Logitech G512 X 98 Review: A Hybrid Mish-Mash

Jun 5, 2026 12:10 PM

Review: Logitech G512 X 98

The Logitech G512 X 98 lets you swap between mechanical and analog switches in an attempt to achieve the best of both worlds. Unfortunately, its solution isn't as well thought-out as I'd hoped.

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Rating:

5/10

Well-built. Responsive tactile switches. 8,000 Hz polling. Extensive customization. TMR Switch compatibility.

Hybrid switch concept is impractical. Complicated setup. Not as streamlined as a dedicated Hall Effect keyboard. Only includes 9 analog switches. Rubber rings don’t emulate tactile feel. Typing on mixed switches is unpleasant. Gimmicky design choices.

We all remember the toys that tried to do too much. The RC car with flashing lights, wailing sirens, flip-out weapons, and a spring-loaded rocket launcher—you know the one. That’s how the Logitech G512 X feels to me.

This gaming keyboard tries to cram in so many features, and nearly all of them feel a bit half-baked. The number of features gets in the way of the overall design. It’s a mechanical keyboard, with optional analog switches, and the switches also have rings that make them tactile, and the keyboard has built-in tools to swap out your switches on the fly, and the switches are held in a little case on the back of the keyboard.

I can appreciate that this keyboard is attempting solve a problem that plagues analog keyboards, but, its solution ends up creating just as many new problems.

Confused Concept

The Logitech G512 X 98 isn't a standard gaming keyboard. It's a very pretty, stylish keyboard in its own right, with options for white or black with blue accents—but what makes it unique is all under the hood. As Logitech puts it, the idea here is to keep the speed of analog switches with the feel of mechanical switches. The largest limitation of analog switches, as seen in Hall Effect keyboards, is that they are almost always linear, meaning there's no tactile bump to tell you when a key has triggered. Because the actuation distance of an analog switch can be freely adjusted, simply having a static tactile bump can create a mismatch between the “feeling” of an input and the actual input. Inaccuracy defeats the whole point of a keyboard like this.

Logitech’s solution is a hybrid keyboard: Every key has the physical hot-swap socket to accept a mechanical switch, while some also have the sensor for an analog switch. Rather than a Hall Effect analog switch, Logitech is using Tunneling Magnetoresistance (TMR) switches, which use magnets to achieve even higher precision. This means, for any of the dual-purpose keys, you can freely swap between a non-customizable mechanical switch with tactile feedback, and a customizable analog switch without tactile feedback.

But that's not all. If you also want your TMR switches to also have a tactile response, there’s a solution for that, too: The G512 X 98 also includes a handful of small rubber rings that go between the keycap and the switch to create a faux tactile bump. When you install this ring and press a key, the keyboard (in theory) detects them and automatically adjusts the actuation point of the switch to match. This can be used to create two distinct inputs with one switch: One before the ring, and the second after it. But these rings feel nothing like a traditional tactile bump. Instead, they function more like a stopper. You can press further once you’ve reached the ring, but the stiffness means it doesn’t create much physical feedback when pressed. It feels like you’re pushing your finger against dense rubber.

(Interesting note: There have actually been rubber inserts for converting linear switches into tactile switches for a while. These were used keyboards manufactured by TG3, which are found in EMS vehicles, and are sometimes compared to Topre switches. Older forums refer to this as the “Raincoat mod” when installed on enthusiast keyboards, but it’s become increasingly rare over the years.)

When it comes to the mechanical switches themselves, you have the option for either linear or tactile, and the unit I received came with tactile switches. They’re comparable to a Cherry MX Brown, with a longer, rounded tactile bump that starts at the very top of the keypress, and a significant amount of travel distance after the bump. The entire keypress is fairly smooth, and the bump is somewhat pronounced without being aggressive or fatiguing. These are some of the better-feeling switches I’ve tested from a gaming-focused manufacturer, though they hardly stand out compared to enthusiast-focused tactile switches with a more distinct bump. They ultimately feel like a neutral middle ground that will be usable for a large number of users with different preferences.

The sound is nothing to write home about, being neither extraordinary or offensive. Each keypress, with a slight top-end, muted mid-ranges, and very little in the low end. The most significant sound after the switch has been released, when it impacts the top housing of the switch. Nearly all of the stabilizers rattle to some degree, with the backspace key being the most significant. I would realistically compare the sound of these switches to older Cherry MX switches, but lower: Both have a similar tone that is palatable without having significant focus on acoustics.

Underneath the keycaps, the plate has a purple carbon fiber-like print on it. Despite this, it appears to be made from thick ABS plastic. This creates a fairly stiff typing feel, with a reasonable amount of flexibility for typing.

While nothing special in any single metric, I like these switches. They’re comfortable, sound good, and provide enough feedback to be responsive when typing. Keystrokes are smooth, and they snap back quickly when released. I tested them in a few rounds of Counter-Strike 2, and found them to be as responsive as any other tactile switch. While you do lose a bit of speed from the added resistance of a tactile bump, this also provides a better sense of when the switch actually registers in input.

Going Analog

You could certainly just use this as a conventional mechanical keyboard, but what makes it unique is the ability to convert some of the keys to analog. Swapping to TMR switches offers actuation distance adjustments, rapid trigger functionality, and multi-input, all under the “Analog Switches” tab. Along with this, Key Priority—Logitech’s name for Simultaneous Opposing Cardinal Direction (SOCD) adjustments—is located in the Analog Switches section of the menu, but it is also (mostly) usable with standard mechanical switches.

