Today we’re looking at the Logitech G700S, a hybrid gaming mouse that works both wirelessly (via a 2.4GHz dongle) or via a standard micro USB cable. The mouse also boasts a heaping helping of programmable buttons, a dual-mode scroll wheel and a high DPI laser sensor. It looks like an impressive rodent, but how does it actually perform? We’ve got one from the friendly folks at Ebuyer, so let’s test it out!
Features and Specifications
- Data over cable: uses a standard micro USB cable for charging the built-in AA battery and for connecting to a PC
- 13 programmable controls: Use the optional Logitech Gaming Software to remap buttons to single actions or macros of your liking, or use the default configuration.
- Consistent report rate, wired or wireless: Uses a consistent 1ms report rate over 2.4GHz wireless or USB.
- In-game sensitivity switching: Shift through 10 customisable DPI settings, from 200 to 8200 DPI.
- Dual-mode scroll wheel: Hyper-fast dual-mode scrolling, either clicky single steps or rapid scrolling with a free-spinning wheel.
- Plug-and-forget nano receiver: Wireless connects using tiny USB receiver, which can be stored inside the battery compartment when it’s not in use.
- Ultra-durable build: Designed to endure, with 20 million click switches and 250 million km feet.
- Slick feet: Low friction feet reduce drag for speed, smoothness and accuracy.
- Intuitive shape and design: Individually sculpted buttons easily identifiable by touch; natural curves mean comfortable control.
- Advanced surface materials: Advanced materials to each zone; hydrophobic coating on the palm area, fingerprint-resistant coating to the buttons, dry grip on the sides.
- Gaming-grade laser: A gaming-grade laser sensor that works on a wide range of surfaces.
- Onboard memory profiles: Configure your mouse once, use it across multiple PCs with 3 different profiles for individual players or games.
- LED display: DPI sensitivity and battery power remains visible underneath your hand.
- Easy-to-use setup software: Drag and drap settings to customise buttons and tracking profiles for any game, or use pre-configured customisations with automatic game detection.
Unboxing
Let’s unbox the G700S, shall we? We have a nice clean box to start, with the mouse presented in a kind of split view: one side regular, one side x-ray. It’s pretty cool, and of course the tagline ‘rechargeable gaming mouse’ pretty much says it all.
The back of the box has another shot of the mouse from a jaunty angle, as well as the usual lists of features in multiple languages. This time around we have English, French, Spanish, German, Italian and Dutch. How many can you understand?
Inside the box, you’ll find the mouse itself and some bits of paper. You’ll also find a trio of useful accessories – the Bluetooth USB dongle, a USB extension cord for the dongle, and a shaped Micro USB cable which allows the mouse to plug into your PC.
Now let’s take a look at the most important thing in the box – the mouse itself.
Design
The G700S immediately distinguishes itself with a curved design, sculpted to suit right-handed mousers. The mouse makes use of different material in different zones, resulting in a mouse that is easy to grip and comfortable to wield. The mouse is quite weighty compared to wired mice, thanks to the batteries and added complexity.
The left side of the mouse has four thumb buttons, G4 to G7. By default the bottom two are mapped to back and forward, while the top two are unmapped. There are also three LEDs on the left side, which are used to show DPI settings and battery levels.
The right side is quite blank, with no buttons of any kind – just a grippy finish that makes it easier to scoot the mouse around rapidly without losing control.
The top of the mouse has the remaining buttons. On the left hand side we have G8 to G10, which is set to raise and lower the DPI, and show the current battery level – very handy. The mouse wheel is quite fun, as you can change it between a normal clicky mode and a free-spinning mode by clicking the button below it. The other button, G11, changes your profile by default.
The bottom of the mouse is fairly busy, with four largish skates surrounding the battery compartment, the on/off switch and the lase sensor.
Inside the battery compartment we have a standard rechargeable AA battery, and a place for the Bluetooth dongle to be stored when it’s not in use (as shown below). The battery cover comes out quickly, and is easy to replace too.
The front of the mouse contains a micro USB port, allowing a cable to be connected and the mouse to be charged. This is also how the G700S is used as a wired mouse.
The G700S is a stylish mouse, straddling the gap between wider palm grip mice and slimmer claw grip ones. There’s enough here to hold onto, but not enough to slow you down. All in all, it’s an effective shape that should suit most gamers.
Testing
In order to test the G700S out properly, I used it as my go-to mouse for two weeks.
Games
The mouse is a little heavier than a purely wired option, thanks to the internal battery and radios and so forth. This makes the mouse require more effort to push around, particularly at low sensitivity settings, but isn’t too draining. Lifting the mouse is also a little harder, and as such better the mouse better suits gamers who use higher sensitivity settings.
I was a little worried about using a wireless mouse for gaming, but it seems the technology has come a long way in the past few years. I couldn’t feel any input lag or interpolation through when using it in wireless mode compared to wired, and altogether it was a perfectly pleasant experience. Of course, if you do feel at a disadvantage when using the wireless mode, you can easily swap to wired mode.
The mouse also has a heck of a lot of buttons, as you might have noticed. This is pretty useful for MMOs and some other titles; I liked the ability to have buttons for transmitting separately in CS:GO and TeamSpeak, while retaining different buttons for going back and forward in web pages. The buttons are well-placed and easy to distinguish without looking down. There’s even this button to unlock the scroll wheel and let it spin for ages, which isn’t useful for CS:GO but may be useful for creative assignment… e.g. assigning scroll down to firing a semi-automatic weapon.
One advantage to using a wired mouse is that it doesn’t have a wire. That sounds obvious, but it means that you don’t need to invest into a mouse bungee or worry about the cord getting tangled up. It’s less important in gaming than just general use, but it’s still a nice benefit.
Above: Some decent AWP kills with the G700S. Warning, music is super loud and the game is super casual.
The overall shape and construction of the mouse seems well considered; the materials used provide a good amount of grip in all the right areas and the shape is ergonomic without being too wide.
General Use
Wireless mice are great for general purpose work, as they leave less clutter on your desk and having pixel-perfect accuracy or rapid sweeps isn’t required. The G700S unsurprisingly shines for web and media use then, with a comfortable fit, decent software for setting up macros and a long battery life (I got around 8 hours of continuous use before a recharge was needed).
The G700S particularly struck me as a good mouse to use with a laptop. It’s reasonably compact, there are no cables to get into the way, and it will handle both work and games with little issue.
Conclusion
Logitech’s G700S is a strong hybrid mouse that seems well designed and solidly constructed. While there are some downsides to the wireless operation, including weight and day-long battery life, many users will appreciate the flexibility you get in exchange. For those that want a dual-use device for gaming and general use, the G700S seems a wise option.
Pros
- Works immediately without setup in wired or wireless modes
- A bucket-load of customisable buttons
- Dual-mode scroll wheel is practical and fun
Cons
- Heavier than a wired mouse of the same size
Score
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