Customer Reviews

Logitech G9 Laser Mouse

5 star:		(137)
4 star:		(48)
3 star:		(21)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

I've been a Logitech gaming-mouse user/lover for a long time. In fact, the last four mice I've used with my gaming rig have been the MX510 (Blue), MX518, G5 (1st version) and now the G9.

The G9 is the perfect combination of the old G5 (precision, accuracy and on-the-fly resolution adjustments) and the MX revolution (with that killer mouse wheel), stuffed into in a customizable, comfortable and easy to control form factor.

Pros:

- I really like the new weight style much better than the G5. The weight "tray" is hidden under the grip so there is no way it can just pop out like on the previous generation mouse. For me, a properly weighted mouse is key in FPS. Too light and you are all over the screen. Too heavy and you are too late.
- Not only can you change the weights, but you can also change the grips to suit your playing style and the color of the LED indicators. I prefer the Wide Load grip for my big hands and the blue LEDs to match my Microsoft Reclusa Gaming Keyboard (Black).
- As long as you are a "righty", it's very comfortable, even after some marathoning. Like all previous Logitech mice I've owned, ergonomics and comfort are never lost in the design.
- Another great addition is the ability to save up to 5 profiles to the mouse's internal memory. No drivers or software needed to load up your custom mouse settings. There is a switch on the bottom that lets you toggle through your profiles. Perfect for LAN parties when you might not be gaming on your own rig.
- Scrolling with the Micro Gear is a blast when not gaming. There is a switch under the mouse that lets you toggle between what I call the "click" mode (a must for weapon changing in FPS) and the "scroll" mode (a must for scrolling web pages and long documents).
- The gaming-feet surface is much improved. I use this mouse with a SteelSeries SteelPad QcK+ mouse pad and it is smooth as butter. I eventually plan on moving to a solid surface pad as I've heard they can improve accuracy with less friction.
- There are two thumb buttons on the left side. I know this was added to newer model G5 (my older version didn't have this) and it's a warm welcome. These are a must for forward/back functionality when you browse the web.

Cons:

- The Setpoint software is a little flaky. I chalk this up to being an early release. It took a couple reinstalls to finally get it to work correctly. Its possible previous software versions on my PC caused this issue. Everything works now.
- I can't use my wrist pad with this mouse. I know it sounds weird, but the back of the mouse isn't as long as the G5 and it slopes downward in a way that forces your wrist to touch your mouse pad. Because of this, it works best without an elevated wrist pad behind it. If you do try to elevate your wrist/forearm, it can be pretty uncomfortable. No biggie, I'll make due.
- $100 price. Ouch, but I've gotta have the latest and greatest.

So there you have it. I'll update this review as I put it through more testing.

Be sure to check out the customer photos section. I took some photos of the G9 side-by-side with my old G5. Enjoy!

Logitech's reputation in computer accessories is long established. The G9 laser mouse is the latest high end mouse in their product family. Overall the results are positive. The good far outweighs the bad here.

Installing the mouse is easy and very "plug and play." I've tested the mouse on several systems and had luck getting it to work without the additional software. If you want to access the customizations and extra features, you will need to install the Setpoint software. This software draws complaints because of it's limited options and automatic installation of unneeded processes.

Customizing the mouse's buttons and creating profiles are both easy. The limited buttons, including the lack of midline buttons, somewhat limit the number of functions you can add to it. In addition, there is no left-handed option for this mouse.

This mouse's only real competition is the Microsoft Sidewinder gaming mouse. Microsoft SideWinder Gaming Mouse The G9, while not perfect, blows the Sidewinder away with a nicer look, better feel and high-end performance. As you might expect, it also costs more.


