Gaming Software Confrontation: Logitech Gaming Vs. Razer Synapse
Logitech and Razer have great gaming peripherals. Whether you are playing games or doing real work , they are both great options. The software they use has some minor but important differences. This is how they stack up against each other.
Both Logitech and Razer have a wide selection of gaming peripherals and we are not going to suggest any specific models in this post. Instead, we want to learn about the capabilities of software in general. During testing, we used the Logitech G410 keyboard and G602 mouse , as well as the Razer Blackwidow Chroma Tournament Edition keyboard and Naga Epic Chroma mouse . While we can say a lot about specific models and the like, today we’re going to talk about something no one is considering – their software and how easy it is to set up your hardware with macros, profiles, and even lighting.
Applicants
Both Logitech and Razer use one application to control all of their peripherals at the same time. In many ways, they are very similar. However, they both have very slightly different ways of solving their problems, so the choice between them is largely a matter of personal preference. We’ll come back to this a bit later. For now, here’s what we’re watching:
- Logitech Gaming Software: The Logitech app is named with an above average brick ingenuity. Fortunately, the company has spent more time on features than on the names of its software.
- Razer Synapse: Synapse application by Razer looks damn cool. The company even has an account system that you can use to log in and sync your profiles across multiple computers. Convenient if you don’t want to install it on new machines.
Both applications perform almost the same key functions, including programming buttons on peripherals, recording macros, adjusting the color scheme, and recording usage statistics. However, the way each task is completed can be very different. Keep in mind as we consider that none of the options are necessarily wrong . We’ll explain how each is different so you can decide for yourself which platform is best for you.
Keyboard shortcuts and profiles
Logitech and Razer let you customize dedicated macro keys so you can quickly perform complex actions. Both allow you to set up multiple profiles, so you can customize your buttons for each application. For example, you can force the mouse button to open a new tab in Chrome, or punch a guy in the face in Mass Effect. Both will automatically switch depending on which app is currently in focus. However, each piece of software handles this slightly differently.
When you create a Logitech profile for an app, that profile is used across all of your Logitech devices. So, let’s say you created a Skyrim profile for your keyboard, your mouse will also have a Skyrim profile based on a blank default profile, with no customizations, unless you change it intentionally. Razer, on the other hand, requires you to set up the Skyrim profile for keyboard and mouse separately. If you’ve only configured a Skyrim profile for your keyboard, your mouse will use whatever profile it last automatically detected.
In practice, I’ve found that this can cause some problems. For example, I have a Chrome profile for mouse and keyboard that I use for productive things like opening a calculator or typing a block of text to work. If I only configured the Skyrim profile for my Razer keyboard, and the last program I opened (or with an alt tab) was Chrome, my Razer mouse would still be tied to my Chrome shortcuts. Randomly launching the calculator is not the best option when I am fighting a dragon. To make matters worse, if Chrome were n’t the last app I alt-tab to, the mouse might have been using a completely different profile. This can make it difficult to understand what a particular button will do if you don’t customize it specifically.
With Logitech, if I only set up the Skyrim profile for my keyboard, the mouse would disable the Chrome profile while I was in the game and would instead use the default shortcuts. These were usually more innocuous shortcuts, such as displaying the battery level of a mouse or pressing a number key. More importantly, it was consistent. If I only configured a few keyboard shortcuts in a profile, I wouldn’t have to worry about the button being bound to a complex macro from some profile linked to another application that I forgot about.
I also noticed a few other differences:
- Overall, Logitech does a better job with general-purpose features, while Razer focuses on options that the user might like in-game. For example, with Logitech, you can use a button to insert a large block of text, play or pause media playback that is currently running, and even mute or unmute the Ventrilo’s microphone. Razer, on the other hand, has fewer features for working with external applications, but it does have the ability to switch profiles on the fly, customize shortcuts while gaming, and communicate with other devices. If you want to use peripherals for the office as well as gaming, Logitech probably has the edge here.
- Logitech’s interface is a little easier to use. The app will show you a picture of your device, and the buttons that you can customize are lit up. Just click the buttons you want to change to edit the shortcuts. Razer, on the other hand, requires you to manually change the “view” you are accessing in order to edit all of the available buttons. This is just a slight annoyance, but annoying nonetheless.
- Logitech lets you choose between software profiles or save the profiles to the device itself. So, if you save the profile in the memory of the mouse and connect it to another computer, it will remember your settings. Unfortunately, you can only store a limited number of profiles on a specific device. While Razer has allowed profiles to be saved across devices, newer hardware uses an account-based sync option. This way you can sync more profiles, but this involves using a third-party server that may not always be active in the future.
The differences between Razer and Logitech in this regard were mostly cosmetic. Personally, I’ve used Logitech software more often, so the Razer interface seemed a little more confusing to me, but not disastrous. This is likely a result of my longer use of the Logitech app. In both cases, there is some learning curve, so which one you choose really does not matter.
The only exception is the problem of switching profiles. Your needs may be different from mine, so I won’t say that one is definitely better than the other, but it is important to understand how both platforms handle profiles. Logitech assumes that you want the same profile to be active on all devices at all times, while Razer allows (or more accurately, requires) you to specifically create a profile for each app on each device.
Recording macros
Setting up keys manually is fine, but sometimes you need to perform an action that is too long or difficult to create manually. This is where recording macros comes in handy. You can simply press the record button, press the keys you want in the correct order, and then save that action for future reference. You can later assign this action to a specific button.
