Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum - My new favorite mouse so far!

[Marinatall_Ironside]

Hello

 

This is my review of the Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum RGB mouse. This mouse, by far, I would consider to be my favorite one so far. So what I am going to be talking about here is my experiences with it so far, how I have configured the mouse with the software that you should get, and how I have the weights set up since this mouse does use the weights included in the box.

 

The mouse carries the same MSRP of $79.99 USD that the Proteus Cores carries. Getting the mouse wasn't easy. My first attempt was with the Proteus Core, but my local Fry's Electronics wasn't getting its shipment and they told me that it went on W status, so I cancelled my reserve and got a full refund. So this time, I decided to get the Proteus Spectrum off of Amazon for the same price that I initially paid for the Proteus Core when I first reserved it.

 

The G502 Proteus Spectrum has a DPI range of 200 to 12,000. Logitech markets this mouse as an FPS mouse. It has a DPI Shift button for instant low DPI on the fly when you need it, and it has a mouse wheel toggle which lets you toggle between the usual bumpy feel, or the free scrolling which lets you scroll through pages rapidly. You can also use the weights that come with the mouse to customize the weight and feel of the mouse. Interestingly, it also has a 32-bit ARM microprocessor for the responsiveness of the mouse, and also for probably the storage of three different profiles you can take with you and use it on other machines that has the Logitech Gaming Software installed already.

 

The Unboxing

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Unboxing this mouse was pretty pleasant. What you see is the mouse in its nice clear plastic window with the blue plastic tray that it comes packed inside of the box itself.

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You will find the mouse and the weight pack. So so far the unboxing has been really  smooth.

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Now the thing about this mouse is that it lights up funny . It's an RGB mouse, but the picture below is the blue lighting that I got with the DSLR camera that I use as my main camera for pictures. Unfortunately with the DSLR camera that I use, I wasn't getting good results at all! 

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Now that we have the unboxing out of the way, let's get to how I use the mouse and how I have it set up. I will show here how I have my weights set up first, and how I have the software set up.

 

Here is what the weights look like and how I have them set up. Each weight is made out of what I presumed to be aluminum since it's not magnetic at all. Each of them is also 3.6G and there are five of them.

 

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Here is how I hold my mouse. The mouse is very comfortable the way I hold it, which is something I like a lot! As a gamer, being able to hold the mouse as comfortable as I can is important, and I am a palm user .

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The Software

So I tried to get pictures of the software, however the quality was lackluster and I will not show them. But I will tell you how I have it set up here, and what you can do with the software. But the software is easy to use and very intuitive. The way you do a firmware update is to unplug the mouse and plug it back in to initialize the update. So I strongly recommend you to update the firmware to the latest version since it allows for the adjustment of the brightness for the Color Cycle effect.

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I use the default profile of the mouse, but the software can also use other profiles made for certain games that number near the 900s. So nothing too special here. You can customize any button to whatever you want, even the G7 and G8 buttons which I use as the DPI adjustment buttons.

 

Lighting I use the breathing effect with the lighting being purple. The RGB values are 145, 0, and 255. The lighting zones are both the logo and the DPI lights. You get the "off" which I think should be renamed to "static" since it makes the lighting effect static, and the "color cycle" profile, which goes through the advertised 16.8 million colors.

 

There are five levels of DPI, and I have them set to 700 (which also acts as the DPI Shift value), 1200, 3200 (which I use the most), 6400, and the maximum, 12000. My brother on the other hand, is a low DPI user, and I am not used to using a low DPI mouse profile. He uses a Razer Naga Epic Chroma. You can also set the report rate up to 1000 reports per second with three others at 125, 250, and 500. And finally, you can choose to enable the per profile pointer settings or the Acceleration, which is supposed to enhance pointer precision.

 

You can also calibrate the mouse for different playing surfaces for optimal tracking performance, which is something I would do personally. I use the Razer Manticor which you can see my review here. There are three different presets, which are factory default, the Logitech Hard Gaming Mouse Pad, and the Logitech Cloth Gaming Mouse Pad.

 

 

The Feel and The Experience

Now let's talk about my personal experience with it so far, coming from the Logitech G5 mouse.

