Logitech g502 proteus core vs spectrum: Is Spectrum worth over Core? : G502MasterRace

Specifications

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Manufacturer	Logitech
Manufacturer website	gaming.logitech.com
Model	G502 Proteus Core
Interface	Wired (USB)
Type	Gaming (FPS/MMORPG/RTS games)
Sensor type	Optical
Sensor model	Pixart 3366 (PMW3366DM)
Resolution, DPI	200–12,000
Number of buttons	11 programmable buttons (left, right, side-tilt scroll wheel, two top keys, profile switch button, G-Shift button and two side buttons)
Maximum acceleration, g	40
Maximum speed, points/sec	300
USB port polling rate, Hz	1000
Frame rate, fps	–
Internal memory KB	Yes
Scroll	1
Scroll vertical/horizontal	+/+
Cord length, m	2
Variable weight	Yes
Number of additional weights (weight, g)	5 (3. 6)
Adjustable body shape	No
Cable material	Fabric braid
Housing surface material	Gloss and matt plastic, rubber
Color	Black
Backlight	Yes, blue
Illumination zones	Logo / resolution indicator
Leg material	Teflon
Software	Yes (LogitechGamingSoftware)
Dimensions (L x W x H) mm	132 x 75 x 40
Weight, g (without weights)	121
Compatible with OS	Windows Vista / Windows 7 / Windows 8 / Windows 8.1
Optional	Built-in 32-bit ARM processor, weights for weight adjustment, built-in memory for three profiles, the ability to calibrate the sensor for any type of surface.

Delivery and contents

The mouse comes in a small cardboard box with a Gaming theme in blue and black. Its front part, containing a stylized image of a mouse, opens to the side and is held by a magnet. On the sides and on the back, the main marketing advantages of the device and its technical characteristics are described. nine0003

Throwing the cardboard aside, you can see the manipulator itself, covered with a plastic blister. However, putting a hand on it to try on the form will not succeed. It’s a pity.

The delivery set is very modest. The mouse itself, a set of weights for it and instructions. Moreover, the instruction describes only the process of installing the weights, and for everything else it suggests proceeding to the official website.

Look and feel

The streamlined design of the Logitech G502 Proteus Core is in many ways reminiscent of a modern science fiction movie spaceship. In addition to the general surroundings, the «wing» on the left, which acts as a thumb rest, adds a special similarity. The design of the product used glossy and matte rough plastic plus a few rubberized surfaces with a tenacious texture. The ergonomics of the form, no doubt, is designed only for right-handers. Glossy inserts in the body as a whole enliven its appearance, but the glossy finish of all additional buttons causes a slight bewilderment. nine0003

The USB mouse cable is 2 meters long, has a miniature ferrite ring on the plug side, and a very soft shoelace-like braid. Interestingly, even a relatively soft wire manages to slip out of this sheath at the bends, from which we can conclude that this weave will fray and wear out very quickly. The cable is protected from bending at the entrance to the mouse by a 25 mm rubber stiffening belt.

The left side of the mouse is rubberized in the middle and back where the palm of the hand touches the surface. The front part is made of glossy plastic. Here are two familiar side keys plus another vertical one, which, as a rule, is assigned the G-Shift function or an instant reset of the sensor resolution to a preset value. nine0003

If you look at the paddle from the front, you can see that the rounded case is littered to the side, and the right key is longer than the left one. Thus, the mouse completely repeats the shape of the human palm lying on the table.

Despite its rather large dimensions (132x75x40 mm), the G502 fits comfortably in the hand and fits any of the three main types of grip. The right side is also covered with a rubber texture in the form of small diamonds. In the hands of the manipulator is fixed securely, with it without much effort you can make vigorous movements, without fear of dropping during the next rearrangement. nine0003

The metal-styled scroll wheel turns with a noticeable click and has 24 distinct locking positions. It can also be used in inertial mode, which is activated by pressing the button closest to the wheel. Then the rotation occurs non-stop and almost silently, there are no fixation positions. In addition, the wheel tilts and pushes, giving the user the option to use three more additional commands. Inertial mode is more suitable for working with documents, and gamers are unlikely to turn it on at least once. Logitech has taken the G502’s reliability very seriously — it uses an optical encoder for scrolling, and all keys are equipped with Omron mechanical switches, for which a 20 million keystroke life cycle is claimed. If you think about it, it’s not that much. For example, if you make one click on the mouse button every second for a year, then the number of clicks will reach 31.5 million.

Near the left mouse button, on the end, there are two more additional buttons, by default switching the resolution up or down. The button near the wheel is not electronic and serves only as a mechanical switch to change scrolling modes between normal and inertial options. And immediately after it there is a profile selection key. Clicks of all keys are pleasant, not too loud and tactile clear. Putting it all together, the user gets 11 simultaneously available commands, with the possibility of reassigning them to any other command, function or macro. nine0003

But most importantly, the G502 uses, perhaps, one of the highest quality optical sensors with infrared illumination — Pixart PMW3366DM-VWQU, which is an improved variation of Pixart PMW3310DH-AWQT, which is in Steelseries Rival. The improvement is that the original was able to give out 6500 CPI, and here, using a 32-bit ARM processor, as much as 12000 CPI is achieved. However, all its charm is not in high numbers, but in the complete absence of acceleration, cursor jitter, straightening of the trajectory and other troubles that annoy professional cyber-athletes so much. In addition, it is possible to calibrate the sensor for any type of surface. nine0003

The mouse has six Teflon feet — three large (front, back and left) and three small (two near the sensor and one on the right edge). They have special slots for dismantling. I hope that spare legs will still be sold separately, and G502 owners will not have to look for replacement donors. The large size and correct location of the glide gives hope for a good glide without touching the surface with the edges of the device in case of accidental tilts.

