Summary: RIP MX Revolution...Long Live G700
My MX Revolution finally bit the dust. I had been using it for 3-4 years and I finally wore out the buttons.
I bought and tried the Razer Mamba, but I didn't like the charging cable, iffy electronics and poor battery life. If the Mamba was left plugged in all the time, it would be great. That's a bad thing to say about a $150 (CDN) cordless mouse.
I returned it and picked up a G700 for $99. It has the same sensitivity as the mamba, and the same polling rate. The shape is very similar to the Revolution as is the weight. Where the Revolution had two buttons and a rocker wheel on the thumb side, the G700 has four buttons. They are stacked in two sets of two over top of each other. This may take some getting used to. The scroll wheel still has the free movement ability as well as the ratcheting ability but you have to toggle between them by pressing a button immediately behind the wheel. Personally I preferred the acceleration detection and scroll wheel button activation on the MX revolution. A simple flick of the finger would activate the free moving wheel. The mouse wheel also has the left/right rocker switches I've gotten so used to. The G700 has another (2nd) button right behind the scroll wheel that is programmable. On the left side of the Left Mouse Button is a set of three buttons one behind the other. The two forward buttons are set up for changing the DPI on the fly (up and down). The third button is programmable (actually all the buttons are programmable). There are three LEDs on the left side of the mouse that serve two purposes. If you set up a button for "check battery" the lights will display how much charge is left in the mouse. If you change the DPI using the DPI buttons, the LEDs will indicate which DPI level you are currently at.
The Setpoint software has been changed, and now includes macros and profiles (as most gaming mice do now).
Charging is done by using a mini USB cable, and the mouse can be used during charging. Logitech has done away with the charging cradle however, something I will miss as I got used to leaving my mouse in the cradle whenever it was not being used.
So, I give this mouse high marks for it's higher resolution and polling speeds, as well as a solid build and more buttons. I liked the rocker wheel on the Revolution, but its place has been filled by the extra two thumb buttons. The scroll wheel is actually a step backwards in my opinion, however I understand a lot of people were complaining the Revolution was hard to activate the scroll wheel functions (I never had a problem with it myself). At least the free movement option is still there. I think the new sensitivity and polling speeds, along with the ability to change DPI on the fly and charge the battery during use balance out the loss of the Uber Scroll Wheel from the revolution, and the charging dock (I liked it).
I can honestly say this mouse is close to the same as the Revolution. I have not yet had the opportunity to see how long the battery lasts. I will edit this review when I do.
Updated on Dec 5, 2010
After using this mouse for a weekend I will be returning it. Just like the Razer Mamba, this mouse has a very short battery life. About 5 hours under heavy use. This is not good enough for a gaming mouse. At least with the Logitech you can use a standard NiMH battery, so when your battery starts to die you can pop in another. Still, considering the MX revolution lasted about 3 days on a charge and my old 3-4 year old Revolution still lasts two days, this mouse (and the Mamba) are a real step backwards for wireless mice. I will be trying the Microsoft Sidewinder X8 on Monday. CNET and MS claim the battery will last 30 hours. We'll see. Given that two of the "best" wireless gaming mice only had a 5 hour battery life if the X8 is no better then I cannot recommend any wireless mice for gamers unless they can dig up a Logitech Revolution. Of course you can always plug in the wire, but then what's the point of paying extra for a wireless mouse?
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