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
The Logitech G500s: For Action Games
I've been a very longtime advocate of Logitech's G500 as one of the most perfect gaming mice ever made. I never got much mileage out of changing the DPI of the sensor on the fly, and the default weight (no weights added) was perfectly fine; it was more about the coarse but breathable material used in its side grips, the toggleable freewheel, and the overall grip and response of the mouse.
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I'm not really shedding tears about the G500s being basically a carbon copy of the G500 but with a higher quality laser and a less exciting paint job. The G500 had one annoying habit that should basically be fixed in the G500s: the switches in the mouse buttons would actually eventually wear out and begin holding inconsistently. It's my understanding this wasn't an uncommon problem, so the new switches in the G500s shouldd go a long way towards ameliorating it.
The G500s sports a total of eight buttons: left click, right click, mouse wheel, DPI up and down next to the left click, and then the back and forward buttons with a third button nestled under them. Beneath the wheel is a mechanical switch that toggles Logitech's secret sauce, the freewheel. You can choose to have the wheel click one step at a time the way mouse wheels typically do, or you can take the brakes off and use it as an analog mouse wheel, controlling scrolling speed with the speed of the wheel. I have a friend with a G500 who never used this, but I get a tremendous amount of mileage out of it.
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For a brass tacks FPS mouse, the G500 and now the G500s are pretty solid, but unlike the G100s with its more timeless design, the G500s does have a little more room for improvement. A realtime DPI shift button is becoming increasingly common in gaming mice (Corsair called it their "Sniper button"), but that's not an available option in the G500s software unless you're using the software mode instead of the mouse's onboard memory. You can do DPI up or DPI down, but you can't hold one of the side buttons to temporarily lower or raise the sensitivity. That's a shame, because the functionality is available in the G600, and the G500s could really use it.
With the G500s available there's no reason to recommend the G500; the G500s sports higher quality switches in the buttons and received a slight increase in the top end of its laser's sensitivity (up to 8200 DPI.) At an MSRP of $69 it's a little pricey, but it has a fantastic grip if textures like those used on Razer's mice cause your skin to sweat, the adjustable weight is fantastic for some users, and the buttons are all in logical and easy to use places. The G500s is a workhorse if ever there were one.
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Dnann - Friday, June 14, 2013 - link
My Logitech mice have been doing fine so far. Recently got the G700s and it's a pretty slick upgrade. You might have unluckily gotten a lemon. But if you think Logitech mice are cheap, you should look at other mice.My Razer mouse broke after less than a year of use, buttons failed. You can see some pictures here:
http://www.squidoo.com/logitech-g700s-review-price...
And also watch the Logitech G700s push the Naga over the edge.
Well, there are no perfect mice on the market at the moment. It's the lesser of two evils. I'm going with Logitech... for the moment.
Codex77 - Saturday, July 9, 2016 - link
I've had the Logitech G9 for roughly 9 years and it still works perfectly. Absolutely no problems at all...ijozic - Saturday, March 30, 2013 - link
Apparently, some of the previous mice had similar issues - a friend and me bought G7 and G5 respectfully as soon as they were released. His left click button gave up within the first six months, while my G5 is still working, though I'm mostly using the G9 in the last few years (G5 is a bit too big for my preferred style of handling the mouse). I also remember that the G7 was very lacquered so your hands would sweat a lot on it, while the G5 had a very nice matt texture and rubberized grip which was very much the opposite. Considering that those things were costly, the cheap button quality is really disappointing.Eugene86 - Sunday, March 31, 2013 - link
I'm currently on my third G500. The left click button failed on my first one about a year after I got it. I called up Logitech and got it replaced for free with another G500. The left click button on this second G500 failed after about 4 months of use. I called up Logitech again and got another replacement.With this third G500, I believe that Logitech has actually replaced the buttons as well as laser. The button clicks sound different from that of the first two G500's that I owned. Also, with the first two G500's, I used a blue Icemat as my mousepad. The third G500, however, does not properly track on the Icemat, which leads me to believe that the laser has been changed.
I guess time will tell if Logitech actually fixed the buttons.
sigmatau - Tuesday, April 2, 2013 - link
I'm on my 4th G500. Stupid wire keeps failing. On the 3rd replacement they asked me if I had the old one. I told them I had all 3 and they could have all that crap back. I am never buying another wired Logitech mouse.HisDivineOrder - Saturday, March 30, 2013 - link
Didn't you see? The article says they knew it wasn't particular durable. They fixed the problem for you. You just have to pay them more money and buy the refresh. Didn't you know? They built your mouse likely after they determined the fault was common, but hey, it was a great way to ensure there was an expiration date on your mouse.They're doing it for you. They don't want you using a mouse for too long without buying the vaguely improved refresh for MORE money.
Logitech: Science! ...You're welcome.
Lyianx - Thursday, April 11, 2013 - link
I would be very happy if they found room in the G700 for a 2nd Enloop rechargeable batt for longer life.piiman - Tuesday, March 18, 2014 - link
You're an idiot.What mouse never breaks and last forever? Tell me a mouse that last longer?
I bought the 700s because I was happy with the 700 which I had since day one and it just started having a sticky button 4 BIG WHOOP! nothing last forever but if you can show me a more reliable mouse on the market I'm open to suggestions. But all I see from you is bitching and nothing to offer.
CloudFire - Wednesday, April 3, 2013 - link
I went through the same thing, on my 3rd G500 at the moment. The great thing about logitech was that there was no hassle in getting a replacement but it's quite annoying in terms of quality. My G5 lasted over 3 years without any problems yet each G500 barely made it to the 1 year mark. The current G500 seems to be running fine though, no problems yet and I also suspect that they may have upped the quality on the newer batches.jginnane - Saturday, March 30, 2013 - link
Hoe about a quick review for left-handed mouse users? Granted, the market is only ~11%, and even less in countries with strong social taboos like China. However, many companies would love to have an 11% market share of anything!