As said in my first review of a wireless mechanical gaming keyboard ever, Logitech’s G613, feel free to check it out a link in the right top corner, I will be checking out its also wireless companion, the Logitech G603 gaming mouse, which was actually released together with it, so let’s get into.
With this model, Logitech aims to delivered high-end performance surrounded by their latest features, like the fast wireless technology called Lightspeed and brand new Hero sensor seen here for the first, more on those that later on, so all of that together with keeping the price of the product as low as possible. This end goal of keeping everything as affordable as possible is also indicated by the pretty modest bundle, basically, besides the mouse and its vital components, batteries, receiver and an extension cable for the receiver, you won’t get anything else.
Logitech G603 is a wireless gaming mouse for the masses
As you can see in the video listed down below, the G603 has a really straightforward looking design, its outer shell is basically completely based on the currently ongoing G403 and G703 gaming mouse models, very clean lines, nothing too flashy about it and with a bit of different color scheme, just like the G613 wireless keyboard. Its body slightly drops off from the left to right, so it’s not considered ambidextrous, plus the back and forward buttons are only on the left side. It’s completely made out of plastic, but the top gray portion and the sides have that almost rubberized soft feel to touch, while the bottom has that typical plastic texture. Overall the build quality is OK, feels decent and sturdy enough in hands.
This top gray part can actually be removed with a simple pull and doing that you’ll be greeted by this pretty interesting access to the inside of the mouse. What Logitech has done here with this mouse is basically made the wireless version of the G403 / G703 models more flexible, restructured its inner components and layout in terms of the battery, where now have a slot for two AA battery, instead of an integrated one. This, unfortunately, makes the mouse a lot heavier, although it’s empty weight is around 89 grams, fully loaded it goes up to 135 grams. Thankfully, just as with my G602 mouse which I have for many years now, you have an option to use only one battery if the mouse is too heavy for you and like that you can expect just a bit above 110 grams, which is closer to the wireless G403 / G703 model, but it can also depend on the battery you have, while in the end, you’ll end up with half of the battery life.
Logitech also took a very simple approach of that top cover, it basically hangs onto two magnets on the front, under the left and right clicks, while on the back portion of the mouse we also have few holding it down. Although this doesn’t sound too convincing in terms being completely locked down I don’t think there should be any problems, even with the magnets wearing off.
Battery configuration on Logitech G603 makes it really versatile
Due to it using regular AA batteries, they’ve ditched the cable completely, which is kinda bad cause I would like to see it being powered over it as an option, and also with a possibility to have a rechargeable double A batteries so you can charge them over that same cable, just like it’s done with ones that have integrated battery, like the G900. But, that would probably bring the price of this product up due to having an additional charging control module, port, and a cable. It sounds good, but in practice, it could lead to a scenario where a user puts a non-rechargeable battery in it, which can result in a potential hazard.
That said, the main way of connecting it to your PC is using the 2.4 GHz wireless dongle, which can be stored underneath that cover in case you need to take with you somewhere else. Besides being able to connect using that wireless dongle, the Logitech G603 also has a Bluetooth connection on disposal, so you can basically connect to any Bluetooth enabled device, from notebook, smartphone to tablet.
When it comes to ergonomics, just as with the G403, the G603 body shape is very approachable. The thumb side buttons have a great position, my thumb naturally goes just beneath them, they don’t get in the way and are still very easy to reach thanks to their great angle and placement, so I don’t need to re-position my hand in order to get to them. Left and right clicks are very distanced and with a clean line of separation between theme thanks to this middle black section which goes way back and holds the scroll wheel and DPI switch button on it, although I wish they were a position just a bit more to the front. The side buttons are also very tactile, maybe just a bit mushy, just as the middle click, while the scroll has a very distinguishable, rippled texture and offer a decent amount of resistance.
Finally, taking it for a spin and showing it some action, I had a chance to see how this Logitech’s new Hero optical sensor performs. It’s capable of doing anywhere 200 – 12.000 DPI, with the minimal step being 50 DPI, and together with the Lightspeed wireless technology it can work in a high or low mode using the switch on the back. In high mode, it operates with a latency of as low as 1 ms, while in low mode it has 8 ms of latency. That second mode delivers a longer battery life, while in practice I didn’t feel any real and noticeable difference using it in that mode. Overall, use wise, I was really pleased with the sensor, it was extremely accurate and with excellent tracking for a wireless mouse, with minimal acceleration and jitter, at least to my subjective observation, no troubles in signal reporting, while the only gripe I had with it was the lift-off distance which was a bit high.
Is the G603 really worth the money in the end?
Although on the heavier side due to batteries, It glides really seamlessly and fasts thanks to two big Teflon feet on the top and bottom, as well as around the sensor. I found it that removing one battery gives just the right amount of weight. Of course, using Logitech’s Gaming Software utility you can change the DPI settings for each of the five available steps for the on-the-fly DPI toggle switch, as well as change pooling rate, set up different profiles and remap the keys, check your heatmap and of course check the battery level.
Speaking of it, since it doesn’t have any glowing RGB or another non-essential lighting around it, except for the DPI LED indicator, the G603 with two standard AA batteries can last up to 18 months in low-mode or up to 500 hours in high-mode, probably even more if you choose to put something like high capacity Eneloop batteries in it. That’s a big advantage over it’s more expensive brothers, like the G900 or the G403, that latter one has, in my opinion, really poor battery endurance thanks to the low capacity battery integrated into it (I use it myself).
Although it comes in at a price of around 70$, considering what segment it falls into on a count of its technologies and features that it has, and that it’s a wireless gaming mouse, after all, I think that the G603 has more than a good chance to be a final choice to a lot of users who more serious about improving their performance in games.
