[REVIEW] The G910 Orion Spark. Is it any good?

[TheSLSAMG]

(Now with a 3good picture from a T5 Rebel.)

 

 I’ve had an uninteresting/boring past when it comes to keyboards. My first keyboard with my gaming PC was a Microsoft Wireless 800. After that came a Logitech MK320. My first two keyboards then were plastic hunks of wireless membrane junk. There wasn’t really anything wrong with either of them, but they didn’t feel very nice and they didn’t feel like high-quality solutions. So, I wised up. I went around the internet a bit and people were talking about “mechanical keyboards.” I learned about Cherry MX, the most common switch type and the keyboards that carried them. I looked for the best price for what I wanted and I ended up with a Razer BlackWidow Tournament Edition. It rocked Cherry MX Blues. While I liked the feel, the build quality and noise let me far down. I used it for about a year, and then found the Logitech G710 Plus. I heard about how Cherry MX Browns were basically quiet MX Blues and how the G710 Plus was one of the best gaming keyboards out there. I wasn’t a fan of the color scheme but I picked one up and fell in love. It felt great.

 

So, two years down the line I find myself wanting something new. The keyboard market has changed quite a lot now. Cherry’s patent on the MX design expired and companies started making their own, most notably Kailhua (Rosewill RGB80, Razer’s new BlackWidows, Thermaltake’s Poseidon Z, etc.) But they were obviously cheap Cherry ripoffs, feel and all. I wanted something that would still scream quality and be an actual upgrade from the G710+. I was originally set on getting Corsair’s K70 RGB, as the lighting and genuine Cherry switches drew me in. However, considering how much of a hard time my cousin has had with his original keyboard and his replacement, I became skeptical. The software on Corsair’s solution, while having better features than the G910 has some obvious issues and a steep learning curve. There were few other options for RGB keyboards since the RGB80 and BlackWidow Chroma use Kailhua switches. There was one obvious choice left though, and it was from Logitech. The G910 Orion Spark. The appearance is striking, the design leaves questions and the lighting is gorgeous and hassle-free. But it comes at a higher average price point than the Chroma and K70. I feel however that it’s not fair to compare the Orion Spark to the K70, as the obvious omission of macro keys leaves but the K95 RGB for Corsair, which retails at a whopping $189.99 USD (though it can be found for less.) But the G910 has Omron’s new Romer-G switch, how does it stack up to Cherry? Let's dive in and find out.

 

Build/Design

It has a fair bit of heft to it. It’s thick, chunky and very nicely built. It uses soft touch plastic nearly everywhere, with gloss black plastic in some key places (like between the wrist rest and the keyboard’s body.) Crumbs and debris may build up in that area over time, but it’s nothing a can of air won’t get rid of. The keycaps have a sharp inward angle to them to keep your fingers in place. They perform their function fairly well, though I’m not a huge fan of the feel. The inconsistency in the design of the keycaps is what really kills it though for me. The WASD, arrow keys and G keys have a line design on them, the rest of the keys do not. Some of the keys have sharp angles, some are rather tame and the Windows keys are convex. It feels like a mishmash of design decisions made by multiple people without taking input.

 

Lighting/Arx Dock/Arx Companion

The lighting shines through the keycaps in a very uniform and strong enough manner. The colors are vibrant, however the color wheel in Logitech’s Gaming Software is not entirely accurate. I found that I had to play around with it a lot to get the exact color I wanted, but I was always able to get the color right. Unfortunately, the NUM/CAPS/SCROLL lock lights and the media keys are permanently blue. Disappointing but not a deal breaker. The software is very easy to use, but I would like to see more lighting diversity in the mix (for example, make the colors in the wave mode editable and make a reactive typing mode like Corsair’s with the water pond effect.) Now for the part everyone has been waiting for, the Arx Dock! Kidding, but it’s an interesting add for sure. The Arx companion app for iOS and Android is easy to use and offers some nice features, such as modifying macros and monitoring system temps and usage. It’s a nice addition to an awesome keyboard.

               

Ergonomics/Comfort

                Sorry to bore you guys with everything but the switches, but I see this as an important time to talk about ergonomics. The keycap design is interesting, but a little strange and uncomfortable to use. You will get used to them, but it takes time. That’s not my concern though. The wrist rest design is seemingly inadequate. While writing this review, I had to take a couple of breaks because my right wrist was feeling sore (though I have not yet felt that same soreness again since.) The left wrist is fine due to the large palm mount, but the right wrist isn’t left with much as it’s assumed that the keyboard will be used primarily for gaming. I would have loved to see a uniform design here, though if you’re willing to hack apart a $170 keyboard with a Dremel it can be fixed. That’s not a valid solution though.

 

Omron's switches

                Lastly, the switches. Omron, you have really outdone yourselves here. They’re almost perfect to me. They bottom out quickly, which I happen to like a lot. They feel like shallow MX Reds, yet they feel better than an analogy can describe. They’re pretty quiet, they feel great and they’re good for any typist. Too bad the caps are so angled. If the switches were designed to be compatible with MX stems, they would be perfect. The lack of availability of aftermarket caps is another downside then. If you want a highly customizable keyboard, this isn’t the one for you.