Pros:

+ The laser mouse and high dpi give you very good accuracy
+ The adjustable weights (four 4 gram and four 7 gram) allow you to add or remove weights from an internal tray up to 28 grams, giving you control over the mouse's feel
+ The mouse incldes 2 grips to adjust the feel in your hand; the wide grip is very comfortable and both grips have a nice smooth surface
+ You can save up to 5 profiles to the mouse's internal memory; there is a switch on the bottom to choose your profile
+ The LED lights on top can be coordinated with your profiles by color and number
+ The scroll can be used to "click" or "hyper-scroll" which allows for normal to superfast page scrolling
+ The side buttons provide easy forward/back capabilities for web browsing
+ Good for more than just gaming, with enough accuracy for digital inking and graphics applications

Cons:

- The mouse is designed for righties only and has no programmable buttons on the opposing side
- The corded connection seems out of touch; a cordless option should be possible at this price point
- Logitech's Setpoint software is a problem and is often the source of complaints
- The lack of midline buttons and other function keys limits the amount of extra functions
- The $100 price is in the range for high end mice, but not a great value in this space
- More than 2 grips would have made this mouse much better; this only gives you a wide and a normal grip

If you need a high end mouse for gaming or precision applications, this one definitely deserves a look. The adjustable weight, customization features, profiles and performance make this mouse unique among the competition. Enjoy!

If you are a claw grip user like me, which means you hold and move your mouse with your fingers without moving your arm, then this mouse might not be for you. Claw users love the precision and speed that we can move the mouse in games versus the whole-arm movement of palm users. If I need extra pixel by pixel precision such as Photoshop work, then as a claw user I can place my thumb and right 2 fingers on the mouse pad and slowly guide the mouse around.

If you are a palm grip user, skip this review and buy this mouse!

I use the mouse for long periods of time each day in apps like Firefox, Photoshop, Crysis, Call of Duty 4, work and general usage. I have many Microsoft mouses including the wireless optical 5000 and the natural mouse. I bought this mouse for its gaming features but forgot that as a claw user, we aren't in the majority thus mouses are usually not designed for us specifically.

As I grip the mouse, I find that the rubber grip is horrible for my thumb because the only place you can place it is in the depressed area. The plasticky grip is a bit better because the thumb area is flatter and easier to hold. However, I cannot find a truly comfortable way to claw it even after hours of adopting to it in Crysis.

I am definitely in the minority when I say I like a flat or even slightly protruding round surface for my thumb to grip instead of a caved in area. If the above describes you, I recommend you skip this mouse and get the wireless optical 5000 mouse; you'll love it.

This mouse also does not contour to your hand's natural curve very well and forces you to turn your wrist counter-clockwise to accommodate its almost flat top, which I think is a step backwards. Ergonomically, this mouse rates below average.

See other better reviews about the features of this mouse, but one thing I love and wish was on other mouses is the wonderful feature to lower or increase the DPI with a physical button the mouse--on the fly. This proves invaluable in games: For example, when I am driving a tank in Crysis, I dial up the DPI to max so I can turn the turret faster; when I am zoomed in on the precision rifle, I dial it lower for pinpoint accuracy, all possible due to the button.

And I mean that literally as this is possibly the best mouse I have ever owned! My last mouse was the logitech mx518 and not to say anything bad about that mouse (since I've used it for over 2 years) but it does not hold anything to the G9 mouse. First of all, this is one of the first mouse to include weights, 4 4g and 4 7g weights. This is particularly important since this mouse has a high DPI rating (3200 DPI), with the extra weight you won't have to move around the mouse a lot to make precise clicks. For those who do not know what DPI is (it's used to measure the dots on your screen), pretty much the higher the DPI the faster your mouse is. You will not need to use the 3200 DPI setting as it is way too high for any monitor out there, recommended DPI setting is either 2000 (for 17-23 inch monitors) to 2400-2800 DPI (for 25-30 inch monitors). The mouse comes with another grip, which is made for those who sweat a lot during game sessions and that you won't lose grip of your mouse. There is no software included, and the only way to configure the mouse is to download it at the logitech website. The mouse feels comfortable and gaming is fun with this mouse. I will not recommend this mouse as an everyday mouse since you can find cheaper mouses (unless your the type that must get the latest technology). This mouse is recommended to those who are in need of a better mouse for gaming. My only gripe is that the horizontal scroll takes a bit getting used to but that's about it. One of the best mouse I have ever used.

