If you’re like me, and you’re the type that’s particular about the mouse you’re using, then check out the Logitech G9x.  I spend a lot of time each day on a computer, so the pointing device I use makes a huge difference in my faily workflow.  I enjoy my Wacom tablet as well, but I only whip it out when I’m doing some major photo retouching or if my wrist starts to bother me.  The G9x mouse was designed with gamers in mind.  Even still, graphic designers, photographers, video producers, and anyone else spending a lot of hours on the computer will love this mouse for their daily design and editing tasks.  Whether on a Mac or a PC you will love it.  It’s the updated version of the ever popular Logitech G9.

Initial Thoughts

The shape of the mouse is a little bit funky looking.  My fear was that the mouse was going to be pretty uncomfortable, but seeing that I had found such a great rebate deal for the G9x on NewEgg, I couldn’t pass up giving it a shot.  It has a shorter body length, actually allowing your palm to rest on the mouse pad.  It turns out that I actually enjoy this a lot.  The mouse is very ergonomic and feels comfortable in my hand, and I never felt that the shape or design is a pain.  It didn’t even take much getting used to.

Why This Thing Rocks

Wired laser is the best technology you can get in a mouse right now.  It is the most accurate, and literally spanks optical technology.  Laser doesn’t shine red, as a lot of people think (that’s optical).  Laser mouses do not glow any specific colors; just an invisible light. I wouldn’t try to stare into the hole in the bottom of the mouse while it is on, but you get the idea.  A chorded mouse is usually a pain in the butt compared to the freedom of movement with a wireless mouse.  Why do I say that?  Well, the plastic or rubbery coated chord sometimes catches on the surface of your desk, or on the edge of other items like your monitor base, etc.  The fact that the entire mouse cord is covered in a cloth coated fabric sheathing is something that I thought was absolute genius about the Logitech G9x.  It sounds minor, but you don’t even understand how much of a better feel it gives the mouse when you’re whipping it around in a video game or going wild with tools in Photoshop.  Still, wireless has its own issues.  Like whenever my wife started up our Eureka vacuum cleaner, my old Logitech MX1000 wireless laser mouse would wig out and jump all over the screen.  Then there’s the whole recharge issue, which is way more trouble than it is worth, in my honest opinion.

If you find yourself whipping the scroll wheel a lot in Microsoft Excel, or whenever you’re doing general internet surfing, then you will love the hyperscroll feature.  A bunch of other Logitech mouses have this, as well.  The metal wheel on the G9x feels solid.  When you hit the button on the bottom of the mouse, you will be able to remove the little bumps from the wheel, activating hyper scroll.  Think of it as a fully automatic machine gun spray, instead of a 3 shot burst mode… only for scrolling down rows of screen space, if that makes any sense.  On the fly DPI switching comes in handy if you’re in a game, or if you’re editing something that needs the extra sensitivity.  You can either slow down or speed up the movement of the cursor by increasing or decreasing the DPI.

The grips are even interchangeable!  They pop off really easily with a little switch on the palm end of the mouse.  When they are on they feel just as firm and solid as any other mouse body.  There is one grip that keeps your thumb more off of the mousepad area, and one grip that is a little bit smaller feeling, only with a grippier finish.  I prefer the larger grip, but once in a while I like to change it up and pop on the alternative.  With either grip, you still get the convenient thumb buttons which make instant forward/back web browser navigation a piece of cake.  The forward back button take a little getting used to, but once you are hooked there is no going back.

Ever wish you could make your mouse heavier or lighter?  The G9x has a little tray that pops out, allowing you to customize the weight and feel of it with little metal weights.  Right now I prefer to have a heavier mouse, with all four 4 gram weights filling the tray.  You can also weight it more toward the front or rear; whichever you prefer for your gaming experience.

Conclusion

The Logitech G9x is honestly the best mouse I’ve ever owned, and probably one of the nicest I’ve ever used.  It’s going to have to be my favorite computer mouse of all time.  If you’re tired of the lag of your wireless mouse, and absolutely sick of swapping out dead batteries or cradling it to charge (and trust me, those rechargeable cradle mice always seem to die right when you’re in the middle of something important) then stop wasting any more of your precious time and consider buying this mouse.  My brother-in-law uses this same mouse on his 27″ Apple iMac and loves it, so don’t think that this mouse is only Windows compatible.  You don’t even need to install the Setpoint software that it comes bundled with.  There are also three color options (blue red and green) to change the LED colors to, without installing any of the included utilities.  Overall, this is the best mouse I’ve ever used for both gaming and work, and hope to continue using it for years to come.  I’ve always had a lot of faith and great success with all of my Logitech products. The included 3 year warranty from Logitech shows how much quality goes into them.  I’m pretty sure I’ll be using this mouse at least for 5 years or more, as I did with my last Logitech laser mouse.

Amazingly, a lot of graphic design jobs you might find won’t always have you on a mac.  Make sure you know how to use both – otherwise you’re going to have to educate yourself pretty quick once you land that first design gig straight out of college.  That means knowing what the heck you’re doing in Windows XP and the all new Windows 7, as well as knowing OSX.  Thankfully the Adobe programs are pretty much identical whether you’re on a mac or a pc, with the exception of the alt/option key on your keyboard (it’s not rocket science).

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