Logitech G700 Wireless Gaming Mouse Review

Flies are irritating things. There you are trying to concentrate, and there it is. Buzz buzz. You could be enjoying the most engrossing, most interesting, most life-affirming piece of entertainment and it would be there. Buzz buzz. No matter how good a moment, no matter how interesting the cat video is that you’ve found, an irritation like that will leave its mark.

The Logitech G700 Wireless Gaming mouse is a little like that. There’re plenty of things to love about it, but there are numerous little moments of frequent irritation. Buzz buzz.

Let’s talk form factor. As far as gaming mice go, the Logitech G700 is an acceptable piece of kit. My ham-hands can slap over the mouse in a completely satisfactory, ergonomic fashion, though it does seem better equipped for slender digits. The left side of the mouse contains the typical thumb seat, but the mouse lacks the customisation or extra appeal of something like the Mad Catz R.A.T, with it’s extendable wrist rest.

The next logical point of discussion would be the buttons – strong ergonomics mean naught if the thing doesn’t function well, after all. Well, the Logitech G700 mouse features thirteen clickable buttons, including your usual left and right clicks, as well as a mouse wheel that can be set as either resistant or loose. The loose setting would be useful if you wanted to scroll down a particularly long legal document, I suppose.

Using the bundled software, it’s possible to fully customise every one of these buttons, and it’s even possible to apply long button macros to them that detect button presses and releases – perfect for MMO gamers looking to streamline their rotations.

It’s also a cinch to add game specific settings that will automatically activate on game start-up. It’s simply a case of locating the game’s .exe file and then customising the buttons; a lovely feature and the application-recognition of the G700 seems spot on.

The buttons themselves? They’re a bit of a mixed bag. The nine resting on top of the mouse are fine but those attached to its left lack a certain satisfaction in their click. What’s more, I’ve found my thumb accidentally tapping them on occasion, more so when I first got the mouse but it is still an occasional irritation, most likely due to my muscle memory being more tuned to a mouse without buttons there to accidentally press. Buzz.

One thing the Logitech G700 mouse has going for it is its rechargeable battery. The mouse is wireless and talks to the most discrete USB dongle you’ll ever see. The mouse is charged via a separate USB cable – and a rather rigid cable it is too. When not charging you have absolute freedom, and the charge wire isn’t particularly long so if you intend to use the mouse while it’s charging then be prepared to adjust yourself to compensate for the tense line. Buzz.

Not that the battery length is to be sniffed at. Even if you’re a dummy (like me) and leave the little dude on over night and all day then the battery will still last a few cycles of the sun. Your indication of battery length, aside from the program you install on your PC, are the three lights on its side (lights also used to tell you which ‘mode’ the mouse is in).

In terms of pointer sensitivity the Logitech G700 mouse has a phenomenal range. 200 DPI is the lowest you can go, while 5700 is the high mark. 5700 is a ludicrous sensitivity if you weren’t aware, with my cursor clearing my monitor after about a centimetre of movement. I can’t understand why anyone would want a mouse so swift and therefore conclude that it must be perfect for professional gamers.

The wireless signal doesn’t feel perfect, however. Buzz. On numerous occasions when I was using the gadget the connection would cut out or behave erratically, sometimes causing the pointer/my aim to lurch in a direction, obliterating my concentration. This happened when I used the mouse on a table top and when I used it on a mouse mat. This would happen perhaps once every other day, but it’s still a brow-raiser that it happens at all. The Logitech G700 is not extremely knee friendly either, unfortunately.

VERDICT: In terms of raw functionality the Logitech G700, with its army of buttons, terrifying sensitivity and immense customisation, is an impressive piece of kit. On top of that, it’s a comfortable enough chunk of plastic to wield. It’s just that every now and then a little irk or quirk will come buzzing along and make you question the little rodent. It’s not that it’s a bad mouse, far from it, it’s just that these irritations appear often enough that it stops the Logitech G700 reaching the potential that its function list promises. And that is the biggest irritation of all.

This product was supplied free of charge for review by Maplin.