Logitech G9 Laser Mouse

Due to the recent $30 rebate I decided to replace my aging G5 with a G9. Out of the box it definitely felt weird. It's a very wide mouse and it does not sit in the palm of hand like most regular mice. However, after adjusting to the new feeling I was pleased with the shape. It fits very well with a semi-claw grip. I would not, however, recommend this mouse for people with a very pronounced claw grip. The end of the mouse is too far away from the buttons to allow for this, and you would need to have the mouse all the way in the palm.The two grips included are also quite nice. The gaming one has the advantage that it is less likely to become slipper from sweat and also shows less of the oils. The regular one feels slightly nicer to touch and has the benefit that it keeps my thumb off of the surface which helps keep it more comfortable. It's too bad that Logitech did not do what they did with the G5 by creating a hybrid of these two grips. I wouldn't mind having the areas that are gripped more be the slip-resistant compound.The G9 is definitely rich in features. Unlike the early G5's, the G9 has both forwards and backwards buttons which help make day to day browsing/computing a lot nicer. The fast scrolling is also an absolute pleasure. I don't think I want to go back to regular 'click' scrolling for day-to-day use. The wheel stays spinning for a long time, so what used to be a lot of ratcheting to get to the bottom of the page (or a number of annoying scroll-bar clicks) is now two actions: a flick to get the wheel spinning and a stopping action once there. The mouse responds to these changes quickly too, so there is no need to worry about overshooting what you are looking for if you are alert. Only occasionally (and during games) is it necessary to switch back to a 'click' scrolling mode. The button for this is unfortunately in an annoying location, and for a while I needed to flip the mouse over to see where it is. Eventually I did manage to get used to where it is and now I can do it blind.As with the G5 the cord is very nice. By not being a rubber cord it does not get stuck like regular cords and slides with ease over most surfaces. This means that it is hard to jam it never gets stuck under the mouse.The sensor also seems to be a good one. As with the G5 it works on plenty of surfaces, including ones with small defects that optical mice simply can't deal with. As far as I can tell the DPI boost is not very relevant as in practice there really isn't any noticeable difference between 2000 and 3200 DPI. It's just nice to know that the mouse can handle high precision.The part where things take a turn for the worse is the DPI settings. Like predecessors, this mouse lets the user select from 5 user-set DPI sensitivities. That part is not at all a problem. A quick adjustment in the software and it is done. What does not work very well is the change of profiles. To change profiles (which has a new set of 5 DPI presets) another button on the bottom needs to be pushed while pushing the + and - buttons on the top. This is not exactly a simple motion and is the main reason I basically stick to one profile (which is enough anyways). I guess what does help is that the software can be set to automatically change profiles depending on what other programs are running, but setting this up is a total pain and requires a lot of patience. If you are considering buying this mouse for its multi-profile feature, you either need to have a lot of patience in setting everything up or you should keep on looking.For the rest the buttons have a nice feel and so far are not showing any weakening. They have a very definite click but are not very hard to push so you get a lot of feedback while still allowing for some fast and easy clicking. The feet on the bottom give a nice low resistance, although they do seem to wear out quick on rougher surfaces. I would recommend using this mouse primarily on smooth surfaces to help increase the lifetime of the product.Conclusion: Overall this mouse is a good mouse. I would recommend this to almost anyone as it is a nice product that has features useful to almost anyone. It also feels like a quality product, which at this price is always a nice thing to have. The only reason I can't give it 5 stars is that it has the trouble with the buttons on the bottom. If Logitech had just fit them somewhere else I think I would have given it the full 5.

Purchased through Amazon approx. 3 months ago. For newer FPS games works BEAUTIFULLY. Being able to switch dpi settings mid-game is an incredible feature I'm not sure how I survived without! Allows you to select up to 5 different settings ranging from 200dpi to 3200dpi. At 3200 dpi the cursor SCREAMS across the screen...not sure why you would purchase the 4000dpi+ models currently available: I haven't found much use for anything above 2500 dpi- while speed is great you can't sacrifice all of your control; However in Battlefield 1942 some of the tank turrets are so slow the 3000dpi setting is nice, the problem arises when you are being attacked and leap from the tank just before it blows apart- you don't really get the time to switch settings and there are 2 or 3 enemies standing on the ground waiting to pummel you - you're almost a sitting duck at high dpi setting b/c you spin around so quickly - I find the 2500dpi to give a satisfactory turret speed and quick ground response.Interesting feature I've not seen broadcasted: The dpi settings on the X axis (left/right) and Y axis (up/down) are able to be adjusted INDEPENDENTLY from each other! So you could have a dpi of 200 on the X axis and 3200 on the Y axis! (Why, you may ask? Don't ask...just know it can be done!) There is also a setting that lets you control both axis at the same time so that they are on equal settings.The microgear switch is on the bottom of the mouse. I don't find it any bother- mostly I leave it in the free-spin style and switch to "click" feature only when playing a game. Heard lots of complaints about the switch on the bottom...c'mon people, is it THAT difficult to turn the mouse over and push a little button once in a while???I like the weight tuning feature, I love the "precision" grip's rough moisture wicking skin, the braided cloth covering over the cord provides a touch of sophistication not seen on other computer mice and the color LED screen provides enough feedback to inform the user of profile settings and dpi setting selection.The LED screen is customizable...the colors are created from the green, red and blue LEDs and so when the LEDs combine to make various other colors you will sometimes see some "bleeding" of one of the primary LED colors through the window. For example, on some shades of purple you will see the blue bleeding through and so it will almost look like the top portion of your screen digits are blue with a fade to purple. Play with the different shades to minimize the effect. Not enough of a gripe to knock off a star.I won't touch on the profile settings, self-explanatory and enough said by other reviewers.The only complaint I have (if you can call it that) is that it is choppy on the menu of some of my old classics. On Mechwarrior3 you have to set it to a very low dpi setting to navigate the options menus and the menus where you customize your Mech. Once entering game play the mouse functions as smoothly as ever. Not quit sure why yet, but it only happens with the very old games. But that is akin to griping that a product designed exclusively for Windows Vista will not operate properly in Windows 95. Based on the age of the games this phenomenon occurs with and the games that are actually meant to be played with this mouse, I find it more impressive the mouse works at all. Considering the range of customization allowed on this mouse, it is probably a user error (i.e. MY fault). I should try turning down the USB report rate (another of the many features I have not touched upon in this review).Overall, a wonderful product. Some friends who are avid Razer users have declared they will purchase this mouse after giving mine a test-drive. Would I recommend this product to anyone? YES. Would I purchase this product again? YES. Will you regret purchasing this mouse over another brand/model? NO.A 5 star product.