I managed to score this new keyboard and mouse for Christmas and I have to say, it’s a pretty nice upgrade. I’d been using the Logitech Dinovo Bluetooth Media Desktop (say that five times) with my XPS Gen 2 and it’s worked very nicely. The only nag I have is that after an hour or so, the keyboard and mouse go into a mode where it takes a few seconds for them to start communicating with the laptop again. Not usually a big deal. Also, the sample rate for the mouse is pretty low compared to the new setup.

The G15 is HUGE. And I’m not kidding. But the backlighting on the keys is magnificent and the LCD display rocks with the Teamspeak plug-in to show who’s talking while in-game. In fact, without that plug-in the LCD would be lame except for iTunes. The keyboard has two USB ports, so the mouse is jacked into one of them. Testing shows an average of around 490 reports per second, plenty for me and excellent compared to the 80 or so that I was getting with the bluetooth unit (MX900).

The G5 is a perfect size (almost the same as the MX900) but lacks the forward button on the side of the mouse. It has the on-the-fly DPI adjustment which is pretty slick, particularly in Photoshop. The cord is cloth wrapped so it doesn’t snag at all – a nice plus and likely a rip from the Razor line of mice.

Both work nicely together, no drivers installed for the mouse but the keyboard requires the software to come alive. I haven’t had any problems with either since installation, so they seem to be pretty solid. The touch on the keyboard isn’t as good as my other Logitech keyboard, but it’s acceptible. It’s also loud, but coming from the Dinovo (perfectly flat, think laptop keyboard), anything is loud.

The G15 is in short supply and sellers are getting a premium right now (screw you Best Buy!), but I can certainly understand the reason. It’s a great keyboard and the macro feature is way too useful, moreso than I thought at first.

If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up.