General Observations

The box was in top condition and inside the package we found everything to be in order. Included with the mouse is a driver CD, a case of 16 weights (more on this later), and the usual documentation. Everything was pretty straight forward and worked out of the box. We'll have more detailing the software and it's features a little later.

As you can see the G5 has a more elongated shape than both the G3 and the MX1000. We did find that the switch from traditional mice shape to the elongated G5 caused some discomfort in the hand until we adjusted to the form. We think it'd be better if the G5 were shaped similar to the MX1000 as it was quite a comfortable mouse. Some discomfort but it fades after a "burn-in" period.

Also if you look at the G5 and the G3, specifically the right and left mouse buttons, you might notice a material difference. When using the G3 it is easy to tell that what your fingers are resting on an almost rubbery material that successfully keeps any moisture from interfering. The G5 uses a new material that Logitech has never used before; you can feel the difference but it's a nice smooth surface and you don't lose your grip on the mouse. It certainly doesn't feel like rubber and if we didn't know beforehand that it was on there, we might've just passed it off as being a slightly textured plastic.

The mouse is quite appealing on the aesthetic level. An interesting result of the painting process that Logitech uses is that every mouse looks different. Every mouse is individually finished, including hand-polishing with sandpaper. The mouse looks a little used, battle scarred. We certainly approve of this paint job.

Another appreciable change Logitech made is that instead of the simple rubber-coated cord most mice use, the G5 has a weaved sleeve around the cord. This is great as desk edges or chair wheels may damage a cord. Logitech has also removed the common secondary thumb button. We're kind of disappointed with this but can appreciate the reasoning behind it. While gaming your thumb may move around and you may hit the thumb button— We liked having two buttons, as it gave us more assignments. However SetPoint enables you to set all the buttons on the mouse (as well as on a per-application basis) so we just assigned a couple functions to the left/right tilt on the middle-mouse button (MMB from here) and found it to work just as well.

If you're having trouble getting the left/right tilt buttons, or any others to register in game control settings, we suggest mapping (in SetPoint) the button(s) to a keystroke (you can change the key mappings per application). Go back into the game, assign it in the settings, and you should be set to go (image).

The G5 also comes with PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) feet to decrease the amount of resistance between your mouse and the mouse pad. The feet work great, enabling a smooth glide around the mat. The feet come attached already and thus there's nothing to worry about doing with them besides using them. Also the bottom of the mouse illuminates, more specifically the weight tray.