Petre I.
Logitech G306
I have been using a G Pro wired for the last 3 years followed by both a black and a white G305 on a desktop and a laptop for the last year. This review is about what I’d like to see in an updated version of the G305 mouse. I really hope that there will be an update because despite various points I will discuss below, it is the best mouse that I have used both in terms of performance and shape. The devil is in the details, and since most of the good design considerations that lead to better mice for us, the consumers are now well established and understood it is more important than ever to really pay attention to the details.1. Sensor: Bad sensors in gaming mice have become a thing of the past. Sadly this is not true for mice in general, but hopefully soon the “non-gaming” mice will catch on. More on this below. It is important to remember that laser sensors at one point almost took over. Market pressures and advertising every so often can lead to bad decisions.2. Connection: With the introduction of G305, wireless has become a viable option. I use my G305 with an AA to AAA adapter and a rechargeable AAA battery to reduce weight. My estimation is that I get about 400 hours on a fully charged AAA battery having set the mouse on HI Performance, 1000Hz. This is more than enough, and I think a very good option for both desktop and laptop use, having the ability to easily change rechargeable batteries a few times a year. This is an important accomplishment in the world of computer mice in general, as it should put more pressure on non-gaming mice and their sensors, which currently it hasn’t. Another great option introduced by Logitech is the charging pad, especially for a desktop. A battery whether integrated or replaceable will always add some weight compared to a wired mouse, but having no cable (no matter how flexible) has its own advantages. In order to reduce even more weight what I would really like to see in the future is the use of one AAA battery instead of AA (an adapter has its own weight) and rechargeable mice with a POWERCORE module integrated into the body, rather than requiring an add-on piece. A further reduction in weight might be possible by even removing the charging port, so it would be strictly designed for the recharging pad.3. Weight: G305 is light in weight, especially with an AAA battery, just under 90g, but it can be even lighter with a more aggressive design. Of course punched holes in the shell are not necessary and even not ideal as stronger and lighter thin shell is possible with a well designed construction. Although it is a marketing strategy, it reveals that consumers are not scared of seeing electronic components. It might be a useful thing to keep in mind when designing mice with replaceable batteries in order to reduce unneeded plastic used around battery compartments.4. Shape: I am a fingertip grip user. My hand is slightly over 7 inches from the end of my wrist to the tip of my middle finger. I probably have smaller than average hand for a guy, but likely about average overall. I really like the shape and size of G305 as well as the placement of its buttons and the texture of the plastic. It is not perfect, but it comes the closest compared to many gaming mice I’ve tried or used over the years. I do think that there is a small room for improvement, which I am showing in the image that I have included, but any changes made to the shape need to be handled with restraint. The only two areas of improvement that I see is making the mouse slightly wider with more ergonomic curves designed for right hand use only (with a separate left hand version).5. Buttons: I really like the number of buttons on G305 as well as their placement and mechanism. The mechanism for the two main buttons in particular is a great design which has been used by many of the top Logitech mice for years now, but it does lower the tension which makes the buttons too sensitive. My favorite buttons on a mouse were from Logitech G9x, and although great I wish the main buttons on G305 had the same mechanism as the ones on G9x. Additionally, there is a flaw and an obvious overlook during quality control in the design of G305’s two side buttons. The small PCB onto which the side switches are mounted is either thinner than originally intended, or ended up not quite in the right place, allowing a small gap between the plunger of the switches and the plastic buttons, making it necessary to press the buttons much deeper than they need to be in order to actuate the switches. I was able to fix the issue, but not without opening the mouse.6. Switches: This is an area that is long overdue for an overhaul. I’m not sure which company first started the trend many years ago of publishing the durability of their switches in number of clicks (10, 20, 30, 40 million), but sadly we have all fallen into a trap set by marketing pressures. Omron, the company that manufactures the switches do sell retail Omron switches with a branding on them Omron Japan, but not rated for this high number of clicks. Apparently some time ago mouse manufacturers decided to start using non-retail switches from Omron, likely at lower prices, which they then tested in-house and assigned the 20 million clicks that their marketing department made us think we need to have in our mice. The only problem being is that those non-retail switches are actually more often than not lower quality than their retail versions and the 20 million clicks rating being absolutely meaningless as it doesn’t represent real life variable pressure usage over time. When once the buttons of a regular mouse that came with an old PC might last for 10 years now might only last a few months before a “20 million” switch starts to misbehave. In case somebody is wondering, Omron D2F-01F for the primary buttons and Omron D2F-01 for the secondary buttons is what we need to have back in our mice. The F version has about half the actuation force, which is great for instant response and effortless repeated clicks, while the other version gives better tactility.7. Scroll wheel: It seems that for the most part a good design has become a standard among gaming mice. This means no side tilt, no free-spin, and step scrolling with just the right amount of force and feedback. Before buying G Pro I used G303 for about a year and a half. I can see a very clear evolution in the mechanism and encoders being used between G303, G Pro wired and G305. G303 had a fantastic scroll wheel with the only flaw being prone to debris interfering with the encoder sensor. G Pro wired used an encoder that becomes too loose, while G305 is pretty much perfect. There is room for improvement, however. The rubber ridges on the wheel of the G305 are unnecessarily small and pronounced, feeling unpleasantly sharp. The rubber texture of the G903 is a good example of a perfect rubber ring for a scroll wheel. The other area that can be improved is the middle button, and more specifically its switch. The mechanism of the wheel in G305 looks great and will likely allow the middle button to actuate with the same amount of force and give the same feedback as the other secondary buttons, but the switch needs to be Omron D2F-01. Currently the small switch that’s used is fine, but there are mice with Omron sized switches in the middle button and it is definitely an improvement.8. Software: G HUB needs refinement. This has always been a strong point for Logitech, and their software continues to be great both in terms of functionality and stability, but their new interface needs to be simplified for ease of use.9. Feet: The original feet are fine, but I didn’t use the mouse with them very long as I had to remove them in order to open the mouse to fix or change some of the parts as discussed above. Unfortunately Logitech still does not sell spare mouse feet for this mouse. This might be due to the fact that for some reason they decided to make one of them very small and with a different thickness than the other four mouse feet. Can we please have all mouse feet the same thickness, not have too many and too small, and not have them cover the screw holes?This would have to be it for now. As always don’t forget to disable “Enhance pointer precision” in Windows mouse settings, and in the unlikely event that somebody from Microsoft reads this, if possible, please kindly make it disabled by default, or better yet, remove the option completely. Thank you very much, and we’ll be grateful for years to come.Ver másVer menos
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