Logitech G700s Wireless Gaming Mouse Review

3:30 PM g700s , gaming , logitech , mouse , review 4 Comments

     If you don't already know, in one of my previous reviews, the G602 became one of my favourite wireless mice of all time. Logitech has always been the one to trust when it comes to wireless mice; especially when precision is required, I have always placed my money on Logitech's wireless gaming mice. Today, I have with me the big brother of the Logitech's line of gaming mice, the G700s. Without further ado, let's see what the G700s has to offer.


WHAT'S IN THE BOX


TECH SPECS

• Durability: 20 million clicks / 250km
• DPI range: 200 - 8200DPI
• Image processing: 12MP/s
• Max acceleration: 30G
• Max speed: Up to 4.19m/s
• Polling rate: Up to 1000hz
• Dimensions (L x W x H): 126 x 80 x 46 mm
• Weight: 153grams

REVIEW
     Let's start off by talking about the packaging first. The G700s is packed inside some very well-constructed cardboard which doesn't make it too hard to retrieve the mouse itself. Putting back the cardboard pieces to its original arrangement is pretty time consuming but I think only I have an obsession with putting back boxes together in its original state. Like most packaging found on gaming mice, the G700s' box features a little window that lets you check out what the mouse looks like.

     Enough about the box and let us shift our focus to the main attraction here, the mouse itself. Connectivity wise, you get the special Logitech nano-receiver that uses the 1000 Hz frequency to avoid the G700s from being interrupted by other wireless devices. To recharge the mouse, we also find a MicroUSB cable inside the box. A little quirk by Logitech on this particular MicroUSB cable is that they designed a special piece on the port so it would be easier for users to identify whether they are plugging in the thing in an incorrect orientation. It's also possible to use the G700s with the MicroUSB cable plugged in. However, I really wouldn't recommend using the wired mode when you are gaming as the MicroUSB cable is too stiff in my opinion and sometimes results in obstructed movement.

     Looking at the mouse itself, the G700s sports the usual Logitech gaming mouse footprint with the left side having a little edge that sorts of enables it to be classified as a thumb-rest. Judging from the shape of the mouse, the G700s is more suitable for those who palm grip. For those who want to claw grip the mouse instead though, it's still doable but to be honest the mouse is too big for that kind of gripping. The surface of the mouse features a polycarbonate finish which from constant usage, proves to not make my hand sweat. The sides on the other hand feature a rough finish which I really like as it gives me more grip compared to other finishes.

     Let's shift our focus to the extra buttons that the G700s features. Right alongside the left mouse click, we find 3 extra buttons that are configured as DPI up, DPI down and show battery level by default. These extra buttons are placed particularly well and are easy to locate and identify using muscle memory so there's that. Right beneath the scroll wheel, we find 2 more buttons. The one placed further than the other to the scroll wheel is for on-the-fly profile switching. The one closer to the scroll wheel is used to switch between the modes of the scroll wheel, which brings us to the next spotlight, the scroll wheel. The scroll wheel on the G700s features 2 modes, a step-by-step scrolling mode (like how a scroll wheel normally functions) and a free-spinning scrolling mode. I like the free-spinning mode particularly when going through long annual reports or even just browsing through reddit in general; the scroll wheel really makes it a breeze to quickly go through things.

     Moving to the sides, we find 4 more buttons that are configured as modifier keys by default. Similar to the ones found on the G602, these buttons sport a distinct narrow rectangular shape. Fortunately, despite the narrow shape, one is still able to easily identify which button he or she is hovering atop, thus making misclicking a non-issue here. One improvement I would like to see in the next iteration of this mouse would be to make the buttons on the side use switches as well like ones used in left and right clicks of the mouse to give users a much more tactile feedback. As of now, it's still pretty hard to identify whether I have pressed the button or not sometimes. Right beside these 4 extra buttons, we find a LED indicator with 3 levels; this indicator is used to distinguish between DPI levels and also to enable you to check the battery status.


     On the bottom of the mouse, we find plenty of mouse feet as well as the power switch. We also find the battery cover which when open up, we also find a slot for users to keep the wireless receiver in.

     Since we are talking about technical things already, let's find out what components the G700s is made of. On both your left and right clicks, you will find the ever so trustworthy Omron switches which are rated for 20million clicks. Sensor wise, the G700s also sports the industry standard Avago ADNS-9800 laser sensor that supports a minimum of 200 DPI and a maximum of 8200 DPI. Accuracy wise, I would say the G700s performs quite well within the 4500 DPI range. As for DPI ranges above 4500, I really couldn't put myself up to use anything higher than 4500 as I don't have the screen resolution to accommodate such big mouse movements. The G700s also features on-board memory, enabling users to save up to 5 of their profiles onto the mouse for usage on other PCs that do not have Logitech Gaming Software installed.




     What makes a gaming peripheral... 'gaming'? Other than quality, precision and customizability, a peripheral just doesn't cut it without software support. Of course, Logitech has software support for the G700s via their Logitech Gaming Software. As usual, users can record and use macros, define what commands are bound to the extra buttons, configure DPI step up/down levels and all the other usual stuff. For a more throughout overview, read my previous review of the G602 because it's pretty much identical.


     Finally we come to the last point of the review. Not only is this the last point in the review, it's also my only gripe with the mouse - the battery life. The Logitech G700s utilizes an AA NiMH rechargeable battery as its power source. The battery from my experience could last anywhere from 6-8 hours depending on usage. This in my opinion just doesn't cut it for a wireless mouse. But putting things in perspective, wireless gaming mice by other manufacturers also seem to perform about the same so I won't bite as hard as I would had. Having used the G602 for an extended period of time, the G700s' battery life is just less than stellar. Side note, you can leave the mouse on even if not in use as the mouse will auto-sleep when not in use for an extended period of time.

CONCLUSION
     Retailed at MYR 299.00, the Logitech G700s presents itself as a pretty good gaming mouse with the standard software customization and extremely well ergonomics for palm grippers. While the addition of the wireless option is handy, the battery life is comparable to other similar solutions by other manufacturers but coming from a G602 that I have yet to change batteries for since October 2013, the G700s' 8 hour battery life is just unacceptable for me. So who is this mouse for? If you need high DPI and can't live without the free-spinning scroll wheel, then the G700s would be a good pick; otherwise, the Logitech G602 will still be my mouse of choice when it comes to picking a gaming wireless mouse.