As a long time Performance MX user (and MX Revolution before that and MX 1000 before that! AND briefly a Razer Mamba user) I've always wondered when Logitech would out a wireless gaming mouse like the Mamba but....better (as in, with more buttons and features) so I was glad to see the G700 being released.
I read a review on Bit Tech which slated it as a "useless" mouse when used via wireless but excellent when wired. I think the reviewer was a bit broken that day as I could not imagine such a mouse being useless in wireless so I had to have a go myself.
So I contacted the powers that be and today arrived the G700, this was a used/refurbished example and had no retail packaging but I wasn't bothered about that as all I wanted to do was review it to confirm or deny the Bit Tech findings and of course compare it to the Performance MX as going by today's OcUK pricing, it's only a £fiver more than it.
Look and Feel
The G700 looks odd at first, especially if you've only seen it in pictures and not in person. The way the extra buttons stick out look uncomfortable but really aren't. I would say if anything the only uncomfortable button is the top left button next to the left click if you have smaller hands as you may need to stretch a bit further to click it.
The buttons clickyness and feel are similar to the Performance MX, the wheel is exactly the same but that was to be expected anyway as is the ratchet activation button.
The material finish is very different to the Performance MX, it's more in line with other Logitech gaming mice. The top is similar to the PMX but the grips on each side are heavy in texture and have less rubbery feel than the PMX. I like this quite a lot as it's less slippery and offers good feel.
The G700 is slightly shorter than the PMX as well, it's similar to the MX Revolution in a lot of ways here and your palm arches around the top less than on the PMX:
Because of this, the G700 feels like a lighter mouse as your grip on it is different to the PMX.
Bundled Accessories & Software
I received a USB cable which had printed "gaming series cable", I smirked at this as I wondered how a USB cable could be "gaming" orientated, for one it is heavier in build than the USB cable that comes with the Performance MX so you would think a lighter cable would be more "gaming" but oh well.
You can use it as a wired mouse while it's plugged in and the battery charges while it is wired, just like the PMX. When the wire is plugged in the wireless on the mouse switches off.
It comes with one AA Eneloop battery, these are 750mAh and last 7 hours or so per bar (there are 3 bars on the LED indicator). I Use 2700mAh Pifco batteries instead as I could get a few days of use (gaming included) out of them per charge.
The mini receiver is a bit of a confusion. At first I thought it was a unifying receiver because it looked exactly the same as one but I noticed it had no unifying symbol on it and when I tried to pair the G700 with my existing unifying receiver I was told the mouse was not compatible.
Turns out the G700 uses its own receiver and due to it being a gaming mouse it needs a dedicated line. This isn't a huge problem but it would have been nice if it was unifying compatible as it would have saved me some extra faff behind my PC routing the spare USB extension wedge I had (pic below).
Because the receiver is unique to the G700 the software is as well. It has it's own Macro software where you can beam over keyboard commands and various recordings to the mouse and it's own Setpoint style utility to manage the extra buttons and settings.
It runs alongside the existing SetPoint without any issues and I didn't really have to download anything as Windows 7 put the shortcuts in the start menu when I plugged in the new receiver.
You can set various reports/sec on the G700 control panel, the default (and recommended) is 500 but I chose 1000 although the help info says this could use more CPU cycles. I don't think this will be an issue on a modern PC, I've certainly not noticed anything on my overclocked Q9550 yet.
In General
During normal use in Windows I noticed at 800DPI the mouse movement and responsiveness was just a small amount more finer than the PMX. This may be a placebo due to the lighter feeling movement of the mouse itself or it could also be that the laser position on the bottom of the mouse is centre top instead of below the thumb area like on the PMX.
I customised the buttons to my liking and set 5 custom DPI modes and the DPI loop option for one button so I could use the DPI up/down buttons as PAGE UP/PAGE DOWN for web surfing and used a bit of Photoshop, Lightroom and surfed the web without any issues. I note that Photoshop and Lightroom mouse movements for fine adjustments was a slightly better experience than the PMX, this is largely down to the sleeker feel of the G700, the PMX is a bit bulkier.
In Gaming
Did some FPS gaming and the same as general usage really, feels slightly smoother and more accurate when aiming than the PMX, not that the PMX was inaccurate though, this just feels more fine tuned. I tried the DPI modes and they work fine but I kept it at 800DPI throughout.
What I don't like
Obviously I'm not a fan of the non unifying receiver, it would have been nicer to have it unifying but if technical reasons prohibit this then *shakes fist at technicalities*.
I don't like the cable, I think it's a bit too thick to use as a gaming mouse when wired but that's just me. I also think they could bundle a higher mAh battery instead of a 750 one as over time the per charge usage time goes down. I found the same on my PMX which is why I got the 2700mAh ones.
The other thing I'm not too sure of is the placement of the top left extra button but I have talked about this earlier already.
Lastly, a nitpick but the battery compartment has no pull cord like on the PMX so to get the battery out you need long nails or something flat headed...unless you like to smash the mouse in your palm to force the battery out:
Photos
The control panel:
There's an option to enable angle snapping where it detects if you're trying to use the mouse in a straight line (in Photoshop, for example or in a game) and it snaps to that angle, the top line is with the feature on, bottom with it off:
The spare extension I had:
Both mice side by side:
Grip comparison:
PMX:
G700:
I think if you're considering a Performance MX then the extra £5 on the G700 is well worth it. You gain extra buttons with various states of profile tune available, a better handling mouse in general and I have no doubt the same things will be said for gaming as well so check back for that update
Conclusion? I reckon the G700 suits gamers as well as non gamers. With the software profiles and customisation you can use it as an MCE remote very easily and map profiles to apps for various media controls - This is much better than lying down with a keyboard on your lap when watching Movies/TV on your PC and that's just one example.
I give it 8 Khans out of 10!
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) and left the pointer speed at stock, but am now thinking this may not be the best way? Thanks