Logitech G9 Laser Mouse
by Logitech
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Logitech G9 Laser Mouse
Customer Review: A great mouse for the hard core gamer
Summary: 4 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
I have been a fan of Logitech mice for quite sometime. Ever since I started seriously getting into PC gaming, I've found the Logitech mice to be reliable, easy to use and customizable. My last mouse was the MX518, an excellent choice for those looking for a midgrade mouse. Now, we a new entry into the Logitech G series with the G9. The G9 is a a high-priced, highly customizable entry into Logitech's long line of gaming-centered mice. It's an update from the G5 mouse and, while it's more of a refinement than an evolution, it does offer some nice new additions.
The G series is all about customization and the G9 perfectly represents this. It comes in an attractive package that includes the USB mouse, the software CD, basic instructions, two snap-on covers and a cool package of eight weights (four 4 gram and four 7 gram). The software that comes with the CD will invariably be out of date, so I'd recommend just getting the latest from the Logitech site. But, once you do, the customization options open up.
The mouse has enough memory on it to hold four different profiles, which you can manipulate via the software. And there's a lot you can do, from purely cosmetic to technical. For example, the mouse has LED lights on top that you can change via the software. Want red lights? Have at it. Or, if that doesn't float your boat, you can choose blue. Or green. Or go to a color wheel and choose a variance of the available colors. Yes, it's purely cosmetic. Yes, it's totally unnecessary. Yes, it's really cool.
But the software also does some neat things that are more than cosmetics. You can select any of the buttons on the mouse and have them do something completely different with them. Everything, from the left mouse to the right mouse buttons, to the side buttons, to the scroll wheel, etc., all can be manipulated to your heart's intent. You can also mess around with the dpi, which is something I didn't really mess with, but it's there for those enterprising gamers.
The customization lives outside of the software, as well. Does the mouse feel too light to you? You can place four of the eight weights in the back of the mouse to give it the heft and weight you desire. As mentioned, the weights come in four gram and eight gram sizes, so there's enough choices there for the perfect weight options. Also, the two snap-on portions are pretty similar to each other. The only difference between them is that one of them is very smooth, like most mice, while the other feels rough and rugged, providing apt hold for, I guess, the really sweaty hand gaming sessions.
It's a lazer mouse and I found it to be even nicer than the optical mice I've played with. This is my first lazer mouse and while the difference between them isn't something everybody will notice, I can tell a bit of a difference. It's really nice. It also offers a maximum whopping 3200 dpi, with the ability to change on the fly from 200 dpi to 3200, via buttons on the mouse and your profile settings. The mouse is also completely compatible with Vista and you won't run into any problems. The software comes in two Vista flavors, as well, for the 32x and the 64x.
Another change from the G5 mouse is that the G9 favors a more boxy design. Instead of the sloping and curvaceous mice in the past, the G9's visual design didn't pique my interest at once. As you can tell from the pictures, it looks sometimes more like a brick than a comfortable mouse. In person, it not only looks better but actually feels comfortable in your hand. I especially like the sloping on the left hand side, creating a nook of sorts for your thumb placement.
A few complaints do exist, however. For one, this is undeniably a right-handed mouse. Even if you didn't use the two buttons on the left hand side, holding this mouse in your left hand is not very comfortable, in either of the snap-on covers. As you can tell from the pictures included here on Amazon.com, the left side of the mouse slopes as a nice little cubby hole for your thumb. Comfortable for us right-handers, not so much if you switch hands. Additionally, on the bottom of the mouse, a couple of indented circles spiral out from the lazer pointer part of the mouse. While the circles are slightly indented and it won't catch as you move the mouse, it does make an audible scraping sound, on my mouse pad at least. The side buttons will take some getting used to for some people, due to their placement. They slant downward which feels completely different from other mice I've played with. They feel very thin in the beginning, but once you've learned where to place your thumb, they feel great.
