Logitech G700 Wireless Gaming Mouse

[Robbie Khan Reviews]

As a long time Performance MX user (and MX Revolution before that and MX 1000 before that! AND briefly a Razer Mamba user) I've always wondered when Logitech would out a wireless gaming mouse like the Mamba but....better (as in, with more buttons and features) so I was glad to see the G700 being released.

I read a review on Bit Tech which slated it as a "useless" mouse when used via wireless but excellent when wired. I think the reviewer was a bit broken that day as I could not imagine such a mouse being useless in wireless so I had to have a go myself.

So I contacted the powers that be and today arrived the G700, this was a used/refurbished example and had no retail packaging but I wasn't bothered about that as all I wanted to do was review it to confirm or deny the Bit Tech findings and of course compare it to the Performance MX as going by today's OcUK pricing, it's only a ?fiver more than it.

Look and Feel

The G700 looks odd at first, especially if you've only seen it in pictures and not in person. The way the extra buttons stick out look uncomfortable but really aren't. I would say if anything the only uncomfortable button is the top left button next to the left click if you have smaller hands as you may need to stretch a bit further to click it.

The buttons clickyness and feel are similar to the Performance MX, the wheel is exactly the same but that was to be expected anyway as is the ratchet activation button.

The material finish is very different to the Performance MX, it's more in line with other Logitech gaming mice. The top is similar to the PMX but the grips on each side are heavy in texture and have less rubbery feel than the PMX. I like this quite a lot as it's less slippery and offers good feel.

The G700 is slightly shorter than the PMX as well, it's similar to the MX Revolution in a lot of ways here and your palm arches around the top less than on the PMX:

Because of this, the G700 feels like a lighter mouse as your grip on it is different to the PMX.

Bundled Accessories & Software

I received a USB cable which had printed "gaming series cable", I smirked at this as I wondered how a USB cable could be "gaming" orientated, for one it is heavier in build than the USB cable that comes with the Performance MX so you would think a lighter cable would be more "gaming" but oh well.

You can use it as a wired mouse while it's plugged in and the battery charges while it is wired, just like the PMX. When the wire is plugged in the wireless on the mouse switches off.

It comes with one AA Eneloop battery, these are 750mAh and last 7 hours or so per bar (there are 3 bars on the LED indicator). I Use 2700mAh Pifco batteries instead as I could get a few days of use (gaming included) out of them per charge.

The mini receiver is a bit of a confusion. At first I thought it was a unifying receiver because it looked exactly the same as one but I noticed it had no unifying symbol on it and when I tried to pair the G700 with my existing unifying receiver I was told the mouse was not compatible.

Turns out the G700 uses its own receiver and due to it being a gaming mouse it needs a dedicated line. This isn't a huge problem but it would have been nice if it was unifying compatible as it would have saved me some extra faff behind my PC routing the spare USB extension wedge I had (pic below).

Because the receiver is unique to the G700 the software is as well. It has it's own Macro software where you can beam over keyboard commands and various recordings to the mouse and it's own Setpoint style utility to manage the extra buttons and settings.

It runs alongside the existing SetPoint without any issues and I didn't really have to download anything as Windows 7 put the shortcuts in the start menu when I plugged in the new receiver.

You can set various reports/sec on the G700 control panel, the default (and recommended) is 500 but I chose 1000 although the help info says this could use more CPU cycles. I don't think this will be an issue on a modern PC, I've certainly not noticed anything on my overclocked Q9550 yet.

In General

During normal use in Windows I noticed at 800DPI the mouse movement and responsiveness was just a small amount more finer than the PMX. This may be a placebo due to the lighter feeling movement of the mouse itself or it could also be that the laser position on the bottom of the mouse is centre top instead of below the thumb area like on the PMX.

I customised the buttons to my liking and set 5 custom DPI modes and the DPI loop option for one button so I could use the DPI up/down buttons as PAGE UP/PAGE DOWN for web surfing and used a bit of Photoshop, Lightroom and surfed the web without any issues. I note that Photoshop and Lightroom mouse movements for fine adjustments was a slightly better experience than the PMX, this is largely down to the sleeker feel of the G700, the PMX is a bit bulkier.

