Customer Reviews

Logitech MX500 Optical Mouse

5 star:		(100)
4 star:		(28)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I've been using the MX500 for a couple of weeks now as my primary mouse at home, and I'm overall happy with it. I chose the wired MX500 over the wireless MX700 because I didn't want yet another thing (rechargeable base station) taking up an outlet on an already overtaxed powerstrip. Plus, I like the ability to just yank the USB cable and pop it over to another computer.

Pros
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*** Great ergonomic design ***
I was a little hesitant of the deep side groove for your thumb, but it acts as a wonderful little shelf. The rubberized paint keeps the thumb from slipping.

*** Precision ***
No problem at all; works as advertised. It would be hard to go back to the old rollerball mice.

*** Buttons ***
Yes, there are a lot of buttons. And yes, I find that I click all of them, even the seldom-used Forward button.

The two side buttons (Back and Forward) are well positioned for thumb operation, and they offer a nice tactile feel. I found that I would sometimes accidentally hit the Back button on my MS Intellimouse; this seldom if ever happens with this mouse.

The all-in-one piece for the Left and Right Click also works great. I have larger hands and I like how these two buttons extend longer to accommodate my fingers.

The Auto Scroll Up and Down buttons have also become mainstays in my mousing habits. There are really only two problems with them (one software, one design) listed below.

Though less useful, I do find myself using the Application Switcher Button periodically. But the old Alt+Tab habit is hard to break. ;-)

The Scroll Wheel/Button has a decent feel to the spin and click. But unlike the Intellimouse, it is not grooved. It's smooth like an old tire inner tube.

*** Software ***
Incorporates into the Mouse Control Panel. The device comes with a logical scheme right out of the box, but you can customize any of the buttons to your whim.

*** Aesthetics ***
I know color doesn't do anything to enhance usage, but I like how the black and silver matches my laptop.

Cons
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*** Buttons ***
The oft used Auto Scroll Down button is located between the Scroll Wheel and the Application Switcher. I too often find myself clicking on the Application Switcher when I meant to scroll down. A possible workaround is to disable the Application Switcher or assign Auto Scroll Down to it. But I haven't done that yet since I want to see if the Application Switcher gains more value over time.

This is the only real hardware problem with the mouse. They could further improve on the design by giving the smooth surfaced Scroll Wheel the grooved texture found in Intellimouse.

*** Software ***
The software isn't as intuitive or universal as the MS Intellimouse. For example, I'm not sure if you can customize mouse behavior per application. I use Mozilla for some of my internet browsing, and I liked how I could Middle Click (the Scroll Wheel) and have it open a new tab. However, I only get the Software Auto Scroll with this function.

And the Auto Scroll - either the buttons or the mouse-movement variety - is not as smooth as the MS software. It seems to jerk line-by-line instead of scrolling smooth. This is not horrible, but it does take some getting used to.

*** Price ***
This mouse is a tad pricier than comparable offerings. But it is also brand new and will certainly drop down in price.

Conclusion
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I use the MX500 at home and an MS Intellimouse Explorer at work, and I can honestly say that I would rather have the MX500 also at work. Minor flaws aside, I find myself looking for those few extra buttons at work. And the overall ergonomic shape of the MX500 wins hands down, something that truly surprised me. Logitech did some serious human factors work when sculpting. The MX500 was a good purchase!

For the gamers out there this is how to get the mouse working with games (I wish they mentioned this in their manual).
1) Go to the logitech website
2) Download the latest version of their MouseWare software
3) Download the advanced MouseWare software (it's on the same page)
4) install both and on the advanced mouseware properties/software there is an option for the mouse software to recognize when games are being played.

**This will allow you to use the full buttons of your mouse for games**. If you don't install the latest MouseWare etc.. you will probably not be able to use the full range of buttons on your mouse for games.

This mouse rocks!!