Finally, there's the price. I'm a firm believer that you get what you pay for and this mouse definitely fits the bill, for right handed gamers. This isn't a mouse for the average casual gamer, who doesn't care about dpi and won't use the customization options. These gamers will be wasting their money when a perfectly good mid-priced mouse will do. Then again, this isn't a mouse for them. It's created those gamers that want to be able to customize their mouse or that wish they had a bit more control over what is arguably the most important part of PC gaming, then this mouse is for you. It's well-made, durable (8 million clicks per button, I've been told) and very customizable.
I would definitely recommend the G9 for the hard core gaming enthusiasts. This is the mouse for gamers who understand dpi; who want that extra level of customization; who want to be able to adjust the weight of the mouse; who want to save different profiles for whatever they are doing; who care about (and actually know the defition of) dpi; and, yes, for those who want the LED color to match their case's lights. The rest of you? A nice mid-range one will do.
Customer Review: Logitech G9: The Heavy Mouse
Summary: 4 Stars
I really like this mouse, although I've had some issues.
I game a lot, almost every night and lots of games. Gaming is the primary reason I purchased this mouse. Before the G9 I fragged with a Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer for a few years. It still works great and I use it at work (but the scroll wheel is starting to fail). I play everything: GTA and CoD to Half Life and Mass Effect to Starcraft and Plants vs. Zombies. I've played WoW and Counter-strike and World of Goo and Burnout. I also use the mouse for video work, photo editing, web browsing, and everything else.
This is one of my first Logitech purchases -- at least in recent memory. I have a pair of cheap Logitech speakers and I owned an old purple game pad for playing ROMs, but nothing that ever cost more than 10 or 12 bucks. I compared the G9 with the Sidewinder and the current selection of Razers at the time. If the giant metal WoW mouse had been on the market I likely would have purchased it, as I was playing WoW a lot when shopping for a new mouse. I wasn't as concerned with price as I was with quality build and a good feel.
Let's start with the feel. The G9 is a big mouse. It comes with two grips of different sizes (one is big and the other is bigger) which is like the shell of the mouse. The grips feel nice, a smooth rubbery plastic. My original grip had an issue with the rubber pealing off, right near where my pinkie hung out on the side edge. It was incredibly irritating, like a pebble in your shoe, but more so considering that Logitech was refusing the acknowledge the problem or offer to replace the grip. Even worse, the mouse was about 30 days old when the issue began (but I put off calling for another month). Eventually they caved and replaced the grip, but it left me seriously doubting the mouse's life expectancy and Logitech's commitment to support their high-end products. If they'd replaced it without the hassle, I'd likely never mention it, but it's always been a lingering concern in my mind (especially considering it probably cost them 4 or 5 bucks to replace and ship the grip). Thankfully, after a year and a half with this mouse, I've not had any further grip issues. If you notice issues with the grip, I'd advise you to call Logitech or return it right away. I'm not sure if this is a big issue or if it warrants this kind of attention, but it seriously bugged me.
Aside from the peeling grip, the mouse feels good in my hand. It fits my claw well, and it's heavy. I've got two of the 7g weights in the back of the mouse and it feels right. I don't like light mice, like the MS Arc and the little travel mice. It needs to provide some resistance when I push it, but remain slick enough that it's not tiring out my wrist. The adjustable DPI helps, but don't be fooled: the odds of you having time to adjust the DPI during a heated fight, either Left 4 Dead or WoW or whatever you play, isn't likely. Set it and forget it is what I've done (although I guess if you found a good sniper nest...). The buttons are easy to get at and responsive, both the normal mouse buttons and the DPI adjustment buttons, and even the thumb buttons are within reach (an issue my stubby thumbs sometimes experience).
The scroll wheel feels really tough and while I've avoided smacking it around I get the feeling it's meant to withstand some serious punishment. Opening the mouse (or removing the grip) isn't terribly easy and putting the grip on takes a little wiggling and some light forcefulness. I spent a bit of time removing the grips and trying different weight/size combos to find what I like, so it can withstand some manhandling.