Note: As you can tell by the picture this is a corded mouse and not wireless.

The Bad:
It's too small for medium to large hands, unless you're a claw-gripper. The smooth default grip is nearly useless unless you are a child or have small hands --- it's too small to palm, and too slippery and "velvety" to claw. So you'd spend more time trying to hold onto the mouse than actually working or playing. Sadly, the smaller interchangeable grip is the grip of choice if you're a palm-gripper, when it was designed for claw-grippers. The center of your palm will never be supported, leaving a gap of air.

The thumb-buttons are set too far back, causing me to retract my thumb before I can hit the "back" button with my thumb joint. This simply won't do for gaming. If I place my hand further back to accommodate the thumb buttons, then my palm won't be supported by the mouse at all, which makes me have to claw the mouse with my fourth and pinky fingers.

The Good:
Scroll wheel "MicroGear" works like a charm for scrolling quickly and stopping precisely at the portion of the page you want. This feature, along with Logitech's great mouse feet, makes it a little difficult for me to ditch the mouse.

Conclusion:
Since I still have my MouseMan Optical Dual Sensor mouse (Logitech), I periodically compared the grip comfort between the two mice. There is really no contest... the old old MouseMan's chassis is by far superior to the G9, for large and medium hands. There is definite palm arch support with the latter (and I suspect with the G5 as well). Whereas my hand (or any of my buddies') can't climb on the G9 at all and rest on top of it.

Get the G9 if you are a clawer. For palmers, look elsewhere. I'll be returning this unit before it causes me joint damage.

Pros:
This mouse is pretty amazing in its feature set. The software works in Windows Vista 64. However I suggest going to the logitech site and downloading the latest version there for your OS. Once you download it you can set the functions of the various keys and the sensitivity of the laser, the sampling rate (the rate in which the mouse measures movement, from my understanding). You can also save and create profiles or change the color of the light.

The amazing thing is once you set your preferences all that data is saved on the mouse itself! So say you set the side thumb buttons to increase or decrease the volume. You can now go to a different computer or OS and that button will perform the same function. Even in the OS that you installed the mouse software, you don't need the software running in the background to use your macros or switch profiles. Amazing! If you're worried that buying a high end mouse like this means another process in your process tree, don't.

The pads on this thing are unbelievable smooth. Using it on a wood surface almost feels like gliding on the the table. I would imaging using this with some sort of ultra smooth mouse pad would be absolutely incredible.

Cons:
Of course the question is, given this price, do you really need all that functionality? Do you really need a mouse that can do 2000 dpi?

Coming from a cheap wireless optical mouse I thought the idea of 2000 dpi was awesome. But once you tried it out I realized that it was simply overkill. It is way too sensitive. So i tried my settings with a maximum of 1800 and it was still too sensitive to play an fps with. Imagine turning the sensitivity bar in the options menu of your game to max. Finally I settled with a setting of 800 1000 1200 and 1600 dpi increments. Even then I constantly run it in 1000 dpi, while surfing or gaming. I only occasionally adjust it while playing a brand new game if the sensitivity isn't right. Of course the same effect can be accomplished much more cheaply via the sensitivity bar in the game's options menu.

So basically don't let dpi be the selling point for this mouse, increasing dpi is just like increasing "sensitivity" in the options.

Finally the high sampling rate might be another selling point. But again do you really need it? Frankly I couldn't for the life of me tell the difference between 1000 sampling rate and 1500. Also keep in mind that a higher sampling rate will require more processing power, taking away from game performance.

As for comfort well I found that adding weight to it makes it travel less smooth. So the feature of being able to add weight to it is again unnecessary, for me at least, since I prefer the travel to be as smooth as possible.

Final thoughts:
Buy this only if you have $65 to burn and you really can't think of anyplace else to spend it (some surround sound headphones maybe). If you've been getting by with your trusty old mouse then save your money. I honestly don't think the features are necessary. If you might lose your job in the next 6 months but you really need a gaming mouse and are thinking about this or something that costs less, buy the one that costs less.

I apologize for any spelling or grammar mistakes, its 1:03am and I don't feel like proof reading.

