G Pro Wireless
This is a long review, not just because I have a lot of notes, but because the review detail should be directly proportional to the price tag.
The Basics:
The Logitech G Pro Wireless (GPW) is an 80 gram, RGB, ambi, wireless mouse with removable side buttons for both sides and inserts which allow a smooth surface in lieu of a button if desired. There are 7 buttons total plus a DPI button on the bottom which doesn’t really enter into any of my math. Its HERO 3 sensor goes from 100 to 16000 DPI in steps of 50. There is zero accel or smoothing with this sensor and it is supposed to be the most advanced optical on the market. Expectations were very high with this mouse and after a sense of initial disappointment (likely caused by really high expectations) it took a little while to grow on me, but it did indeed.
The Good:
- No squeeks, creaks or rattles. The fact the production quality is high is a welcome relief given the price point.
- The shape is nice and safe for what should be the majority of users. I was initially put off by the length of the mouse a little, since the butt end initially interfered with my fingertip grip. I was able to adjust after removing the pinky side buttons, and now the mouse is a good fit for my 17.5cm hands in fingertip and an excellent fit in palm. Claw grippers below 19 cm will probably have a tough time here. I think large fingertip, medium palm and really large claw grip users will be most happy with the GPW.
- The clicks are light and responsive, feeling closer to the G303 than the G403, just a tough heavier. To me it feels like breaking a very very very thin film of glass with each click. Satisfying and tactile. There is no pre/post travel. I did not initially like them as much as the G403, but now I could go either way.
- The wireless has no perceptible input delay. Winning.
- The mouse feels super agile, even with the cord. The TT Ventus R was the last mouse to significantly impress me with weight and pointability. The GPW beats the Ventus R though with a better shape...and everything else. The 80 gram weight, slick mousefeet, good sensor and decently forward sensor placement combine for a highly “pointable” experience.
- Battery life out of the box was 28 hours with full lighting, 1000hz polling and 48% charge. Outstanding.
- A mouse does not make you a better player, but a good mouse can at least not get in the way of winning. One of Logitech’s advertisements alluded to this when it shows the mouse disappearing from under a player’s hand. I now have to agree that the mouse doesn’t feel “amazing” so much as it feels “absent” in-game due to the combination of wireless, lightness and neutral shape. I prefer the feel of the G403, but the in-game performance with the GPW was truly excellent, zero issues. I initially played with the mouse wired and then played in wireless mode to see if I could tell a difference. The difference was noticeable, and the user experience between wired and wireless went from very good to great.
- The new HERO sensor is fantastic. This is the first mouse with a HERO sensor that I’ve tried and I am finally a believer that the 3366 can be improved upon. Knowing that I am human, I rationally don’t think there is any way I should actually be able to perceive an improvement from the 3366 that I’m used to. That said, I am sure as heck enjoying a strong and sustained sense of placebo in favor of the new HERO sensor. The sensor feels incredibly snappy and accurate at the same time. When I first set up the mouse, DPI was set to 1100 and felt even higher than the 1300 used on my G403. When I realized this, I bumped DPI up to 1300 to get a comparative feel. At 1300 DPI it the combo of wireless and snappy sensor felt equivalent to 1600 DPI on the G403, but without any decrease in accuracy, in fact accuracy improved, probably because the 1300 DPI was actually close on both mice and I had the muscle memory without the cable. Even with the cable attached to the GPW, the feel of snappy accuracy does not go away. Thus, I attribute this to the HERO sensor (possibly the slick mouse feet) and not the wireless capability or weight. In accuracy testing, results averaged just over 93%, on par with my previous aiming champ, the G303.
- Middle click is moderate resistance with a muted feedback and there is nice rubber coating on the scroll providing good grip.
- Scroll wheel has fairly light resistance with good bumpy scroll steps, good for FPS. The scroll wheel is quiet without any rattling when shaken or when scrolling quickly, so not bad for browsing either. If it had been me, I’d have lowered the scroll wheel a couple mm lower into the mouse – feels good but slightly high for my taste, much like the MM520.
- Thumb buttons are well placed and easily accessible with very light actuation compared to my G203 with snappy feedback. There is barely perceptible pretravel on all of them, not noticeable in game and well worth the cost of the modularity involved. My user experience went from an 8 to a 9.5 after I’d put in the flat inserts on the pinky side of the mouse and subsequently changed my grip to something more comfy.
- There is a slot for the wireless USB receiver in the bottom rear of the mouse to help you keep it safe – nice touch.
- The surface texture is good and helps keep the mouse controllable. It is not as rough as the G203 but it still provides good grip despite basically feeling smooth.
- Last and perhaps least, this mouse can go to the office! The look is professional, understated and maybe even downright pedestrian, which I love. It’s like looking at a Toyota Corrolla and knowing it has the internals of a Porsche.
The Middling:
- Liftoff distance seems higher than the 3366, but still seems to be under 1.5 DVDs. Coming from my G403 with a (maybe not even) 1 DVD LOD, the difference was noticeable – not bad, but not great.
- While I don’t need DPI button on the mouse, I find the option is nice to have. In CS:GO I’ll usually map the DPI button to flash nades instead of a keyboard key. On the flipside, you get a gram, maybe two of weight savings and that adds up. I’d have preferred a DPI button on top of the mouse instead of on the bottom, but on the bottom there’s also no chance that it will annoy anyone.
