Gear Review - Logitech G700 and Mionix Naos 3200

Mouse selection

My Logitech G5 is a warrior but the scroll wheel has been missing a few beats and beginning to creak on the middle button. Its days were certainly numbered. It was time to start hunting for a new gaming mouse.

Let me begin by saying that everyone has their own needs and preferences. Mine were primarily a palm grip with pinky finger support. The G5 had me in more of a claw grip with my palm not touching the arc of the mouse and the tip of my pinky finger dragging on the mouse pad at times.

There are a handful of choices here.

–    Steelseries Ikari (Laser) ~ $80 USD
–    Steelseries Ikari (Optical) ~ $60 USD
–    Mionix Naos 5000 ~ $80 USD
–    Mionix Naos 3200 ~ $56 USD
–    Qpad 5K ~ $80 USD

Ikari seemed to have mixed reviews on quality issues. If you do choose the Ikari, go for the laser version over the optical. There are far more features and options available at a much higher quality.

Mionix Naos 5000 and 3200 were supposedly identical by all reviews with a significant price gap. The grip was all I really desired. Adjustible weights while initially a thing for me with the G5, eventually became an unused feature.

Qpad 5K was a hit in Sweden where there is a major competitive gaming scene. They had the grip but not much else at a real premium of a price. I might as well have bought the Naos 5000.

I settled on the Mionix Naos 3200 at around the same price I paid for my G5.

Mionix Naos 3200

–    Soft to the touch
–    Comfortable grip
–    Mouse arc is slightly low for my palm
–    Pinky finger support
–    Customisable software

 




The package presentation was impressive. For a virtually unknown gaming brand, they put a lot into design. Once I got my hands on the mouse it felt soft to the touch with its rubberised coat. The grip provided support for all fingers but the mouse arc was low for me. If I tried I could keep my palm to it but it felt like it would be more comfortable if it were bigger.

I got into some Left 4 Dead 2 and I was quickly playing comfortably.

There was just one problem, the mouse did not save any of my advanced settings. Basic settings in the Control Panel was all that really worked. After consulting with Mionix support it turned out that the mouse memory was defective. They suggested I return the product to my retailer.

The retailer was Amazon. They provided a return postage label that included free shipping from within the USA. Costs to reship to them directly from Trinidad and Tobago would be on par with the value of the mouse. So I did the next best thing, I used my social connections to find someone who would be making the trip to the USA. All they had to do was take the package to the USPS post office.

While I really wanted the Mionix Naos 3200 to have worked, I felt that I could not take the chance on another. I returned to the process of mouse selection. I considered the grip to be secondary to quality this time around.

The Naos 5000 felt like taking a chance, as did the Ikari. The Qpad 5k was certainly not worth the price tag. Regardless it seemed that to get a decent mouse I had to pay $80 USD. So I decided to see what this price range had to offer.

There were the ambidextrous Razer mice but I'm not a lefty. Logitech revamped their line but the G500 which replaced the G5 had the same size. The only one that changed in a major way was the G7 replacement, the wireless G700. I was open to all options so I looked for more information.

I found a few comparisons praising it's higher mouse arc. While there was no pinky support, it was possible the higher arc would keep the tip of my finger off the pad.

There was just one thing the wireless factor. I've had a Kensington PilotBoard wireless setup in the past that would surprise me. The mouse worked fine with low battery in general use, but it would only stutter in game. Scrambling for batteries or a spare mouse mid-game is just never cool. What Logitech doesn't want you to know is the G700 can also work as a corded mouse. Intended to be used just to recharge the AA battery while your game.

I decided to take the plunge on the G700.

 


Logitech G700

-    Dependable build quality
-    Wired or wireless mode
-    Decent grip with a higher mouse arc
-    Customisable software
-    Lots of extra buttons

 

 




Despite how it may look online, this mouse is not rubber coated like the Naos. The top features a satin hard plastic finish while the sides are textured. While I liked the soft feel, I wasn’t sure how durable the rubber was and what lay beneath. Logitech seemed to have the more durable solution. The higher arc actually keeps my pinky finger off the mat for the most part.

One thing that is immediately noticeable is the scroll wheel. It comes with a gear switch, one for typical keyed scrolling that we’re all used to. The second gear removes this giving you an unleashed scroll wheel that will race up and down a page in one flick of the finger. It’s fun doing this and just waiting to drop your finger again to stop it on the desired spot. This is fun for surfing the web, yet I can see it being difficult to control in a game. Luckily the gear changes in the push of a button.

Speaking of buttons, there is an abundance of buttons on the G700, many of which I’m yet to find a use for. The cool thing is the shape and placement of each button makes it easy to find what you’re looking for. Logitech’s software was very well laid out, an improvement from the G5. The G700 also came with internal memory so I could pick up and go, yet keep my settings intact.

Overall the mouse had a solid feel and all features worked. The only possible chink in its armour was the wireless factor. There are two very nice things that Logitech did here.

-    Charge cord is standard mini-USB
-    Battery is standard AA
-    Included Eneloop 1900 mAh battery was the best at that time.

Now there are parts of this solution which fails. The charge cord isn’t thin and braided so it can be a problem if you have no way to suspend the cord. I passed it over my wall mounted speaker, as I was used to doing with my G5, and that solved the problem for me. I can’t tell when I’m tethered unless I’ve gone beyond the reach of the cord.

Battery life has been decent, takes less than two hours to recharge fully. I pretty much never turn the mouse off since that takes the same effort as plugging in the charge cord. Most days I get a few hours in, less than half the day. With that type of usage you will not have issues. Logitech have pushed this as a MMO mouse. As we all know, hardcore MMO players only sleep for two hours a day.

Not a genre I play, however I did have an all day gaming session and the battery didn’t last more than 12 hours of heavy use before it went red. Despite this it never stopped working. Some users have noted that there is a lot of battery life left even when red. I decided to put this to the test and it took me 60 hours before the mouse was completely dead. The majority of that time, it was red. So battery life isn’t too shabby.

Eneloop has recently come out with a higher capacity 2400mAh battery which would extend the battery life further. Theoretically another 15 hours. My tests gave me an extra 12 hours. Gamers should keep at least one spare battery around.

I would give the G700 a 4 out of 5.  A better charge cord and some pinky finger support would make this perfect.

 

 















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