Logitech G502 Proteus Core Review
Intro
Logitech’s G-Series gaming products are usually pretty impressive for general use gaming. I’ve previously reviewed their G430 Surround Gaming Headset and their G13 Advanced Gamepad.
This time Logitech took a step forward, innovating in multiple areas with their G502 Proteus Core gaming mouse. This mouse features a number of firsts for gaming mice, which are all fantastic. With a 200-12,000 DPI sensor and customizable surface tuning, the Proteus Core (they’re trying to move away from the G___ numbering system) is arguably the best gaming mouse on the market right now.
Features/Specs
Laser Depth: 1.5 mm
DPI: 200 – 12,000
Size: 130 x 76 x 38 mm
Weight: 164 g (Adjustable)
Connection: Wired USB
Grip Type: Palm/Claw
Drivers/Software: Logitech Gaming Software
Lights: Big blue G logo on top of the mouse
Build Quality
As I’ve seen with all Logitech G-Series products, this mouse is built to last.
The cloth-braided cable on the Proteus Core is a sight I always love to see. Unfortunately, it’s not as soft and loose as the cable on Logitech’s G430 headset, but it’s certainly much nicer feeling than the cable on my old mouse, the Mad Catz RAT 5, and many other cloth-braided cables I’ve owned in the past.
The mouse as a whole is made of a tough, rugged plastic that feels like it’ll withstand a lot of use. I haven’t thrown it against a wall, however, so your mileage may vary there.
The side grips are a nice textured rubber that is really easy and comfortable to grip.
Separate clickers for the Proteus Core’s mouse buttons means they feel very responsive and a lot easier to click, given that pressing down on one won’t move the other.
The additional buttons - such as the back and forward, DPI-adjusting buttons and the “Sniper” DPI control button - all feel responsive and durable. They all feel like they have just as strong switches as the main mouse buttons.
The middle mouse button is a completely different story. From a tech spec perspective, Logitech have made drastic improvements from previous G-Series mice. The Proteus Core has a free-scrolling wheel that can scroll all day, given the right momentum. With the push of the button directly below the scroll wheel, the wheel locks into place for a tight, well-controlled scrolling function. The almost cog-like grooves on the scroll wheel provide a great grip on it.
Clicking the middle mouse button itself, however, can be very frustrating. In regular desktop application and use, both the scroll wheel and middle mouse clicking work just fine and the symptom I experience is barely noticeable. While gaming, though, the middle mouse button has a huge tendency to quickly scroll up or down when attempting to click the button - “MOUSE 3” in most games. Again, in regular use this isn’t a problem. In video games, though? Especially first person shooters? It’s a death wish. I cannot tell you the number of times I’ve had a fantastic opening to kill an enemy or group of enemies with a grenade and only got myself killed. I would aim, click the middle mouse button to throw a grenade, instead it would start to and switch weapons back and forth. Then I would turn around and adjust my aim and be so disoriented that I’d be nothing but a sitting duck for anyone looking my way.
This is a big enough problem that I’ve really wanted to yank the mouse out while playing Battlefield 4 and replace it with my old one. I honestly might have if it weren’t for the fact that I’ve already adapted my muscle memory to the 12,000 DPI and I’m eagerly awaiting being able to try the insane DPI on a 4K display.
Last time I’ll say it, but this has never caused me trouble when doing anything but gaming. While gaming, however, it can be absolutely infuriating.
Despite anything you may have seen me say when I first started using the mouse, the Proteus Core is actually quite comfortable. Comparing it to most of the standard computer mice I own and have used, this mouse isn’t a whole lot different size-wise.
Users with big hands that are used to palming a mouse may find the Proteus Core a tad difficult to use, but those of us who claw grip will fit right in. I was accustomed to a very small mouse, so it took me a while to get used to the form factor, but if you use standard mice often, you’ll feel right at home.
Performance: OVER NINE THOUSAAAAAND!
A DPI as massive as 12,000 - yes, that’s >9000! (go on, get it out) took a very long time to get used to. I’m no stranger to high-DPI gaming mice, but the jump from 5,600 DPI on my previous mouse (the Mad Catz Cyborg RAT5) to 12,000 DPI (more than double) was quite… significant.
Don’t get me wrong, the improved accuracy is great in any game genre, especially shooters.