If you’ve ever played an MMO, you know how cool it is. My mage in World of Warcraft can stop the spell, switch targets, remove the curse, and return to the current target with the press of a button. Also convenient for work. As I mentioned in the previous post , I use macros to perform routine tasks, such as regularly adding photo reports or tags.
In my experience, Logitech’s interface for saving macros was a little simpler. On the screen where you assign commands to buttons, there is a small searchable pane called Commands. Here you can create new macros even before assigning them to the button. Then drag and drop them onto the key you want to use to run this command. Everything in one place and very easy to use.
In contrast, Razer Synapse includes a few more steps. First, you need to create macros in a separate tab in your application. Then you need to go back to the key mapping screen, click the button you want to assign, select Macro from the drop-down list of options, and then select the name of the macro you created from the list. For something this simple, there are many more steps.
When it comes to on-the-fly recording, Logitech is again a bit simpler than Razer, but only with certain hardware. Some keyboards have a dedicated macro record button (or “MR”). You can simply press this button and then press one of the programmable keys. Recording will start. Perform the action you want to save, and when you’re done, press the MR button again. This action is now saved on your keyboard. You don’t even need to touch the app.
Instead, Razer uses an Fn-style button (like most laptops) to start recording on the fly. The keyboard I tested had an “M” on the F9 key. By pressing Fn + F9, you can start recording a macro. When you’re done, press Fn + F9 again, then press the button for which you want to save this action. It’s a little more complicated than having a dedicated macro record button, but it also saves space on your keyboard, so you don’t have to buy hardware with a dedicated button to get this feature.
Both platforms also handle repeating macros slightly differently. Logitech allows you to set several repeat options (such as repeat on click or repeat on toggle) for macros when you create the macros themselves. For example, you might want one button to reload your weapon every five seconds until you tell it to stop, but the other button should reload your weapon every five seconds for one minute. On the Logitech platform, this requires creating two separate macros. However, Razer only allows you to select a repeat option when you assign a macro to a key. So, you can create a macro to reload your weapon. When you assign it to a button, make one button repeat every five seconds until you unplug the switch, and make the other button repeat it for one minute. This gives Razer a little more flexibility.
Razer also has the ability to repeat a macro a specified number of times, which Logitech does not. Both Logitech and Razer can repeat a macro while the assigned key is pressed, or repeat the macro indefinitely, using the assigned key as a toggle to turn the macro on and off. This gives Razer another advantage when it comes to creating macros.
There is very little difference between how Logitech and Razer handle their macros, but depending on your use cases, small differences could mean a significant change to your gameplay or workflow. If you want macros that can be repeated a specific number of times, Razer is much better. If you need to create a large list of macros that you can easily find, Logitech can help you faster.
Lighting and colors
Are backlit keyboards with custom color schemes functionally meaningless? Yes. Are they cool? Also, yes. Logitech and Razer have great hardware, so customizing the color scheme to suit your style makes a lot of sense. However, the color options vary greatly from product to product. Some peripherals can only change the illumination colors of the device as a whole, while others can change the colors for each key, which is even cooler.
Understandably, the equipment with the most customization options is also the most expensive. We’ll cover the differences in how each platform handles coloring, but keep in mind that not all devices will have all of the features described here. That being said, here are some of the key differences:
- On supported devices, Logitech makes it easy to customize the color of each individual key on your keyboard. Just click a color in the color picker, then click the keys you want to change. The keyboard is updated in real time. You can also choose from a selection of pre-programmed effects, such as switching the color of the entire device between colors, or a rainbow wave on the keyboard, which looks pretty damn weird. Some devices may have more limited capabilities. Logitech also has a feature called Lighting Zones. You can group keys together (like WASD or number keys) and change their colors as a group depending on which game profile you are in.
- Razer uses a separate application called Chroma Configurator to customize the lighting scheme of its peripherals. This makes it much more powerful, but also more complex. You can customize the keys individually or add effects such as colored waves, rainbows, and wave animations. However, if you really want to get creative, you can add layered effects. So, for example, you can select multiple keys to remain static (like WASD or the F and J home keys), while everything else has a fancy animated rainbow effect. I have to admit it looked pretty damn cool in testing, but it was also a bit distracting. However, if colors are your thing, Razer has a little more to offer.
Razer only wins in color customization power, but both platforms are pretty good. Personally, I think there is a limit to how many color adjustments I really want to make. On my keyboard, I use a mostly blue color scheme with a few important keys highlighted to make it easier for my peripheral vision to find them. I don’t want the rainbow effect to emanate from every key I press. For those who like to cheat on their hardware, however, both options are pretty good.
Winner: It’s Your Preference
If you’re looking into gaming peripherals, you probably have some pretty specific needs. Luckily, Logitech and Razer have fairly comparable feature sets. These are the little details that can be a determining factor in your preferences. For example, in my case, I need commands where I can easily insert blocks of text, sometimes using non-standard symbols, I need to record macros on the fly with buttons highlighted, and I create a library of macros that I can search for later. … For me, Logitech is the obvious choice. If you want a little bit of brightness from your hardware, prefer to fine-tune shortcut profiles for each device, or want to sync your profiles across devices, Razer is the place for you. Ultimately, it all comes down to preference, and both are great options.