Hardware

Introduction

The world of high-end gaming mice is one populated by a few notable competitors offering incredibly precise controllers, designed expressly for the hardware gamer. This discerning market frowns on a wireless connection, preferring to trust its gaming livelihood to a pure wired, high bandwidth connection, with no potential lag or interference. Logitech was once the king of this market niche, as their MX 518 Gaming-Grade and G5 Laser models were the cream of the crop. Since then, Logitech has favored wireless models, but their latest G9 Laser Mouse looks to change that, and put Logitech back on top.

The Logitech G9 Laser Mouse

The G9 Laser Mouse is kind of a departure for Logitech, as it dispenses with the usual smooth, rounded shape in favor of a more blocky design. Many online users have referred to this as a tank-like SUV compared to the more sports car-oriented models like the G7 Cordless Laser and G5 Laser models, and they would not be far off. But just as the SUV is one of the fastest-growing markets, so too does the G9 Laser Mouse have it fans.

The basic design of the Logitech G9 Laser Mouse is modular, with the base unit augmented with an interchangeable outer grip. The G9 includes two top-mounted buttons, along with a scroll-wheel + button, or the standard format of any mouse produced this century. There are two thumb buttons, both of which are integrated into the grips, and activate recessed buttons on the G9 base. The G9 Laser Mouse adds in a top-mounted pair of "=/-" DPI sensitivity switching buttons, and bottom-mounted profile and MicroGear buttons. It also features onboard memory to store up to 5 custom profiles to hardware, for use on any PC.

The G9 is a serious gaming mouse, and as such, is a wired model, with full-speed USB for up to 1000 reports/second. It is powered by a high-performance, 3200 DPI Gaming-Grade laser engine, which is a significant increase from even the Logitech G7 (2000 DPI) and MX 518 (1800 DPI) mice, and well ahead of the 800 DPI offered by the MX Revolution. This laser engine provides image processing of 6.4 megapixels/second and a maximum speed of 45–65 inches/second. The DPI settings are hardware adjustable from 200 and 3200 DPI, via a top-mounted switch, and can be monitored with the LED display.

The G9 Laser Mouse includes two interchangeable grips, the Wide Load and Precision models, and can only be used with one or the other. The Wide Load grip is the larger of the two, with an extended thumb rest and smooth, satin finish. The Precision grip is thinner and features a rougher exterior, using DryGrip technology.

These grips easily click into place, and are disengaged using a back-mounted switch. Both grips feature integrated thumb buttons, and these are the same size and design for each of the grips. Logitech has stated that additional grips will be made available for sale, but so far, there has been no further news.

Like other high-end Logitech gaming mice, the G9 Laser Mouse features adjustable weighting. This is accomplished using the integrated, spring-loaded weight cartridge, which is recessed into the back of the unit. Using the included weights (4x 4g and 4x 7g), you can load up to four units into the cartridge. This allows each user to add some heft to the G9 Laser Mouse, up to a maximum of 28g, or even leave it as is. The only potential flaw is that you need to remove the outer grip to access the cartridge.

The default weight of the G9 Laser Mouse is 88g for the base, and this increases to 115g and 120g when integrated with the Precision and Wide Load grips, respectively. As this mouse doesn't require a battery, it is lighter than wireless models, such as the Logitech MX1000 and MX Revolution at 150g, or the Microsoft Natural Wireless Laser Mouse 6000 at 175g. On the other hand, the G9 is a bit heavier than 100g weight of the Razer DeathAdder.

Other design features include Polytetrafluoroethylene mouse feet, with two large rounded ones mounted on the top and bottom of the base unit, and another on the thumb of the grip. The USB cable is approximately 6.5 feet long and features a high-end, braided covering that helps keep the cord straight, as well as being durable enough to protect it from damage. Of course, this also means it's not quite as flexible as a standard plastic cord, but that's the tradeoff. The G9 also uses Logitech's MicroGear Precision scroll wheel, which can switch between click-to-click scrolling and frictionless, hyper-fast scrolling at a touch of a (bottom-mounted) button, and supports horizontal scrolling.