I received my MX-500 a few days ago, and I was blown away at the difference between this and my previous mouse (a MS Intellimouse Optical). First, I appreciate the ergonomic feel - not being a lefty, I have no sympathy and relish the curves that fit my hand perfectly now. The rubberized feel of the sides allows for a good comfortable grip and tends to minimize slipping. The wheel accelerates well, and has enough resistance that you aren't going to scroll all over the page with the flick of a finger. The app switching button is only marginally useful, as are the buttons for "super-fast" scrolling above and below the wheel. The back and forward buttons are perfectly placed, however, and I have gotten back into the habit of using them for browsing. The tracking is the key feature of the mouse, however. Not a blip. Ever. I TRIED to make it skip by moving as fast as I could over my pad. Couldn't do it. Absolutely accurate. Also, the mouse is very stylish, and the matte black and silver go together well. The drivers are fine; I haven't had any problems, though they are a little un-configurable (I would have liked to make my app switching button Hide instead). Overall, I think this mouse is well worth the price, and I would certainly have paid more; a HUGE improvement over my old mouse, which had difficulty scrolling and couldn't browse files well.

Perhaps the first note of this review should address the "skip" that occurs when using the scroll wheel with the drivers (software) provided in the box with the mouse... The first thing you should do is go to Logitech's support site and download the newest drivers (released in March 2003) for the MX500 mouse. This will save you the trouble of returning a mouse that appears "defective" ...- the mouse is NOT defective but they had problems with the boxed drivers. THANKS to another reviewer here on this mouse I checked out the new drivers and found that, with the upgrade, the mouse functions PERFECTLY!

I had been using the Microsoft optical mouse for the past year and I decided to try something different. This IS the mouse for you! Great fit and terrific options that are within easy reach of your fingers including, autoscrolling (up and down) near the scroll wheel, a switch screen feature that is terrific, and forward and back buttons that are positioned by your thumb. It is the most comfortable mouse I've ever used.

Next, there is the beauty of the mouse. The photos on this site do not do it justice. Well-designed and a great addition to my desk.

I give this mouse five stars and it's the best mouse I've ever used since I've been computing.

I have had this mouse for three weeks now and find it the most comfortable mouse ever.I bought the Microsoft Intellimouse Optical Special Edition three months ago because of its excellent tracking and it's five button design but found it quite uncomfortable for extened use.This mouse tracks equally good if not better than the latest microsoft mice and Logitech's Dual Optial Mouseman but with a much more contoured grip for the right handed person. The only fault I found are in the Drivers, there is an intermittentness when using the scroll wheel sometimes when you scroll either up or down a couple of clicks on the wheel and there is a lag, this problem exists in both the 9.70 & 9.73 drivers.Logitech is aware of the problem and will release new Drivers latter in November.The new drivers are also supposed to allow configuration of buttons in various programs simular to Microsoft Drivers. Note. If you do not use the included Drivers and use the Windows XP drivers the wheel works perfectly and all buttons will function except the application switcher button.Once they repair the Driver problem this will be the best cordred optical mouse on the market.Since Amazon has such a good price for the MX-700 Cordless mouse I decided to order one and finally not be tethered to a cord any longer.All the MX mice use the same improved optical technology engine.

Before I got the Logitech MX500, I was stuck with the cheap mouse that came with my new computer. This mouse was small and very uncomfortable. I decided that I should get a new mouse. I did MANY comparisons for about a month and narrowed it down to 4 mice. The 4 mice were the Logitech MX500, Logitech Cordless Mouseman Optical, Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer, and the Microsoft Intellimouse Optical. I read many reviews about how the Intellimouse Explorer sometimes "froze" and being the hardcore gamer that I am, I couldn't have the mouse freezing. So this narrowed it down to 3 mice. The Intellimouse Optical was a great mouse that I had tested at many people's houses but I didn't really like how it felt in my hand. Finally I decided on the MX500 since I didn't really need a cordless mouse and the MX had more features.

