Logitech Gaming Mouse G300 Score: 95% Developer: Logitech Device Type: Controller

Function: Gamers have certain needs when it comes to a mouse... especially if they play games from multiple genres. FPS players need a way to quickly drop their DPI, so they can take careful aim for some shots. This isn't needed for most MMO games; however, MMO gamers might need to hit (CTRL) or (ALT) frequently and it would be nice to be able to do that with the mouse, so you don't have to take your hand off the mouse or do some strange hand-contortions to hit your key combination with your "keyboard" hand. Logitech's Gaming Mouse G300 is designed around sets of needs for MMO gaming, FPS gaming and typical Windows productivity, and allows you to quickly swap between three different modes that are tailored for these activities, respectively.

Performance: 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.

Features: 3 Default Profiles: MMO, FPS and Productivity Customizable Profile Indicator Accent Lighting DPI Setting Options: 500 DPI, 1000 DPI, 1500 DPI and 2500 DPI On-The-Fly DPI Drop for Aiming (In FPS Mode) Common Shortcut Key Actions (In Productivity Mode) Reflective Symmetrical Design for Right/Left-Handed Use 9 Programmable Buttons Plug and Play - No Software Required Free Downloadable Software For Advanced Customization

Drawbacks & Problems:: I love the flexibility of the programmable buttons, but I will caution the reader on one thing; be aware of the behavior to expect when creating lengthy multi-key macros and using the repeat feature. There are three options for repeat on your macros: Do not repeat, Repeat while holding down the button and Toggle on and off. With short macros, this works as you would expect, but with long macros, you have to keep in mind that letting go of the button or toggling off the button won't stop the macro already in progress. The repeat feature only determines whether to start over again when it reaches the end of your macro. Any playback of your macro that has already started will continue until it completes and will then stop if you have deactivated the repeat for that macro (by releasing the button or toggling it off). If you forget this, you're likely to toggle it on and off several times, to the point you're not sure what state it's in. If you have a macro that you've told to stop repeating (or that you've lost track of whether or not it's still set to repeat, but you want it to stop), then you can force it to stop by using the "Change Mode" button to cycle through your modes in the current profile or the hot-key to change to a different profile. Moving off of the current mode will stop any macros currently in progress. I typically hit the change mode button three times to cycle back to the same mode and that will kill the macro already in progress. The colored accent strips are a nice touch, whether you use them to indicate what profile you're on or simply to customize your G300 to the color(s) of your choice. It seems, however, that there should be more color options. You have eight settings to choose from, where one of those settings is "no illumination," so, effectively, black. The others are: purple, red, light blue, green, blue, white and yellow. However, it's worth mentioning that the white has a light bluish tint to it and the yellow does, as well, casting a more of a yellow-green shade. Mind you, these aren't unpleasant colors; it's merely that the colors in the software aren't all as representational of the actual color as I would have expected. I was also a bit surprised that there wasn't a mix-your-own-color feature, but as of this writing, it appears you're limited to the seven default colors. I may have larger-than-average hands, but I found the G300 to be a bit small for my tastes. My current mouse is the Logitech G700, which is a bit larger and heavier. When I use the G700, I tend to support the weight of my hand with the back of the mouse. This is comfortable and my wrist is barely in contact with the desk. With the G300, my wrist rests on the desktop, and I find that I move the mouse more with my fingers, keeping my wrist stationary unless I have to make large sweeping moves. This is similar to the feeling of using a small, portable laptop mouse, but not nearly so extreme. If you have a smaller hand than I do (most do) or you're looking for a more portable gaming mouse, the G300 has a lot to offer, in a nice, compact package.

-Geck0, GameVortex Communications AKA Robert Perkins

Minimum System Requirements: Windows XP/Vista/7, USB port, Internet connection for optional software download   Test System: MS Windows XP Home Edition, AMD Dual-Core, 3.11 GHz, 2 GB RAM, Award Modular BIOS v6.00PG, Gateway HD2201 21" HDMI Monitor, Sony SDM-HS73 Monitor, ATI Radeon HD 2400 (256 MB) , A30 Gaming Headset, Realtek HD Audio, Creative SB X-Fi, 1.5 TB Western Digital Caviar Green SATA Hard Drive, Sony DVD RW, Cable Modem, Logitech Wireless Gaming Mouse G300

Related Links: G300 Product Page on Logitech's Website Buy the G300 at Amazon Game Vortex's Review of the G700