Logitech G5 Laser Mouse: When an update is not worthy of a new name

We have reviewed the features and software capabilities of the Logitech G5 Laser Mouse but what are our real thoughts after using the "2007 Edition"? We will provide a short synopsis in several areas and hopefully come to a conclusion if it is time to ditch our MX518.



Aesthetics-

We like the redesigned color scheme of the mouse. It is not our favorite design as cracked earth can be a little depressing but we feel like the blue and black color scheme goes well with our G15 keyboard. Also, we are getting tired of the post-apocalyptic metal design of previous Logitech gaming mice. The shape of the mouse still remains very modern, it is sculpted to fit both sides of your right hand, and the textured grip surface provided excellent comfort and tactile feel during high energy gaming sessions. The G5 appears to be bulky, but in practice the mouse was quite nimble in our opinion and we never felt the standard weight was a hindrance to performance. In fact, the ability to "palm" the mouse along with the excellent gliding ability led us to the fact that this mouse is very comfortable over long periods of usage.

The mouse has a minimalist view and a quick glance would fool one into believing it was not very configurable. In total there are now six button and three scroll wheel combinations with only the right and left click buttons not being configurable. The mouse also features a braided USB cord that easily slides across our desk surface and looks nice doing it. The three polytetrafluoroethylene covered feet are very low-friction designs that allowed the mouse to slide almost effortlessly across most of our test surfaces.

Our only real issue with the G5 ergonomics is the lack of a left handed version. Overall, the mouse is certainly one of the most comfortable ones that we have used in our labs and should be considered for this fact alone. However, this is a subjective analysis and what fits comfortably in our hands might not work in yours. For this reason, we always suggest that you hold and move the mouse around first before making a purchase decision. We typically find a quick trip to Best Buy, Circuit City, or Frys to test the equipment beforehand is a good idea. Just beware that they like it better if you also purchase the equipment from them instead of just test driving it.

Features-

This mouse is heavy on advertised features for the gamer or professional tournament player. The most prominent feature on the G5 is the ability to tune the weight of the mouse with the weight cartridge system. A system that some of us think is little gimicky and that others swear by for improving their reaction and targeting skills. A total of 36 grams in weight can be added to the G5 via the cartridge that has eight weight holders. The kit ships with eight 4.5 and eight 1.7 gram weights.

While the weight cartridge can be important to some, the heart of the G5 is its 2000 dpi laser engine via a 6.4 megapixels/second image processor. The ability to customize the dpi and USB polling rates is another huge plus with the G5. You can configure up to five different dpi sensitivity settings between 400 and 2000 with the ability to set the horizontal and vertical sensitivities separately. The USB polling rates can be set from 125 Hz to 1000 Hz based on six preset numbers. The G5 defaults to 500 Hz which is a setting that we found offered the best combination of performance and compatibility across several different chipsets.

Software-

The included 3.3 version of SetPoint had a couple of minor bugs under Vista. We noticed the inability of our screen saver to start and at times our monitor would not enter sleep mode. The updated 4.00 version was very solid, configurable, and easy to work with throughout testing. However, we highly suggest you download the version 4.00 software and install it first instead of upgrading from 3.3. We have had a couple of issues with the mouse or software not working correctly when doing an upgrade. If you already have a version of SetPoint installed, be sure to follow Logitech's guidelines for uninstalling the product first.

Certainly for the majority of users this software is one of the most feature packed and customizable applications that we have used. The options available for customizing how you work with the mouse allows for almost an infinite amount of choices on a global or program specific basis. The 4.0 SetPoint memory footprint hovers between 8.5MB to 12MB which is acceptable but not great. The program allows the user to easily create and store gaming profiles that can be customized as needed.

Application Performance-

There are not any real benchmarks for mouse performance nor is there a conclusive way of determining which mouse performs best at a given setting. We used the mouse in a variety of applications from Photoshop to Battlefield 2142 without an issue. In general, gaming was extremely solid and we did not encounter any issues to speak of after a couple of weeks of testing. Overall, the vast majority of gamers will throughly enjoy this mouse. We did not see or feel any lag issues during normal operation in a wide variety of games. The ability to configure the USB polling rates up to 1000 Hz is extremely important for FPS gamers along with the capability to change the standard or customized dpi settings on the fly.

We also used the mouse in a variety of general applications and customized our settings for Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and Photoshop CS3. Our main interest was how well the mouse would handle outlines and pixel by pixel touch up work in Photoshop. It passed with flying colors as the tracking movement was extremely accurate. We used the lasso tool and could easily outline our images that needed work with precision and during the touch up phase we were able to pinpoint and fill in certain areas with ease. The weight, textured grip surfaces, and overall ergonomics of the mouse really allowed us to keep a very steady hand while we moved the mouse around a variety of curved surfaces and some straight angles. While this mouse will not replace a pen digitizer or high-end trackball for certain applications it certainly comes close enough for dual purpose users.

Quick Take-

Our experience to date with the Logitech G5 Laser Mouse 2007 has been better than expected. After using the original G5 and going back to our trusted MX518, we found the minor updates that Logitech implemented turned an already good mouse into an impressive piece of hardware. Maybe we are just creatures of comfort or do not like change but we found the addition of the second thumb button to be very valuable in most situations. We probably could have figured out a way to live without it but that second button allowed additional gaming options and control along with forward functionality for the browsers and office applications.

We found the overall design, ergonomics, and quality of materials to be very good. The textured grip surface is one of our favorite features about the mouse along with the it just feeling right in our hands. While the center scroll wheel certainly sounded quieter and was smoother than our original G5, it would still make a noise as if two plastic surfaces were rubbing against each other if we placed additional pressure against it. While we greatly appreciate the addition of a second thumb button we found the two thumb buttons to be slightly on the thin side, if not a little bit soft when clicking.

At a $59.99 price tag and a design only right handed people can love, this mouse is not for everyone. Would we upgrade from the original G5 mouse, probably not, but then again we probably would not have bought one either. Is it a worthy upgrade to the MX518? At this time we would love to say, "Definitely, Absolutely, Yes!". However, we believe that is a personal call depending upon your likes and dislikes between the two mice. In the end, although we are not crazy about the cracked earth design scheme, the new features and overall performance of the G5 2007 edition will lead us to replace our MX518 lab units with this mouse. However, the real question is if any of our newly arrived Razer units will cause us to rethink this decision. That is a question we will answer shortly.