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 G-Series Software
One thing peripheral vendors have been notoriously awful about has been software. I was never especially happy with the software Corsair uses, to say nothing of Thermaltake's and even Logitech's older software. The old G500 used the SetPoint software kit, separate from their gaming software, but with the new G series, all of the new mice and keyboards fall under a single unified software umbrella. This is immensely appreciated, as most vendors are using separate drivers and software for each of their products.
As it turns out, the G-series software is pretty good, too, and remarkably simple. Someone at Logitech seems to have decided that existing software was too clunky or not functional enough, because this software is lightweight and incredibly easy to use.
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Strangely, the G100s is the only one of the three mice tested that has more than one configuration page; one page handles the DPI levels while the second handles the limited button configuration. It seems really bizarre that they would take that approach with this mouse, as it's unnecessarily involved. Nonetheless, the software is very simple and intuitive, something that will be consistent across these three products.
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When you get to the G500s, you see most of the same functions as the G100s but lose some granularity in the sensor; the "Advanced" settings are all gone. The first window actually lets you choose between storing your settings in the mouse's on-board memory or storing them in software; from there it takes you to the single configuration window. Changing a button's setting is as easy as clicking on that button in the window, where a dropbox lets you choose between using the default or going to a page that lets you assign a macro, key, or basic mouse function (including multimedia controls.)
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Finally, the G700s ups the ante one more time by allowing you to store and toggle between up to five different profiles, but other than that it's essentially identical to the configuration options for the G500s. It does add the ability to choose a power mode, and I found the Max Gaming mode was enough to make the wireless connection undetectable; under the other two, there's just a little bit of perceptible lag even with the mouse right next to the receiver.
This is really clean, well made software and a major step forward for Logitech. If it loses anything, it's that it's not as robust as the ridiculously configurable Kone mice from ROCCAT. Those mice use illumination to identify different profiles, and they're frankly still going to be almost ideal for users who want to get as much utility out of their mice as humanly possible.
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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.