Logitech G600 Gaming Mouse Review
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Logitech's pedigree mice are in no need for any kind of introduction. They're one of the most widely used and highly regarded in the tech world. The notorious G-series of gaming-grade mice has recently seen a new member added to the lineup. The G600, Logitech's first MMO geared gaming mouse that puts the 'G' in gaming. With a fleet of 20 customizable buttons, LED lights and a killer ergonomic design, the G600 is a fierce gaming mouse competitor. We go hands-on in our full, in-depth review down below!
This is arguably the best looking MMO mouse ever made.
Let's all be honest here, we first buy stuff with our eyes and later think about whether or not said product is anything to ride about. The G600's spacey design is pure sex on a mouse pad, if that's even possibly doable. It bares all the right curvy curves to fit naturally in the palm of your hand. Grabbing hold of the G600 is like grabbing a fist full of molding clay that has been squished to fit the natural shape of your palm and fingers without any gaps underneath. It's really excellent. The smooth matte finish feels absolutely delicate to the touch and that's all that you could ever want in a mouse. Logitech's sense of style and design really transferred onto the G600 at full force. This is arguably the best looking MMO mouse ever made. For once in a while, we've got a mouse that isn't heavily industrialized like the R.A.T series nor boring as the Naga.
We always start out with what's in the box, or tell you some about that packaging. But in this case, we think the mouse is the center of the attention. That and the fact that nothing but the mouse itself is included. We will however, let you in on the price and color scheme of it. The G600 will set you back $80, and you can grab one in either this stealthy black on black color, or if you feel all storm troppery, there's also a beautiful contrasting white on black.
It doesn't get much more ergonomically correct than this. At least for a non-adjustable gaming mouse. The G600 feels really well built, had a good heft to it and fits right into the palm of your hand, given that your hands aren't gigantic. Each button has a nice, concaved channel where your fingers comfortably fit in. The G600's protuberant hump extends all the way to the back where it supports the arch of your palm very well. Obviously this is not an ambidextrous mouse, so unless you're a right handed user, Logitech don't got your back I'm afraid.
We appreciate good design, and the G600 hits all the right cords. On the right hand side, you'll notice a small yet plentiful space covered with a rubbery, micro-textured surface that grabs hold of your little pinky finger without you even paying much attention to what's really going on. Now the G600 is a moderately sized gaming mouse that can be clawed or full on groped. Which in both cases all of your fingers are on board at all times. No one is left behind with this mouse let me tell you that.
6-foot long braided, 1ms response USB cable? Yes please! Wireless mice are my preferred mode of use, but you can't go wrong with a reliable wired connection. This is one of the more durable braided cables I've come across. It's a bit on the stiff side compared to Razer's braided cables, but in reality the performance is still the same. You will end up with some extra cable, and for that there's a small Velcro strap attached to help collect and neatly wrap the excess cable.
Everything but conventional.
Yes you counted correctly. There are three clickers on top of the G600, you've got your standard left and right buttons and then there's a third one which your ring finger naturally rests on top of that acts a shifter if you will - which lets you activate an array of set customized button functions just as you would on a keyboard. The odd thing is that I never once notice that third button until I really paid attention to how the mouse was designed. And that means I never once accidentally clickity clacked it thinking it was my right button. Logitech has made it so that the shift button required slightly more force to be pressed, and that's a good thing because it totally eliminates those premature clicks. The big picture is the fact that there are 20, easy to use, cusomizable buttons to be played with on the G600; your ass is covered no matter what you play or do.
The G600's side view is where most of the magic happens. An illuminated 12-button thumb panel with buttons that are all easy to reach using your thumb and have a distinct, opposite-facing slanted design that makes for easier pressing and sensing your way around. These buttons can all be individually set to your desired function using the Logitech Gaming Software application. The G600 comes pre-configured with three different profiles, each with its own color-coded backlit for easy distinction. You can set the thumb panel illumination to any color you want, pulsating colors, rotating color cycles or completely turn illumination off.
If you've never used an MMO style gaming mouse before, it's a learning curve. Knowing your way around the G600's numpad buttons and learning how to effectively customize each one does take time. Fortunately the awesome wavy tactile placement of each set of side buttons compared to the Naga's flat set of side keys, will help you memorize the feel and placement quickly.
The problem, or at least my personal beef with MMO gaming mice is that their slew of aggregated side buttons tend to make it uncomfortable for your thumb to rest on for prolong use. I've been using Razer's MMO gaming mouse, the Naga, for quite some time now and found it to be uncomfortable because of its side grid of pointy buttons. It's kind of like having your thumb rest on a cheese grander after a while. Not very comfortable.
Fortunately, the G600's button grid isn't so rough on your thumb, but it isn't exactly a pillow of softness either. Traditional mice would otherwise have a side grip that's nice and smooth to the touch, and these MMO type gaming mice are really no easy mice to use in terms of comfort. I've got respect for you MMO and RPG gamers.
The illuminated buttons end up getting warm which feels a bit unpleasant if your thumb is there the whole time. That's a problem that has plagued the Naga as well. Luckily you can turn them off and give up the shiny lights for a cooler sensation.
Another not so pleasant to use aspect on the G600 is its scroll wheel. While well at doing what it does best, scroll, it sounds terribly junky. And I mean it feels and sounds like a scroll wheel off a pre-21st century mouse. It has an awful clicking and scrolling noise and the thin shape of it just doesn't feel as good as some other scroll wheels, especially Logitech's fanatic silent scroll wheels. The good news it that it works as it should, clicking down and from side to side. I've set mine up so that I can flip thru pages more efficiently.
Putting everything aside, the G600 is overall a really great mouse to use. It tracks excellent just like any mouse you'd expect coming from Logitech. The laser sensor has a crazy 200 - 8200 DPI resolution which you can adjust on the fly using the DPI Switch at the top. It works so well and tracks every sensitive move you make smoothly without any lag or jitteryness what so ever. Flipping the G600 over, we can see two large slick low-friction feet that help the G600 to seamlessly glide on virtually any surface. Literally. You don't even need to use a mouse pad. I've been testing it out primarily on a bare wooden desk and this thing glides across it like butter. What's more is that the feet don't seem to wear easily at all.
As we mentioned earlier, the G600's slew of buttons can be custom assigned to your specific needs along with multiple pre-defined setting profiles for quick switching. Logitech's Gaming Software is required to set all the adjustments and unfortunately it doesn't support OS X. You can resort to third party mouse software like SteerMouse in order to customize the buttons, but I found that none of the available options really fit the G600 as well as Logitech's tailored made application. In other words, if you're a Mac user, this is not the mouse for you. Unless you're willing to compromise on customizing each and every button.
Is this mouse going to make you a better gamer? Absolutely not. The G600 is only a tool that will ease your keyboard usage just a tad. The G600 is loaded with a bunch of customizable buttons, to the point where it can become overwhelming. It heavily relies on user personalization, so it's only as great as you make it to be. For the MMO gamer, Logitech's G600 is a dreamy and downright sexy looking gaming mouse choice if you know your way around buttons. Unless you can't bypass using a side thumb panel, then there are better choices out there which don't have the infamous drawback of having to put up with the discomfort of placing your thumb on top of a bunch of small buttons.
We would really love to see Logitech redesign the G600 without a side button panel as a secondary edition to better implement it as an all-around work mouse. We wouldn't say the G600 isn't a great mouse to use, but the whole MMO-tuned button panel genre really has its drawbacks. The G600 still takes the crown in the MMO geared gaming mice arena.
