Customer Reviews

Logitech G500 Programmable Gaming Mouse

5 star:		(225)
4 star:		(54)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(17)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

This is easily the best Logitech mouse yet. I own both the G5 and G9, and settled on the G5 as my primary mouse some time ago after hating the grip of the G9 (neither one felt natural to me). This was a problem, since I felt the G9 performed better but it just wasn't comfortable. As a result, I'm going to compare the G500 to the G5.

On the ergonomic side the G500 has had the ridge on the upper-right whittled down, making the mouse far more comfortable--especially if you hold your middle finger on the right mouse button (instead of the ring finger as some people do). This gives your ring finger a much more natural place to rest. The palm rest also feels a bit wider and raised, making the palm grip even better than the G5. Thumb button placement is fine, though I preferred the larger G5 buttons. Sensitivity toggles have moved to the upper left, making changes easier while using the index finger. Logitech has also blessed us with a mouse wheel toggle (free spin/click) that is on the top of the mouse instead of the bottom as they did on the G9. This is a huge plus for me, as I run it in free mode while browsing and click mode when gaming and I tend to alternate between the two regularly.

Performance-wise, it's technically better than the G9 and noticeably superior to the G5. The Setpoint software that is used with the G500 is also different from that of the G5, allowing for more control over the mouse. For those curious about performance in specific gaming genres I can't comment--I play almost every game genre and feel this mouse excels at them all. I'm also using it on a RAZER Goliathus Control mouse pad which is nice and smooth without feeling like there's zero friction as I tend to like some drag on my mouse.

One other note: The G5 weight cage will not work in the G500. The cage in the G500 has been altered a bit; two weight slots have been removed and the alignment track is gone. The G500 uses the same weights as the G5, however (1.7g and 4.5g).

I'd recommend this mouse to any G5 owner without hesitation. If you're a claw-grip user you could still use it, but the G9x is probably a better choice for that style of usage.

January 3, 2012 Update: I've been using the G500 since the this review was first written, and it remains in excellent shape with only minor wear from usage. This is still the first mouse I recommend when asked.

For my medium-small-sized hands this mouse fits like a glove - the shape and base-weight makes it really comfortable. I tend to mouse with my wrist stationary, using only fingers to move around. This requires a slightly shorter grip around the mouse. Even so, left and right buttons are clickable almost as far back as half the mouse with little perceivable click-pressure change.

Having basically 10 completely programmable buttons is a godsend for click-casting in World of Warcraft. Paired with the SetPoint software, it's a no-brainer. Although I'd agree with 'Ruebarb' about the both the DPI & middle buttons.

DPI buttons are small and might be hard to reach for small hands in a gaming situation. And the middle button requires far more directly straight-down, forceful click than the left/right scroll-click, making it better suited for less-used spells/functions.

Conversely, the left/right scroll-click is dead-on perfect. I find them as natural to use as any other "normal" mouse-button.

The cluster of three buttons on the left side is a great idea. I like the arrangement. And the toggle-able hyper-scroll middle button makes for quick work of long page-scrolling.

To wish for anything it'd be more ergonomic alternative buttons for DPI & left-side - something that makes for more hand-position variety in a "twitch" gaming situation. I'd prefer button-shaping akin to Microsoft's Intellimouse Optical side buttons - lending toward slightly larger/elongated and rounder.

That said, the detractors are minor - this is possibly the best mouse I've used for gaming.

The Logitech G500 is the successor to the G5 laser gaming mouse. It is a well constructed mouse and features all the bells and whistles most high-end mouses will offer. I also own a Logitech G5 and many questions aimed at the G500 are whether or not it is worth upgrading from the G5.

Here are a list some of the differences and improvements that are on the G500:
1) Relocation of the dpi increase/decrease buttons
2) Scroll wheel is now dual-mode with a hyperfast scrolling feature
3) Has an additional button on the side of the mouse
4) Offers a maximum of 5700 dpi
5) Weight cage now supports only 27 grams instead of 36 grams
6) Weight cage no longer has an alignment track
7) Orange lights that indicate the dpi setting is now red
8) The thumb rest groove has been resculpted
9) The G500 has a smooth finish on the mouse shell unlike the G5
10) On-board memory, lets you save profiles so when you go from computer to computer you can plug-and-play.

