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My Logitech G400 review

196K views 304 replies 120 participants last post by  Fir3ball 
#1 ·
Design
There are no surprises here. The G400's shell is the same exact shape as the mx and g5 mice we've been using for years, which is definitely not a bad thing. It's a right handed ergonomic shape and designed for palm or hybrid palm/claw grips. I'm a huge fan of the design and especially love the little lip that is on the right side of the mouse. It makes lifting the mouse up take almost no effort, and because of this, I have a hard time even using other mice because I feel like I can never get a good grip on them when lifting off.

Thankfully, Logitech ditched the glossy plastic in favor of regular, painted plastic for the top/palm part of the shell. No longer will you have to wipe gunk off your mouse after every gaming session. They said a smooth, matte texture was used for the top. I guess it feels slightly different from regular plastic, but there's really nothing special about it. The sides of the mouse are coated with a nice smooth rubberized coating. They went with a simple dark grey color scheme and it looks quite nice and minimalistic.

The cable is non-braided, thinner, and more flexible than the mx518.

Sensor
I'm guessing the G400 uses the same sensor as the mx518 except the dpi now maxes out at 3600 and the polling rate at 1000hz. Out of the box, the dpi levels are preset to 400/800/1800/3600 and the polling rate to 1000hz (edit) 500hz (You can set it to 1000 via software). Testing showed that there were no acceleration issues with any of the levels I tried. I was using a Steelseries Qck for my tests.

Like the mx518, the G400 has prediction. Nothing much to be said here. Some don't mind it, others dislike it /shrug. Personally, I don't mind it and would rather have prediction than, say, acceleration problems.

Lift off distance is fine and low. I'm not a lod snob, so unless it's pretty high, I'm not going to notice anything wrong. (edit) The mouse stops tracking when sitting on a stack of three dvds.

After installing Logitech's software, I found that I could actually set the dpi as low as 200. I tested it, and there were no acceleration issues. However, when testing post-software prediction, I noticed there was extremely noticeable jitter when drawing lines as seen in the picture below. This occurred at any polling rate and dpi setting. As soon as I exited the software, the jitter would be gone. I'm not sure if they were trying to mess with disabling prediction or something, but there is something wrong here. I'm going to make a post about it on their support forums and see if they have anything to say.

g400predictiontestsj.jpg


Weight
I have no way to accurately measure the weight of the G400, but it's supposed to weigh 105g without the cable, 133g with it. It seems around the same weight as the mx518, Deathadder, and G5, maybe even slightly lighter. Honestly, they all feel so similar, it's extremely hard to tell without actually weighing them. I'm sure there will be some accurate info out there once someone with a scale gets one.

Build Quality/Buttons
The G400 I received felt pretty solid. There's no play in any of the buttons, but my lmb does have a slight wobble to it. It doesn't affect the act of clicking it at all and once your finger is resting naturally on the button, it's a non-issue. This is most likely one of those things that is going to vary from mouse to mouse. The rmb/lmb and side buttons feel solid, have great feedback, and don't take much pressure to depress.

The scroll wheel is, unfortunately, similar to the mx518. It feels pretty cheap, and the wheel I got actually feels worse than the mx518. It's hard to explain, but the notches have a rough feeling to them when scrolling. It just feels cheap and lazy. The mx518 had a problem where if you were scrolling fast, the wheel would sometimes pick up scrolls in the opposite direction. I've been testing this and it seems to still happen, but less often. The middle mouse button takes a decent amount of force to depress.

The rubber coating on the sides feels fine and seems to be the same stuff used on the mx518's sides.

Software
The G400 doesn't use Setpoint and, instead, uses "Logitech Gaming Software". I actually like the way it's set up. The application is clean and easy to use. You can create macros now, which is nice if you're into that. As mentioned above, there seems to be a pretty big issue with jittering while the software is running. Until that's fixed, you're pretty much forced to run without it, meaning a forced 500hz polling and 400/800/1800/3600 dpi steps. Hopefully that issue is fixed.

edit: Realized that it runs at 1000hz out of the box, not 500.

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#4 ·
Now the big question... did they do anything different with the button labels? Because both of my MX518s (revisions one and two) had the DPI button labels wear off after only a few months.
 
#6 ·
So the sides is the same rubber coating? wished they used textured plastic featured on the G700 which would last way longer without any peeling.

Its amazing, that Logitech still uses this body shape which started way back to the MX510. A little improvement here and there still make it a good gaming mice, especially with new users to begin with.
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#8 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by HaiiYaa;14050446
Great review Ickz! But I have some questions

Is the click the same as the mx518(same switches?)
Is the cable flexible?
The mousefeet seem pretty big, does it glide well with those?
feedback when scrolling?
What are the different dpi levels you can choose from?
Sitting here and going from mouse to mouse clicking for a couple minutes, they do seem slightly different in terms of feedback. I actually prefer the mx518's, but the G400 still feels fine.

Yes, as I mentioned, the cable is thinner than the 518's, and is quite flexible. I'd even say it's the best cable out of all the mice I have.

Glides very well. Same feet as the updated 518s and the G5.

You definitely feel the notches when scrolling, but like I said, it feels rough and cheap. Definitely the worst part of the mouse for me. Might even return it because of it. Not sure yet. Will play with it a while and see if it gets worn in or something. Also, the wheel makes a noise as well, but its quiet and not noticeable.

Default dpi levels are 400/800/1800/3600
 
#11 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ickz;14050564
You definitely feel the notches when scrolling, but like I said, it feels rough and cheap. Definitely the worst part of the mouse for me. Might even return it because of it. Not sure yet. Will play with it a while and see if it gets worn in or something. Also, the wheel makes a noise as well, but its quite and not noticeable.
I have to wonder why they didn't put the scroll wheel from the MX Rev/G500/etc. in the G400, because the MX518's scroll wheel really didn't impress me.
 
#12 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chunky_Chimp;14050473
Now the big question... did they do anything different with the button labels? Because both of my MX518s (revisions one and two) had the DPI button labels wear off after only a few months.
As far as I can see, the labeling looks the same, but only time will tell.
 
#13 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chunky_Chimp;14050589
I have to wonder why they didn't put the scroll wheel from the MX Rev/G500/etc. in the G400, because the MX518's scroll wheel really didn't impress me.
Yep, I would take almost anything over what they put in it. The worst part is it probably varies from mouse to mouse like it did with the 518. When I bought mine from a retail store, I opened four of them and each of them had different feeling wheels. One had no notched feed back, another was too stiff, etc etc.
 
#16 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chunky_Chimp;14050589
I have to wonder why they didn't put the scroll wheel from the MX Rev/G500/etc. in the G400, because the MX518's scroll wheel really didn't impress me.
No doubt they are just doing a little minor upgrade to the MX518 as a refresh for their entry level gaming mice. They really dont want to hurt their other model line up from the general consumers' perspective.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Skylit;14050666
Time to be a guinea pig and open it up to confirm it's (Most likely ADNS-3080) sensor.

haha kidding.
No no no Skylit, you gots to do it since you are the resident expert on such "things".
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#23 ·
Nice review Ickz!

And also, could you do me a favor?
Try how many dvds that can be underneth the mouse til it stops tracking, and please do this on your Qck and not your desk. It's a way to determain how low/high the lift distance is.

Thanks in advance, would've been greatly appreciated!
 
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