Gaming Mice

For the PC gamer who absolutely has to be able to frag his or (in my case) her opponents at the speed of light, there is no computer part more essential than the mouse. Operating as both gun and trigger, this tiny weapon can turn the tide of firefights. For us, the Microsoft Blue Mouse just ISN'T enough. No, we need the world!

My review of this mouse won't exactly be neutral. Since using a two-button Labtec mouse over 3 years ago, I have had nothing except for Logitech Gaming Mice, and keep going back for more! Have I tried Razer's mice you ask? Yes, but I find the grip disgusting-a matter of personal preference. This is coming from someone who has long, bulky hands and fingers and actually liked the original Xbox controller.

My first gaming mouse was a blue Logitech MX510. It blew me away in every possible department. Compared to a generic ass two button mouse, the pixel-by-pixel aiming was second-to-none, who cared about DPI, Polling Rate or even the texture of the mouse feet! All I knew was that this southpaw loved the right handed grip and the fact that it worked right. The mouse didn't like my new dog however, who shed hair like an old man. His snow-white hair had infiltrated the optical camera, making the mouse virtually inoperable.

Heartbroken, I ordered the six-month-old MX518. I loved the mouse, but I felt that it didn't track and aim as well as my 510. I was relieved to have another gaming mouse, though the "1600 DPI" seemed overhyped when I found that my aim had huge gaps in between. Unlike the unique pixel-by-pixel I enjoyed with my MX510, I found myself regularly just barely touching my mouse and experiencing 5-pixel gaps. I still to this day do not know if that mouse was defective or what. I tried many solutions, increasing and decreasing the polling rate, DPI, sensitivity, etc. I even got a primo mousepad in the Razer Mantis Control. Nothing worked, but it was STILL better than a regular mouse. The dog was thankfully no longer a problem and so my mouse lived on fine.

The one obstacle that had stopped me from purchasing the G5 when it was released was the absence of the second thumb button that was so integral to my game play. I had read a couple of months ago about Logitech making a revision of the G5. I had seen the beautifully crackly blue and the lovely second thumb button and wanted this mouse immediately! Rust Orange is just so ugly (though the carbon fiber was nice). Unfortunately, I found that this beautiful piece of hardware was only available in the UK, at least for the time being. Doing some more googling found me a US release date: June, 2007. JUNE?? That was how many months away? I was saddened, but continued to bare with my "Is it defective OR NOT?" MX518.

Flash forward to yesterday, 23MAY2007. The day before my graduation I had some spare cash so I decided to go out and get myself a game. I had more than I needed, I went to Best Buy with the intention of buying "Armed Assault" (which I did not get, mind you) instead, as I was showing my brother the G15 keyboard, my eyes made contact with the box labeled "Logitech G5" but my glancing eyes noticed something different... the mouse in that box was certainly not rusty orange, and not carbon fiber for that matter either. My browsing eyes snapped back: It was a mouse that was not on Newegg, not at Circuit City, and not at Fry's Electronics. It was a crackly electric blue: the coveted revision. I did a double take and picked up the box. I thought it was funny they chose not to append the name officially, and instead had a nice little "Now with two thumb buttons!" sticker. I immediately picked it up and brought it home at the tag price of $69.99.

So far it is an adjustment, it goes bonkers on my Razer mousepad, so thank god for laser! Now, (unlike optical mice) you REALLY can use it on the table. Speaking of which, it'd probably be great when I go to a motel and want to use it on the bed! I'll review it sometime soon, until then, I'm giving the G5 2007 two-thumbs up.