Pros/Cons

Pros:
-Better placement of the dpi increase/decrease buttons. It is now easier to change your dpi while gaming without awkwardly readjusting your hand position
-Smooth finish makes cleaning easier and increases overall comfort
-Hyperfast scrolling feature. Very useful when scrolling down through long documents or websites

Cons:
-When in click-to-click scrolling mode, the scrolling is a little too sensitive which can be troublesome if you are playing a first-person shooter that uses the scroll wheel to change weapons.

Other Comments:
-The three button cluster will vary from person to person. The buttons are placed very well for my hand.
-Some people have commented that the buttons on the side are too small, but they seem to be fine. The G5 side buttons are about 1.9 cm long and the G500 is about 1.8 cm long. The difference is negligible.

Conclusion:
If you are looking for a mouse to replace your current mouse for gaming, I would strongly recommend the G500. It offers most of the features you could ever need for gaming. If you own a G5 and are wondering if you should upgrade to the G500, it completely depends if you like the changes listed above. All in all, this is one of the best gaming mouses I've used. I highly recommend this mouse regardless you are going to use it for gaming or just for web browsing you wouldn't be disappointed.

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).

I previously used a G7, and loved the mouse. Now the G500 is amazing to me, the ability to program all of the button with macros is awesome for gaming. The scroll wheel pushes left or right, which are the best buttons I found for gaming, along with the lower DPI and back buttons, all right there under your fingers. The shape is very comfortable, the textured side is great. The hyper scrolling is great, nice feature for the web, easy to turn on and off with the location of the button.

The cons: Well if you push in the scroll button as a command button for gaming, the mouse rarely gets it correct, it seems to think I pushed it left or right. Since I can't keep guessing if the mouse will perform the correct command in gaming, I'm not able to use the button, which I'm a bit disappointed about, which gives this 5 star mouse a 4. Maybe something a driver update will fix.

This mouse is large and I have small hands, so when gaming I can not reach the Up DPI, forward, or "macro" buttons without having to move my entire hand position on the mouse, so for me making them not useful for gaming. I'm sure others users may not have this problem.

Being a Avid Gamer, a quality mouse has always been a foremost requirement of mine.Over the years i have bought and used almost every Gaming mouse - MX 518, Deathadder , CooperHead, Lachesis, G5, G9, Fatality, Mamba, Sentinel to name a few. Not many mouse felt like top class stuff to me.. Apart from G5 - IMO the best mouse ever made...Used that for more then 2 yrs, used both the Version 1 and Version 2 of G5, Even tried upgrading thrice but G9, Mamba, CM Sentinel failed to give the same level of satisfaction as of G5.
Finally G500 came into picture,Looks more or less same as the G5..But God the Specs of the Mouse, Outclassing even the super costly G9X, Mamba and Sentinel in practically every department.That made me buy this and boy hasn't it been the purchase of the century or should i say Mouse of the century for me.
The Precision, The accuracy combined with 5700DPI laser makes it the most Deadly Weapon of Mass Destruction anybody could have.
Oh, I forgot the weight system which is just as awesome as in G5 along with On board Profile saving system - tho only 1 Profile can be saved, but that's all we require...Everything is really fantastic..!!
The Scroll Wheel which i must say is totally useless becoz this type of scrolling is more suited to document viewing rather then Gaming...
Overall,it's a fantastic piece of hardware and it's really wonderful to see how Logitech can pack so much in so little..and in 56$ its really a steal....Really any Gamer who can handle big mouse or has ever used MX 518 , DA , G5 this is a Sure Shot buy...!!!
Hail Logitech for such a wonderful product...Service with Logitech has always been Awesome...I remember getting a brand new box packed G5 in 2 days when my earlier one just had a minor problem in it..

Highly Recommended
5 Stars...!!!!

Pros
5700DPI Sensor
Amazingly Accurate and Precised Sensor
Weight System
On board Profile Saving System

Cons
Scroll Wheel is a hindrance sometimes in gaming
Too Big in size for many Gamers

In my opinion, the Logitech G7 is one of the best designed mice I have ever used. Over the past 4 years, I've tried numerous other mice including its more recent relatives from Logitech (such as the G9), and have kept running back to my trusty G7.

So what do I think about the G500?

Let's say that my G7 has not been used since I laid palm on this new mouse. Or, in engineering terms:
G500 = G7 + custom_buttons - wireless;

Where do I start with the praise?

