Logitech G604 Review

With gaming mice manufacturers (and the gaming mouse enthusiast scene) mostly focusing on lightweight FPS mice these days you’d almost forget that there are people who aren’t interested in the latest hyper light, stripped down FPS mouse. Some prefer to go for a heavier mouse with tons of customization options, and the Logitech G604 is one such mouse.

Coming in at a (for a product of this type) rather competitive price, the G604 seems to focus on ease of use and comfort over anything else, and with its myriad of extra buttons and input options you can bind a ton of extra abilities or actions to your mouse itself.

It the G604 worth it if you’re looking for that kind of mouse, or are you better off skipping it? Read our full Logitech G604 review to find out!

At A Glance


Logitech G604

Not every mouse should cater to the ultra lightweight competitive FPS market, and the Logitech G604 does what it has to do: it’s a reliable product with a bunch of extra features that seems to be tailormade for MMO/MOBA games or more casual gaming.

Pros

  • A lot of extra functions and features
  • Flawless wireless and gaming performance

Cons

  • Heavy
  • Fields a little too unwieldy for FPS (and other fast-paced) games

Specs

SensorHERO
Polling Rate125 / 500 / 1000 Hz
Button SwitchesOmron
ConnectionWireless
ShapeErgonomic
Length12.82cm
Height4.39cm
Weight137g
Width6.01cm

First Impressions


Let me first say this: this isn’t the mouse for you if you prefer nimble, lightweight gaming mice. The G604 is a heavy and bulky mouse, but that doesn’t necessarily have to be a problem. I myself prefer lighter mice, but I know plenty of people (yes, even FPS gamers) who like their mice to be heavier. If you’re one of those people then do read on. If you’re constantly looking for the lightest mouse out there you should probably skip this one.

With that out of the way we can get to the actual first impressions, and to be honest there isn’t a lot to note here. Yes, it’s really heavy (especially if you compare it to recent FPS mice) but as I said that doesn’t necessarily have to be a problem. Aside from all that the G604 looks more like an office mouse than a gaming mouse to me. The varieties of black finishes combined with a silver scroll wheel and complete lack of RGB make for a mouse that doesn’t necessarily draws the attention.

The most eye catching factor here is the thumb rest. It’s not something that I personally prefer on a mouse (not even if it’s purely an office mouse) but if you’re into that then the G604 is one of your only options in today’s market.

The G604 is a large ergonomic mouse. Weighing in at 137 grams (with included battery, mind you) it’s one of the heavier mice that I have personally reviewed. On the side you’ll find six side buttons, and there are two additional buttons sort of ’embedded’ in the left mouse button. To top that off you get a tilting scroll wheel and the ability to have it scroll freely. If you also consider the fact that it’s a wireless mouse then the weight starts to make a bit more sense, and seeing as making the lightest mouse on the planet clearly wasn’t a priority for the designers I won’t harp on about the weight.

Packaging


Logitech didn’t add too many bells and whistles to their packaging. Inside the box you’ll find the mouse, an AA battery, an extender cable for the dongle, a quickstart guide, a Logitech sticker, and an advertising pamphlet.

Aside from the USB receiver (which can be found inside the mouse; don’t worry if you don’t find it in the packaging) you get everything that you need here, and the inclusion of a battery is a nice touch that helps you get to gaming (or whatever it is you were planning to do with the mouse) right away.

Shape, Coating, and Mouse Feet


The G604 seems to focus on ergonomics and comfort over anything else and if you ask me the designers did a great job here. It’s not a shape that I would personally use for any flick-heavy games but it’s definitely comfy. The rather central hump does mean that you need to place your hand quite far up on the mouse if you want to get an ideal ‘fit’ (at least for my hand size, which is 18×10.5 cm) so in that sense it does force you to hold it a certain way, but I find this to be the case with most of these types of mice, so if you are a fan of this type of design I don’t think that you’ll have any issues. Do note that there’s a pretty aggressive curve towards the back, meaning that people who like to have a lot of palm contact might be a bit uncomfortable here.

