Logitech G400 Optical Gaming Mouse

To summarize:

+ G400 has higher DPI than MX518, 3600 vs 1800, if that really floats your boat (I don't really care about this...)
+ G400 has 1000hz polling rate, making it ever so slightly more responsive (not much as far as a human is concerned)
+ G400 still uses a red LED illuminated optical sensor which I have found to work perfectly on many surfaces including satin glass, clear glass is still problematic.
? G400 has a thinner cable, this could make it more prone to wear and tear.
- G400 shell has less grip than the MX518's; this was problematic for me but was rectified (read on for details). 4 star rating for this reason...

Overall I'd say it's a great mouse, but if you have a MX518 already I would't worry about upgrading, and be wary about the grip.

I didn't try out the Logitech drivers so can't comment on them.

More detail:

I am a keen FPS player and have loved the MX5xx series of Logitech mice which have been my choice throughout the last 7 years; they suit me perfectly and are relatively cheap yet provide performance to rival any other gaming mice. I used the MX510 for 4 years until 2008, and then switched to the updated MX518.

Recently my attention was brought to the G400. This is essentially a continuation of the MX series and still uses a sensor with red LED. The fact that the G400 sports even higher DPI is irrelevant to me though; I find that it's a pointless selling point that mice manufacturers love spouting, I use 800DPI and can't imagine anyone really needing more than 1600, but noobs do seem to love it :]). I wasn't too bothered about upgrading from an MX518, however the 1000hz polling rate had some appeal and I recently got a voucher for £20, therefore the mouse would effectively cost me around £6, so I thought why not!

When it arrived, one of the first things I noticed was that the cable is thinner than the MX518's; hopefully this does not make it too prone to wear and tear, but I do my best to look after my mouse cables by taping them to my monitor to ensure it isn't being snagged or bent too much.

After initial testing I found that the mouse does feel very snappy with 1000hz polling, but the difference between this and the MX518 @ 125hz is very marginal; that's a good thing though, as the MX518 is a good mouse.

After using it for a short time however, I noticed that shell has substantially less grip than the MX518's, and due to the way I hold the mouse (picking it up between my thumb and little finger with my other fingers resting on the buttons on top) I found I was having to squeeze the mouse 3-4 times harder than the MX518, and this was really uncomfortable for me. In some cases, keeping the left mouse button pressed whilst picking up the mouse was causing it to slip out of my hand. After persevering for a few days I decided to switch back to the MX518. Now, this may be partially due to my small hand size and grip style, other players have reported no problems with the mouse.

All was not lost however, I had a plan!

I have actually had 2 MX518s; the cable on the first one became damaged through wear and tear, but Logitech had no problems sending me a brand new one as it still had a few weeks of its 3 year warranty left (I can't fault their service!). I had also kept the broken MX518 in case I could make use of it; that time arrived.

Since the shape of the G400 and MX518 are identical, I decided I would exchange the shell of the G400 with that of the broken MX518's. The screws on the G400 are hidden behind the mouse feet which have a good chance of getting damaged during removal, so I ordered some replacement feet just in case. When these arrived, I carefully took both mice apart and swapped the shells. I decided to keep the matte grey bit from the G400 and put it on the MX518 grip, put it all together and fitted the new mouse feet on the bottom (as I predicted I managed to damage one of the old ones).

I have to say it works wonderfully for me now, but I find it bizarre that Logitech changed the material of the shell slightly in the first place. It's a good mouse and performs exactly as I require now, but I'd advise against switching to it from an MX518 if you are looking for a big improvement; there is very little to differentiate these mice.

I chose the G400 over other mice as I was looking for a mouse that felt solid.
I tried a few others, such as the Logitech G500 and G700, but even though they had more macro buttons, higher DPI etc. they still did not feel solid.
The issue I had with the newer mice was that the scroll wheel felt very loose due to the 'free scroll', but not so the G400. The scroll wheel is tight, it still has five macro buttons (which is more than enough for me), and it glides extremely smoothly over my SteelSeries Surface QcK (PC).
An excellent mouse, especially for the price, and highly recommended.

I use this mouse every day at work, and am very pleased with it. I'm a software engineer developing virtual environments, so accuracy and smoothness of motion can be very important.

The mouse glides very nicely on the tabletop, with no sticking or shuddering. The size and shape of it is excellent, making it comfortable and natural to use. The main buttons seem to have good sensitivity, so I don't need to press too hard, but I also don't end up pressing them accidentally. The software that comes with it is very useful as well for assigning specific functions or key combinations to the buttons, and it can automatically change profile to suit whatever program you're using at the time.

It's important to note that it's specifically shaped for an average-sized right hand. If you're left-handed, or your hands are a bit smaller than average, then it probably isn't the mouse for you.