Actuation distance is the most practical and self-explanatory setting of these switches, allowing for a switch to register an input higher or lower along the keypress. This functionality is what makes an analog switch functionally different from a mechanical switch.

Rapid Trigger, meanwhile, allows for an analog switch to rapidly change the actuation point based on a key’s direction of movement. This means you don’t have to release the switch past the default actuation point to press it again, and instead, pressing the switch at any point will affect the input. This allows for faster inputs and, as a result, more responsive inputs. When this technology first came out, I loved using it in Titanfall 2 for incredibly precise and technical parkour. While I haven’t played many new games that require the same level of movement (Marathon and Apex Legends are the only ones that come to mind), the added responsiveness is never a bad thing to have — even basic movements like strafing and platforming benefit from more responsive inputs.

All that is great in theory. The problem is in the execution. To swap some of the keys to analog, you’ll find a transparent cover on the backside of the keyboard that holds nine TMR switches. Each of these can be removed and swapped with one of the keyboard’s standard mechanical switches.

Meanwhile, inside the keyboard, there are a grand total of 39 TMR sensors. This means, at any given moment, you can only use 25% of the analog sensors inside this keyboard. And of those nine switches, it only comes with five rings. This feels especially strange when the container on the back is fairly small compared to the keyboard’s width.

The lack of included analog switch ends up being my main gripe. In nearly every game I played, I found myself regularly using more than nine keys (WASD, Shift, Ctrl, E, R, and F were my go-to switches), and even for games that only used that many, I regularly had to reconfigure where the switches were to match different default control schemes. This meant using both tactile and linear switches simultaneously time became inevitable. That never felt pleasant.

The transition from analog switches back to mechanical isn’t perfect, either. When you plug in a normal switch and press the “scan” button to reset the board, the multi-input functionality still stays semi-functional. In my testing, where I set a WASD half-press to be the normal letter, and a full press to be [Shift + WASD], pressing any of those keys and a second key immediately after would cause the next input to combine with the Shift input, resulting in wOrdS with raNdOMly capitaLized letters! The strangest part is that the G-Hub app knows when a mechanical switch is plugged in, and gives you an alert that the multi-input won’t work with a standard switch, but it doesn’t default to the key’s standard input to avoid issues.

The tedium of swapping out switches, scanning, and changing keymaps every time you start up a game is not ideal. I found myself groaning at the prospect, and using only the mechanical switches for gaming. Much like glasses with transition lenses, the BMW i8, or a McRib, this keyboard creates a hybrid version of two things that is, across the board, worse than its individual parts.

One nice touch is that the removable angled feet on the underside of this keyboard also function as keycap and switch pullers. If you’re traveling with this keyboard, you’ll always have these tools with you. But it also means, if you don’t like using your keyboard at an 8-degree angle, you’ll have awkwardly-designed switch and keycap pullers sitting on your desk. The mild added convenience of part-time storage is nowhere near as practical as the standard flip-out feet and separate keycap/switch puller that most keyboards today include. It’s also not as practical as Steelseries’ silicone flap to hide a keycap puller.

Internal Assembly

If you’re expecting a keyboard of this caliber to have a complex internal assembly, you’re right on the money. Taking it apart involves removing the bottom feet and the back sticker, removing a few screws, removing the back panel, unscrewing another dozen screws, then separating the front and middle sections, after which you’re left with four major components: The top shell, the main assembly of the PCB and plate,, the middle shell (which houses the LED bar, along with the daughterboard housing the USB-C port back buttons), and the bottom shell. While disassembly is fairly lengthy, I actually quite like the assembly. Besides the adhesive feet, everything seems incredibly rigid and well-designed internally. The only real improvement would be replacing the plastic screw posts with heat-set metal threads.

I was surprised to find that both the mechanical and analog switch components were located side-by-side on the same PCB. That alone feels like a technical accomplishment, since these sensors often want to be located directly underneath the center of the switch.

The G512 X uses Kailh hot-swap sockets, which are one of the better options on the market. I’ve found them to be more durable than some other options on the market, and if one does fail, replacement sockets are widely available.

Another surprising detail is the number of foam layers inside of the case. I counted four separate layers across the entire keyboard, with sections between each part of the case. Alongside the standard foam layers, there is also a gasket mount-like design: Small plastic tabs extended from either side of the plate, surrounded by a rectangle of foam padding that isolates the internals from the case. While this isn’t a true gasket mount (the center of the keyboard is still supported by plastic posts), it provides isolation compared to an entirely solid mount.

Questionable Quirks

I still like the core concept of this keyboard. I often complain about analog keyboards’ lack of switch customization options, and this system provides some relief: Even though the analog switches themselves are new and uncommon, they can easily be swapped out for any of the hundreds of aftermarket mechanical switches available. Plus, the dual-switch technology is really impressive from a technical standpoint. The build quality of this keyboard is also really impressive. Everything is robust, and disassembly — while tedious — inspires a lot of faith. It’s genuinely a well-built keyboard.

There are a few sore spots and quirks with the keyboard’s software and hardware. The switch/keycap pullers as feet are strange, and the software has a few bugs that can be irritating when swapping between switches.

The end result just doesn't add up for me, especially considering the lack of included analog switches. While a return to the drawing board may be warranted, the concept is good enough that it deserves a return to the drawing board instead of being forgotten about.

Henri Robbins is a WIRED contributor specializing in mechanical keyboards and PC peripherals. He also reviewed hardware for Input and Inverse. He graduated from Miami University, where he studied journalism, media and communications, and photography. He resides in Cincinnati. ... Read More