Page All: Viewing All Pages
Page 1
Intro:
Since Logitech never stands idle in the fast paced computer peripheral market, they have redesigned their gaming edition of mice. The G9 is a definite step in a different direction compared to the previous top of the line model, the G7. It is now a corded mouse and incorporates features that are present on the MX Revolution and from the G5. While the cord can be a burden, the entire mouse is a great evolutionary step.
History:
The gaming series of mice has had corded and cordless mice in the form of the G5/G7 for a long time. It hearkens its design back to the MX700 days. The MX700 was an excellent mouse, being It was the first truly usable cordless mouse. Since then, Logitech has continued to produce excellent cordless mice for general use and gaming. The G9 represents a departure from this. When asked why, the response was that gamers want corded mice. If you agree or not, the G9 is a great piece of hardware.
Packaging:
The G9 box features the mouse encased in a hard shell of plastic and cardboard. It is very pronounced on a store shelf. Perfect for a kid to get giddy over...
Parts:
The G9 comes with a potato head style of assortments. You can mix and match different pieces when using this mouse. The first thing is that there are two skins for the mouse. These are not merely aesthetics as the skins are both different in size. The default 'red' skin has a red Logitech logo and is wider than the skinnier 'white' skin. It is a personal preference that determines what skin will be used for this mouse. My hand fit the wider skin the best.
There are a set of weights that were formally the realm of the G5. The base weight of the mouse is much less than the previously cordless mice and some extra weight really helps the mouse control. You can mix and match many sizes of weights to get the perfect fit.
A more in-depth view of the parts are in order...
The Skins:
There are two basic skins that the package contains. The aesthetic difference is the Logitech logo color. One skin has a red logo and the other has a white logo. The mouse cannot be used properly without a skin. It is how the mouse is designed. The skins themselves are made of a hard textured plastic and are very comfortable in the hand. They absorb moisture, but they do get wet from sweat. It is not the same material as the G7 featured, but it does the job just as well.
The Weights:
There are eight weights included in the package. There are four 4g and four 7g. The mouse can take four (4) weights at once. My mouse has an extra 14g of weight in it. A bit of heft makes for better handling in my situation. Everyone has different tastes, that is what this mouse caters for. You can pick how much weight you personally want. Some people may elect not to use any extra weights. It is good when an individual mouse is customizable for the individual person.
The G9:
While the MX Revolution bills itself as revolutionary, the G9 is much more so than that. It combines several great features of previous lines of Logitech mice. The red wide skins is perfect for most hands. I cannot stress enough how important the input devices are on your computer. The mouse and keyboard are neglected, yet are the two most used devices of a computer. A good set of input devices can stave off wrist problems and other such dilemmas. Skimping on these peripherals is just not a good idea for anyone.
The G9 is a right handed only mouse and if you are left handed, look for a different mouse. Since the mouse is corded, you will never have to worry about replacing batteries. Some people like cordless mice over corded and I am one of them. Even so, the mouse is better than the G7. The cord is braided to help with sliding across your desk. I doubt that the braid is needed, but it looks nicer.
The mouse itself has some improvements in usability. The largest one is that the buttons are now inset and rounded out. This allows you to place your fingers on the buttons and rest them there. It is a very comfortable experience. I find it much better than the outset style of the previous mice. Having your fingers resting at a neutral position helps mitigate health problems. Seriously, input devices are important!
Intro:
Since Logitech never stands idle in the fast paced computer peripheral market, they have redesigned their gaming edition of mice. The G9 is a definite step in a different direction compared to the previous top of the line model, the G7. It is now a corded mouse and incorporates features that are present on the MX Revolution and from the G5. While the cord can be a burden, the entire mouse is a great evolutionary step.
History:
The gaming series of mice has had corded and cordless mice in the form of the G5/G7 for a long time. It hearkens its design back to the MX700 days. The MX700 was an excellent mouse, being It was the first truly usable cordless mouse. Since then, Logitech has continued to produce excellent cordless mice for general use and gaming. The G9 represents a departure from this. When asked why, the response was that gamers want corded mice. If you agree or not, the G9 is a great piece of hardware.