The MX has been reliable for the whole month I've been using it. Setup was a breeze and I get updates all the time. The buttons are all conviniently placed and the mouse feels great in my hand. The rubber grip kind of gets my hand a little sweaty but it's ok. The extra customizable buttons are really useful. I have the Back and Forward buttons set to well, Back and Forward. Clicking on the wheel closes my windows which is really handy. The program switcher is kind of strange and I don't really use it that much. The other two buttons I've set to minimize and maxamize. There isn't really anything I can set the application switcher to so I might just unassign it.

Pros:
-Very Ergonomic
-Many Buttons
-Scroll Wheel Feels Nice
-Nice Look

Cons:
-Makes Hands Sweaty
-Skips On My White Desk (using mousepad now)
-Scroll Wheel Kind Of Hard To Press Down

Note that (as of this writing) you can get the Logitech MX 510 for a little less than this price, and the Logitech MX 518 for a little more. They are the successor models to this mouse, basically the same except each update adds even better resolution.

If you're still reading this in 2005 or later, you're on the wrong page! The more up-to-date mice are probably conveniently listed right under the MX500 information at the top of this product page, in the section "Customers who viewed this item also viewed."

With the 9.75 driver, wheel and thumb button problems have been fixed. No more disabling EM_EXEC or checking "Use MS Office Compatible Scroll Only" and "Scoll in Active Window Only" to get the mouse wheel to work in games. In fact, those two options don't even appear in the mouseware. Thumb buttons do not need to be bound to other keys to work in games. With default settings, CS will detect the wheel as mouse 3, the backwards thumb button as mouse 4, and the forward thumb button as mouse 5. Even though there are 8 buttons, you can only get 5 to work in games. On the other hand, it's a blessing that the quick switch button doesn't work in games or else you might accidentally press it and cause your game to crash.

The MX 500 also feels pretty solid compared to the MS Explorer 3.0. The mouse feet seem more durable than that of the Dual Optical (I have a Dual Optical with 3/5 feet missing). The two thumb buttons are well positioned. The right side of my thumb sits right on top of them just right so that I won't accidentally press them when I don't want to but are well within reach when I want to use them.

The red light is also kinda nifty. It stays on the whole time and doesn't go into a low power mode when it is not being used (like earlier logitech mice) so it's easier to blind people with it :)

First off, this mouse feels and tracks great. Absolutely no random jumps or stickiness like first generation optical mice. Fits in my hand nicely. All buttons except for the 8th (for the task switcher) are easily accessible.

I was wary after reading the complaints about the software and games. I've read about people hacking the registry, using Microsoft's drivers instead, etc. I downloaded and installed Logitech's Mouseware 9.76 just to try it out. No scrolling twitchiness that some have reported. At first I was having problems with assigning the extra buttons in some games, but I found a configuration that works with just about everything. In the Mouseware control panel, I set the thumb buttons to [Backspace] and [Enter] to go back and forth on web pages. Then I set the Cruise buttons to [Page Up] and [Page Down]. I set the Quick switch button to [Escape] to get to menus in most games. I can now use every button in my games plus I can navigate web pages with it. Highly recommended.

I've been a long-time Microsoft mouse user, but wanted to try something new and picked this baby up. The comfort (as long as you're right-handed) and the features on this mouse blew me away. There are many features in this thing that a Microsoft mouse doesn't have and the accracy is second to none due to the MX engine and the lack of lag and weight of a wireless mouse. I think this mouse has definitely increased my accracy when playing my FPS games - a must have for any gamers! I've heard that Logitech mouse drivers wreak havoc if you're using Win XP, but I haven't had any problems with the driver I downloded from the Logitech website. The only small issue that I had with this mouse is that the wheel felt a little stiff in the beginning compared to the Microsoft mouse that I've been using, but after using it heavily a few days it feels second nature now. Overall, I believe that it's the best corded mouse around... it may cost a bit more than other mice, but you truely get what you pay for.