The bottom panel is held on by a magnet and can be easily opened by pulling on the blue border. At the same time, it fits very precisely and with virtually no backlash. Behind the cover is a compartment for additional weights needed to balance the weight of the mouse along the axes to your taste. Weights and seats for them are made in the form of arrows. In total, I counted 12 options for the location of each weighting agent. nine0003

Five metal weights are packed in a special carrying case and weigh a total of 18 g or 3.6 g each. With their help, you can change the weight of the mouse in the range from 121 to 139 g. And although this functionality in general causes skepticism for me, perhaps it will really come in handy for someone.

The Logitech G502 has two lighting zones. The blue current resolution indicator consists of three vertical bars of different sizes that can represent five levels. His system of values ​​is specific. For example, two luminous stripes at the back are the second level, and two at the front are already the fourth. Somewhat misleading, but in practice, players rarely use more than two sensitivity levels. The indicator strips do not glow constantly and go out shortly after the next adjustment. Closer to the center left of the mouse, there is a decorative, illuminated G-shaped logo. Thankfully, this can be turned on or off, and in newer firmware versions, it’s even possible to adjust its brightness or glow rhythm. nine0003

Proprietary software

Proprietary software Logitech Gaming Software is essentially universal today for many of the company’s devices and is probably already familiar to many of our readers. Therefore, I will not dwell on it in too much detail and will only mention some of the features regarding the tuning of the G502. The first screen that greets the user in this software offers to choose to use the built-in memory profiles, or use the Gaming Software profiles saved on the PC. In the first case, three profiles will be available, but the mouse will be able to work and play macros without software when connected to any system. In the second case, the number of profiles is not limited, but driver installation is required. nine0003

Unfortunately, the amount of built-in memory is not indicated anywhere — neither in the manufacturer’s specifications, nor in the settings of the device itself.

Further, the user can reassign 11 mouse buttons, select and configure the required resolution levels and sensor polling frequency. You can assign standard mouse commands, Windows or keyboard commands, or write your own macros in the built-in editor.

If you choose to use profiles stored on your PC, you will get the following setup screen. Everything is almost the same, but at the top we see the profile selection ribbon, and at the bottom — the G-Shift function. Its essence is that when the key of the same name is pressed (any one can be assigned), the buttons change their value to an alternative one, which increases the number of available commands by another 9things. If the user is too lazy to configure all this, Logitech has provided a huge set of profiles for almost all modern games that are automatically loaded into the Gaming Software with every update.

The next screen allows you to select the type of work surface and configure the mouse to work with it. The program initially has settings for two gaming pads from Logitech — G240 and G440, and a default option. The user can create settings for any type of surface by adding it to the list and starting the sensor calibration process. nine0003

To start calibration, hold down the left mouse button and begin to write figure-eights on a new surface with it. It is important that the pointer speed is neither too slow nor too fast. To do this, you can focus on the speedometer from the third window, in which try not to fall into the red zones. When the setting is completed, release the left button and save the result. Thus, this manipulator can be considered practically «omnivorous» and unpretentious to the type of surface. On the other hand, a good mat will definitely improve the accuracy of moving and positioning the pointer. nine0003

Ergonomics and testing

About a month of use in office work and active games, this manipulator did not cause me any complaints. The positioning of the cursor was always accurate, acceleration, inertia, inertia, stalls, or jitter were never noticed. Any problems with working on different surfaces were solved by one-time mouse calibration through native software. In addition, in the advanced settings, you can turn off the option of cutting corners, which will undoubtedly please not only hardcore players, but also designers working with graphics. In a word, the Logitech G502 Proteus Core fully met the expectations placed on it. On the other hand, using the highest mouse sensor resolution settings is unlikely to be useful to anyone. In terms of ergonomics, the manipulator also turned out to be good. The shape sits perfectly in the hand, and, as mentioned above, fits well with any type of grip. In my opinion, the body of the device is perfectly balanced along the axes and does not require additional weighting or shifting the center of gravity. nine0003

I would also like to mention the gaming surface on which the mouse was tested, kindly provided to us for testing complete with a mouse by Logitech. It’s called the G440 and it’s a hard plastic mat that comes in a large box. On the reverse side, as an example, a separate fragment of the playing surface cover is glued.

The dimensions of the carpet are: 340x280x3 mm. Gliding along it is not very fast, the surface has a noticeable resistance, so it can be more likely attributed to the «Control» type — a type with increased pointer positioning accuracy at the expense of movement speed. Accordingly, I once again express the hope that spare legs for the G502 will still be available in retail sales, since on such a surface they will wear out rather quickly. nine0003

Three-layer structure of the playing surface. The bottom layer is made of tenacious corrugated rubber, the middle layer is actually a plastic base, and the top one is a thin polypropylene surface with the smallest uniform texture. It is her sample that is pasted on the box. Each layer is just 1 mm thick.

Results

Let me return to the statement with which the review began. The Logitech G502 Proteus Core is a truly gaming mouse that, in my opinion, has two main features: an excellent sensor and a comfortable universal shape. Due to this and a large number of well-placed buttons, the mouse is suitable for all genres of games, including MMOs. nine0003

A few words about the features. Although the build quality and fit of the parts of the device as a whole is at a good level, the wire braid needs some refinement in order to increase its resistance to wear.

On 4 марта, 2023 By alexxlab

• Sonstig