If, like us, you have found wireless mice to be hit and miss in the past then read on to see why the G900 from Logitech could be the gaming mouse you have been waiting for. It isn’t cheap but awesomeness rarely is.
Logitech is one of the most prominent peripheral brands, making keyboards, mice and headsets to suit every purpose and budget. At the upper end of the scale in terms of budget and function sits the G900 Chaos Spectrum gaming mouse. As ‘Spectrum’ in the name suggests, it has RGB LEDs that can tie into your setup if you also have other Logitech ‘Spectrum’ series products. The mouse itself is about as good as it gets technically – when we worked our way through the features and gamed heavily on it, it was impossible to fault the flagship mouse from Logitech. One thing to note, as with all mice, is that the shape is an extremely personal and subjective element – we will cover this off but for the most part of the review, we have reduced the weighting of that element.
The things I always worry about with wireless peripherals are battery life, recharge time, connection problems (re-pairing), and latency or general responsiveness. The G900 Chaos Spectrum would appear to be the perfect answer to these concerns.
The Chaos Spectrum doesn’t just carry the Logitech ‘G’ series badge, it leads their gaming mice line up. The wireless connection operates at 2.4 GHz with a 1 millisecond report rate that we validated with Mouserate. The sensor is optical as opposed to laser, using the highly praised PMW3366 sensor with a DPI range of 200-12,000 DPI. The mouse wheel operates in 2 modes, normal ratchet/click as your turn or hyperscroll that allows for unrestricted spinning/scrolling. The rubber grip on the mouse wheel feels great and really adds to the control when using it as hyperscroll. It’s also worth noting that the G900 wheel has tilt or side scrolling actuation. There are 11 programmable buttons in total with intuitive software to help configure anything from the most basic keystroke to a complex macro.
The design of the mouse is ambidextrous and you can have thumb buttons fitted for the left, or right, or even both if you want to. The orientation is controlled by the Logitech Gaming software. This means that the G900 Chaos Spectrum is symmetrical and not curved or moulded for a right hander – the shape is probably less natural to a right hander than something like the older G5 design but we found it to be well proportioned and easy to adapt to. My personal grip type is in between a fingertip and palm style (probably because I use so many different mice that my hand gets confused), but I found the design to be one of the more neutral that I can recall testing. The grip, combined with the sensor provide a very accurate experience and I noticed that my aim in the both the COD: Advanced Warfare shooting range and the Division range were both immediately on the money.
The RGB lighting as per the ‘Spectrum’ branding is capable of lighting up 2 zones with up to 16.8 million different colours. There are also different effects and you can link the G900 to other Logitech ‘Spectrum’ peripherals via the software to customise your look.
The weight is pretty light for something with a battery inside at only 107g. The battery life is rated for a continuous 32 hours with lighting off or 24 hours of continuous gaming with the lighting on. The software tells you when you are getting low on battery power so that you can charge it up via the included USB cable. over the 5 month testing period, we did not detect any degradation in the battery performance – the depletion rate appeared to be consistent as did the recharge time required.
The left and right buttons have very little travel distance and well balanced actuation force which results in better immersion and a sense of high responsiveness.
Specifications
PART NUMBER: 910-004609
WARRANTY INFORMATION : 2-Year Limited Hardware Warranty
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
- Windows® 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7
- Powered USB port
- Internet connection for optional software download
PACKAGE CONTENTS
- Mouse
- Charging/data cable
- Wireless USB adapter
- Cable adapter
- Accessories case
- Side button caps (2x left, 2x right)
- Side button covers (left, right)
- User documentation
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION
- Tracking
- Resolution: 200 – 12,000 dpi
- Max. acceleration: >40G*
- Max. speed: >300 ips*
- * Tested on Logitech G240 Gaming Mouse Pad
- Responsiveness
- USB data format: 16 bits/axis
- USB report rate: 1000 Hz (1ms)
- Wireless report rate: 1000Hz (1ms)
- Wireless technology: Custom 2.4GHz
- Microprocessor: 32-bit ARM
- Glide
- Dynamic coefficient of friction:* 0.11 μ (k)*
- Static coefficient of friction:* 0.17 μ (s)*
- *Tested on wood-veneer desktop
- Durability
- Buttons (Left / Right): 20 million clicks
- Feet: 250 kilometers
- Battery Life
- Default lighting: 24 hours
- No lighting: 32 hours
MOUSE SPECIFICATIONS
- Connection Type: Wired/Wireless
- USB Protocol: USB 2.0
- DPI (Min/Max): 200-12,000
- USB Report Rate: 1ms
- Sensor: PMW3366
- Indicator Lights (LED): Yes, RGB
- Buttons: 6-11
- Other Features:
- Hyperfast scroll wheel
- on-the-fly DPS adjustment
- up to 5 onboard profiles
- Physical specifications
- Height: 130 mm (5.12 in)
- Width: 67 mm (2.64 in)
- Depth: 40 mm (1.57 in)
- Weight: 107 g (3.80 oz ) mouse only
- Cable Length (Power/Charging): 1.83 M (6 ft)
