My usual mouse these days is the
G700, the older, larger, heavier brother of the
G300. I am quite pleased with the
G700, which fits me a bit better, as I have large hands, but the
G300 has its own attractive features.
The optical sensor on the G300 is supposed to be "gaming-grade," so I tested the mouse's tracking on a variety of surfaces, including a cloth-covered mouse pad, a plastic-covered mouse pad, a wooden desktop, the rubber back of a mouse pad, the pants leg of my jeans, and even the glass of my computer monitor when it was turned on. All of the above worked just fine. In fact, the only thing I found that tripped it up a bit was using it on the (hairy) underside of my arm. So, if you find yourself gaming without a desk, take my advice: mouse on your pants leg - not your arm...
I'm a right-handed gamer, but left-handers can grab the G300 up and play with it just as easily, as the button layout has a mirrored symmetry around its long axis and all of the buttons are programmable. The downloadable profiler software allows you to map actions to the buttons in a number of ways, mapping your choice of single keystrokes, multiple keystroke sequences, a text block, media actions, Windows hotkeys, shortcuts, "functions" (which are basically some default program shortcuts, such as "Browser" and "Calculator") and even Ventrilo commands. Additionally, if you use the game detection option, the profiler software will auto-detect certain games and will provide a list of commands specific to that game. You can then use those commands quickly and easily when setting up your button actions. Each profile has three modes, which allows you to map different groups of customizable actions in each of the three modes. The LED lighting accents on the sides of the mouse can display seven different colors, and you can select a color for each mode to identify in which mode your G300 is currently set.
For example, I can set up three different modes under the Rift profile, using one with macros for fighting (let's set the color for that one to red). I can set up a second mode with some macros for traveling, such as one for running forward (using a toggle), something for using my Stealth, a macro to toggle off the U.I., take a snapshot and then toggle the U.I. back on and easy access to the Quest log and map, perhaps... and we can mark that with green. And the third... I don't know... use your imagination. The point is, you can have up to 27 different actions (well, I'd suggest 24 and leave one button for swapping modes) in three groups of 9 actions. That's a lot of customization at your fingertips. Still not enough? Okay, then use the advanced setting to select a hot key, and you'll be able to swap between multiple profiles for a single game on the fly. And, if an infinite number of configurations doesn't cover it, nothing can help you.
Another great aspect of the G300 is that these profiles and modes can be saved on the mouse, itself, making them easily portable when you play your favorite games on other computers.
