Apr. 26, 2017 — Logitech (SIX: LOGN) (NASDAQ: LOGI) today announced the Logitech G Pro Gaming Mouse (Amazon | Lazada).
The Logitech G Pro Gaming Mouse
Designed for eSports athletes, this new gaming mouse features Logitech’s most accurate optical gaming sensor, a metal spring button tensioning system, onboard memory for driver-free operation on tournament systems, and a comfortable, durable yet lightweight design.
The Logitech G Pro Gaming Mouse (Amazon | Lazada) builds on the heritage and global popularity of the Logitech G100s shape with top competitive eSports professionals, and combines it with the incredible speed, accuracy and responsiveness of the G303.
Advanced Optical Gaming Sensor
Consistent, pixel-precise accuracy makes a critical difference in high-stakes competitive gameplay. The PMW3366 sensor delivers a level of precision widely considered to be the best by enthusiasts and professionals alike. With zero smoothing, filtering or acceleration across the entire DPI range (200-12,000 DPI), it provides exceptional tracking accuracy and consistent responsiveness at any speed.
Metal Spring Button Tensioning System
The metal spring button tensioning system in the Logitech G Pro Gaming Mouse (Amazon | Lazada) enhances the consistency of the left and right mouse buttons and reduces the force required to click. This helps deliver crisp, reliable click performance for your highest level of competition.
Comfortable, Durable and Lightweight Design
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The Logitech G Pro Gaming Mouse (Amazon | Lazada) is the culmination of more than 30 years of engineering and manufacturing experience. The mouse is optimized to reduce weight to improve comfort, stability and responsiveness. Every aspect of the engineering has been rigorously tested to make sure it can stand up to even the most intense gaming.
The top surface of the Logitech G Pro Gaming Mouse (Amazon | Lazada) is treated with a special coating to improve durability and grip, and the left and right buttons are tested to exceed 20 million clicks – the equivalent of a pro gamer training 10 hours every day for two years.
Onboard Memory for Driver-free Operation on Tournament Systems
Because you can’t always guarantee the tournament machine will have your configuration software available, or even that it’s allowed to be installed, the Logitech G Pro Gaming Mouse (Amazon | Lazada) lets you save your exact DPI settings, button assignments, and lighting configuration to the onboard memory in the mouse, all using the Logitech Gaming Software (LGS), so you’ll never have to worry about whether your setup is right.
Pricing and Availability
The Logitech G Pro Gaming Mouse (Amazon | Lazada) is expected to be available in Malaysia by mid-April 2017 for a suggested retail price of RM329 (inclusive of GST) / ~US$74.
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Logitech is a Swiss company with a long history of producing some of the best accessories for the PC. They started with the computer mouse, and naturally diversified into keyboards, webcams and speakers. Today, we will take a look at the Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum gaming mouse.
Updated @ 2017-01-15 :Corrected references to 6 weights. There are only 5 weights. Updated other aspects of the review.
Unboxing The Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum
The Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum comes in a very nice cardboard box with full colour printing. You will find its key performance characteristics listed on the right side of the box, and its contents and requirements on the left side. The back of the box has a nice top view of the G502 Proteus Spectrum together with its key features.
Join us as we unbox the Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum in this video. Please ignore the typo about six metal weights. There are only five weights.
Once you unpack everything, you will find the following items :
One Logitech G502 tuning weight case with 5 weights (3.6 g each) inside (please ignore the typo in the video above)
One Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum manual
One Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum Safety Compliance and Warranty leaflet
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The Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum
The Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum is a rather large mouse, designed for right-handed users with large hands. It feels comfortable even in my smaller hand. However, one of the side buttons was out of reach. More on this later.
It has a nice curved thumb rest which doubles as a latch for the weight-tuning system (we have special section on this later in the review), and a full body for proper palm support. This may not matter though if you prefer the finger grip style of holding the mouse.
In case you are wondering, it is only available in one colour – black. The top surfaces are all matte-finished to prevent unsightly fingerprint smears. It also has textured rubber strips on both sides for better grip.
