Logitech G Pro X Gaming Keyboard review: The switch-switching gamer’s keyboard

How do you stand out in the highly commoditised gaming keyboard space? We've seen a few different approaches to switch types, from mechanical, membrane and even hybrid designs. There's a fair degree of RGB customisation if that's your bag, but it's almost an assumed feature by now.

For the Pro X, Logitech has taken a different look at what you might focus on for a gaming keyboard, with an eye to highly modular repair and replace options that could lead to the Pro X being your keyboard of choice for a very long time indeed.

Design

• Tenkeyless design
• Black on black keys basically require RGB lighting to fully work
• Surprisingly heavy
• Removable USB cable

• Read our full review of the Logitech G Pro X's design

  Plenty of gaming keyboards go all-out on the features front, working off the core assumption that you'll place them at your desk and never move them again. The Logitech G Pro X instead opts for a much more compact tenkeyless design that could make it a good choice if you constantly travel with your keyboard in tow.

  The one caveat to that is that while it's not huge, it is surprisingly heavy. Logitech doesn't actually list a weight for the Pro X keyboard in its specifications, so I dropped it on some kitchen scales to get a rough weighting of 980 grams. It's surprisingly heavy for such a small keyboard.

  The design of the Logitech G Pro X is deliberately minimalistic to a fault, and I use those words advisedly. Each key has RGB lighting, as you'd expect out of just about any gaming keyboard, but they're otherwise black. Quite black, in fact, and this means if you don't want your keyboard lit up like a Christmas tree but you still want to look down at the keys, it's tougher to do so. It's particularly pronounced for the side function keys – page up and its brethren – which may as well be entirely blank once the RGB tones go off.

  The Logitech G Pro X is a USB-connected keyboard, but the cable isn't hard-tethered to the board itself. It uses a Micro USB connector at the keyboard end, and while the default cable does have little tethering hooks that help keep it plugged in, there's no essential reason you couldn't use a standard Micro USB cable if the existing one got lost or broken.

  That kind of modular approach is quite central to the Logitech G Pro X's appeal, of course.

Performance

• Entirely replaceable switches could give the Pro X many years of life
• Clicky keys live up to their name
• Customisable RGB is fun

• Read our full review of the Logitech G Pro X's performance

  There are plenty of gaming keyboards that offer up replacement keycaps so you can highlight your favourite combos or frequently needed keys, but the Logitech G Pro X goes a little deeper than that, with fully replaceable switches.

  Now, to be clear, I've not had the Logitech G Pro X long enough to need or want to make those changes, so I can't speak to the difficulty in doing so. Logitech didn't supply me with a set of replacement switches to test with, but they'll set you back $79.95 for a full set, whether you want its GX Brown Tactile (softer and quieter), GX Red Linear (quiet and smooth) or GX Blue Clicky (what it says on the tin) type.

  The model of the Logitech G Pro X I've been using has the GX Blue Clicky switches installed, and they're just as gloriously noisy as you might imagine.

  The Blue Clicky switches have the shortest overall travel distance of any of Logitech's switch types at 3.7mm, which sits nicely within my own comfort zone for both gaming and general typing duties. Mind you, I'm working out of a personal office, and I could easily imagine that hearing the Pro X keyboard go off in an open workspace could be traumatic for those around me when I'm typing fast.

Features

• Logitech's G-Hub needed for any RGB customisation
• Mac software is a tad buggy
• Key response is fast

• Read our full review of the Logitech G Pro X's features

  Because it's a USB-connected keyboard, and those have been around for more than 20 years now, you can just plug the Logitech G Pro X into any computer and it will work as a keyboard. The default here is simply for RGB on in a rainbow pattern, or off completely. That's probably fine for shop demonstration purposes, or if you never look at the keyboard anyway, but what you really want out of the Pro X – or any gaming keyboard – is RGB customisation.

  Logitech's software tool of choice here is its Logitech G Hub customisation software, which controls the macro and RGB programming for any of its gaming products on PC or Mac. It's a free download with no registration required.

  G Hub quickly identified the Pro X on any PC I tested it with, allowing me to choose from a range of fairly standard RGB patterns, as well as setting any colour combinations that took my fancy. That's by no means a unique feature of course – it's pretty standard, indeed.

  It wasn't quite the same story on the Mac platform. While it's true that the PC platform is still the "default" for many gamers, Mac gaming has come a very long way, and I was interested to note that Logitech provides its software for Mac users.

  However, on a MacBook Pro running macOS Catalina, a platform that Logitech's G Hub says it supports, I couldn't get the software to actually detect the connected Mac Pro X at all. Hopefully that's a software bug that will be quickly rectified.

Verdict

• A gaming keyboard that could last for years

In many ways the Logitech G Pro X is the quintessential basic gaming keyboard. That means it does cover all the basics you're likely to need, but that's nothing special, really.

In order to justify its $249.95 asking price, it would have to go a bit further, and whether or not it does depends on the level of customisation and repair you think you're going to need. Being able to, in essence, fully rebuild the entire keyboard is a very neat trick, and it's one that could give the Logitech G Pro X far more long term durability than other competing keyboards.

That does rather point it to being a niche within a niche when it comes to gaming keyboards. This isn't an option that will suit everybody.

Pricing and availability

The Logitech G Pro X Gaming Keyboard sells in Australia for $249.95.

Logitech G PRO X Mechanical Gaming Keyboard

Logitech G PRO X Mechanical Gaming Keyboard

With its swappable keys and switches, the Logitech G Pro X is built to keep you gaming strong for years to come.

Buy at Kogan

Specs

Where to buy