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 G700s: Convertible for the MMO Player
When Logitech showed me the G700s, I was actually pretty impressed by it and disappointed that I never saw the G700 in retail. Apparently I wasn't the only one; other gamers I know never saw the G700 floating around, either. Maybe it was too expensive, who can tell, but it wasn't an eyecatcher on the shelf (something the G500's ostentatious paint job undoubtedly helped.) That's kind of a shame, because if you're a fan of the G500 and G500s, this is basically a beefed up version of that mouse.
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For starters, the switches, textures, and sensors used between the two mice are the same. Where the G700s diverges is that it's a slightly larger mouse without the potentially oversized grip the G600 had. If you need a gaming mouse with more buttons, but the G600 was too big, the G700s might actually be exactly the ticket.
The G700s features eleven configurable buttons, up from the eight on the G500s. Instead of the trio of buttons under the thumb, there are now four. The pair of DPI switch buttons have had a third added beneath them, and then below the mechanical freewheel switch is an additional configurable button. I like that almost all of these buttons are basically where your fingers are going to be anyhow, and they require very little searching. The buttons all have fairly sharp angles to them to make them readily identifiable, but those wedges can be uncomfortable at first and may take some getting used to.
Unlike the G500s, there's no LED on the mouse to tell you what speed it's running at, but where the G700s deviates the most wildly from the G500s is that it's a combination wired and wireless mouse. It comes with a single user replaceable AA rechargeable battery, a wireless sensor, and then a special micro-USB cable that locks into the mouse firmly. I had a few concerns when it came to the potential pitfalls of the convertible design of the G700s, since something like this can be bungled badly in the details.
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My first concern was that the micro-USB connector (and you can use any micro-USB cable) would either wear out, or would be loose, but impressively, the cable that ships with the G700s is very secure. You can still use the mouse while it's charging as a conventional wired mouse, or you can take it off the mains and use the tiny wireless receiver. Note that this is not a unifying receiver similar to the ones used in Logitech's more consumer-oriented products; Logitech stated that the bandwidth required to reach their target 1ms latency meant using a dedicated receiver.
I switched back to corded mice after dealing with latency issues with two of my older wireless Logitech mice; they were great once they got rolling, and the MX Revolution remains a fantastic mouse if exceedingly hard to come by, but there was always a little bit of a hiccup when you started moving the mouse. The G700s doesn't have this problem; it has configurable wireless power levels, and the default one is actually imperceptible from a wired connection.
The G700s is almost flatly superior to the G500s, but I found the feedback on the thumb buttons to be a little too mushy, and the right click was actually too easy to accidentally hit and needed more resistance. If you're willing to make the tradeoffs, though, and are desperate to lose the cable without losing the sensitivity and responsiveness, I don't think you can really beat the G700s.
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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.