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
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Introducing the Logitech G100s, G500s, and G700s Gaming Mice
The dirty secret of gaming peripherals is that if they're good quality products in general, they're often going to be head and shoulders above hardware marketed toward the regular consumer. For whatever reason, high rent keyboards and mice just aren't marketed to consumers who'll often settle on an inexpensive wireless mouse and keyboard combination. This was strangely evident in Logitech's pre-G-branding era, and while the G branding is ultimately a good thing, some users are liable to miss out on some fantastic quality kit.
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In the strictest sense, the Logitech G100s, G500s, and G700s aren't new mice. They're three of the four mice that were recently announced (the fourth being the G400s, which we unfortunately didn't receive in time for review), but they're primarily refreshes. That's okay, though: the G100s is a descendant of the G100 which wasn't made available in North America, the G500s gives me a chance to properly review my beloved G500 as a new product, and the G700s sheds light on the oddly scarce G700.
When I met with Logitech in San Francisco, their statement with these "new" mice was essentially this: "if it ain't broke, don't break it." While I'd be liable to rib them a little bit for complacency, the reality is that many of these products have been phenomenally successful for them and well-received. Seriously messing with the formula runs the risk of disenchanting the customer as well as potentially resulting in a run on a dead product. That's not what you want; you want a run on a live product.
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Our conversations regarding peripherals were actually pretty long and detailed, certainly more than I've gotten from other vendors, but I think that's due to Logitech being principally a long-standing peripheral manufacturer. Mice and keyboards can be tricky things; each person's body chemistry is different which in turn affects the way different materials feel in the hand. I can't use Razer mice, they make my palms clammy in seconds, but I know a lot of people love the texture on their products. That's before getting into the differences in preference between the different mechanical switches Cherry produces in keyboards.
What Logitech is pushing with their G branding marketing, other than finally having a unifying brand umbrella (and software package!) for all of their gaming products, is summed up in their slogan: "Science Wins." It's goofy, but the philosophy is sound: they rigorously test their products (apparently one version of the G600 MMO mouse had a small production run alongside the current version, they were tested against one another, and the release one won out), and they design them based on scientific data about how they're used. That means looking at grip, looking at the situations they're used in, and so on.
The G100s, G500s, and G700s may have gradually increasing model numbers (and price tags to boot), but don't be deceived: each really does serve a unique purpose unto itself.
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Flunk - Saturday, March 30, 2013 - link
"With the G500s available there's no reason to recommend the G500" This statement isn't quite true. Logitech is fire saling the G500 so price is a big factor at the moment (I paid $30 for one). After that, I doubt there will be any more to compare.Dustin Sklavos - Saturday, March 30, 2013 - link
The problem is that the G500's primary buttons aren't particularly durable. I wore out my first G500 and I have a friend who wore his out as well.You can get a G500 at a fire sale price, but there's really no point when you'll just wind up replacing it with the G500s anyhow.
shahrooz - Saturday, March 30, 2013 - link
mine tooDeo Domuique - Wednesday, April 3, 2013 - link
I really wonder why you keep buying Logitech mice... Their damn buttons were always as crappy as hell... And they insist... The point is, why do you, the customers instist, likewise? Their god damn build quality is as cheap as possible; you need new mouse in a few months due to misbehaving/broken/malfunctioned buttons.nickb64 - Thursday, April 4, 2013 - link
My G400 has been fine, and I've used the hell out of it for the slightly more than 1 year I've had it. It's also spent a significant amount of time getting stuffed in my bag to take with me to college to use instead of the crappy Dell mice the school has in the computer labs.The only problem I've had was the scroll wheel was stuck for a couple days, and didn't turn as freely as it normally does. Upon further inspection, all I needed to do to fix it was scrape some junk that had become lodged in the opening out of the space. It's still just as functional as ever.
Best mouse I've ever owned, and I bought an extra just in case they don't have something like it when this one finally wears out, or in case I need another mouse when I get a proper desktop PC again.
Lyianx - Thursday, April 11, 2013 - link
MY G700 has been great for well over a year. It sounds like you are mistreating your mice so they break under conditions they were not meant to be put though, or you've got a lemon.piiman - Tuesday, March 18, 2014 - link
LOL you must work for Razar. lolThe cheap button are rated at 20,000,000 clicks yeah they're cheap lol
I had my g700 since it came out and button 3 is sticking in the down position. Probably just dirt but I felt like a new mouse after 4+years and grabbed the 700s at Best Buy which amazingly was the best price I found at 69.99. I'm sure it will last me just as long if not longer. What mouse do you think has better buttons?
offshoresho - Sunday, April 21, 2013 - link
I don't know how you've been treating your mouse but my G500 has been with me since Bad Company 2 and had no button problems EVER. To me the LOGITECH mouse were build to last. Playing FPS is my first love with games and constantly changing DPI when i need too. Now compare it to another 2 brands my friends have and playing the same games, i would only say "R" & "C" have problems.As long as im happy with my mouse. Don't abuse your mouse. (It's animal abuse)
bgatot - Sunday, April 21, 2013 - link
Do you work for Logitech? Do you hold stock in the company? Why assume that when they break it's always, 100% OUR fault? Still, it was a nice mouse before the middle button (and the scroll wheel with it) gave up the ghost.And as far as people keep buying Logitech, probably because there ain't much better alternative. At least I don't know any. My Razer's buttons are failing too. I wonder if the new Logitech would last longer, now that the button clicks have apparently been improved. If not, what other brand of mouse is durable enough out there?
anon29929292992 - Friday, May 29, 2015 - link
I'm jumping ship to Corsair's new mouse because I've seen the build quality of their cases. If they can build a durable case, then they will probably build a durable mouse. Logitech has always been a good brand, and I've bought and recommended Logitech for over a decade, but they constantly fail in build quality. When their products work they are great, but I've seen too many product failures. They need to take their flagship products and perfect them instead of pumping out design defects, and they need to seriously consider redesigning their software and customer service model. Customer service doesn't even exist at Logitech...so until they can step the game up I'm finding and recommending alternatives....