Packaging:
The G9 box features the mouse encased in a hard shell of plastic and cardboard. It is very pronounced on a store shelf. Perfect for a kid to get giddy over...
Parts:
The G9 comes with a potato head style of assortments. You can mix and match different pieces when using this mouse. The first thing is that there are two skins for the mouse. These are not merely aesthetics as the skins are both different in size. The default 'red' skin has a red Logitech logo and is wider than the skinnier 'white' skin. It is a personal preference that determines what skin will be used for this mouse. My hand fit the wider skin the best.
There are a set of weights that were formally the realm of the G5. The base weight of the mouse is much less than the previously cordless mice and some extra weight really helps the mouse control. You can mix and match many sizes of weights to get the perfect fit.
A more in-depth view of the parts are in order...
The Skins:
There are two basic skins that the package contains. The aesthetic difference is the Logitech logo color. One skin has a red logo and the other has a white logo. The mouse cannot be used properly without a skin. It is how the mouse is designed. The skins themselves are made of a hard textured plastic and are very comfortable in the hand. They absorb moisture, but they do get wet from sweat. It is not the same material as the G7 featured, but it does the job just as well.
The Weights:
There are eight weights included in the package. There are four 4g and four 7g. The mouse can take four (4) weights at once. My mouse has an extra 14g of weight in it. A bit of heft makes for better handling in my situation. Everyone has different tastes, that is what this mouse caters for. You can pick how much weight you personally want. Some people may elect not to use any extra weights. It is good when an individual mouse is customizable for the individual person.
The G9:
While the MX Revolution bills itself as revolutionary, the G9 is much more so than that. It combines several great features of previous lines of Logitech mice. The red wide skins is perfect for most hands. I cannot stress enough how important the input devices are on your computer. The mouse and keyboard are neglected, yet are the two most used devices of a computer. A good set of input devices can stave off wrist problems and other such dilemmas. Skimping on these peripherals is just not a good idea for anyone.
The G9 is a right handed only mouse and if you are left handed, look for a different mouse. Since the mouse is corded, you will never have to worry about replacing batteries. Some people like cordless mice over corded and I am one of them. Even so, the mouse is better than the G7. The cord is braided to help with sliding across your desk. I doubt that the braid is needed, but it looks nicer.
The mouse itself has some improvements in usability. The largest one is that the buttons are now inset and rounded out. This allows you to place your fingers on the buttons and rest them there. It is a very comfortable experience. I find it much better than the outset style of the previous mice. Having your fingers resting at a neutral position helps mitigate health problems. Seriously, input devices are important!
Page 2
The G9 (more):
The contour of the G9 holds your thumb well. It is pretty doubtful that any thumb will be hitting the mousepad using this mouse. Allowing your thumb to completely rest on the mouse aids with reducing the friction that a thumb causes. Less friction means better performance. These minor details make the overall appeal of the mouse excellent.
The G9 brings back a forward button to the gaming series which is a fairly useless function. I very rarely have the need to go back then forward. The real interesting option that hits the G9 is the enhanced scroll wheel. Not only does the scroll wheel itself feel great since it is a ribbed flat strip on metal (instead of the rubber roller), it also has done the MX Revolution tickless scroll properly. The MX Revolution had the SetPoint software control the function of the scroll wheel. The G9 leaves this up to the user by ways of a button on the bottom of the mouse. The MX Revolution felt broken when it was first used since the scroll click changed modes instead of the normal middle click.
There are DPI adjustments (not really, it is just speed) in the form of a plus and minus toggle near the first mouse button. There is no danger of hitting it accidentally since it is inset. The mouse can be setup anyway that you require with the use of the SetPoint software. SetPoint does not work in Linux so it was not reviewed. The mouse works perfectly out of the box without any software.
Testing:
Testing involved using the mouse in general use and in a few games. UT2004 was used as it works perfectly on Linux. General use was done by using the computer normally for three weeks. How did the mouse fair?
The mouse handles like a dream. It glides across the surface with hardly any friction, thanks to the polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE or the DuPont Teflon) feet on the mouse. The curvature of the mouse allows your hand to rest in a much better position than normal mice, but compared to the older G7, it is a toss up. Regardless, this is one extreme mouse. It feels like it is built for speed and comfort and that is what you should expect with this price tag.
