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Buyer's Guide: The Best Monitors 
Logitech G500
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| Caractéristiques | |||
| Sensor | Laser | ||
| Wired? / Docking Station? | yes / N.A. | ||
| Battery | Wired | ||
| Maximum Resolution | 5700 dpi | ||
| Reporting Frequency | 1000 Hz | ||
Vincent Alzieu
Test date: August 28, 2009
Test date: August 28, 2009
1000 Hz? Better stick to 500 Hz ...
A normal mouse reports its position 125 times per second (125 Hz, or around once every 8 ms). The G500, though, can go up to 1000 Hz, sending its position once every millisecond. You can really notice the increased precision, and not just in games.
So the G500 can reach 1000 Hz, but by default, it works at 500 Hz. You need to download the driver and then manually change the setting if you want to go higher. We tried it ... and then went back to 500 Hz. At 1000 Hz, the mouse uses around 45% of the load of our Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 2.2 GHz, and reaches peaks of 60%. At 500 Hz, it's a lot calmer: 30% when you're moving it normally, and peaks at 40%. That's still quite substantial.
At 125 Hz, the G500 uses less than 10% of the CPU.
So the G500 can reach 1000 Hz, but by default, it works at 500 Hz. You need to download the driver and then manually change the setting if you want to go higher. We tried it ... and then went back to 500 Hz. At 1000 Hz, the mouse uses around 45% of the load of our Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 2.2 GHz, and reaches peaks of 60%. At 500 Hz, it's a lot calmer: 30% when you're moving it normally, and peaks at 40%. That's still quite substantial.
At 125 Hz, the G500 uses less than 10% of the CPU.
The Logitech G500 represents real progress, and its arrival justifies our reclassification of some of its rivals, which, until recently, enjoyed excellent scores.
Here's an idea of what we liked about it:
- You can choose between having the scroll wheel turn freely or clicking round, which is very useful.
- The laser sensor no longer stops working at speeds of 4 metres per second, so optical mice no longer have any real advantage. (Earlier laser mice tended to give up at 2 m/s, which wasn't good enough for the most excitable gamers).
- You can set the resolution yourself anywhere from 200 to 5700 dpi.
- Its new look is much more refined and more likely to attract a wider market than gamers.
- The new driver (which you need to download ... it doesn't come with the mouse!) isn't very attractive but has plenty of features and is easy to use.
- You can use it to program macros or custom profiles that you can assign to different buttons, such as the new third button that sits under the thumb.
The G500 is taking the place of the G5, and has a new style. The electric blue and cracked black exterior are out, and a new black design that's speckled with grey is in. Is it attractive? Opinions in our lab were divided: it's certainly not neutral enough to meet with universal approval, but Logitech has certainly done a lot better than on the G5. This mixture of greys and blacks has one key benefit though: it matches the rest of our equipment. Your screen and keyboard can be white, grey or black, and the mouse won't stand out next to them ... even if it is all three at once.
We were impressed by the work Logitech has done on the materials that cover the mouse. The top quality plastic grips well under the thumb and ring finger on either side, while the top part of the mouse is smooth but dry. There's no problem with sweaty palms, even now at the height of summer.
Shape and Buttons
Empty, the G500 weighs 116 grams. For us, that's perfect, but if you prefer a heavier mouse that offers a little inertia, you can add a series of weights until it finally reaches 150 g. We prefer it as it is though.
Empty, the G500 weighs 116 grams. For us, that's perfect, but if you prefer a heavier mouse that offers a little inertia, you can add a series of weights until it finally reaches 150 g. We prefer it as it is though.
The control behind the scroll wheel is no longer used to adjust the resolution on the fly, but now controls the scroll wheel, toggling between free motion and what Logitech calls a click-to-click motion. Let's be clear: we love this feature and it's very, very hard to leave it after trying it! A scroll wheel that clicks round is better for gaming where you might want to select different tools, but for office work, having the wheel unhindered is better as you can get to the bottom of a document or a web page very quickly. And having the choice between the two is perfect when you share the mouse between several people: some people will always prefer one way or another, but the freedom to choose will please everybody!
The central button can also be used to switch from one profile to another. You can create new profiles using the driver and then write them to the mouse. This export means that you don't have to reinstall the driver and reconfigure everything when you use the mouse on another computer.
The two buttons used to adjust the resolution on the fly have now been moved to the left of the mouse, underneath the index finger. It's a good spot. Even though we used the G5 for a long time, we immediately got used to this new positioning. Once again, though, you need to use the driver to set up the different levels from 200 to 5700 dpi. For a laugh, we tried 5700 dpi, and we can confirm--once again--that such a high resolution is purely driven by marketing and has no real benefit. At this level, the mouse loses any precision as soon as the cursor begins to move quickly. Apart from making anybody who's watching laugh, there's not much point to it. We decided to choose five different levels, instead of the three that are available by default: 400, 800, 1200, 1600 and 2000 dpi. On the computer we used to test it, which has two 24'' monitors side by side, making a total width of 3840 pixels, going any higher didn't seem necessary.
