Chiba Days #7 - The G603

Hello everyone and welcome to another chapter of Chiba Days! In the last chapter, I shared with you my little adventure in the electric town that is Akihabara where I went looking for a replacement mouse. Today, we will be continuing on that little adventure as we take a look at the very mouse that I chose as the replacement for my faithful workhorse.

For the past four years, my mice of choice for use on-the-go has always been Logitech's G602. Together with the G700, the G602 were one of the first few wireless gaming mice to be released by Logitech. The G602 in particular was the first mouse to combine Logitech's fantastic Delta Zero sensor together with a long 250 hour battery life. By simply toggling between Endurance and Performance mode, I only had to charge the G602's two AA batteries every 6 months. Top that off with an ergonomic design and a host of side buttons, the G602 was certainly a mice I held in very high regard.

As such, when it came to finding a replacement for my trusty G602, I immediately looked towards Logitech's spiritual successor to it, the newly released G603. From the outside, the G603 may not look like much of a successor to the G602 with its traditional 6-button layout and more streamlined design. But it is the insides of the G603 which make it a true successor to the G602.

For starters, akin the G602 in its time (with the Delta Zero sensor), the G603 also makes use of Logitech's new Hero sensor. Coupled together with Logitech's Lightspeed technology, the G603 is able to last up to 500 hours on a single set of AA batteries. That is two times longer that the G602 (250 hours) was rated at and with a sensor capable of nearly 5 times the sensitivity! As the icing on the cake, the G603's Lightspeed integration allows for connectivity to various devices over Bluetooth or the dedicated wireless receiver. 

In Japan, Logitech is known as Logicool.

The Logitech G603 was one mouse that I have kept a very close eye out on ever since its launch. After having read and watched several reviews singing praise to Logitech's wireless hero, it would be fair to say I have high expectations for the mouse. Finally having gotten my hands on it, I was genuinely excited to experience first hand how well the G603 would perform.

Unboxing was a rather simple process, gone are the days of the elaborate boxes by Logitech with flaps and cardboard pockets. It certainly loses some flare but, part of me is glad Logitech has decided to go for a simpler, no frills packaging style. Not only does this save cost, it also prevents the use of unnecessary resources which might just end up in the landfill. 

Aside from a simple manual and legal documentation, there was the G603 itself together with the USB wireless receiver and a USB port extension. There were no additional accessories such as a customization buttons or "gaming" stickers, which is certainly a plus in my books. I would have liked to see a travel pouch included but, that was not to be the case here.

The G603 comes included with two AA batteries from Duracell. If memory serves me right, the G602 also came with Duracell AA batteries which lasted a good 6 months before running out of juice. Unlike traditional wireless mice, the G603's batteries are inserted from the top rather than the bottom. This is done by simply lifting the upper shell which reveals the compartments for the two batteries. 

Rather than use the standard AA batteries that came with the mouse, I opted to use my personal set of Panasonic Eneloop rechargeable batteries that I lifted from my G602. The Eneloop's are one of the best rechargeable batteries and can provide longer battery life than what standard alkaline batteries are able to. Moreover, they also look great!

The G603, like the G602, can run with only one AA battery. Those who prefer a lighter mouse may opt to utilize that route. Personally, I prefer a weightier mouse. For that reason, I have both the batteries installed.

Compared to the G602, the G603 has roughly the same width and length. The G602 may appear wider and longer but, this is largely due to the "wings" on the left side of the mouse and the lengthened buttons which mostly serve as a design point. I was initially skeptical about the G603's plain design and lack of buttons. All of those perceptions were immediately quashed once I started using the G603 and was utterly impressed at how comfortable and ergonomic the design was. There is only one gripe I have with the G603's design and that would be the location of the Endurance/Performance switch which has now been integrated into the power switch at the bottom of the mouse.

The G603 has a similar mini wireless dongle to that of the G602 albeit with a slightly more rounded design. These wireless receivers are dedicated to the device alone allowing for a high polling rate. The G602 was rater at 500 Hz as it proudly displays on its wireless receiver. While the G603 double that number to the widely accepted competitive gold standard of 1000 Hz. In all honesty though, no competitive gaming would unlikely see any benefits above 250 Hz. 

With the batteries in and wireless receiver connected, I booted up Logitech's Gaming Software with the G603 having been immediately registered. No need for driver installations, Logitech's great software has you seamlessly covered. While dialing in my preferred settings, the first thing I immediately noticed was just how smooth and responsive the Hero sensor was. Even by today's standards the G602's Delta Zero sensor is widely considered one of the better optical sensors. But the new High Efficiency Rated Optical sensor is just on another level. Incredibly outstanding yet, completely understated. It is no surprise Logitech calls this new sensor, HERO.

So, how well does it work? In short, incredibly well. Within a few minutes of use, I was immediately accustomed to the G603's ergonomic shape and throughout long gaming sessions, I never once noticed the mice. It just seamlessly molded away, like an extension of my wrist. Something I would have never been able to say about the G602.

Now if you are wondering how any of these ties back to Chiba Days and Japan, it just serves as a point to show how far the PC peripheral and gaming market in Japan has grown over the past years. Where once associated with only visual novels or MMORPGs, PC gaming is starting to gain serious traction in Japan and if Logitech Logicool is leading the charge, you best sign me up for it too.

With that, I will leave you with a little sneak for things to come in the future. Until the next time, thank you so much for reading and have yourself a wonderful day ahead!