In Gaming

Did some FPS gaming and the same as general usage really, feels slightly smoother and more accurate when aiming than the PMX, not that the PMX was inaccurate though, this just feels more fine tuned. I tried the DPI modes and they work fine but I kept it at 800DPI throughout.

What I don't like

Obviously I'm not a fan of the non unifying receiver, it would have been nicer to have it unifying but if technical reasons prohibit this then *shakes fist at technicalities*.

I don't like the cable, I think it's a bit too thick to use as a gaming mouse when wired but that's just me. I also think they could bundle a higher mAh battery instead of a 750 one as over time the per charge usage time goes down. I found the same on my PMX which is why I got the 2700mAh ones.

The other thing I'm not too sure of is the placement of the top left extra button but I have talked about this earlier already.

Lastly, a nitpick but the battery compartment has no pull cord like on the PMX so to get the battery out you need long nails or something flat headed...unless you like to smash the mouse in your palm to force the battery out:

Photos

The control panel:

There's an option to enable angle snapping where it detects if you're trying to use the mouse in a straight line (in Photoshop, for example or in a game) and it snaps to that angle, the top line is with the feature on, bottom with it off:

The spare extension I had:

Both mice side by side:

Grip comparison:

PMX:

G700:

I think if you're considering a Performance MX then the extra ?5 on the G700 is well worth it. You gain extra buttons with various states of profile tune available, a better handling mouse in general and I have no doubt the same things will be said for gaming as well so check back for that update :p

Conclusion? I reckon the G700 suits gamers as well as non gamers. With the software profiles and customisation you can use it as an MCE remote very easily and map profiles to apps for various media controls - This is much better than lying down with a keyboard on your lap when watching Movies/TV on your PC and that's just one example.

I give it 8 Khans out of 10!

[Gaffney]

I just got the Preformance MX, I'm very impressed with it. I'm not a gamer but I'm a heavy user so I wanted a portable mouse that is comfy, feels good, has good battery life and is durable. I have only used wireless mice before and I've not had to charge this yet and that's been a week.

[Robbie Khan Reviews]

The PMX is a great mouse indeed, I noticed the prices for it have gone up though as I am sure it used to be ?60~ not ?70 as it is now in most places!

[bluewind.]

Excellent review! Sorry to sidetrack a bit, but I also recently got the PMX. Do any of you notice a high pitch noise coming from the mouse as soon as you start moving it. I only hear it when it's super quiet (and since I live in the city it rarely is). Nevertheless, it can be a bit bothersome. If so, does the G700 also suffer from this?

[Robbie Khan Reviews]

No noises on mine, the only thing that does make a noise is the USB AC charger when it's charging but all Logitech chargers have done this while charging from as far as I can remember.

[Yogurth]

I have MX Revolution and was considering of buying G700 at one moment, but I realized that having left wheel(thumb wheel) on it has spoiled me and there is no way I could go back to buttons for now. Too bad Logitech released only MX Revolution with this wheel, IMHO this was brilliant. I have no doubt that G700 is great mouse it's just that it misses the left wheel. Great review btw.

[bluewind.]

Alright, thanks for the reply. From what I gathered from the Logitech forum, apparently the laser on the PMX makes this noise, but most people can't hear it.

[Chasethebase Reporter]

Great review as always. (Y)

[Robbie Khan Reviews]

Alright, thanks for the reply. From what I gathered from the Logitech forum, apparently the laser on the PMX makes this noise, but most people can't hear it.

Mine definitely does not make this noise, my PC is laptop quiet too and my hearing is quite sensitive as well!

[hondaa]

Said this, the MX1000 is still the best wireless mouse ever made. I was sad to let it go when the battery died and it wouldnt charged. I upgraded to the Performance MX and its pretty good. The free wheel is sometimes annoying when you forget to switch but over all great most as well. This on the other hand (with the 3 buttons on the click) looks like ****.

[bluewind.]

Mine definitely does not make this noise, my PC is laptop quiet too and my hearing is quite sensitive as well!

Well, i might try to get a replacement then, since otherwise it's a great mouse. Thanks again for your input.

[timsweb]

Awesome review, anyone know how this mouse compares to the MX Air?

[Robbie Khan Reviews]

No idea about the MX Air, maybe someone knows. I imagine it's quite different due to both mice being targeted at 2 completely different audiences.

