Thinking about getting a G15 Keyboard and a G7 mouse..

[7earitup]

Hey guys,

Been thinking recently of getting a new mouse and keyboard and was leaning on the G15 Logitech Keyboard and the G7 wireless mouse. I work on the computer 10+ a day and I also game afterwards for another 2-6 hours. Is this mouse going to cut it being wireless and all? I have heard nothing but good things about the keyboard so I am not as concerned about that as I am the wireless G7.

Thanks!

 

[pulsedrive]

I can't comment on the mouse, because I have a G5, but the G15 keyboard is extremely nice. Since you are concerned about how the wireless will perform on the G7 might I suggest going with the G5, I went from an MX1000 to the G5 and haven't looked back. I, too, was considering the G7 because I wanted to stick with Wireless, but then I realized that I had no reason for this rationale. The cable for the G5 is plenty long enough and because of the mesh sleeve on the cable, it doesn't get caught on things nearly as easily as normal corded mice.

From everything I have heard about the G7, it works great, but you have to change out the batteries pretty regularly, which isn't a huge deal since you always have one charging, but something to consider non the less. Also, some people have complained about the weight, but that wouldn't be much of an issue if you happen to like the MX1000's weight.

 

[eastvillager]

I have a G7 mouse and really like it. It is much lighter than previous wireless mice I've used. On a good mousepad, this mouse should be light enough for anybody. You do have to change the batteries pretty much daily, but since it comes with two and one is always in the charger getting juiced up, it is no big deal. I can swap the batteries in less than 10 seconds, so it doesn't interfere with gaming. I love the way it is powered entirely by USB, too, so you can quickly and easily move it from computer to computer, even leaving the charger behind if you want and just going with the thumb transmitter. I've taken it to work often, just with the small receiver and both batteries, since it doesn't need a power brick.

I dropped it onto a hardwood floor by accident, battery flew across the room. Put the battery back in, mouse kept on ticking.

The only real negative is the price, imho. Think it might be a bit inflated, since they know the target market they're dealing with.

 

[daddyo]

I have both and love them.

I have two complaints about the mouse:

1) Slick surface can get annoying. I do not know what Logitech was thinking with that. I'm considering sanding the surface to get better grip.
2) Batteries don't last long at all. Fortunately, you get two, so it's nothing more than a nuisance every 8-10 hours.

Even with the problems, the mouse is excellent. The keyboard stands in a class by itself. No complaints at all.

 

[clickynext]

The mouse is great. The batteries only last about a day under heavy usage, so it's a bit annoying to have to make that change so often, but it takes seconds. The movement of the mouse feels like any wired mouse. It's great!

 

[imported_marcosv]

I bought both the G7 and G15 and ended up returning the G15.

The G7 is a dream in terms of performance. It either equals or surpased all other mice out there, wired or wireless. It's very responsive. I love the ability to select the mouse tracking sensitivity on the fly. I do wish it had a few more buttons, but, I really don't miss them. My last wireless mouse was a Logitech MX1000. The MX1000 had good button layout and comfortable feel, but, it had this annoying delay when you move it after it's been stationary for a little bit (i.e., it takes too long to wake up).

The G7's one drawback is that it eats through a battery in about a day of decent usuage (call it 6 to 8 hours tops). Draining these batteries dry between charging means that their overall life won't last that long, even though you get two batteries to start with. I'm guessing they will last about a year before you start to notice serious capacity degradation.

In my case, my G7 had a defective USB battery charger --- it shuts off charging prematurely and so I ended up with no battery power at times. I got in touch with Logitech tech support who said that they'll ship me a replacement charger. It's been four weeks and the darn thing hasn't arrived yet. The tech support guy thought it should arrive in two. I'm using a G5 wired mouse to hold me over until the G7 is back in business.

The G15 was a complete disappointment for me. First the positives: 1) it's the nicest looking self illuminated keyboard I've seen; 2) the little LCD screen can provide interesting realtime info such as how much CPU power is being gobbled up; 3) the switch to disable windows keys so that you don't accidentally press them is a nice touch. The negatives: 1) the light that shows which macro key set is selected is really bright and you can't shut it off --- I found it distracting while gaming; 2) the volume control knob has no tactile knurling on it so it's too slippery to twirl for quick/fine volume adjustment; 3) very few games support the LCD and the ones that do (e.g., Civ4) illustrate how the little LCD doesn't manage information nicely --- hard to read lots of lines of information and the ability to scroll through it using the special LCD related keys are a pain in part because those keys don't light up and so are hard to find in the dark. Finally the indifferences: 1) all those macro keys for me remained unused; 2) I'm not too crazy about the keyboard feel (I much prefer the OEM Logitech Ultra Slim keyboard feel); 3) the keyboard is too wide because of all the macro keys along the left edge.

So in brief, this keyboard is about the macro keys and the LCD. If you don't need the macro keys --- or can't get used to quickly pressing the right macro key for your particular game --- or don't need the limited use LCD, the G15 just doesn't bring enough to be worth the price. In the end, I went back to more traditional keyboards that has the few extra buttons I do use a lot (e.g., volume control, hot key for calculator, etc.).

I do worry about Logitech tech support, but, to be fair, I'm the only person I know with G7 problems --- my six other friends' G7s are just fine.

 

[larciel]

another vote for g7. yes under top dpi setting, i change my battery once a day.

g15 was too much $ for me for its 'lack of support' for games. (it need developers to write code specific for the keyboard in order for the lcd or other stuff to work in games)

I'm using MS ergonomic 4000 right now. it's ok, but certainly not for games.

 

[7earitup]

Whats a good gaming keyboard other than the G15 ?

 

[pulsedrive]

Originally posted by: 7earitup
Whats a good gaming keyboard other than the G15 ?

Any of the Saitek keyboards, but if you are looking for one that is backlit then the Saitek Eclipse is really the only good available choice, it is what I was using before I went to the G15. There are a myriad of other backlit keyboards out there, but the saitek one is pretty much the best one I found.