If you are a serious gamer, you know your mouse and keyboard are all that’s standing between you and victory. With the wrong tools, you could be facing defeat. Mouse behemoth Logitech has been making big inroads into the gaming sector with its sub-brand G Hub. What was once an uncool brand selling office mice, is now at the cutting edge of gaming technology and sponsoring high-level esports.
The latest gaming mouse from Logitech is the G309, a relatively affordable rodent that offers dual wireless connectivity in the form of Bluetooth and the low latency Lightspeed technology. Physically, the mouse is superbly light at 86g but can be 18g lighter if you take out the single AA battery and use Logitech’s Powerplay technology instead, which is like a powered mouse mat with capacitor technology.
I am no gamer but I thought I would look at the G309 to see what it has to offer. First up, the G309 is a wonderfully sculpted mouse that fits snuggly in the hand. The sensor in the mouse has a HERO 25K DPI sensor which makes it very sensitive. In Bluetooth mode, the G309 can run for 600 hours before it needs a new battery. With Lightspeed connectivity that figure drops by 50%.
Connecting the G309 via Lightspeed is perfect for high-performance gamers and makes the G309 faster even than most wired mice. By combining Lightspeed with Logitech G’s HERO 25K sensor, the G309 has a resolution of up to 25,600 DPI with no acceleration or smoothing.
Lightspeed technology can connect two devices using one receiver via G Hub’s Device Pairing Tool. Players can connect the G309 Lightspeed mouse with the same receiver as a Logitech Lightspeed gaming keyboard, including the recently launched Logitech G515 TKL Lightspeed model. This is formula 1 levels of performance.
The switches on the G309 are wonderfully clicky and positive. There are six buttons including Left, Right, clickable scroll wheel, third button, plus two side buttons for the thumb. The buttons have a positive feel and click which is due to the use of Lightforce switches which are a hybrid optical-mechanical design.
Lightforce switch technology offers fast, reliable and precise operation which is exactly what you want when gaming competitively. The switches use galvanic contact parts that work like mechanical switches to give satisfyingly tactile feedback but with ultra-low-latency optical actuation.
In use, the G309 is a dream because it feels so light and solid. It glides over a mouse mat thanks to some low-friction pads that are super smooth. The mouse is incredibly precise and the tracking can be set using the G-Hub software. Almost every aspect of the G309 can be customized using G Hub. The options are so bewildering that you may find the choices a bit too much unless you are an elite-level gamer.
Verdict: The Logitech G309 is one of the best-value gaming mice on the market. It is a high-performance beast but you might not want to go down the rabbit hole of customization too much. I can see a day when all elite gamers will have a team of techs to tweak their mice and keyboards just to give them a competitive edge. If you want a first-rate mouse with loads of options, the Logitech G309 is perfect.
Pricing & Availability: The new Logitech G309 Lightspeed mouse is available in black and white colorways from LogitechG.com. The retail price is $79.99 / £79.99 / €79.99.
