Computers & Gadgets

Logitech Gaming Mouse G500 (Black/Silver)
List Price: $69.99
Buy New: $54.99
You Save: $15.00 (21%)

I’ve had the G500 mouse for a few days and have decided to make it my main mouse. I’m not a gamer but since I spend so much time using the computer, I want my mouse to be up to the task. I especially like the number of buttons provided by the the mouse. The G500 is the third model of Logitech gaming mouse I’ve used.

The G500 is a definite improvement over the MX518 mouse I was using. The 518 improved the grip of the mouse by putting a thin layer of clear rubber over the plastic; that has partially peeled off and looks rather unsightly. The G500 appears to take a different approach they gave the grip parts of the mouse (the right and left sides) a slightly rough finish. This works for me.

The button layout on the mouse is different than either the MX518 or Mx500 mice. The 518 had three pushbuttons near the scroll wheel: one in front and two above. These are gone in the G500. Instead, Logitech added the ability to generate two clicks: one by tilting the scroll wheel right and one by tilting it left. By default these page the horizonatal scroll bar. I have reprogrammed them to perform page up and page down (I used two of the 518 buttons for that). The only downside to the tilt-clicks is that they can interact with the use of a direct scroll-wheel press: if you’re not careful a scroll-wheel press (e.g., middle mouse click) ends up instead generating one of the tilt-clicks. However, I found that after a bit of use, this ceased to be a problem (admittedly I don’t use the middle mouse click too often). The other scroll-wheel related feature is a small mechanical button behind the scroll wheel. This engages or disengages the detents on rolling the scroll wheel. With the dentents disengaged you can spin-scroll; with a little practice I was able to scan long web pages by zinging the wheel and then stopping it when something interesting scrolled by. I’m not sure how useful this feature will be.

Immediately above the left thumb grove on the 518 is a trio of buttons. A large pair are arrange front to back while a smaller button is slightly below the central junction of the two buttons. As I’ve done on all my gaming mice, I’ve assigned these to forward and backward (i.e., forward or backward one page in the broweser). I haven’t found a good use for the middle button yet, but I’m still new to this mouse.

A final pair of buttons is located to the left of the left mouse-click “button”. By default, these change the sensitivity of the mouse up or down (you can set a number of different sensitivities using the free Logitech Setpoint software). I originally intended to use these button to perform page-up and page-down. Unfortunately, the buttons are in a rather awkward position. They require the index finger to come back and then swing outwards; to comfortably use them I had to reposition my palm on the mouse. I’ve had repetitive motion injury problems before with similar finger motions on touchpads and I suspect that heavy use of this pair of buttons would cause a similar problem to me—YMMV.

Logitech has provided the mouse with three large slide-pads on the base of the mouse compared to the set of five small pads on the 518. A large pad spans both the front and back ends of the mouse while a medium-sized pad is in the middle of the left side. I would assume that the large pads would provide more consistent motion for the mouse, but I can’t provde it. Logitech also provide a set of weights that can be installed into the mouse. The user can add up to 27 grams (about an ounce) of weight to the mouse in increments of either 4.5 or 1.7 g. I’ve driven the mouse both with the full 1 oz and without any additional weight. I personally like it without any additional weight but I imagine others may find they get steadier motion from a weightier mouse.

Logitech provides the free SetPoint mouse control software though it must be downloaded from their web site. This software allows you to reprogram all the buttons of the mouse. One deficiency in this programming is the inability to assign a mouse operation modified by ctrl-, alt-, etc., to a button. For example, it would be handy to be able to control-click on a link in FireFox to open the link in a new tab. SetPoint also has several other interesting features. You can create mouse profiles and then assign the profile to a set of applications. This allows optimizing mouse behavior for mouse intensive applications (e.g., Photoshop). The profiles can also be stored in onbaord flash so that the profile automatically moves with the mouse (e.g., switching from the desktop to a laptop). There is also the capability to record mouse macros, though I haven’t explored it.

I really like the look and more importantly the feel of the G500 and will be using it to replace the MX518 as my main mouse. If I had to buy another mouse I would have no problems buying the G500 (I got this one through Vine).
Logitech Gaming Mouse

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