 

The feel: The mouse feels different when I hold it. When I hold onto the G5 mouse, my pinky falls right into the crevice which the G5 had, but the G502 Proteus Spectrum has a rubberized side and my ring and pinky fingers get stacked over each other. A bit of an odd feel, but that's something I'm used to.

 

The performance: Please note I am not good at multiplayer FPS games, but I play StarCraft II and Heroes of the Storm, and adventure games like Tomb Raider. It performs just the way I want it to, and I use the DPI shift whenever I need very precise aiming or mouse placement. In Tomb Raider, I am a "headhunter" in there as I mostly go for headshots. In StarCraft II and Heroes of the Storm, I use the right click a lot, and I mean A LOT. The left click gets used sparingly as the left click does nothing in-game that lets me to a certain action. Only for things like selecting heroes or box selecting a chunk of units for assigning commands. In adventure games and singleplayer FPS games, the left click gets used more as it's for attacking or shooting. And it delivers as expected for an expensive mouse.

 

The weights: They're pretty light, considering that the G5's heaviest are 4.2G each, but the mouse compensates for it by being heavier without any weights. But getting them out is a little bit tough. I use a dime to get them out since the inside is rubberized. You get ti the compartment by pushing the glossy black tab, which there is a slug near it that is magnetized. Opening it is very easy.

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The Summary

Now I will summarize this review by saying that the software is easy to use, and it supersedes the G5 by leaps and bounds in my opinion. The DPI range is much wider than the G5 since it only goes up to ~2000 DPI. But it's not that different from the G502 Proteus Core that it pretty much replaces. If you have a G502 Proteus Core, I'd recommend not to upgrade it. But if you want the RGB lighting, then I wouldn't stop you. But that's my recommendation.

The Pros

• Much better than the G5, its predecessor.
• Very wide DPI range
• Customizable RGB lighting and weights
• Software is intuitive and easy to use
• Allows for the storage of up to three profiles for on-the-go travel.

 

The Cons

• Weights are difficult to remove. I had to use a dime to get them out
• The price, duh.
• Not much different from the Proteus Core, but the MSRP is the same. Bit of a nitpick there.

The Bottom Line

Would I recommend this mouse? Yes I would. Should you upgrade your G502 Proteus Core? My recommendation is no, since it's the same, but it lights up funny. This is my main mouse of choice now that I have upgraded from the G5, then the Asus ROG GX800. The software is easy and intuitive, and it allows for a wide range of customizability for your gameplay style.

[Savir]

Great review! I don't know how you can use the mouse with all 5 weights in it. I use the Core version and I find my arm feeling tired after 1 hour of use with no weights.

[Marinatall_Ironside]

3 minutes ago, Savir said:

Great review! I don't know how you can use the mouse with all 5 weights in it. I use the Core version and I find my arm feeling tired after 1 hour of use with no weights.

Using all five weights for me doesn't affect me too drastically. Helps with my precision. You can customize the weight and feel of the mouse, that's for sure

[Savir]

Just now, JurunceNK said:

Using all five weights for me doesn't affect me too drastically. Helps with my precision. You can customize the weight and feel of the mouse, that's for sure

Yeah. It's one of the best mice on the market. The only problem I have with it is the dang scroll wheel. The infinite scroll feature is nice, but the regular scrolling feels so undefined and mushy. I wish logitech would make a replaceable rubber scroll wheel for this mouse.

[Marinatall_Ironside]

6 minutes ago, Savir said:

Yeah. It's one of the best mice on the market. The only problem I have with it is the dang scroll wheel. The infinite scroll feature is nice, but the regular scrolling feels so undefined and mushy. I wish logitech would make a replaceable rubber scroll wheel for this mouse.

Everyone has a preference so to say. I find the scroll wheel to be nice. It doesn't slip around and with the scroll wheel set to normal, it does have a bumpy feel. But to me, that's to be expected with this mouse since it uses a bar to hook into the grooves inside of the scroll wheel to give you that bumpy feel. But it is pretty loud when you try and go fast on it, but it's not so bad when you're going slow at it.

[NickTheMajin]

I bought the non spectrum for $30 as soon as the spectrum was announced. Great mouse. 

 

Only complaint is that its fucking hideous. It looks really "gamery" and the blue color is probably the worst possible choice they could have gone with. 

 

That said, $30, can't complain. 

[Teemo4Life]

I have small hands. 7 inches from bottom of palm to tip of the finger.