- Compared to the G403, the shape feels blasé’ and uninspired without the premium feel of that mouse. Even though a lot of people compare it to the Zowie FK2, I think its shape and size feels closest to the Nixeus Revel, but without the soft touch finish and the excessively rounded M1/M2. There is still a little rounding here, but it’s pretty good overall. The shape is not bad by any stretch, far from it, just don’t expect some kind of ergo heaven.
- The way I hold the mouse, the buttons opposite the thumb do contact one or both mouse buttons, but those buttons don’t stick out enough to actually be useful and actuate. This can be a good or bad thing depending on what you’re after. For me, I had a better experience resigning myself to a 5 button mouse and putting the non-buttons in on the pinky side of the mouse.
- The mousefeet are super fast which I love, but as other reviewers have pointed out, they are definitely on the loud side, not scratchy, but definitely rough. Since I play with headphones the majority of the time, the tradeoff is worth it for me, but will annoy some.
- My hand seemed to sweat a little more when in wireless mode. It is possible the transmitter in the mouse puts off some heat, but that’s hard to imagine given that heat is wasted energy, and this mouse is very power efficient. I’ll need to continue checking back and forth to determine how strong the correlation is.
- The Logitech software needed an update in order to detect the mouse. The Logitech software is still good as ever, but this was a little bit of a hassle and after the software update, the Logitech Gaming Software does not open on the first try on occasion. Even though the Logitech software provides a key press “heat map” that shows how many times you’ve pressed a keyboard or mouse key, it only provides data for a select session that you start and stop yourself. I’d like to see the option for automatic logging of all key/button presses to track total usage of the mouse, maybe even include tracking of how far the mouse has traveled on its mouse feet so you can gauge how close you are to hitting the 250 km lifespan of its feet.
The Bad:
- The GPW is a bit tail heavy with the PowerPlay module inserted. I recommend not having it in unless you are using a PowerPlay mat and save 3 grams in the process.
- The cost. There is just no way around the sticker shock.
- This mouse can’t be worth anywhere near its selling price without all its features working. And that means there is a little bit more to worry about when it comes to durability. Yes, there is a 2 year warranty, but that doesn’t mean a break isn’t worth the hassle and it doesn’t mean you don’t want the mouse to last for 5-10 years instead of 2.1. With this mouse you got to worry about the internal transmitter, you’ll have to worry about the number of charging cycles the internal battery can take before it starts to die, you gotta worry about not losing the USB receiver, the button attachments, the USB dongle and the cable itself. None of these things are worries on a wired G403, or any other wired mouse for that matter.
- The fact Logitech was able to make a wireless mouse at this weight is a brilliant and calculated move. As sweet as this mouse is, it will be obsolete tech if it isn’t already. Would the GPW release have been half the achievement if they had recently released a 70-gram wired version of the same thing for $50? No. And you can bet that is coming at some point because there is already demand for this mouse, wired, at a $50 price point. The bottom line here is that good things come to those who wait, and a good thing comes to those who don’t. You might save $100 by waiting 10 months, but then you’ll ask yourself, “would the enjoyment of the wireless version have been worth it for $10 a month over the last 10 months?” That’s a tough question indeed for the r/mousereview crowd. (Goodbye NETFLIX!) Gotta love these first world problems.
- The Nixeus Revel has a very similar shape and feel to the GPW in the grand scheme of things, weighs only 4 grams more and is wired but currently sells for $35 USD on Amazon. It is unlikely that the difference between the HERO3 and the 3360 could be noticed. If you are looking to not break the bank for a light, ambi mouse with a good shape, the Revel is a much better bang for the buck without hurting your game.
The Conclusion:
Assuming it holds up, this is an endgame mouse, no question. But people should realize that whether they know it or not, they can always move their goalposts of "mouse perfection" according to their desires and what comes out on the market. As Apple’s empire can attest, it’s the things you didn’t know you needed that get you. This is the kind of mouse that makes you think really hard about what you want in a mouse and want from it. Well, the latest HERO sensor is a win. The lag-free wireless is a win. The 80 gram weight is a win. Putting all these things together is a big win and comes with a big price tag. The GPW is a pricey glimpse into the normative future, and the future looks like a nice place to live if we can avoid asteroids, plagues and nuking ourselves into oblivion (etc. etc. etc…). If you are a seriously competitive FPS player, you get what you pay for. That technically goes for anyone who buys the mouse, but some will get more out of it than others. A non-mouse enthusiast/hardcore gamer will get 99% of the satisfaction out of the G403. Heck, some people might get 99% of the user satisfaction out of a generic $5 office mouse. Fact is, if you are the type of person who can tell a 3050 from a 3360, or a person who can’t forgive the "diversity" of a 100 gram mouse vs. an 80 gram mouse…well, this is a technical work of art to be thoroughly enjoyed.
Nit-Noid Rating: 9.4
Bang For Buck (@150 USD): C
| Brand | Logitech G |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Logitech |
| Series | Pro Wireless Gaming Mouse |
| Colour | Black |
| Item Height | 4.92 inches |
| Item Width | 2.5 inches |
| Power source type | Battery Powered |
| Hardware Platform | PC, Mac |
| Are Batteries Included | Yes |
| Lithium Battery Energy Content | 240 Milliamp Hours (mAh) |
| Lithium Battery Packaging | Batteries contained in equipment |
| Lithium Battery Weight | 11 Grams |
| Number Of Lithium Ion Cells | 1 |
| Manufacturer | Logitech |
| Item model number | 910-005270 |
| Product Dimensions | 3.99 x 6.35 x 12.5 cm; 81.65 Grams |
| ASIN | B07GCKQD77 |
