Peripherals Logitech Performance MX, any opinions?

I always fancied the Revolution but the thumb scroll wheel put me off, i've also been looking for something that will track on my glass desk for a while. The performance MX does away with the scroll wheel and has a new sensor that can apparently do glass.

I'll be using it for 3D software, photoshop, after effects etc, as well as gaming, does anyone have any experience of the MX for gaming? plenty of reviews about but none really from a gaming perspective

 

If a mouse is popular for gaming, you can bet that it'll be fine for anything else, but the most important thing is how comfortable it is in your hand.

 

I have both MX Revolution and Performance MX. My opinion is same for everyone.

The MX Revolution (discontinued one), thumb scroll wheel, is actually a switch button, not an actual wheel. It goes forward and back and you can press it down. I use it in games for switching weapons or anything I need. Under Windows 7 desktop, I set it up so that it uses the new Magnifier, where it zoom-in/out/exit on the whole screen. Very useful, in my opinion.

The performance MX has removed the wheel and replaced it with 2 buttons (zoom, and a thumb button).

The MX Revolution has a motorized switch system for it's hyper speed scroll wheel, to switch between click and free style. This was amazing, as if you spin the wheel in click ode, it could be set up (and default behavior), to unlock and go free style until the wheel stops spinning. Works perfectly. As for the Search button on the MX Revolution.. I never understood it. I mean I changed it's behavior in the software for middle click.. so porblem solved... but why set it as default as Search.. it just made people complain. If you wonder, if you press on the wheel, it doesn't do the middle click, it engages the switch motor to switch from free style all the time to click mode (default, but again, this can be changed). If I was Logitech, I would have added an option to switch the button behavior from the wheel press and that search button (and make it middle click), so that people can pick which they like best, displayed at the setup screen. I think it would have been made things simpler. But for those who are not scared to use a software, then their is no problem in the first place, as you can just change it.
All this is gone with the Performance MX.. it's a cheap plastic switch mechanism that work by you pressing a mechanical switch button... CLACK is the sound it makes every time...

The MX Revolution used a fast charging (15sec ~= 10-20min of usage) Lithium ion battery. Works great and still get over a week of intensive use after 3 years. When my mouse was new I has 2 to 3 weeks of usage. And make that over a month for those who don't intensively use the computer/mouse.

While the Performance MX, 1x AA rechargeable battery is just NiMH, which wears faster, MUCH shorter battery life, and doesn't keep a charge for a long time (NiMH downside). If I was Logitech I would put 2x AA recharble batteries, and have the mouse auto switch between the second battery when one if empty.. to have double the time. Or even better. LEAVE THE LITHIUM-ION BATTERY. That Lithium-ion battery was what was distinctive with MX 1000, and MX Revolution.. that is what kick-ass about it, while, at the time, most wireless mouses had crap battery or poor performance, or even in some cases, doesn't work with rechargeable battery. So now all this is gone.

Another thing with the Performance MX is the mouse shape, while comfortable, it's not as comfortable as the MX Revolution, in my opinion.

And one last down side of the Performance MX, is that as the mouse is big, and totally empty inside due to the lack of motor, and lithium-ion battery.. your mouse click and everything are louder.

And for what?
Mx Revolution price was 160$ from Logitech website (obviously cheaper everywhere else)
Performance MX price is 120$ from Logitech website.
(prices in Canadian).

Oh sure, the Performance MX has more DPI, works on glass, which is nice... but they could have simply upgraded the MX Revolution.

Seriously, I would GLADLY pay the difference and get MX Revolution. If you can still get it, I would (assuming you don't have a glass table). If not, then it's not to worry. The Performance MX IS AN EXCELLENT mouse. It's shirt battery life is probably due to the new sensor and higher DPI. Additionally, you can just switch the AA battery or plug-it in while using it, which is nice addition. Just to me, the MX Revolution is even better.

Now assuming we just look at what's out there. I highly recommend the Performance MX.

Like for any keyboard and mouse I talk about, I recommend to pass a retail store just to hold it, and see how well it fits in your hands. Some people have bigger hands than others, and a mouse can't fit everyone.

An interesting mouse that Logitech released, was the G7. The G7 was the MX revolution without the side wheel, or the super hyper speed wheel) on steroids. It had a 1600dpi sensor of the MX Revolution (800dpi), which was new at the time for wireless mouses, and came with 2x lithium ion battery, which you could quickly switch between if you ever out of battery while playing or working. And allows on the fly DPI switch (oh the Performance MX does that as well), and it even came with a nice carrying case.

