Logitech G7 Laser Wireless Gaming Mouse Review

Solid Foundation
Logitech's G7 Laser Cordless Mouse builds upon the classic bean-shaped form factor introduced with the MX500 for a comfortable right-handed grip. The color scheme of the G7 is visually pleasing silver with green grips, and a smooth finish that feels exactly like the gaming-grade MX518 I reviewed previously. The only downside to this is the grips are no longer rubberized, so gamers with sweaty palms might accidentally have the mouse slip in the middle of extended gaming sessions. As a gamer with dry hands, this isn't really an issue.

Almost everything about the G7 is identical to its also-reviewed wired counterpart, the G5 mouse. The underside of the G7 bears three oversized PTFE (Teflon) pads to reduce friction across surfaces - two on the poles of the mouse and one under the thumb. This makes for excellent gliding across surfaces, and works marvelously on hard mouse pads, literally skating across the pad when nudged.

Exercising the Digits
The button placement is also identical to that of the Logitech G5, with two DPI switching buttons placed directly below the tilt wheel, and only one button placed above the thumb rest suitable for grenades and melee attacks. The lack of a forward thumb button is explained away by gamers' requests for a single, sure-hit button so they don't hit the wrong one in the middle of a firefight.

Again, I'm not so happy with this decision since both buttons could be bound to the same function if someone seriously can't find the right button (is it really that hard??), but thankfully Logitech says that it will most likely make a return in a future product. They went on to say that for every complaint to remove the forward button, Logitech has received about 5 complaints to bring it back. If the G5's drivers were any indicator, Logitech really does listen to feedback.

On the review unit I received, the G7's mouse wheel is somewhat defective in the sense that clicking down on the wheel (Mouse3/Zoom) doesn't' actually produce a tactile "click", although it does activate. On the plus side, it takes less force to activate and I haven't accidentally side-scrolled like I encountered with the G5. When I called Logitech asking if this was intentional, I was told that the mouse wheel should actually click.

In any event, because the two directions of tilting can be programmed to any key, you could always set the tilt wheel to middle click when pushed to one direction, and act as the missing forward key when pushed in the other direction. The tilt wheel, along with every other button on the G7 can also be set to perform different functions like keystrokes, remembering individual settings per game and application via profiles.

Like the numerous other gaming mouse on the market today, the G7 has DPI switching on-the-fly to change the sensitivity in game, perfect for making quick turns in fast-paced environments and then scaling back for more accurate kills, without the need for an oversized mouse pad. Without drivers, the G7 comes with three steps of 400, 800, and 2000 DPI, but once SetPoint is installed the sensitivity can be scaled to any resolution from 400-2000 in 50 dpi increments with up to resolutions defined. Sensitivity on the X and Y axis can be independent of each other too, if that's your thing. A visual indicator on the left side of the G7 will display which of the five DPI steps is currently active.

Wireless that Works
The first time I picked up a wireless mouse for gaming, I was traumatized. Not only were the movements of the mouse extremely laggy, but when I was sniping, I had to constantly move the mouse slightly to prevent it from going to sleep for several seconds. Needless to say I returned the mouse promptly and bought a wired one. That was four years ago, and today I still can't use a Wireless IntelliMouse, and while I can scrape by with the MX610 when it's working, it would still go to sleep when I was sniping.

Remembering how useless a wireless mouse was, I was shocked to find that the wireless aspect of the G7 is absolutely flawless. There's zero noticeable lag in any of the fast moving games like Quake IV, and I was amazed at the precision of the mouse after racking up 6 "Impressive!" awards in a single deathmatch for using the rail-gun. Defending a zone in Raven Shield is much less stressful since I don't have to move the mouse for a full minute before it enters sleep mode. If the G7 were snag on something every now and then, it could pass as a wired mouse. There's practically no difference anymore.

A small 2.4GHz receiver can either be plugged into the side of a computer, or preferably into the included desktop USB stand to place it away from other electronic devices that could cause interference. And unlike the other 2.4GHz mouse from Logitech I reviewed, I did not encounter any interference throughout my month of testing. The desktop stand also doubles as a battery charger, simultaneously charging one battery while the second battery is actively engaging the enemies on-screen.

The batteries are quite ingenious. Only 18 grams, the 600 mAh packs are more than twice as light as two AA batteries, and they share the same form factor as the G5's weight cartridge to quickly slide in and out of the G7's base at the press of a button. I get about 7 or 8 hours of continuous gameplay when I'm at a LAN party, and about 2-3 days worth of power when I'm just working.

To tell how much juice is left, just stop moving the mouse and the orange DPI indicator will fade to a green battery indicator. Additionally, in the SetPoint drivers it's possible to specify an on-screen warning when the battery is anywhere from 5-30% full capacity.

When a pack runs dry, it takes just under 10 seconds for me to swap the two packs and get a fresh one in. The desktop stand can recharge a pack in approximately 10 hours, but if you're in a tournament it'd be wise to switch the charger to boost mode to draw additional power and charge a pack in two hours. Just know that this consumes more power than allocated in the USB spec, so it better be plugged into a powered hub or directly into the computer.

Recap
In short, this is the _best_ wireless mouse for gaming, hands down. No lag or interference, an extended sleep timer, and a 2000-DPI laser that can scale down to 400-DPI make the G7 as deadly as its wired counterpart. The hot-swap batteries last a fair amount of time and seeing as how there'll always be a charged pack, you'll never have to worry about battery life again. A flawed middle click and the lack of a second thumb button are disheartening, but the tilt-wheel fills their places nicely. The G7 is definitely the Mercedes of wireless mice, both in price and performance, and is heartily recommended for those who can afford it.