I have owned many computer peripherals, especially mice, and the G9 is by far the best that I have ever owned. Interchangable grips, 8 weights to mix and match to your preference, on-the-fly DPI changing (buttons right on the mouse!) and incredibly accurate and smooth tracking. You couldn't ask for anything better from a mouse! Five stars for the best piece of gaming equipment I have ever owned. I highly suggest this mouse over anything Razer can put out ;)

Pros - A lot of cool features like the weight control, on-the-mouse dpi control, and being able to change the LED to the color you want. And it looks awesome.

Cons - It might not be best for people with big hands. I used to own a bigger mouse until I bought this one, and maybe i'm just having trouble getting used to it, but it's pretty uncomfortable. My pinky and the finger for rings touches the mouse pad I have, which is only one more finger touching the mouse pad (only pinky hang out of the mouse) compared to my old one. It might not make much sense, but depending on how you play your games, it makes a big difference.

If size of the mouse is crucial to you, go to store and actually look at the mouse's size. That's what I should have done, but unfortunately I never owned a mouse that is small as this one.

I recently upgraded my failing MX510 mouse. After reading so many positive reviews I decided to try the G9. The features and setup program are all fantastic. The mouse is great and very responsive. I loved the mouse untill I actually had to use it for more than a couple minutes and got even worse when I tried to game with it. This mouse is just to unergonomic. My wrist would get fatigued fast and start hurting after a short time. I tried for several days but it never got better and I never got used to it. I returned the G9 and got the G5 which uses the classic tried and true Logitech mouse shape and am not disappointed. It is a great mouse and I have no more pain in my wrist.

I really wanted to like this mouse. I've used the G7 for 3 years now and I absolutely love it. Unfortunately my G7 began to interpret single clicks as double clicks, and I was back in the market for a mouse.

I chose to go with the G9 this time because of its amazing "on paper" specs, as well as the glowing reviews on various sites, which really had me waiting at the bottom of the driveway for the package to show up :)

Unfortunately, no cigar.

The major problem for me was that most of the features listed on the box, ended up either not mattering to me personally or they just didn't work as well as I might have liked.

First, as another reviewer said - the choices of adjustable grips are between "tiny and pretty small". My G7 fits my hand like it was custom designed for it. The G9 seems to have been designed for much, much smaller hands.

Second, the micro gear wheel with the ratchet turned off is a great idea. Except that it takes a whole different set of fine motor skills to use effectively. Worse, the scroll wheel in "friction less" mode is truly friction-less - so you end up accidentally scrolling or zooming (if your control key happens to be depressed) when you least expect it. I'm not sure if my mouse wheel was just defective (it happens) because some of the others seem to particularly like this feature above all else.

Third, the weight tuning is something I ended up not caring for in the very least. I tried different combinations to see if it mattered - but it really honestly didn't. Maybe I'm just not the mouse connoisseur I thought I was.

Fourth, customizable LED display colors seems cool in theory - but again, I can't remember the last time that LED color was a deal breaker for me. I set it to blue and was done. I could have set it to red too. Or green. Or mauve (well, I'm not sure what mauve looks like, but you get the point.)

Fifth, the shape of the mouse resembles a pack of cards rather than the smooth filled curves of the G7. I couldn't make this feel natural no matter how hard I tried.

I really could go on.

So was there anything I liked? Actually, yes. I liked that it had on board memory for user profiles. I liked the texture of the grips and how they form fit the mouse itself. I liked the SetPoint software on Windows XP, which was real easy to use. I liked the non fray-able heavy duty cord that connects the mouse to the USB port. I liked the fact that it does have 9 buttons - if you count carefully (the scroll wheel is 3 buttons by itself). The harder part was to remember what each of those mappings did :(

Unfortunately, the positives didn't quite outweigh the negatives and I made the decision to go get myself a new G7 instead.

As with any ergonomics product, the choice of mouse is entirely a personal decision. So, the stars I've given it are a review of how well this mouse works with my hand and my temperament, and is not intended as an engineering review of the standalone product.