 

Closing

                To close, I can say this with great certainty. This is the best keyboard I have ever used so far bar none. It’s nicely built out of materials that were well thought out with the end user in mind, the switches feel sublime and the lighting is beautiful. However, the keycaps are awkward to use, the blue LEDs for the media keys is a disappointment and the wrist rest is not the best. I would like to expand my mech collection in the future, hopefully with a KBC Pok3r or a Unicomp Ultra Classic 103-key. Those will wait for another day though. For a numeric score, I decided to use a system similar to JonnyGuru’s PSU ratings, which rate categorically on a scale of 1-10 and average those numbers into a final score. I will also include a list of pros and cons if the review was hard to follow or if you’re making the decision as I speak.

Pros

Beautiful design

Nice, grippy finish on keycaps and chassis

Vibrant and colorful LEDs

Amazing switch feel

 

Cons

Lighting profiles not as diverse as the competition (could be fixed in an update)

Wrist rest is inadequate, asymmetrical design does not feel good (major)

Media keys and locks are blue only (minor)

Arx Dock is blue (minor)

 

Value

It's one of six mechanical keyboards on the market that is this functional in terms of lighting. The Apex M800 RGB costs $200, the K95 RGB costs $180 and the BlackWidow Ultimate Chroma costs $160. Considering the amount that goes into building the switches alone, the typing feel compared to the others and the overall experience, I believe the keyboard is well worth what it costs.

[Syntaxvgm]

I gotta be honest, worst keycaps I've used shape wise. And as far as I'm aware, there's nowhere to buy caps for these switches yet. I wish they would at least make one with a non-crazy regular shape or at least sell keycap sets. And I know I'm not the only one that has this complaint. Until I can replace the switches or other Omron keyboards are sold by Logitech, I'm not gonna add it to my collection. Unfortunate too, I kind of like the switches 

[TheSLSAMG]

I gotta be honest, worst keycaps I've used shape wise. And as far as I'm aware, there's nowhere to buy cap[s for these switches yet. 

Nope, not as of yet. The caps aren't as bad to me, but I still prefer the conventional concave caps. Hopefully some company can make a kit with a consistent font, backlight compatibility and the proper Romer-G stem.

[Swndlr]

That hand rest looks awfully awkward and uncomfy

[Lays]

I saw pictures of a more normal wrist rest, is that sold separately or in da box?

[Flurr]

IMO the keycaps suck... they don't feel good at all and I type slower with them on

[TheSLSAMG]

I saw pictures of a more normal wrist rest, is that sold separately or in da box?

There's a slimmer wristrest preinstalled. It's more symmetrical than the one in the picture, but it's not entirely symmetrical. It feels a bit nicer.

[CapricaBuccaneers]

I saw pictures of a more normal wrist rest, is that sold separately or in da box?

I've had my G910 for just over a week now - the smaller wrist rest came preinstalled.

When picking out this model I was sure I wanted the larger rest in place but having used it I went back to the default smaller one and it's just much, much better (can't really say why, it's just more comfortable).

The angled and odd assortment of keycaps haven't bothered me so far, and with the small wrist rest I have to say this has been the best keyboard I've had to date. This coming from a diehard Cherry MX fan (reds and Browns) - which I still like.

SLS is right about the colour coding software - it takes a fair amount of manual adjustment to get right, and a good deal of experimenting. The instruction booklets contain little to no information on this - which is pretty poor tbh.

I actually use the Arx software with a spare smartphone so you don't notice the blue colouring on it - personally I use it for a hardware stat readout and it was extremely fast and easy to setup.

Best thing was it was cheaper than the K70/95 RBG, Blackwidow Chroma and Ducky Shine 3/4 so the overpriced comment you see a lot went out the window there.

[Maverick5500]

is it worth buying over the k70 rgb?

[Guest]

is it worth buying over the k70 rgb?

No, it isn't

As much as I like Logitech it isn't that great

 

The K70 has a better wrist rest (subjective)

Better keycaps, and it's replaceable

Better feel around the material (subjective) 

Better Lighting effects and more light effects options

[Maverick5500]

No, it isn't

As much as I like Logitech it isn't that great

 

The K70 has a better wrist rest (subjective)

Better keycaps, and it's replaceable

Better feel around the material (subjective) 

Better Lighting effects and more light effects options

 

been tossing up between the two but i love the community stuff with the corsair

[CameronDSetty]

It's just my opinion but I just cant get over how ugly I think the thing looks. Just give me a regular looking backlit keyboard. 

[TheSLSAMG]

No, it isn't

As much as I like Logitech it isn't that great

 

The K70 has a better wrist rest (subjective)

Better keycaps, and it's replaceable

Better feel around the material (subjective) 

Better Lighting effects and more light effects options

However, the software for the K70 is completely unintuitive and difficult to use. I may be biased here, but I've used both and CUE is a nightmare. I'd love the K70's lighting function on the G910, but the software is just difficult. Other thing I noticed, the G910's backlighting actually looks brighter and more even than the K70's. And I've had them side by side, my cousin's board is the K70.