1. Ergonomics
==============
The ergonomics of this mouse are absolutely identical to the G7. The G500 has a natural curve that fills my palm as if it were designed for me. This is a make-or-break feature for mice, and my brief flirtation with the G9 ended when I just couldn't get over its flat form factor.

2. Additional Buttons
=====================
It adds scads of fully programmable buttons, all positioned in very easy to reach locations. They really show me how constrained I was with the single thumb button on the G7.

Even more cool, the scroll wheel actually does function as three distinct buttons now. In the G7, I've had trouble with programming the scroll wheel click, left shift, and right shift to separate actions, because the mouse would invariably confuse a shift action with a scroll click. Not any more. The G500 interprets these crisply and clearly.

3. Hyper Fast Scrolling
=======================
The free rolling scroll wheel seems to be much more improved from the G9. I can't imagine living without it any more. This is truly a programmer's best friend. I'm able to cruise through the longest of source files, stopping instantly when something catches my eye.

4. SetPoint
===========
The current SetPoint version is way more advanced - and I absolutely love it. Button functions can be customized almost infinitely. Choices range from basic functions such as scrolling; to more advanced functions such as closing a window, pulling up an active window selector, launching a program, or showing and restoring the desktop; and to power functions such as supporting custom key strokes and macros.

This is what makes this truly a programmer's dream mouse.

(I hate to admit that I have spent more time configuring this thing than I normally do, and that I've loved every minute of it!)

5. Aesthetics
==============
The design on the top of the mouse is truly attractive. Not that I spend a lot of time staring at mice, but this one looks really professional and arty, giving my G7s a serious inferiority complex.

What I'm not too enamored by?

1. Corded-ness
==============
I absolutely love the freedom that comes from owning a cordless mouse. The G7 is truly a marvel with twin battery packs that can be exchanged so that you always have one ready to use, and with an amazing range. Being tethered cramps my style. However, if I'm going to be bound, then the G500's excellent quality cord (which has a fabric weave to it) would be the way I'd go. The jury is still out on this one though. I'd readily give up wireless for the customization, but why oh why is this an either-or?

2. Weights
==========
I've never understood the fascination with customized weights for mice. Don't get me wrong, its a cool idea, and may be material for some users. It just doesn't do much for me. Even though I have played FPS and strategy games over marathon sessions, this was never on the top of my wish list.

I simply got my G500 to weigh as close to my G7 as I could and I was done.

3. The new position of the DPI buttons
=======================================
I'm okay with having to launch SetPoint to change the DPI, so I normally reprogram these buttons to more useful functions. However, the G500 moves these buttons to the head of the mouse, making them awkward to use. I personally would have preferred having these moved down to the right edge.


Conclusion
==========
I absolutely love this mouse.

In my opinion this is the absolute best mouse currently available for right handers, with large hands, who prefer to cup, rather than claw, their mice.

I'd have preferred a cordless version, but this mouse is a wonderful next step along the transformation path of the lowly point-and-click device, into a multipurpose swiss-army-knife type tool.

This is a worthwhile replacement for a G7. However, if you currently use a G9, you might want to check out the G9X instead. I found the ergonomics of the G9/G9X to be vastly different to the G7/G500.


Happy Mousing!
- Damodar

Everything about this mouse for me is almost perfect. I have no complaints about it at all. I upgraded from a Logitech G9. The G9 wasn't bad, it worked fine, but I didn't like the shape of it. The G500 resembles a more traditional shape and I prefer this a lot. It feels good in my hand and I can get a good grip on it.

It's very customizable too, every single button can be modified. I really like the fact that Logitech included the quick scroll button on top of the mouse, instead of underneath it. This mouse is 5700 DPI and is more than enough. I don't use more than 2000 anyway. I'm an FPS gamer and I find this mouse to be precise and accurate.

Like most gaming mice, you can add and remove weight. It may not seem like it at first, but this makes a huge difference in the feel of the mouse, especially when you are playing a FPS. Software customization includes the ability to customize the function of every single button and modify the DPI levels.

To conclude, I'm struggling to find a fault of this mouse. It's cheap, for a gaming mouse and it's much better than the $70+ mice that are out there. You won't regret this purchase.