The central button can also be used to switch from one profile to another. You can create new profiles using the driver and then write them to the mouse. This export means that you don't have to reinstall the driver and reconfigure everything when you use the mouse on another computer.
The two buttons used to adjust the resolution on the fly have now been moved to the left of the mouse, underneath the index finger. It's a good spot. Even though we used the G5 for a long time, we immediately got used to this new positioning. Once again, though, you need to use the driver to set up the different levels from 200 to 5700 dpi. For a laugh, we tried 5700 dpi, and we can confirm--once again--that such a high resolution is purely driven by marketing and has no real benefit. At this level, the mouse loses any precision as soon as the cursor begins to move quickly. Apart from making anybody who's watching laugh, there's not much point to it. We decided to choose five different levels, instead of the three that are available by default: 400, 800, 1200, 1600 and 2000 dpi. On the computer we used to test it, which has two 24'' monitors side by side, making a total width of 3840 pixels, going any higher didn't seem necessary.
What's missing though?
If you just looked at the score and all of our praise for it above, you might think that the G500 is the perfect mouse. It isn't quite though. Although the laser sensor can handle rapid acceleration and fast movements on the majority of surfaces, it gets lost on glass. As a study commissioned by Logitech itself show, around 40% of its customers have at least one glass surface that they use from time to time with a computer (mostly laptops, we imagine). Being able to use the G500 on glass is hardly indispensable, but why go without if the technology allows it? That's exactly why Logitech has just launched the new Logitech Performance Mouse MX, with a sensor specially designed to work on this difficult surface.
The shape of the G500 is useful for right-handers, but not left-handers. It's a shape that Logitech has been refining over the years: before the G5, there was the MX518 and so on. It's a pleasing form that's intuitive and easy to get a grip on the first time you try it. However, some of our team now prefer slightly less traditional designs which offer more support to the hand and offer better protection for the carpal tunnel. That's one of the Roccat Kone's main strong points, for instance. By contrast, the SteelSeries Ikari Laser Mouse is much flatter, but the hand grips its shape along the whole length.
There are two other aspects of its handling that round out the G500 and make it even better. We generally find hybrid mice, where the cable can be removed for wireless use very useful. The Microsoft Sidewinder X8, the Razer Mamba and some versions of the Logitech MX1100 are other examples of this technology. And underneath the mouse, although the pads on a new Logitech G500 slide perfectly, we're still convinced that one day all gaming mice will use the same indestructible ceramic feet as the Nova Slide X 600.
If you just looked at the score and all of our praise for it above, you might think that the G500 is the perfect mouse. It isn't quite though. Although the laser sensor can handle rapid acceleration and fast movements on the majority of surfaces, it gets lost on glass. As a study commissioned by Logitech itself show, around 40% of its customers have at least one glass surface that they use from time to time with a computer (mostly laptops, we imagine). Being able to use the G500 on glass is hardly indispensable, but why go without if the technology allows it? That's exactly why Logitech has just launched the new Logitech Performance Mouse MX, with a sensor specially designed to work on this difficult surface.
The shape of the G500 is useful for right-handers, but not left-handers. It's a shape that Logitech has been refining over the years: before the G5, there was the MX518 and so on. It's a pleasing form that's intuitive and easy to get a grip on the first time you try it. However, some of our team now prefer slightly less traditional designs which offer more support to the hand and offer better protection for the carpal tunnel. That's one of the Roccat Kone's main strong points, for instance. By contrast, the SteelSeries Ikari Laser Mouse is much flatter, but the hand grips its shape along the whole length.
There are two other aspects of its handling that round out the G500 and make it even better. We generally find hybrid mice, where the cable can be removed for wireless use very useful. The Microsoft Sidewinder X8, the Razer Mamba and some versions of the Logitech MX1100 are other examples of this technology. And underneath the mouse, although the pads on a new Logitech G500 slide perfectly, we're still convinced that one day all gaming mice will use the same indestructible ceramic feet as the Nova Slide X 600.
Pluses
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Scroll wheel can turn freely or click-by-click
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Resolution can be customised from 200 to 5700 dpi
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Reporting speed can be customised from 125 to 1000 Hz
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Macros and profiles stored in the mouse
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A new button exists under the thumb
Minuses
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Its style still won't please everybody
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We would have liked some extra hardware touches like ceramic feet or sensor that works on glass
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Driver looks very odd, even when you're used to it
We love this mouse. We thought the G5 was great, but this G500 is even better and won't be leaving our desktop any time soon. We can still think of improvements, but it's already a new standard for anybody who needs a precise mouse ... not just gamers.
