, as well as occasional fingerprint smudges.

Another victim of SE’s low cost? Cable. It’s just a normal rubber thing with no restrictions where it connects to the keyboard (although the connector is quite thick). Budget keyboards often feel cheaper and poorly made, and the G413 SE’s two-year warranty is longer than some of its more expensive competitors.