Logitech G13 Gaming Keypad Review

By Xah Lee. Date: . Last updated: .

This came out in 2004, discontinued in 2016 or 2017.

logitech g13 keypad 20151003
Logitech G13 Advanced Gameboard Buy at amazon

Here is the good parts.

Works great in Microsoft Windows.

logitech g13 keypad size 43902 logitech g13 keypad features 22557 logitech g13 keypad sideview 63447
Buy at amazon

Video Reviews

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Mac Support?

Yes. You have to install the logitech gaming software.

Linux Support?

G13 does not work with Linux out of the box. Not a single key works.

Normally, a Logitech gaming mouse with on-board memory such as Logitech G600 Mouse or Logitech G700s Mouse , you can setup in Microsoft Windows, then just plug it in Linux, your customized buttons will work. I was expecting the same for the G13. But no, it doesn't work.

But there's this linux driver you can try.

https://github.com/ecraven/g13

Conclusion: No Buy

After eyeing this for years, finally i got it.

PROBLEM: extremely lousy key feel. The keys are not mechanical, i know, but, it's worse than i imagined. I just can't bear pressing it.

The joystick's resistance is high. I don't like it neither.

Also, when in linux, it does NOTHING!

Just to be fair, it works great in Microsoft Windows, and the Logitech software is truly excellent.

Alternatives

I would recommend the following instead.

see Programable Keypad

there's also the Razer Orbweaver gaming keypad, but i don't recommend it because it requires to install software and register.

logitech G13 Linux Driver

here's info for those of you who want to use this on linux.

note: you must be familiar with linux commands and compiling.

first, install

# install lib USB for user space usb
sudo apt-get install libusb-1.0-0-dev

then, install this driver at https://github.com/ecraven/g13

like this:

git clone https://github.com/ecraven/g13.git

then, go into the directory, make.

~/git/g13 $ make
g++ -o g13d -std=c++0x g13.cc -lusb-1.0
g++ -o pbm2lpbm pbm2lpbm.c

then plug g13 in.

then run sudo ./g13d, you'll get this.

~/git/g13 $ sudo ./g13d
[sudo] password for xah:
Known keys on G13:
BD DOWN G1 G10 G11 G12 G13 G14 G15 G16 G17 G18 G19 G2 G20 G21 G22 G3 G4 G5 G6 G7 G8 G9 L1 L2 L3 L4 LEFT LIGHT LIGHT_STATE M1 M2 M3 MR TOP STICK_LEFT STICK_RIGHT STICK_UP STICK_DOWN
Known keys to map to:
KEY_0 KEY_1 KEY_2 KEY_3 KEY_4 KEY_5 KEY_6 KEY_7 KEY_8 KEY_9 KEY_A KEY_APOSTROPHE KEY_B KEY_BACKSLASH KEY_BACKSPACE KEY_C KEY_CAPSLOCK KEY_COMMA KEY_D KEY_DELETE KEY_DOT KEY_DOWN KEY_E KEY_END KEY_ENTER KEY_EQUAL KEY_ESC KEY_F KEY_F1 KEY_F10 KEY_F11 KEY_F12 KEY_F2 KEY_F3 KEY_F4 KEY_F5 KEY_F6 KEY_F7 KEY_F8 KEY_F9 KEY_G KEY_GRAVE KEY_H KEY_HOME KEY_I KEY_INSERT KEY_J KEY_K KEY_KP0 KEY_KP1 KEY_KP2 KEY_KP3 KEY_KP4 KEY_KP5 KEY_KP6 KEY_KP7 KEY_KP8 KEY_KP9 KEY_KPASTERISK KEY_KPDOT KEY_KPMINUS KEY_KPPLUS KEY_L KEY_LEFT KEY_LEFTALT KEY_LEFTBRACE KEY_LEFTCTRL KEY_LEFTSHIFT KEY_M KEY_MINUS KEY_N KEY_NUMLOCK KEY_O KEY_P KEY_PAGEDOWN KEY_PAGEUP KEY_Q KEY_R KEY_RIGHT KEY_RIGHTALT KEY_RIGHTBRACE KEY_RIGHTCTRL KEY_RIGHTSHIFT KEY_S KEY_SCROLLLOCK KEY_SEMICOLON KEY_SLASH KEY_SPACE KEY_T KEY_TAB KEY_U KEY_UP KEY_V KEY_W KEY_X KEY_Y KEY_Z
Kernel driver detached
Found 1 G13s

all seems good.

now, the stick work as arrow keys. Other keys will just send “a”.

The next step, you can

echo "rgb 0 255 0" > /tmp/g13-0

or

sudo echo "rgb 0 255 0" > /tmp/g13-0

to set the LCD to red. But that didn't work.

at this point, am asking myself, is it worth the trouble?

trying last time to press the keys or the stick, and thinking whether if i could possibly tolerate it and make it useful for SOMETHING. The answer is no.

But if you want, you can go on.

see this site for info. https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Logitech_G13