It didn't sell well... why? I don't know.. but I think it's because of it's color....


Ouch! That's ugly.

For a few month before killing it, they released the mouse with a new look:


What I noticed, however, is that retail stores still trying to sell the ugly one, and not get any of the nicer revision, so it was only available in very limited places, and sometimes even HIGHER than Logitech own website price.

I think if they kept the hyper speed wheel, released the black version only, it would have done very well.

 

I do like the Performance MX and absolutely love the scroll wheel, but I could never use it for gaming as the thumb buttons can't be "held down" i.e. it's just a click, no matter what I tried, which made cooking grenades impossible.

So instead of gaming/desktop I've used my Performance as a laptop mouse and it works great, albeit is a bit huge.

I never used the Revolution so can't compare those two, but my verdict about the performance MX is that it's excellent for office use, but with its weight and the thumb-button issue, I couldn't use it for gaming. I also had a G700 for a while and while it was better on these areas, the shape was a bit off for my liking.

 

thanks for the replies, especially your extremely comprehensive one goodbytes! , i have a glass desk and would quite like to do away with the mouse pad if possible (thats why it came up on google ).

i went to my local pcworld last week and had a feel of the mouse in my hand, but i couldnt persuade them to let me actually try one. its a shame about the battery life, but tbh the fact you can use it with the cord attached is great, and would i be able to buy a bigger capacity battery since its a standard AA design? im a fairly low sensitivity user anyway in terms of gaming so i'll be fine without a silly 6000dpi

 

You could get a glass mouse pad. I have the steel series I2. It has a sanded surface instead of smooth glass, so there is less friction against the mouse.

 

the whole point is to do away with the mouse pad anyway! i can always replace the feet for around a fiver so not too worried about wear tbh

 

The Performance MX comes with a pre-charge AA (Sanyo Eneloop, in Canada) with the mouse. And yes, the battery was fully charged when I got my mouse. It's capacity is not the best around, but not terrible. I don't have the mouse with me, as it's at my father place, so I can't check, but it's was good. I THINK it was 2000MAh. I do have at home Duracell rechargeable batteries that are 2650mAh, the best I could find... I use it for my digital camera which eats 4x AA's batteries (Canon PowerShot A75... yes it's old).

It is true, though, that unlike the MX Revolution, if your battery is dead, you can swap fairly easily, and AA's are easy to find. So I think, it's excusable for the shorter battery life over Lithium-ion. AND, as you said from what I said, you can have it plug-in and use it.

 

Yeah it's a 2000 mAh Sanyo Eneloop in there. For be the charging cable on the table has never been a problem as the table is a mess anyway and I can also charge my keyboard (K800) with the same cable.

 

ive also been looking at the K800 jipa, how does it perform? is the triggered lighting any good? does it have media keys?

looks like a P MX is on its way to me anyways so thanks for all the help

 

Yea it has media keys through pressing FN. Sounds awkward, but I'm a heavy media key user and got used to it really quick (mainly prev, next and play/pause). The lights work like a charm and so far I have battery life of 9 days (and counting) with the lights.

I absolutely love the touch and quietness of this thing.

 

how does it feel for gaming, is the keypress as shallow as the apple keyboard? also tempted by the k750 solar powered one too, but i do use back lighting to be fair

 

Forget about the solar model.. it looks like a solar power calculator, but bigger panels... ugly.

I don't have the K800 (why K800, it feels cheap... why not Logitech Wireless Illuminated keyboard, anyway). I have the Logitech Illuminated keyboard. So I believe, that the keyboard should be the same.

So here is my comments on my Illuminated keyboard.
- Its' excellent. The keyboard is heavy as well, it's like if it was a block of hard plastic where they cut it out and put the comments. Very strong quality.

- The back light does a great job in illuminating each key. It could do a better job, but so far, I haven't seen a keyboard that does it better. I believe it has to do with the limited power of the USB port. The keyboard is bright at max settings, and the illumination can be changed on the keyboard itself. It's OS independent.. so you don't need to worry in having that feature not working. The keyboard does keep the light setting in memory if the keyboard is cut of power (system off), so it's very well done.

The keyboard keys are better than a laptop. The spring system is way batter, and the keys are not as flat as a laptop keyboard, but flat never the less.. Basically when you us it, you wonder why Logitech doesn't make laptop keyboards for OEM's.
Is it a gaming keyboard? Key you press all the keys at the same time and all of them gets registered? No. But it's a well designed keyboard circuit. I had no problem in games, including FPS games.
The spring system is a stiffer than a laptop keyboard and has 0 flex on it. Making it ideal for heavy typing and gaming, for those who prefer a flat keyboard.

