Logitech's G600 is a gaming mouse that's been specially designed for MMORPGs (that's Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games if you're not down with gamer lingo). So you won't find any touch-control or wireless technology in this beast, but a 8200 dpi laser sensor and a total of 20 buttons, including a whopping 12 under the thumb. Will that be enough to tempt hardened players of World of Warcraft and other blockbusting MMO games? Let's take a look.
Design
With its matte finish (we reviewed the white model but it's also available in black), the G600 has a sober kind of design. The big advantage of this matte finish is that it helps keep sweaty palms at bay, which can only be a good thing. Design-wise, the G600 is nice to handle, even if a slightly longer body would have supported your wrist instead of letting it rest down on the desk. The feet give this mouse a light, airy glide but we found they tended to leave a few traces of black behind on our desk.
Before we take a look at the various buttons, we should probably point out that the G600's design and control layout make it only suitable for right-handed users.
As well as the traditional left and right buttons, the G600 has two buttons just in front of the scroll wheel, 12 thumb buttons, and one button where your ring finger falls. The scroll wheel is notched and can't be set to scroll freely, but it can be used for both horizontal and vertical scrolling. So, all in all, there are 20 buttons on offer in this mouse, and you can assign them various functions using the software supplied. Plus, using Logitech's "G-Shift" function via the button under your ring finger allows you to double functionality of the other buttons. Impressive stuff.
Logitech's G-Shift is similar to what Roccat calls Easyshift, and lets you assign several functions to the same button. It's a bit like having an "Alt" or "Shift" key on your mouse, in fact. For example, out of the box, the scroll wheel is set to control vertical scrolling, but when you press the G-Shift key, the scroll wheel can be used to zoom in and out of a page. With that taken into account, there are effectively 39 entirely configurable options on offer in the G600 (with an action or a macro).
The huge number of buttons can make handling feel a little complicated, and using the G600 can be somewhat daunting at first. In our first few games with this mouse, we found we kept mixing up the various buttons on the thumb pad, and had to keep stopping to have a quick look at the side of the mouse.
After using the G600 for about a week, we started getting used to it, and instinctively started to know which of the G9 to G14 buttons we were pressing without looking at the thumb pad. However, we found buttons G15 to G20 less practical to use—you have to pull your thumb quite far back to get the them, which isn't all that comfortable. Still, with the G-Shit function, keys G9 to G14 still effectively give you 12 programmable commands easily accessible under your thumb.
Gaming aside, this mouse also proved practical for things like photo editing, as you can set it up with all kinds of shortcuts and macros. Again, it does take a bit of getting used to. It's a bit like learning to type without looking at the keyboard—it seems complicated at first but soon you're doing it without even thinking about it.
Precision
Thanks to its 1000 Hz polling rate, the G600 is suitable for office computing (word processing, web browsing, etc.), as well as tasks that require higher levels of precision (games, web design, etc.).
The G600 reports its position to the computer once every millisecond. However, you'll need a computer that's powerful enough to handle the additional CPU use that this inevitably requires (between 30% and 40% depending on the type of movement). When using a computer with limited processing power (like a netbook or a low-power-use CPU) you may want to switch down to 500 Hz (in the driver) to keep things running smoothly.
Design
With its matte finish (we reviewed the white model but it's also available in black), the G600 has a sober kind of design. The big advantage of this matte finish is that it helps keep sweaty palms at bay, which can only be a good thing. Design-wise, the G600 is nice to handle, even if a slightly longer body would have supported your wrist instead of letting it rest down on the desk. The feet give this mouse a light, airy glide but we found they tended to leave a few traces of black behind on our desk.
Before we take a look at the various buttons, we should probably point out that the G600's design and control layout make it only suitable for right-handed users.
As well as the traditional left and right buttons, the G600 has two buttons just in front of the scroll wheel, 12 thumb buttons, and one button where your ring finger falls. The scroll wheel is notched and can't be set to scroll freely, but it can be used for both horizontal and vertical scrolling. So, all in all, there are 20 buttons on offer in this mouse, and you can assign them various functions using the software supplied. Plus, using Logitech's "G-Shift" function via the button under your ring finger allows you to double functionality of the other buttons. Impressive stuff.
Logitech G600 driver: yeah, ok, it's in French here, but you get the idea.
Logitech's G-Shift is similar to what Roccat calls Easyshift, and lets you assign several functions to the same button. It's a bit like having an "Alt" or "Shift" key on your mouse, in fact. For example, out of the box, the scroll wheel is set to control vertical scrolling, but when you press the G-Shift key, the scroll wheel can be used to zoom in and out of a page. With that taken into account, there are effectively 39 entirely configurable options on offer in the G600 (with an action or a macro).
The huge number of buttons can make handling feel a little complicated, and using the G600 can be somewhat daunting at first. In our first few games with this mouse, we found we kept mixing up the various buttons on the thumb pad, and had to keep stopping to have a quick look at the side of the mouse.
After using the G600 for about a week, we started getting used to it, and instinctively started to know which of the G9 to G14 buttons we were pressing without looking at the thumb pad. However, we found buttons G15 to G20 less practical to use—you have to pull your thumb quite far back to get the them, which isn't all that comfortable. Still, with the G-Shit function, keys G9 to G14 still effectively give you 12 programmable commands easily accessible under your thumb.
Gaming aside, this mouse also proved practical for things like photo editing, as you can set it up with all kinds of shortcuts and macros. Again, it does take a bit of getting used to. It's a bit like learning to type without looking at the keyboard—it seems complicated at first but soon you're doing it without even thinking about it.
Precision
Thanks to its 1000 Hz polling rate, the G600 is suitable for office computing (word processing, web browsing, etc.), as well as tasks that require higher levels of precision (games, web design, etc.).
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A gaming mouse needs a sensor that can track movements of at least 3 metres per second.
That's no problem at all for the G600!
The G600 reports its position to the computer once every millisecond. However, you'll need a computer that's powerful enough to handle the additional CPU use that this inevitably requires (between 30% and 40% depending on the type of movement). When using a computer with limited processing power (like a netbook or a low-power-use CPU) you may want to switch down to 500 Hz (in the driver) to keep things running smoothly.
Pros
- Design and handling
- Excellent glide
- Comprehensive driver software
- Precision sensor
- DPI can be adjusted on the fly
- G-Shift (two functions can be assigned to the same button)
- Three onboard memory profiles (you don't have to set up the mouse again when you change PC)
- 190 cm cord
Cons
- Buttons G15 to G20 (on the thumb pad) aren't very practical to use
- Relatively high CPU use in 1000 Hz mode
- Feet sometimes leave black marks on the desk
Conclusion
As well as being a fast, precise mouse, the Logitech G600 is comfortable to handle (if you're right-handed), gives smooth glide and comes with a comprehensive driver package. The design and handling are first rate. Although not all of the 20 buttons are that practical to use, the G-Shift function lets you set two different functions to those you find handiest.
OUR SCORE
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