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PMW3366 IR Sensor
The Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum mouse uses an IR sensor, instead of a laser sensor. This may seem like a downgrade but professional gamers will tell you – IR sensors actually deliver better precision and sensitivity than laser sensors, especially on textured surfaces.
The Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum uses the much-vaunted PMW3366 IR sensor, which supports resolutions from 200 DPI all the way to 12,000 DPI. But ignore that upper number – no one will actually use that. What’s really important about this sensor is its precision and sensitivity.
In those aspects, the PMW3366 optical sensor really rocks – it was both sensitive and precise. Sensitivity is critical in gaming because you want your every move to register, even the slightest move. Precision is also important because you want your move to be precisely tracked so that it registers exactly in the game, or application you are using.
That said, please note that the PMW3366 sensor will not work with glass or highly glossy surfaces, unlike the Logitech MX Anywhere 2‘s Darkfield laser sensor. This isn’t really a problem because you can easily “fix” it with a proper mouse pad, or even a piece of paper.
Scroll Wheel & Buttons
Although Logitech claims that the Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum has 11 programmable buttons, there are really just 9 programmable buttons. To make it a little more confusing, there are actually 10 buttons on this mouse, but one isn’t programmable while the scroll wheel can be programmed for 3 functions. That’s how you get 11 programmable “buttons” – 8 physical buttons that are programmable + 1 scroll wheel that can be programmed for 3 different functions.
Button
Default Setting
Button
Default Setting
1
Left Click
6
Back
2
DPI Up
7
Right Click
3
DPI Down
8
Left Scroll, Middle Click, Right Scroll
4
DPI Shift
9
Scroll Mode Switch
5
Forward
10
Profile Switch
Pressing on the Scroll Mode Switch (Button #8) switches the scroll wheel between these two modes :
a “hyperfast scrolling mode” – smooth and quiet scrolling but lacks tactile feedback, and
a “click-to-click scrolling mode” – the typical ratcheted mode which precise but “noisy”.
We found the scroll wheel to be too loose in the hyperfast scrolling mode. A flick will send the screen scrolling far beyond what we would expect. The ratcheted mode is far better. The only downside – it is quite noisy if you scroll rapidly.
Note that smaller hands may find it hard to reach the DPI Shift button (#4).
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Glide Performance & Stability
The Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum is supported by four asymmetric pads of what appears to be UHMWPE (Ultra high molecular weight polyethylene), also known as UPE.
The traditional PTFE (commonly known by its trade name of Teflon) is slicker and gives a smoother glide, but is also more expensive and less durable. It is also hard to differentiate the gliding performance of UPE against PTFE. So we are not surprised to see UPE being used in the Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum.
What’s more important to us is the stability of the Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum. We are glad to report that it was very stable. Nothing irritates us more than a mouse that “rocks”. It’s pointless for a mouse to use PTFE feet for a smoother glide if it’s so unstable that it rocks as you move it.
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Weight Tuning System
The Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum has an all-plastic chassis and weighs just 121 grams / 4.3 ounces (without the cable). That might be too light for some gamers, so Logitech included a weight tuning system. This comprises of a plastic case with 5 metal weights and a weight tuning chamber hidden inside the G502 Proteus Spectrum.
Watch this video to see how the Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum‘s weight tuning system works. Please ignore the typo about 6 weights. There are only 5 weights.
Each metal weight weighs 3.6 grams (0.13 ounces), so you can adjust the weight of the Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum by up to 18 grams / 0.65 ounces (15%). The hexagonal design of the weight tuning system is quite clever, allowing Logitech to arrange them around the sensor, in a simple chamber covered by a single magnetically-locked cover.
USB Cable
The Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum uses a USB cable, instead of a wireless connection. The USB cable is 183 cm (6 feet) long, which is fantastic for desktops but a handful for laptops. The USB cable is braided for strength and durability. The cable joint is also protected by a hard plastic sleeve and the two main mouse buttons.
The USB cable allows the G502 Proteus Spectrum to achieve a higher polling rate of 1,000 Hz. Wireless mice, on other hand, maxes out at 500 Hz. That is a difference of response time of 1 ms vs. 2 ms. Of course, whether you can really tell the difference in real world usage is another matter.