The media keys requires you to use the Fn button. HOWEVER, it can be switch to the contrary via Logitech SetPoint software (meaning any media keys does media, and pressing Fn+a media key, will do the F# key). You can also install uberOptions (free) hack to setPoint, and it provides you will all Logitech product options and more, for additional tweaking (this is how I got my Zoom in/out/Exit on my MX Revolution mouse, and Performance MX).
And yes, Logitech SetPoint (forgot to mention: same software for mouse and keyboard), as per application profiles.

The keyboard is sleek, simple and elegant, that screams professional at work, on a desk.
It's been 2 years I have mine, and it works like it was new. The ink on the keys is excellent, no sign any letter degradation (where the paint feels off, revealing the transparent plastic).

The NumLock, CapsLock, ScroolLock light indicator are there, but very well hidden. What I mean is that if the light is off, you really don't see it, like if there was no lights in the first place. Very cool.

Although you don't care as you are looking at the wireless version, but the USB wire is very well done. It's a textured rubber, and not the usual smooth one. The result is that the wire never blocks on the edge of the table. So I never had to fight with the wire. I wanted to mention this, to show Logitech attention to details.


TO add:
The keyboard is not like the Apple keyboard. When you hit a key, you don't feel like the key hit on concrete. I don't know how to explain it, but it's a joy to type on. I strongly suggest to go to a computer store and check out the keyboard. It's like it takes all that is wrong with a laptop keyboards and fixes it, all by keeping the back light and flat key design.

If I had to give the keyboard a score, it would be 10/10.

 

thats great thanks for your help, i have the G11 at the moment and tbh i find the travel a bt too long on the keys, so maybe this would work out for me. i like the fact you can swap the behaviour on the media keys too, thats a major boon for me. its expensive tho so i'll have a think, maybe see how much xmas money i get i notice i could send in my G11 on the logitech site and get 20% discount, which is attractive.

 

Yes, but I think you can find the keyboard cheaper than 20% in some online stores, especially if a store has it on special. Dell Canada had a special on the both wireless and wired version. I forgot the price of the wireless version, but the wired version was 50$ compared to 75-80$ in online store and 100$ at Logitech website.

While expensive, you have to remember Logitech exceptional service into account. Since my experience with them, I have no problem chasing out the money on a Logitech product. heck everything I have is Logitech, because of my experience, keyboard. mouse, speaker and webcam.

 

If you are doing 3D work and gaming then i can actively recommend the Alienware Tact X Mouse.

I have a Genius Traveller Laser Mouse, And i bought a logitech Revolution MX on launch day.

MX is still working perfectly, but i wanted something with a middle click and different style.

The alienware is wired, so i like to use it for games because its more responsive.

I also use a 3D Connexion Space Navigator - (PERFECT FOR SOLIDWORKS)

I invest so much money in mouses n the like because it just improves my 3D modelling skills, to make me more productive.

Anyway back to the TactX, i got mine 39.99 off ebay and it also has customisable colours, it is identical to the Logitech G9x inside, but has a smaller, and better looking shell. The Glide pads are also well placed and the on-the-fly dpi changing is a big bonus for getting stuff done in CAD.

Alienware is now produced by DELL/Logitech, so it carries the same Metal Scroll Wheel that i love, i mainly use it in 'freespin', but the switch underneath changes it to 'click' mode.

On my MX though, this was changed by the middle mouse click, which could not be used for anything else! NOT GOOD.

 

You know you can change this... you can make it so that pressing on the wheel does middle click, and make the search button switch modes.. OR leave the wheel action at it is, and make the search button a middle click (my setup). Or well you can configure each button to do anything you want really. Please check post. I just can't believe people don't know about the mouse software that comes with the mouse. It's all there!
And you can customize it even further with the free tweak add-on UberOptions: http://uberoptions.net/
Just install it, and your done.

 

ok i have the mouse now, overall i like it, but it seems to have an issue where the scroll wheel will turn when i pick it up or put it down (which i do quite a lot while gaming) causes me to change weapon randomly, very annoying. is there anyway to stiffen up the scroll wheel at all?

 

Press the black middle button, bellow (closer to your palm) of the scroll wheel. The wheel will now click.

 

yep i had it on click but it was still turning with the force of putting the mouse down, i turned off freescrolling in setpoint and that solved the problem, cheers