The software is somewhat annoying, mainly the auto update. Just turn it off, I'm pretty sure Logitech has no plans to update the software, ever, but it doesn't need to be updated. It works. I don't use it too much, but I like that I can assign the mouse buttons to any keys I choose. For gaming, I've set the two thumb buttons to [ and ], which lets me bind them to anything in any game that supports custom bindings. The LED colors are just gimmicky, and WTF? -- there's no white option! Twenty nine shades of blue (most of which look the same on the mouse) but no white. You can setup different gaming profiles for different games, maybe one for Portal and one for cheating at Modern Warfare 2, and a third for web browsing or Photoshop shortcuts, and switch between them via a button on the bottom of the mouse. Again, I'm probably using the mouse wrong but I don't do this too often. I did originally, but the reality is you don't need to change the buttons around that much. Now I use a gaming profile and a working profile, but I rarely switch to the working profile. For starters, I don't like working... I did, however, buy a second G9 (technically a G9X, but it's the same mouse, only with a higher possible DPI) for the office, because I like the mouse that much (and it gives me a few backup grips, just in case).
Still, with all these extras I don't use, I still think the mouse is a great deal. The adjustable weight, the solid build quality, the really long cord and the comfortable grip make me happy. It might not make you a better Survivor -- or even a better Infected -- but at least you'll die comfortably at your desk.
Also works great with Photoshops!
Customer Review: Excellent mouse, but has cord connectivity issues over time
Summary: 5 Stars
Here is my mini review of high end mice I've tried recently.
Ideazon Reaper Edge Gaming Mouse - 3200 DPI (3200 DPI, 6 buttons): It's a decent mouse except for the side buttons. The bottom side button is under a nub that is a bit annoying to reach in the middle of a first person shooter fight. The top side button is a little nicer to reach and decent to use for knocking zombies off yourself in L4D. The wheel is annoying since sometimes as you scroll it seems to click without putting much pressure on it (which is annoying if you have something bound to MOUSE3 and you just wanted to scroll the mouse wheel). Also, it would have been nice to have two DPI buttons instead of the one (easier to "go to sniper mode"/"go to regular mode"). Currently the DPI button toggles between 5 different DPI levels one at a time and there isn't a way just to use less than that (I'd prefer just two for the above scenario...). I wouldn't recommend this mouse in it's current form.
Razer Lachesis 4000 dpi Laser Gaming Mous--Banshee Blue (4000 DPI, 9 buttons): This is the first mouse that gave me actual pain my my fingers and palm after just a couple of hours use and it has just about the worst ergonomics of any mouse I've ever used. The side buttons are in a very inconvinient location. In first person shooters you'll constantly be accidentally clicking either side's buttons since they're in the area where you grip the mouse (they're designed so you need to put "extra" pressure in the grip to click them). The laser itself is pretty decent at 4000 DPI, but it is placed in the middle of the mouse instead of closer to the front, so you basically need to move the whole mouse to aim instead of the regular first person shooter "tilting the front of the mouse" aiming. Be sure to go to their web site and use the updated drivers and firmware or you'll see a lot of "mouse jumping" problems even when you're not touching the mouse. Also I noticed the mouse buttons would register as "up" as I was turning sometimes with the mouse button down (such as a Heavy in TF2 spinning his gun using the side button, which is annoying as heck). There is also no on-mouse DPI display so there's no way to know which DPI setting you're at (one of the five DPI settings you're forced into). Anyone had any good experience with this mouse?
Logitech G9 Laser Mouse (3200 DPI, 7 buttons, weights, two grip types): I used this mouse for a bit less than a year and it is by far my favorite mouse. One problem is the connector between the mouse and cord eventually went bad and then the mouse had connection issues (Google this for more information). Other than that, it has by far the best tracking and button location of any mouse I've used. I like that the DPI switching is under the left mouse button and it is easy to tell what DPI level I currently am at. Highly recommended!
Logitech 931375-0403 G7 Laser Cordless Mouse Black (2000 DPI), Logitech NEW G5 Laser Mouse (2000 DPI) and Logitech MX518 Gaming Optical Mouse - Metal (1800 DPI): If you can't afford the G9, the models to the left are similarly good. I've used and like them, but they all had tracking accuracy loss over time and needed to be replaced (generally after about 6 to 8 months of every day gaming 4+ hours a day). None of the older models have the high 3200 DPI laser, but the G5/G7 have switchable DPI levels and generally feel good and are ergonomically nice for using over long periods of time.