MMO players would likely want or need a few more usable buttons - as most MMO-targeted mice have more buttons than I could imagine having on a mouse - but for generalized gaming use it works perfectly.
I thought the high DPI would be good for precision editing in photo or video software like Photoshop, but my experience has proved otherwise. Granted, it could still be great for these things, but if so I’m somehow still not comfortable enough with it despite the two months or so I’ve spent with the mouse.
Another current limitation that I’m running into is one that I’m hoping I’ll be able to experiment with moving past very soon. My current setup only allows for me to test and use this mouse on conventional displays. I’m willing to bet that the 12,000 DPI will be perfect for both desktop use and gaming on 4K displays. Even a 1440p screen would provide a higher pixel density to work with than the 1080p or sub-1080p displays that I work with at the moment.
This is where the product’s true potential will come out - truly high-resolution displays such as 4K, and this mouse will be ideal for future-proofing any setup.
Special Powers
The completely customizable surface tuning feature is one of my favorite features on this mouse. Only a very simple setup process is required - create a custom mousepad profile in the software, give it a memorable name, and calibrate it on your surface by moving the mouse in a figure-eight motion.
Given the flexibility and versatility of modern mouse lasers, most people probably don’t have much trouble with their mice not working on surfaces. However, I’ve actually had quite a bit of trouble if the mousepad isn’t a solid color. I have a Razer mousepad with Dragon Age II art on it, a custom-designed mousepad with many colors, etc. The only solid-colored mousepad I have is a tiny black one which has a surface peeling off of it.
Thanks to the surface tuning software, I’m able to use the Proteus Core on any mousepad without any issues.
There are two buttons directly to the left of the left mouse button - almost identical to the back and forward buttons. Also, there’s a button below the scroll wheel control button. These buttons all (by default) are set to control the mouse’s DPI. You can set up custom DPI profiles with 3 set points. I had mine set at 200 DPI (super slow mode) 5600 DPI (like my old mouse) and 12,000 DPI. The two back and forward buttons would change the DPI according to the set points in your profile. This is for convenient DPI adjustment on the go, should one need it.
The button on the top of the mouse is to change DPI profiles. Users can set up multiple DPI profiles, so this button is intended to allow handy switching between the profiles.
One might think this is a useful feature - but I never actually came up with an appropriate time to make use of those buttons. As I mentioned before - a couple times while photo editing, I did lower the DPI, however I did so through the Logitech Gaming Software much quicker than I figured out the right setting through the use of the buttons.
Also, my hands move a lot while gaming. Too many times did I accidentally hit one of the DPI buttons and completely screw myself over while gaming. This is especially problematic in shooters. Hitting one of the back or forward buttons isn’t too much of a problem - quickly cycle through until it feels right again and hope it’s fixed. Hitting the top button, however, basically means I have to completely alt-tab and reset everything in Logitech Gaming Software. It took probably a week or less before I disabled those buttons.
In theory, these buttons could be re-bound to provide better functionality in-game, but I could not make it work for me. Like their keyboard G-Key counterparts, the mouse buttons don’t actually register as their own keys in the system. Instead, you have to tell the software to make the mouse buttons emulate other keystrokes or macros. This is probably great for someone setting up macros or complicated shortcuts, but for someone who just wants to re-assign an in-game command to the mouse button? Not really all that useful. Combine that with their odd, just-out-of-reach placement, and these buttons have yet to receive any further intentional clicks from me.
Conclusion
Looking through all the specs, and even as I write this right now - the Logitech G502 Proteus Core is easily the most technically superior gaming mouse on the market today.
I could not rationally advise anyone against buying this mouse for themselves, nor do I necessarily want to.
That being said, this mouse really just didn’t “do it” for me. I had various complaints that really messed with my gameplay, and it has been a very frustrating experience at times.
At the same time, I don’t think I could go back to a sub-12,000 DPI mouse as my regular mouse now, and I am still really excited to get to try the mouse on 1440p-4K displays.
Having to disable the DPI buttons was a just kind of frustrating point for me. The obnoxious issues I constantly have with the middle mouse button still makes me mad to this day.
This mouse has some kinks to work out, I feel, but that still doesn’t take away from the fact that this is easily a high contender for the best gaming mouse available at the moment.
With very impressive technical specs, the potential to be even more useful in the future as higher-resolution displays become more readily available, the Logitech G502 Proteus Core is one amazing gaming mouse.