[review] Logitech G400

davkol

17 May 2014, 20:01

Logitech G400 replaced the popular MX518 (and has been replaced by G400s relatively recently). It's often considered one of the best gaming mice in the market, thanks to the well-regarded shape, "flawless" sensor and Logitech's quite good reputation. I've recently had a chance to give it a try... but it was a huge disappointment for me.

shape/grip
AFAIK all mice in the MX510/MX518/G400/G400s line share the same shape. It's about the same size as my savu, but a bit wider and bulkier, which makes it more suitable for palm grip with three fingers on top (although fingertip or possibly even claw grip might work too). There's no pinkie rest, but a big, very pronounced bump on the right instead, which makes it much easier to pick up the mouse. This is actually a huge deal that can ruin the mouse for you, like it did in my case. First, G400 is fairly heavy for my tastes, well over 100 g. Second, the bump forces a weird angle between the pinkie and other fingers... maybe because my hands are too small or something. Perhaps if the mouse was more vertically oriented, it'd help; dunno.

Video:
Spoiler:
materials, buttons&wheel
G400 is rubber-coated on the sides, but it's just coating, not rubber like on CM Storm Xornet/Spawn. The middle part is plastic with slightly granular matte finish, typical for Logitech. Coming from a new Roccat mouse, I wasn't impressed. OTOH, I like the relatively thin, not braided, soft&rubbery cable.

Build quality appears to be fine, except for buttons and the wheel. The main two buttons are normal, only the left one wiggles a bit—out of the box. The two thumb buttons are fine too; fairly tactile, well-placed, with a slightly rubbery finish. However, three small buttons on top are way too small, mushy and shallow. Moreover, the wheel, which is usually used more often than these extra buttons, is a disappointment... not because it lacks features of the four-direction hyperscroll wheel found on high-end Logitech mice. It just feels cheap; it's rubbery, but very narrow, loud when scrolling, and requires a deep press to click.

sensor
The sensor is Avago ADNS-3095 with 400/800/1800/3600 cpi steps. I didn't really test its performance though, because my pinkie hurt after only a few hours of use and then I didn't have enough time. It worked fine on my SS QcK/4HD.

software
AFAIK the mouse doesn't have an on-board memory for button remapping and stuff like that. Everything but sensitivity setting has to be done in software. I find this quite surprising, because cheaper G300 is better in this regard: it supports several on-board profiles. LGS is supported only on MS Windows and Apple OS X, I use neither, nor am I aware of any third party software other than universal system-wide remapping tools. Using LGS reportedly affects tracking and appears to be the only way to change e.g. polling rate, which defaults to 1 kHz.

conclusion
Try before you buy. The shape didn't work for me. YMMV. However, quality of the wheel and buttons on top, in addition to the lack of any on-board memory, was a huge disappointment for me, rendering the mouse barely usable.

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the1onewolf

31 Aug 2014, 08:57

Oh huh, you do the index finger on the left click, middle finger on the scroll and ring ringer on the right.
I know somebody who owns a G400 that also does that.

Max

31 Aug 2014, 16:57

the1onewolf wrote: Oh huh, you do the index finger on the left click, middle finger on the scroll and ring ringer on the right.
I know somebody who owns a G400 that also does that.
Yeah its super comfortable holding it that way, I'm using a MX518. Other mice I('ve) use(d) I use ring and pinkie on the left side to support the mouse when I lift it up. I think the MX500,510,518(v1,v2)G400, and 400s were made for that grip.

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Elrick

16 Nov 2014, 04:07

davkol wrote: Logitech G400 replaced the popular MX518 (and has been replaced by G400s relatively recently).

conclusion
Try before you buy. The shape didn't work for me. YMMV. However, quality of the wheel and buttons on top, in addition to the lack of any on-board memory, was a huge disappointment for me, rendering the mouse barely usable.
Don't forget this was their CHEAPEST version mouse for rudimentary gaming hence cutting out memory and some other features helped it to gain a rather large following out there.

No good to release a mouse with everything incorporated and selling it for close to $100USD and hope it gains wide acceptance, because it won't. Companies aren't stupid when it comes to investing their money into manufacturing ventures because I'm certain Logitech made a huge profit on the mx518 and G400's despite some lacking features 8-) .

davkol

16 Nov 2014, 22:17

You mean except G100 and G300...

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Elrick

17 Nov 2014, 01:03

davkol wrote: You mean except G100 and G300...
I thought the G400 (update to their earlier mx500 series) came out way before the G100 and G300 was even on their drawing board within their head office :D .

Price-wise I bought all my G400s for $15USD each, in a bulk package some time ago (extra stock from a business bankruptcy).

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cookie

17 Nov 2014, 10:06

The G400 is currently the only mouse from logitech I'd concider as usable!
I agree with you on the most points but honestly, why should a mouse have onboard memory? I highly appreciate products who take a step back and get the basics right :)

Unfortunately the shape don't work for me anymore :/

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CeeSA

17 Nov 2014, 10:14

@Elrick - unfortunately the G400S is not as good as the G400. Because of the different Sensor ROM w/ 4000dpi.
People notice a lot of smoothing....

davkol

17 Nov 2014, 12:33

cookie wrote: I agree with you on the most points but honestly, why should a mouse have onboard memory? I highly appreciate products who take a step back and get the basics right :)
Because reasons. :ugeek:
  • I use several computers running GNU/Linux or some older/obscure release of MS Windows, in addition to VMs and remote desktops.
  • My fingers are prone to getting RSI from clicking. Moreover, my right middle finger is slightly malformed, which makes wheel clicks very uncomfortable.
I usually remap one of the thumb buttons to wheel click (it's useful for pasting selected text in X.Org, and autoscroll in MS Windows, and obviously window/tab management everywhere). It's convenient to do remapping persistently and on the lowest possible level to avoid conflicts—especially if you use more pointing devices at the same time (like a trackball on the left, a Wacom tablet in the middle, and the mouse on the right).

Then there are plenty of rather minor, but nice adjustments, such as
  • persistent lower polling rate to avoid jitter at higher sensor resolution,
  • Roccat's EasyShift,
  • turning the lights off, if there are any. :evil:

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