OCZ OCZMSDMXD Dominatrix Laser Gaming Mouse/MSI GS-501/Cyber Snipa Stinger (3200 DPI, 7 buttons, weights): Very good for the price (one of the cheapest high end gaming grade mice). The button locations are good and so is the feel of the mouse. The default drivers that come with the mouse don't work with games well. You'll have to download the newer ones from their web site and do some special settings for your games to register the side buttons as MOUSE4 and MOUSE5. Highly recommended (drivers could use some work though).
As with any mousing, be sure to have a good quality mouse pad that doesn't need to be replaced (I used to replace those 3M Precise mouse pads about every month heh). I've been using a fUnc sUrface 1030, but there are a lot of newer ones out there now. Just be sure it's something you can soap wash and you should be good to go (no foamy or cloth pads).
Customer Review: Nice features...but uncomfortable shape
Summary: 3 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
I had high hopes for this mouse, but when you work all day on the computer and then like to spend some free time gaming as well, you're going to be really picky about your mouse. And while this one has some really nice features, it comes down to one major issue for me....comfort. Maybe it's that I am just too used to the more traditional Logitech mouse shapes, but this mouse makes my hand and wrist hurt after a fair amount of use. It's missing that nice Logitech curved shape that also is elevated enough to keep my wrist from banging down on the mouse pad and naturally fits the curve and shape of your hand such that all the buttons just naturally fall where you want them. Why they decided to flatten it out so much is beyond me, it just doesn't work as well, at least not for me! The G5 model looks to be more the shape that I prefer but is missing some of the improvements that this mouse has, so I am hoping we'll eventually see that shape with these features, and then I'll have the perfect mouse!
I will say though that I love the scrolling feature on this mouse, it's super fast when you have large files or webpages to scroll through. And with a quick flip of the switch you can jump over to the old click mode for things like FPS games. The weight adjustment was more useful than I expected (mainly because without weight the mouse is way too light!) but not really sure it's worth the trouble versus a normal weighted mouse like the previous Logitech I had.
I agree with the other reviewer that losing the extra keys around the scroll wheel is a definite step backward, although in the past I've used it mainly for faster scrolling and you sure don't need that with the Turbo scroll on this mouse. I also find that while the scroll wheel is nice to the touch, it also is more recessed making it a tad harder to do left-right movements than on other Logitech models. I like having a sensitivity adjustment so readily available, but the default jumps are too much for my typical use, and the Setpoint software won't recognize the mouse on my system even after a reboot so I can't get profiles set up to see if they would work better for me. Hopefully they will get the bugs with the software worked out, that alone I had to take a star off for, as it's supposed to be a major feature of this mouse. The textured USB cable is nice but I sure wish manufacturers would put longer cables on devices, particularly something like this meant for gaming...I'm sure I'm not the only one that has a really large tower that has to be some distance away from where I sit. An extra 2 feet on the cable would be much appreciated so I don't have to get an extension. I personally was glad it's not a wireless mouse. I have a rechargeable one and it's a bit of a pain to remember to put it back in the charger...not to mention having to use up an outlet on my battery backup for it. But wireless mice and keyboards seem to be the thing these days, it's hard to find nice ones that still use cables, so that was appreciated.
Overall, this is a nice mouse with some really nice features...but not the most comfortable to use in my opinion. Regardless of whether you are as picky about comfort as I am, it's always a good idea with any peripheral that gets used as much as a mouse to see if you can get your hands on one in a local store display to see how it feels before purchasing it online.
6 month update: I've been using this mouse again more recently, mainly because I like that turbo scroll so much, and the precision of this mouse is quite good as well. In my work as a developer, I find I am scrolling through long files and web pages a LOT and that turbo scroll is so excellent and smooth that I just don't think I could be without it now. The comfort though is still an issue with this mouse for me. I've recently purchased a tablet and use that as well, as I find that extensive mousing sessions really make my hand cramp with this mouse more than I do with more curved designs. Also some of the other designs do a better job of keeping your wrist elevated and preventing it from laying on the mouse pad, something that can cause problems with extensive use. So I do try to be careful and push my hand a bit forward a bit on it to elevate my wrist off the pad to alleviate such problems...and of course take breaks and stretch a bit, which is the best thing you can do to prevent repetitive strain problems. I'm still hoping the perfect mouse will come along that combines the features of this mouse in a better shape, and that is *not* wireless (I really don't like having to remember to charge my mouse or constantly buy batteries for it, or deal with it dying in the middle of a game, etc.)
