The problems many gamers have had with expensive new mice in the past have ranged from lagging reaction, low precision, and that satanic ‘smooth-scroll’ mouse wheel, to just not being comfortable. With Logitech’s new mouse, the G7, they fixed it. All of it. The G7 is a wireless laser mouse, with resolutions up to 2000dpi, which is easily double the standard. But before you comment about ‘well what if I don’t want that much sensitivity?’ , listen to this. The mouse has 2 hard buttons below the scroll wheel, “+†and “-“, which adjust the mouse’s sensitivity.
By default, it switches between 600, 1000, and 2000 dpi, but with Logitech’s included software you can customize up to 5 of your own presets, down to the tens (like if you wanted 1990dpi instead of 2000 you could do it). The only other new button is a single thumb button, which although is functional, is alone, which is really the only letdown with this mouse. Whilst browsing the Internet, I can go “backâ€, but not “forwardâ€. Unfortunately Microsoft has Logitech beat in this aspect, as Microsoft has had dual thumb buttons on their mice for years.
The scroller itself is unrivaled when it comes to gaming. It is NOT ‘smooth’ scrolling, which, in the case of a gaming mouse, is GOOD. It ‘clicks’ into place like mice have for years, but the actual click sound itself is relatively quiet. It supports side scrolling. Not much to say about that. It’s functional. The connection of this mouse is amazing. It uses 2.4 GHz radio transmissions to send from the mouse to the receiver, which allows for much greater range. Not only that, but the receiver itself is tiny; smaller than most USB flash drives.
The G7 uses Lithium-Ion battery packs, and comes with 2, that way can be charging as you drain the other, then when it’s dead, switch it out. The battery is good for anywhere from a couple of days to probably a week depending on how much you use it and at what sensitivity. My only gripe about the charger unit is the fact that it is USB. For most people, this is no problem as they just set it somewhere and not worry about it, but for me, a laptop gamer, it’s a hassle. It would have been easier for me to plug the charger into the wall at home than having to find an empty USB port and a bit of room for the charger on my desktop PC.
Design-wise, the G7 is nice, a mixture of Silver paint and very very very dark green plastic (to the point where you can only tell it’s green in direct light). This theme is carried through the receiver and the charger, but unfortunately Microsoft has Logitech beat in the sexiness department too. I got my mom a Microsoft Laser Mouse 6000 for $50 and it is easily twice as sexy as the $100 I dropped on the G7. Luckily functionality isn’t related to sexiness. The G7 has a small LED screen embedded into the mouse, which fades between showing your current sensitivity setting and your battery charge level. All in all, the G7 is a beast. It’s response and accuracy cannot be beat, and it is perfect for gamers. However, with only one thumb button and a price tag of near $100, you might consider getting a Microsoft mouse instead.