Gaming on the highest speed setting is impossible. I would guess that most people would not be using the high speed setting at all. Medium settings works fine for everything. While using GIMP, it helps to use the slowest setting for that per-pixel accuracy. I like that the mouse does not need ANY software to be properly used. It is unfortunate that the MX Revolution did not share the same design philosophy.
The switch on the bottom that controls the scroll wheel is a welcome addition. You can disable the ratcheting for normal use and put it right back on for gaming use. It is much better than having to have these crazy profiles on the computer.
The mouse can change the color of the speed adjustments as shown above. Pretty nifty.
Conclusion:
Since you can pick this mouse up for a tune of $80, it is well worth it if you don't have a G series mouse already. If you do, you may want to wait till it drops in price since you have a good mouse already. If you're a lefty, look elsewhere. I just want to stress the important of trying before you buy. If you can find a store that has display models, go in and check the mouse out. It is well worth it. Logitech keeps improving their models while keeping the functionality basically the same. It is good to see a company strive for excellence.
I would like to thank Kate and Sarah from Logitech for all the support and for making this review possible.
PS: If you like anime, »Anime Threads will be launching a brand new streaming area just for you. Soon...
The G9 (more):
The contour of the G9 holds your thumb well. It is pretty doubtful that any thumb will be hitting the mousepad using this mouse. Allowing your thumb to completely rest on the mouse aids with reducing the friction that a thumb causes. Less friction means better performance. These minor details make the overall appeal of the mouse excellent.
The G9 brings back a forward button to the gaming series which is a fairly useless function. I very rarely have the need to go back then forward. The real interesting option that hits the G9 is the enhanced scroll wheel. Not only does the scroll wheel itself feel great since it is a ribbed flat strip on metal (instead of the rubber roller), it also has done the MX Revolution tickless scroll properly. The MX Revolution had the SetPoint software control the function of the scroll wheel. The G9 leaves this up to the user by ways of a button on the bottom of the mouse. The MX Revolution felt broken when it was first used since the scroll click changed modes instead of the normal middle click.
There are DPI adjustments (not really, it is just speed) in the form of a plus and minus toggle near the first mouse button. There is no danger of hitting it accidentally since it is inset. The mouse can be setup anyway that you require with the use of the SetPoint software. SetPoint does not work in Linux so it was not reviewed. The mouse works perfectly out of the box without any software.
Testing:
Testing involved using the mouse in general use and in a few games. UT2004 was used as it works perfectly on Linux. General use was done by using the computer normally for three weeks. How did the mouse fair?
The mouse handles like a dream. It glides across the surface with hardly any friction, thanks to the polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE or the DuPont Teflon) feet on the mouse. The curvature of the mouse allows your hand to rest in a much better position than normal mice, but compared to the older G7, it is a toss up. Regardless, this is one extreme mouse. It feels like it is built for speed and comfort and that is what you should expect with this price tag.
Gaming on the highest speed setting is impossible. I would guess that most people would not be using the high speed setting at all. Medium settings works fine for everything. While using GIMP, it helps to use the slowest setting for that per-pixel accuracy. I like that the mouse does not need ANY software to be properly used. It is unfortunate that the MX Revolution did not share the same design philosophy.
The switch on the bottom that controls the scroll wheel is a welcome addition. You can disable the ratcheting for normal use and put it right back on for gaming use. It is much better than having to have these crazy profiles on the computer.
The mouse can change the color of the speed adjustments as shown above. Pretty nifty.
Conclusion:
Since you can pick this mouse up for a tune of $80, it is well worth it if you don't have a G series mouse already. If you do, you may want to wait till it drops in price since you have a good mouse already. If you're a lefty, look elsewhere. I just want to stress the important of trying before you buy. If you can find a store that has display models, go in and check the mouse out. It is well worth it. Logitech keeps improving their models while keeping the functionality basically the same. It is good to see a company strive for excellence.
I would like to thank Kate and Sarah from Logitech for all the support and for making this review possible.
PS: If you like anime, »Anime Threads will be launching a brand new streaming area just for you. Soon...