What will really matter a lot is the fact that a USB connection will never suffer from interference, which can happen to wireless mice, due to nearby USB drives or other wireless devices.
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Logitech Gaming Software
The Logitech Gaming Software is not necessary to use the Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum. However, it is highly recommended because it allows you to make full use of the G502 Proteus Spectrum‘s built-in features.
In the Home section, you get to switch between using the 3 profiles stored in the mouse’s onboard memory, or the profiles Logitech created for different games. Enabling Automatic Game Detection will allow you to scan for games in your computer, and assign preset profiles to use with the G502 Proteus Spectrum.
The profiles offer a variety of customisation options. You can change the functions of the 8 programmable buttons, adjust the DPI sensitivity levels, polling rate and even the colour of the RGB lights using up to 3 profiles.
Finally, the Logitech Gaming Software comes with a “recording feature” which they call Input Analysis. Basically, it allows you to log your key presses so you can find out which keys / buttons you pressed the most or longest during a gaming session.
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Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum Specifications
Specifications
Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum
Processor
32-bit ARM processor
Profiles
3 On-board Profiles
Sensor
Logitech PMW3366 optical sensor
Resolution : 200 to 12,000 DPI in 50 DPI steps
User Settings : Up to 5 sensitivity levels can be preset
Max. Acceleration : > 40 G
Max. Speed : > 300 ips
Buttons
Two main buttons
Two top buttons
Five side buttons
One scroll wheel (doubles as a button)
USB Responsiveness
Data Format : 16 bits / axis
Report Rate : 1000 Hz (1 ms)
Glide Performance
Dynamic coefficient of friction : 0.10 μ (k)
Static coefficient of friction : 0.15 μ (s)
* Tested on wood-veneer surface.
Weight Tuning System
Five 3.6 g metal weights, allows for up to 18 g of additional weight
Durability
Main left and right buttons : 20 million clicks
Mouse feet : 250 kilometers
Size
Height: 5.2 in (132 mm)
Width: 2.95 in (75 mm)
Depth: 1.57 in (40 mm)
Weight
Weight: 5.9 oz, mouse plus cable (168 g)
Weight: 4.3 oz, mouse only (121 g)
Additional Features
Customisable RGB lighting
3 DPI indicators
Mechanical microswitches
Braided cable with hook and loop cable tie
Rubber grips
Dual-mode scroll wheel
Our Verdict
The Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum was designed with one goal in mind – desktop gaming. It is a full-sized mouse that offers a lot of palm support, and comes a nice braided USB cable that is 6 feet long. The PMW3366 IR sensor it uses cannot handle glass or glossy surfaces, but on regular desktop surfaces, it is precise and sensitive.
It also offers a ton of customisation features. You can customise the 9 programmable buttons for 11 functions, or the built-in LED lighting that supports up to 16.8 million colours. And like many gaming mice, you can change its sensitivity and polling speeds.
The Logitech Gaming Software it comes with is essential to accessing all those customisation features. It also allows you to fine-tune the Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum for different table or mouse pad surfaces. Everything you need to adjust the mouse to your exacting needs.
Some may gripe about its plastic build but it doesn’t rattle or creak. In fact, it feels really solid and more importantly – stable. Gamers who find the G502 Proteus Spectrum a little on the light side can use its weight tuning system to beef it up a bit.
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We are not sure how popular RGB LED illumination is to you, but those who enjoy showing off their gaming PCs will love the fact that it allows them to choose from up to 16.8 million colours. Even better, they can sync the light and colour patterns with other Logitech G devices.
The Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum also comes with a scroll wheel that not only supports vertical and horizontal scrolling, but can also switch between ratcheted and smooth scrolling modes. Just press the small button next to the scroll wheel to switch modes – it can’t be any faster or simpler than that! Unfortunately, the scroll wheel had too much inertia in its smooth scrolling mode, and was quite noisy in its ratcheted mode.
Other than the fact that smaller hands may find it hard to reach the DPI Shift button, we really enjoyed gaming with the Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum. It is therefore our pleasure to award it with our Reviewer’s Choice Award. Congratulations, Logitech!
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