Customer Review: Great gaming mouse, best I've used thus far.
Summary: 5 Stars
I've had this mouse for a couple of years now after battling with the wireless aspects of a Logitech MX Revolution Cordless Laser Mouse (Black) for well over a year. I play a lot of online games but I don't really ask much of my mouse other than that it have more buttons than a 'standard' mouse, that they be programmable, and that the mouse is comfortable. The G9 has proven to be exemplary in all regards.
The mouse is actually relatively standard for what I'd call a 'premium' mouse I suppose. When you start getting in to this price range it's pretty common to see a left/right/center toggle on the scroll wheel, forward and back buttons, and in the case of gaming a DPI adjustment. I'd say there's probably room for a couple more buttons on there for the sake of gaming but as it stands now it's a very functional and comfortably designed button layout. The scroll wheel also has a toggle on the bottom of the mouse which allows for a free-flying setting which allows for very quick vertical scrolling and a setting for a more mechanical and controlled feel.
Ergonomically I personally find the mouse to be very comfortable in hand with the adjustments allowed. The grips can be swapped out with two included choices so there's some up-front flexibility to the mouse, but it probably goes without saying that others will find it comfortable where others don't. The material of the grip is the pseudo-rubberized plastic which allows for great grip even if you find that you get sweaty palms. Lastly there is a retractable weight tray at the back of the mouse which can be used to add between 4 and 28 grams of additional weights, all of which are included in their own aluminum and foam molded carrying case. My brother has used various Razor mouses and I'd say that my initial complaint with his mouse has generally been that they feel too light so amongst my favorite things about this mouse is that with the full weight load there's a good amount of heft to the mouse.
I can't comment too technically on the speed, accuracy, and responsiveness of the mouse since I'm not uber demanding in that sense. For what I use it for, which is namely PC RPGs and casually playing first person shooters it's more than adequate to perform competitively if need be. There may be an argument out there for an even faster mouse but it's not one I'm likely to make.
Logitech's Setpoint software is pretty straight forward and easy to pick up the basic functions of. You can set up various profiles for various applications, which is easy and visually aided with a picture of the mouse, and assign them as needed. They can be color coded to an LED on the top of the mouse which, when stored to the mouse's on-board memory, can be cycled through using a button on the bottom of the mouse in conjunction with the DPI adjustment buttons. One thing I dislike about the software however, is that the automatic profile switch (a specific profile loading with a specific .exe) seems to be anybody's guess as to when it will work and what it will work with. On various computers, various OS installs, using various combinations of stored and/or local profiles, and different programs it seems to be very hit or miss as to whether or not the feature will work. I've done some reading on it and have yet to find a reliable way of getting it to work even most of the time. It's not a big deal but it'd be much better if it worked without as much tinkering.
Coming to this mouse from a wireless mouse I have also further bolstered my appreciation of hard-wired devices. It was really a pain in the bum to get my MX Revolution to charge after maybe the first month of use so I definitely like that this mouse is always good to go and furthermore that I can travel with it and fire up my stored profiles on any computer. The cord itself is a nice nylon wrapped number which I don't really know the function. While the wrap is nice it's also prone to picking up dust and I'm generally worried that it'll eventually fray from friction on my desk edge and such. Two minor things to take note of but worth considering for the purchase I suppose.
All things considered it's a great mouse by any standard, particularly for gaming. The price has come down a lot as well so I'd definitely recommend this if you're shopping for something a bit more than what you have.
Pros:
Comfort adjustments
Storable profiles
Simple software
Logical button placement
Performs well
Cons:
Auto-launch for profiles can be troublesome
The nylon cable is a dust magnet, possibly vulnerable to fraying
A couple more buttons would be nice
More grip options would be nice