Best Mouse I've Had So Far If Tone Doesn't Drive You Nuts, Might Need a Wrist Rest + No DPI Switching In Macros
review by
pakeo
Of all the mice I've had, this is the best one so far.
I've used Logitech mice since the original Wheelmouse, so I expect a lot from them, and this mouse delivers on almost every account. The mouse feels great, is a breeze to use, and the software gives a very thorough range of tuning. It's marketed as a gaming mouse, but I find many of the functions useful for other things. Unfortunately, it's designed with righties in mind, sorry lefties.
Before you go on reading the rest of this review, if you have sensitive hearing, this might be a deal breaker for you. When the mouse sits still, it produces a high-pitched tone, but it's very soft, so I don't hear it unless I put my ear up to it or pay real close attention, because there's usually enough white noise to mask it...and I have sensitive ears. I thought this would kill this mouse for me. I found out the cause of the tone is from a ceramic electrical component on the circuit board. I think it's a capacitor. I don't remember. You can find the info with a quick search. But if you're savvy enough with basic electronics, you might be brave enough to swap it out yourself. You shouldn't have to though.
When you first lay your hand on it, you'll notice it glides smoothly. I just use a bare, wood desk, so it should deftly handle other surfaces. I hardly notice any drag when the feet start to get dirty, either. The dirt does requires fine attention during cleaning, however.
The wheel has two scroll modes: free - for web pages/long documents, and precision - which ratchets the wheel. (I use it for gaming.) It's a bit of an annoyance to switch modes though, as the button is on the underside. The wheel is made of metal and feels solid. It takes a little bit of effort to push it down, but I assure you, your fingers are strong and will develop the muscle it requires in no time. The wheel may slip a little in free mode though when pressing, so they could've made it with a slightly softer touch.
The mouse comes with two, swappable grips: wide load, which has some kind of rubbery coating, a rest for your thumb, and raises up in the back for comfort; and precision, which has a grippy coating and is more compact. I prefer the wide grip. The grips also make for easy cleaning if you dirty up your mouse easily. Cable is nice and long, but braided, so sometimes it gets slightly snagged on things on my desk, particularly papers.
It's a bit on the short end, so depending on the size of your hand and grip style (I palm) you might experience discomfort in your wrist after prolonged use, as it may be forced to hang off the mouse if you want your fingers to line up, depending on your hand. If you have this problem and are set on this mouse, then a wrist rest should solve this problem. I improvised one till I could find a good one. You should have a wrist rest anyway, as it promotes proper mousing position and prevents injury. Your hand will also affect where your thumb falls on the side buttons. I have no problem, but as always, you should try a mouse out before buying, if you can. (I know, they keep them on short leashes nowadays, and gaming ones are hard to get your hands on.)
The sensor is excellent, never experienced any hiccups. High sensitivities are great for navigating the large, high resolution monitors of today or if you have a dual monitor setup, and low sensitivities for precise movements, good for nailing that headshot but you'll need to be quick on the DPI, as you can't program sensitivity changes into macros. You could also use it to make fine touch-ups in photoshop. I've not found a use for anything higher than 3200 though. You can also set the sensitivity of scrolling but not to the same degree. Polling rate can also be set in presets, which is good, cause who needs a 1 ms response when you're surfing the web or typing up a document?
There are at minimum, four programmable buttons, which you can program for a variety of standard functions or set to a keystroke, launch a program, or run a macro. You can even program the wheel tilt directions. And of course, you can select from a variety of colors for the LED. So if you hate blue LEDs like me, you need not worry. But you can't set your own RGB levels, they're presets. You can upload up to five profiles to the mouse's memory if you want to take it out to some hardcore LAN event. Switching them is a little annoying though. You have to hold the profile button on the bottom and use the DPI buttons to select, so give your profiles distinct color codes, as it's really the only indication of which one you've selected. At home, it's much easier to set the software to automatically switch profiles based on what program is in focus.
I don't understand the weights, but I guess hardcore gamers might like this feature for additional control, but they seem like a gimmick. I've heard they'll wear out the feet faster. They come in a nice tin, at least.
I tried the G500 as well, and I didn't like how high the arch was (although maybe my hand had adjusted to this one by then). Both have very similar features though, except the G500 has an additional button, a plastic wheel that doesn't feel as solid, and I think it has less memory for profile storage. I've had this mouse for almost two years now and haven't run into major problems, just the little nuisances I've mentioned. The only big issues are me needing a wrist rest and no DPI switching in macros.
Supposedly, this mouse isn't Mac friendly, but had no problems plug-n-play into my Macbook Pro with Leopard. Your mileage may vary though, and you won't get the benefit of the software. The mouse was set to the default profile. I use a PC regularly.
I noticed it's been discontinued now, but can you can still find a deal online if you look hard enough...for now. It seems like it will last, and I've heard Logitech actually honors their warranties but never had to test them on that.
This is definitely a strong contender if you're looking into a gaming grade mouse...as long as you're right-handed. I give it a 4.5.
Pros | Cons |
---|
5 Buttons, Glides effortlessly (when clean), 5 level sensor configurable from 200-5700 DPI, Customizable LED color, Swappable grips, Onboard memory | Might need a wrist rest for extended periods, Short, No DPI switch in macros; Low, high pitched noise when idle; Only two grips |
Ratings