Someone emailed me saying their G700 came with a 2000mAh battery branded Eni time instead of a 750mAh Eneloop so sounds like the batteries do vary in different countries.

[andrew_f]

Amazon and Ebuyer are selling this for ?52ish at the moment! Just treated myself to it for my birthday.

[Razorwing]

I'll stick with my PMX. (Y)

[Paul Ferson Veteran]

Excellent review! It's made me want one of those mice! I just use a ?6 Asda mouse because I'm not much of a gamer, and I never really have a need for anything beyond what I have. At the same time though, if I had a high spec gaming computer or just a high-spec computer in general I'd be tempted by the G700. It looks good because of the amount of buttons and stuff - while I'd probably never use them, it does make the mouse look very high-end.

[qdave]

Good review! I still think though that performance mx is a better mouse.

[BoneyardBrew Member]

This is an excellent review. I've owned a G700 for nearly a year now and you touched on all of the most important aspects of it. Great pictures too! :)

My only real complaint which you mentioned is the low capacity battery, which dies disappointingly quick. I'm going to have to shell out the cash for some better ones sooner or later.

[Robbie Khan Reviews]

This is an excellent review. I've owned a G700 for nearly a year now and you touched on all of the most important aspects of it. Great pictures too! :)

My only real complaint which you mentioned is the low capacity battery, which dies disappointingly quick. I'm going to have to shell out the cash for some better ones sooner or later.

Thanks :)

I've been monitoring the battery draw the past day or so as I have been reading the Logitech forums and people have mentioned the battery indicator drops fast but it stays on 1 bar quite a long time, certainly longer than the other bars stay on for. On my PMX with 2700 mAh batteries I would get 3-4 days of usage out of a charge (2-3 from the stock battery) so I am seeing how the same batteries power the G700. I imagine because of the increased polling rate of 500 it will be a bit less but I am expecting at least 3 days from the 2700mAh batteries.

I have a set of 4 anyway and 1 is always charged so it's a simple case of hotswapping the battery and charging the dead one which is a much more efficient way of mousing compared to the MX Rev and MX100 where you had to cradle it with no hope of usage while charging. Especially bad if you forget to cradle it at night and have no juice the next day!

[BoneyardBrew Member]

Thanks :)

I've been monitoring the battery draw the past day or so as I have been reading the Logitech forums and people have mentioned the battery indicator drops fast but it stays on 1 bar quite a long time, certainly longer than the other bars stay on for. On my PMX with 2700 mAh batteries I would get 3-4 days of usage out of a charge (2-3 from the stock battery) so I am seeing how the same batteries power the G700. I imagine because of the increased polling rate of 500 it will be a bit less but I am expecting at least 3 days from the 2700mAh batteries.

I have a set of 4 anyway and 1 is always charged so it's a simple case of hotswapping the battery and charging the dead one which is a much more efficient way of mousing compared to the MX Rev and MX100 where you had to cradle it with no hope of usage while charging. Especially bad if you forget to cradle it at night and have no juice the next day!

You're welcome!

It is true that it stays at 1 bar for quite a while, but I don't like taking that chance if I'm in the middle of a game, so I tend to leave it plugged in.

I was thinking of buying a set of batteries and doing the same. Having extras to swap out does seem like the best solution.

[Robbie Khan Reviews]

My computer died on Monday morning so I've been off monitoring the battery so will restart it again later this week but 1 bar over the weekend so indeed it looks like 1 bar does stay there for ages. The software didn't even notify saying the battery was low yet!

[+Matthew S. Subscriber²]

I ended up picking myself up one of these G700's and boy what an improvement over my MX620, mind you I was pretty good with gaming on the MX620 too :p :rolleyes: The mouse doesn't make the pro, the pro makes the mouse.

[witalit]

I have MX Revolution and was considering of buying G700 at one moment, but I realized that having left wheel(thumb wheel) on it has spoiled me and there is no way I could go back to buttons for now. Too bad Logitech released only MX Revolution with this wheel, IMHO this was brilliant. I have no doubt that G700 is great mouse it's just that it misses the left wheel. Great review btw.

I would miss this wheel also, its great! I use it for sound scroll up/volume up scroll down/volume down and click mutes/unmutes.

I need to replace the battery in my MX Revo as its complete crap and don't last long at all.