Logitech G602 Wireless Gaming Mouse Review
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Meet the G602, Logitech's latest wireless gaming mouse for 2013 that isn't afraid to tell you all about its battery life specifications. That's because the G602 boasts an awe-inspiring battery life of up to 250 hours, or up to a staggering 1,440 hours when using the G602's Endurance mode, for straight up relentless and uninterrupted hardcore gaming. Admittedly Logitech does make other wireless mice that can put the G602's battery life to shame, but it is currently Logitech's longest lasting wireless gaming-grade mouse and we quite like the sound of that. Like Logitech's flagship G700s wireless gaming mouse we reviewed earlier, the G602 is fixed on mechanical and material durability, and is also billed as a gaming mouse for both PC and Mac users.
With a cool-sounding Delta Zero sensor that's designed to be power efficient without sacrificing tracking accuracy, the G602 may not be as fully-featured as the G700s, but it sure does give a lot in return for its relatively affordable price point. So before ado is in anyway furthered, let's find out wow the G602 stack up against Logitech's G700s, and more after the jump!
The G602 will run you $80, that's $20 less than the G700s. You're still going to get the same high quality build and ergonomic design though, but what the G602 offers is less premium hardware features compared to the G700s that you can actually live without. For example, the G602 doesn't have a side-tilting dual-mode hype scroll wheel nor does it have a rechargeable battery with a detachable micro-USB cable which is perfectly fine because the G602's battery lasts much longer.
Unlike the G700s, Logitech's G602 sports an entirely brand-new cutting-edge design that isn't based off of any other gaming mouse, and I think I'm safe in saying that it looks wicked awesome plain and simple. Arguably, it's also Logitech's most garish-looking mice even though it only rocks a monotone color scheme, but that's fine because you'll love it even more for its sculpted shape and detailed texturing.
Besides looking like it had been designed by Bruce Wayne, the G602 is more comfortable to use than you might think. It has upwards of four different textures and materials making up its exterior surface and stealthy design. The palm grip area has been texturized with this circuit board-like looking matte textured pattern which is actually tactile and provides a pleasing resting spot that also doubles up as being a part of the G602's unique styling. It sure beats the G700s' faux printed on graphic patterns. As for raw comfort and usability, the G602 offers some of the best ergonomically comfortable design for full palmed hand grip. While you most certainly can claw-grip your mouse, the G602 has a near-perfect shape where your hand and fingers simply fall into place. There's a prominent wing-esque ledge that sticks out the side acting as a resting spot for your thumb, and it's mighty comfortable too. Even more so than the G700s. And in fact, I personally prefer the G602 over the G700s in terms of usability only because I feel that it offers a slightly wider grip where even your pinky and ring fingers can rest just off the side.
If I had to knock Logitech's choice of materials is would definitely have to be the G602's left and right buttons. Granted I appreciate the fact that the right clicker has been designed to be slightly longer than the index finger to naturally accommodate the longer middle finger and the overall Razer-inspired angular split left and right clickers, but the satin finish on these buttons attracts oily fingerprints and isn't as grippy like the rest of the G602's body elements. Lastly, like all wireless Logitech gaming mice, the G602 is a right-hand only mouse. But if you are looking to get an ambidextrous wireless gaming mouse, Razer has got you covered with its elite offering - the Ouroboros.
Having reviewed the G700s, the G602 is a very close second when it comes to build quality. You won't find the same hard-wearing, anti-fingerprint and hydrophobic coated surfaces of the G700s on the G602, however, there's still plenty of durability and quality plastics that make it the G602 a really solid gaming and all-purpose mouse. Instead, the G602's multiple textured surfaces offer a pleasing tactile grip but if you have problems with moisture then you may want to look at the G700s instead as it'll do a better job at keeping your hand feeling dry.
The only surface material the G602 and G700s have in common is this highly textured coating running along the sides. The G602 has the lower part of its palm grip area covered with it too, but it's worth noting that the G602's coating is less coarse and more smoother compared to the G700s' sand paper-like surface, and ultimately isn't the same exact type of texture which we found to be extremely grippy and durable - but a close copy. Nonetheless, I think that the G602 fares really well in terms of grip and overall build quality.
Like the G700s, the G602 wirelessly connects to your computer in an instant thanks to Logitech's tried and true 2.4Ghz nano wireless USB receiver. And if you had any doubts about it, it's more reliable and quicker than using a Bluetooth connection. There's absolutely no lag between cursor and mouse movements, and connection only ever drops when your battery fully runs out or if you're out of the 3 feet of range in which you could then use the supplied USB receiver extension cable to better position your nano receiver at a more appropriate proximity.
Underneath he G602 is a power on/off switch, that Delta Zero optical sensor, durable low-friction Teflon feet amply cover the bottom surface which are rated for up to 155 miles of use (250km), and are amazing at allowing the mouse to glide across virtually any surface silently and smoothly. Lastly, the G602's battery compartment stores two regular AA batteries which are already included with the G602 and conveniently pre-loaded for you.
One of the cool tricks under the G602's hood is that you can actually remove one battery to adjust the weight and feel of the mouse. It'll still perform the same using a single AA battery, but of course you'll also reduce the proclaimed battery life expectancy which is totally fine if you're looking to change the weight of the mouse as you can always put back that extra battery at anytime when you run low on juice. I never thought I'd say this, but for the first time ever I'm glad that the G602 isn't using a built-in rechargeable battery.