This is my first real "gaming" mouse and I absolutely love it. After trying the Razer Lachesis and G9, this one felt the best for my hand. I have pretty small hands and use a "palm" grip style and it fits fine so far with no cramping or major discomfort issues.

It has more buttons than most other gaming mice (8 or 10 if you use the DPI buttons for something else), but unlike most, they are all placed in very intuitive and functional positions about the mouse. On the Lachesis I found myself accidentally hitting the thumb buttons when I needed to grip the mouse harder. This is not a problem on the G500. The DPI buttons are also much more well-placed than on either the G9(x) or any of the Razer mice. It's nice to be able to rapidly switch DPI in-game (especially in FPS games when going from regular shot to zoomed-in sniping) without having to reposition your fingers.

It feels nice and sturdy in your hand. The weight tuning ability is an added luxury, although I really don't notice much difference (I put in the heaviest amount possible just to make it less likely to fly past targets on higher DPI settings).

The ergonomics are good for the most part. I'm used to a regular 3-button MS Intellimouse (which is still the most comfortable, imo), and this is the only gaming mouse I've tried that's come close to its comfort for me.

The software is pretty nice, very straightforward and works fine for me on Windows 7 64-bit.

I only took off one star for these reasons:

1. Despite the ridge on the upper-right of the mouse being substantially receded as compared to the G5, it is still too prevalent for my tastes. I'd prefer a nice curve there instead (think MS Intellimouse), as placing my ring finger below it is uncomfortable, but placing it above is sometimes awkward.

2. The on-board memory is completely pointless since you can only store one profile at a time. In order to switch profiles you have to go through the software interface, there is no way to do it directly from the mouse. This in my opinion makes having on-board memory utterly useless, unless your plan is to take the mouse and use it on different computers. Instead I just use the application detection feature for profile switching and it works great.

3. As others have mentioned, the tilt-wheel is a bit finicky. Often times when you push down the middle button, it will also activate either the left or right tilt click for the middle button as well. This obviously depends on the angle and amount of pressure you use, but it has happened pretty often to me and is rather difficult to push ONLY the middle click. I recommend not binding anything important (like a grenade) to either the left or right tilt wheel clicks if you plan on using the middle click a lot.

I am an avid FPS gamer. My mouse is very important to me. My old mouse was a Logitech MX518. It was the best mouse I've ever owned. The G500 is better. But which one is right for you? The reason I wanted to upgrade is for the additional thumb button and the ability to choose my dpi settings better. The MX518 could only do 400, 800 or 1600. I found that I preferred something in between 800 and 1600.
I'll start with the pros and cons of the mouse and then do a comparison to the MX518.
Pros -
Very nice shape (at least for a right hander with normal size hands)
Good grip, there is no slipping.
Glides very well, I don't use a mouse pad.
Completely customizable. Programmable keys, weight adjustment, two types of scrolling, huge amount of dpi settings, polling settings (how often the mouse records movement).
Very accurate.
Cable is a new braided type that seems to cause less friction.
On board memory, take your mouse with you, keep your settings.
Cons-
Software. First, you can't even find the mouse on Logitech's website. You have to download the software for the G9. It'll also work with this mouse. I'm using Windows 7 64 bit btw. Some games don't recognize the new thumb button, so you have to record a macro to be a keystroke. There was also a glitch in the software where it wouldn't let me use my keyboard to name something.
So, in comparison to the MX518. It isn't worse in any way (except maybe my hand sweats a tiny bit more on the G500). It also weighs about the same as the MX518 when no weights are added. The tracking really doesn't seem to be any better than the MX518. They both track really well. The shape is basically identical too. The ways it is better are the following: Weight adjustment, free scrolling option on the wheel, third mouse button, more dpi settings, on board memory, macro recording. It also can have it's polling rate increased. By default it is already twice as fast in that area than the MX518. Going faster becomes CPU intensive, so I didn't bother with that. It seems fine where it is.
So which mouse is for you? Simple. If you wouldn't use all of those extra features, go with the MX518. It is a great mouse and I give it a 5 star rating too. If a few of those features are critical to you, go with the G500. The G500 may not be worth the extra cost (about $26 right now) if you don't need those things. Like I said, I wanted the more advanced DPI settings and the third mouse button. None of the other things mattered to me. I can use the MX518 on my second computer, so I don't have to say goodbye to it either. It's a win-win.