Color Wave — Select this option to set the colors to change horizontally, vertically or from the center out. Use the slider to set the speed at which the color wave cycles.

Your Effects: create and manage your own animated lighting effects. Choose from one of the 16 presets or read Create and manage lighting effects with Logitech Gaming Software to learn how to create your own. Notably absent from the mix are the dedicated macro/media keys and controls found on many gaming keyboards in this price range. An equivalent to the Corsair K95's volume roller, for one, would have been appreciated in a board at this price. Per-key lighting customization is available, as is a decent amount of lighting presets such as color wave, breathing, ripple effects, and a really cool animation that makes it appear like an ocean wave is lapping across the keyboard. As mentioned above, you can also create your own animations, either from scratch or by copying a pre-existing one and customizing it. Creating anything worth looking at definitely has a learning curve, but it’s kind of neat if you’re looking to make your keyboard truly stand out. That said, the key-lighting colors appear a bit dim versus other RGB keyboards on the market, especially the K95 RGB Platinum. Even Logitech's own G810 Orion Spectrum seems to shine brighter. While I prefer the subtlety of the G513 Carbon, some gamers tend to enjoy splashier keyboards—the more ostentatious the lighting, the better. For those folks, I'd have appreciated the option to crank up the intensity, even if I would have left the level at my review unit's default. The lighting customization options universally affect the G512 and G513 gaming keyboards by default. However, you can also configure lighting settings to be set on a per profile basis.One of the stand out design features that set the G513 apart from the vast majority of gaming keyboards is its aircraft-grade aluminium-alloy body. This brushed finish gives the G513 a premium and sturdy feel while giving it an air of elegance usually absent from gaming keyboards. Complementing the aluminium design another noteworthy styling choice was made: Where you would usually find the brightly lit G logo, Logitech have opted instead to change it to a discrete, polished metal G. Though you can’t change the logo’s colour with crazy lights, it looks absolutely stunning and reinforces the clean and stylish look of the G513 Carbon. G513 can be customizable per key with approximate 16.8 M colors. Create your own animations or choose from a selection of preset effects. And with LIGHTSYNC technology, lighting is driven by games, audio, or your screen to deliver the most immersive RGB experience ever.

The keycaps on the G513 Carbon have a comfortable, soft-touch finish. Key spacing felt great while typing, and I rarely produced any errors while typing out long strings of text. Moreover, even with the floating design, the keycaps are solid and there’s no cheap-feeling, wiggling keys on the G513. Larger keycaps, like the spacebar in particular, don’t suffer from wobble when you’re hitting one side of the bar. Logitech has also included a set of replacement keycaps for the WASD keys as well as the Q, E, R, and 1 through 5 keys. The replacements have a satisfyingly deeper recess that cradled my fingers, and the WASD keys in particular are wonderful for gaming.G513 is crafted from incredibly strong and durable 5052 aluminum-magnesium alloy which allows for both a minimal design and a beautiful aesthetic. The rigidity of 5052 alloy also provides a sturdy, non-slip chassis that houses a full suite of features for an unbeatable gaming experience. The advantages of the aluminium-alloy construction go beyond style, though. The G513 is impressively stable and rigid, and this translates into a solid and planted feel when using the keyboard. No matter how hard you are typing or playing, the G513 never flexes or feels like it can’t withstand the force, even when you go harder than you would ever need to.