Capsule Review: Logitech's G100s, G500s, and G700s Gaming Mice
by Dustin Sklavos on March 30, 2013 12:01 AM EST- Posted in
- Mouse
- Peripherals
- Gaming
- Logitech
Conclusion: Three Mice for Three Users
I think what I may very well like best about the Logitech G100s, G500s, and G700s is that they're not one-size-fits-all mice. Undoubtedly I've been glowing throughout this review, but honestly I'd be happy using any one of these three mice, and if you've been keeping up with my peripheral reviews you'd know I tend to be fairly picky. Everybody should be; the mouse, keyboard, and display are the ways you interact with the computer and thus should be as enjoyable to use and even as seamless as possible. As far as I'm concerned, that should be the overarching mentality of virtually any vendor making technology products: people should enjoy using these devices, and the devices should not get in the way of what people want to do with them.
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Starting at $39, I think the G100s is actually a little bit of a tough sell, at least superficially. This looks like a garden variety mouse, and it does feel a little cheap, but those wind up being the prices you pay for what the mouse is intended for. As an RTS mouse I suspect it's going to be a very popular and effective weapon, and the optical sensor is actually the most fluid and enjoyable to use of the three mice tested here. There's no reason to think this mouse won't go on sale at some point, and at $29 it'd be an absolute steal.
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At $69 the G500s continues the G500's reign as the elder statesman workhouse mouse. If you loved the G500, you'll love the G500s, because all Logitech has done is fix their software, upgrade the laser slightly, and make the buttons more durable. I'm madly in love with the coarse texture used on the grips, personally, as well as the toggleable freewheel. Some users will undoubtedly appreciate the configurable weight, too. I wouldn't recommend actually paying sticker price for this mouse; Logitech mice go on sale all the time, and the G500s really belongs at $59.
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By now you probably already know whether or not you want the Logitech G700s. In many ways it's like the G500s but better, though I do prefer the lighter weight of the G500s in the hand. If you want to be able to switch between onboard profiles on the fly, though, it's pretty tough to beat. I just wish there were some kind of LED indicator on the mouse for both the active profile and the active DPI setting (similar to the G500s), and the weight kind of comes with the territory of a wireless gaming mouse. Finally, at $79 it's a very hard sell, but there isn't much out there that's quite like it.
I can easily and cheerfully recommend any of these mice, and I would urge users to seriously consider what they're getting for their money. Can you make do with a cheap $20 mouse and keyboard? Sure, absolutely. But you spend extra money for what honestly can be a substantially better experience; I've tested a lot of these peripherals on friends who were used to using basic, chintzy consumer kit and found their reactions often come just short of outright epiphany. The prices on some of these are high (excepting the G100s, which is actually a pretty straightforward deal), but peripherals are very particular from user to user, and the good stuff can really make all the difference.
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Kristian Vättö - Saturday, March 30, 2013 - link
Do left-handed people generally use mouse with their left hand? I'm asking because I'm left-handed but I've always used mouse with my right hand.AwesomeAD - Saturday, March 30, 2013 - link
I don't know about lefties in general, but I'm lefthanded and wield the mouse with my right hand.Lonyo - Saturday, March 30, 2013 - link
Same.There are a few lefties who left hand mouse, but I think a good portion right hand mouse.
Means your 11% gets cut down even more, which is why it's not massively worth it to make left handed products (although there are a few).
Because these mice are pretty much set to be right handed due to additional button placement and design curvature, they aren't really left hand suitable.
Murloc - Saturday, March 30, 2013 - link
I'm left-handed and I always use the right hand. That's because most children don't have a computer of their own right off the bat so they just get used to using the right hand. I think it's better this way because it makes you more flexible when using other computers. I use the track-pad on my laptop with the left hand though, and that's not very healthy because it makes me do weird movements, but I barely use it so it's not a big deal.Left-handed mouses isn't a market worth going in imho.
snuuggles - Monday, April 1, 2013 - link
Funny, I'm right handed and mouse left handed because of carpel tunnel. I've had very little issues with buttons. It's mostly just that I'm slower/less accurate with my off-hand.DanNeely - Saturday, March 30, 2013 - link
I do; but the fraction of lefties who mouse left handed and are willing to pay enough to get something beyond a cheap symmetric mouse is much smaller than the total.Logitech lost money on it's left handed mouse; the one MS intended to launch a quarter later was canceled. Razer said they didn't expect to make it into the black when they launched theres; and implied that they were doing it for equal parts PR and because their CEO was a lefty gamer. Their second one's release was contingent on its announcement getting a huge number of Facebook likes; so I assume they're expecting to lose money on it too but felt the viralish marketing was worth the money gap.
Traciatim - Saturday, March 30, 2013 - link
You may want to check out the Genius Gila or the Logitech G300. My son is a lefty, but uses mice with his right hand. Though, just in case we wanted to be sure the mice we buy can be used either way. So far both have been pretty great.groundhogdaze - Saturday, March 30, 2013 - link
I am left handed but I have learned to use a right handed mouse as well. The reason I want to have a left handed mouse is because of carpal strain and switching between the two helps alleviate it a bit. I have a microsoft mouse on the left with the left & right click remapped and a logitech trackman on the right. With that said, right handed people should use left handed mice more often :)Friendly0Fire - Saturday, March 30, 2013 - link
About the lack of LED notification of the profile being used, I'm a bit surprised. Are you perfectly sure? The G700 (which is what I use and love) has the same three LEDs on the side of the mouse, which by default indicates the charge (in green) but will also indicate sensitivity (in red) when switching using the DPI buttons.I'd also like to point out that the micro-USB cable bundled with the mouse has one significant advantage over generic cables: if you put it flat on your mouse pad and slide it in, it'll connect perfectly. It's also asymmetrical, so no rotating it twice to get it right. This makes it a total breeze to plug the mouse in, much more so than one could expect from trying to plug a tiny wire in front of a fairly profiled mouse.
yefi - Saturday, March 30, 2013 - link
I found the bundled cable too thick and heavy. Instead I use one of those retractable-style cables that are very thin and flexible. There's very little tactile difference now between it being plugged and unplugged.