We skipped our "what's inside the box" entirely, but that's plainly because you'll fine exactly the same type of packaging and contents that come with the G700s like the usual nano wireless USB receiver as well as a receiver extender cable for use when you've got a tower PC or Mac Pro out of acceptable range.
The G602 has 11 easy-to-reach programmable button controls, but if you count out the left and right buttons you're left with 9 usable buttons which you can customize to fit your needs using Logitech's Gaming Software. At the top of the mouse you'll find a standard scroll wheel button flanked by two silver buttons which by default are set as DPI shifters. Switching between the available DPI setting enables you to adjust the G602's tracking sensitivity on the fly and at anytime. You'll notice that there's a blue LED DPI gauge right below these silver buttons which indicates DPI level changes much like the slightly more detailed colorful-coded LED gauge on the G700s.
There's also a battery LED status indicator at the top that looks like a grid which should notify you once you're running low on juice, but we've yet to see it change since the G602's battery life is insanely long. As mentioned earlier, the G602 features Performance and Endurance modes which supposedly help conserve battery by letting you choose between gaming intensive tracking performance which will pick the highest DPI and polling rate available for more precise sensitivity, while Endurance mode is geared for more casual all-purpose use which will restrict the polling rate to a minimum 125rps but will still allow you to use the maximum DPI level available which is 2500 which results in reduced movement precision. When Endurance mode is switched on, the G602's battery LED will turn to green indicating the preset. At this stage you'll also be extending the battery life of the G602 to over a whopping 1450 hours of use.
Taking a look at the left side we can see that the G602 features a six-pack cluster of extremely tactile buttons conveniently within your thumb's reach. Shaped very similarly to the G700s' buttons, the G602's side grid of buttons are also individually shaped in such a way that your thumb can swiftly move from one to the next without making a single mistake. They're positioned right above where you thumb comfortably rests the majority of the time you're using the mouse, and as a result they don't feel like an obtrusive obstacle but one that is actually objectively integrated in a useful and considerate manner. I will say that compared to the G700s' four side button controls, the G602's slightly smaller button cluster takes a lot more back and forth movement to reach every single one of them but that's understandably so and they do work great when you actually get to use them.
The Gaming Software desktop app for OS X and Windows is where you'll customize each and every button found on the G602, choose between 125-250-500 report polling rates and set your DPI sensitivity levels to your liking. It's the same exact layout you get with all Logitech gaming mice, so it'll be familiar to you if you've ever used other Logitech mice before. DPI and polling rates dictate how sensitive, or how fast and precise your cursor movement will be. No fine tuning available I'm afraid, but it all works out nevertheless. With this software you have the freedom to literally configure every single button on the G700s to perform what ever it is you'd like, no exceptions.
So naturally we put the G602 up against the G700s to see which is performs more accurately when it comes to wireless tracking, but most importantly we wanted to find out if the $80 G602 was good enough to game with compared to the $100 G700s. As it turns out, the G602 performs amazingly well under all circumstances and it even tracks slightly more accurately on wooden desks whereas the G700s performed at its best when thrown atop a surface mat such as Logitech's $30 G440 hard gaming pad. Don't get me wrong though, the G602's Delta Zero sensor is more forgiving, but it will still perform best when placed on a proper pad such as fabric-made pad otherwise you will run into occasional glitchy cursor tracking when used on inconsistent textured surfaces.
The main difference between the two that makes the G700s a more superior gaming mouse is that its got a high-performance laser sensor that is capable of reaching 8200DPI sensitivity with a wireless data polling rate of up to 1000, while the G602 features an optical sensor that can only go as far as 2500DPI with a wireless data polling rate of up to 500. What it really means is that the G700s is capable of pinpoint accuracy, ultra-fast cursor movement and tracking - in reality it's useful if you're from outer space or some insanely talented gamer with blazing fast reflexes. Because when we put both mice to the test, we found out that we would only set the DPI sensitivity at below 4000 with a polling rate of 500, and we were really happy with the results.
That said, you can color me impressed as I haven't found any noticeable difference between the G602's tracking performance and accuracy when in Performance mode compared to the laser sensor-equipped G700s at 2500DPI settings.
The G700s also has 5 on-board and on-the-fly profile switching while the G602 has none. Another significant and welcome difference I've noticed when using the G602 is that it's quieter than the G700s as well as the G600, more specifically when pressing down on the left and right buttons which have a softer audible clicky sound to them. The G602's ratchet scroll wheel is also a lot quieter and scrolls smoother than the G600 and G700s when not in hyper-scrolling mode. It may not have any knurled texturing to it rather than a smooth rubbery flat surface, but I can't say enough good things about the G602's scroll wheel as it's a pleasure to use.
All in all Logitech's G602 delivers brilliantly on its impressive long battery life vows, extreme comfort and usability, but most importantly it performs as we had anticipated...amazingly well. For an optical sensor, albeit one that has been developed to be power efficient, the G602's Delta Zero sensor is accurate enough for gaming use including anything that comes in-between. So it lacks a few fancy features and power-hungry specs you'd get with the G700s, but for a runner-up offering, we think the G602 is a fantastic high quality long-lasting wireless mouse with a solid display of functions and programmable buttons. If you're looking to get a well designed lag-free wireless gaming mouse with maximized battery life, one that's built as a tough and comfortable to use peripheral worthy of all-day use, then the G602 comes highly recommended. That being said, if you are a hardcore gamer or a user that must have a completely dry and moisture-free mouse experience, we recommend sacrificing that long-lasting battery life in exchange for Logitech's G700s or even the wired G500s.