Multiple finishes can be found on the G604. There’s a glossy stretch of plastic right behind the scroll wheel and the rest of the mouse is finished with a matte black coating. The grip portions of the mouse are covered with a thin and textured rubberized material though, and that’s going to be the most important texture for determining how the mouse feels. As you may or may not know I’m a fan of rubberized elements on a mouse, so I really like this on the G604. It’s a nice touch that the rubber extends all the way to the front right side, meaning that all of your fingers that are in contact with the mouse rest on the same rubberized texture, no matter how you hold the mouse.

On the side of the G604 you’re going to find six side buttons instead of the usual two. That’s handy for MOBA or MMO gamers in particular (though it can also be advantageous for FPS players of course) and luckily they are pretty easy to distinguish. All six are fairly thin and protrude from the shell with enough distance between them so that you always know which one to press. There’s also just enough resistance so that you can roll your thumb over the array of buttons in order to press the right one without accidentally actuating an unwanted button. I really do like how these have been implemented here, even if I don’t use these kinds of mice for gaming myself.

On the bottom there are four (five, if you include the ring around the sensor) thin mouse feet that do fine. They’re not scratchy or anything on my copy, so I don’t really have anything good or bad to say about them. It’s kind of hard to judge the speed of these skates since the mouse itself is on the heavy side which adds to the bulk but I wouldn’t swap these skates out at all if this was to be my main mouse: they glide smoothly and without any issues.

Due to the shape and weight of the mouse I wouldn’t recommend it to fingertip grippers or claw-dominant grippers who like to leave the bottom portion of their palm ‘floating’. The mouse really does encourage you to fully rest your palm on it: if you don’t then you’ll have difficulties reaching some of the extra buttons (and if you buy this mouse you’ll probably want to use those) and aside from that it’ll also feel quite awkward due to the curve at the back.

As always I want to add a disclaimer to this section: everyone is different. You might be a fingertip gripper who loves this mouse, for example. Take these ‘mouse grip guidelines’ that us reviewers put out with a grain of salt.

Buttons and Scroll Wheel


Logitech uses Omrons underneath their main buttons. I have never had an issue with these switches and I also haven’t encountered any problems with the buttons on the G604. On both main buttons there is a touch of post travel but it’s not enough to annoy me and, most importantly, there isn’t any side travel to be found at any point. The main clicks aren’t the crispiest and snappiest I’ve ever seen but they do actuate with enough tactility and feedback to feel satisfying and the weight of these main buttons is almost perfect if you ask me. They’re on the lighter side of the spectrum but not the point where I had any accidental clicks when I just wanted to rest my finger on the button, so all is well here.

I already touched on the extra side buttons in the previous section: they’re nicely placed and designed and feel quite a bit heavier to press than the main buttons but I like it like that since it prevents accidental clicking. The same goes for both extra buttons next to the left click: they’re somewhere in the middle between the rigidity of the side buttons and the lightness of the main clickers but both feel great to click and I never had any issues with accidental presses.

The scroll wheel, then, is perhaps the star of the show for me. In its normal form it’s ‘just’ a really solid scroll wheel with a decent amount of definition between both steps but press the button right underneath it and you unlock the magic. That allows the scroll wheel to spin freely, meaning that you can give it a little push and it’ll keep scrolling on its own until the laws of physics bring it to a stop. This is perhaps not the most useful feature for gaming (though it definitely helps with abilities where you want to maximize the number of inputs and for things like bunny hopping) but it’s great for productivity and browsing. The scroll wheel also tilts, meaning that you get two extra input options that you can access by tilting the wheel to either the left or right side.

In short: if it’s extra buttons you desire then the G604 is a dream come true. All extra buttons are placed thoughtfully, and even the tensioning on the clicks of these buttons is pretty much perfect for me personally. Top that off with the great scroll wheel and you’ve got a full featured mouse with an awesome amount of customization options.

Build Quality and Cable


When I shake the mouse or make a big swipe I can definitely hear and feel some things moving inside the mouse. Not in a ‘something’s broken’ way but more in a ‘something is moving a bit in the cargo hold’ kind of way if you understand what I mean. Whether or not this annoys you (it does kind of annoy me personally) will come down to preference but I have experienced this with all of these mice with free scrolling wheels so perhaps it’s something that’s inherent to the design.

I did not find any creaking or flexing parts. That’s something that is to be expected with such a sturdy mouse but it’s worth mentioning since I like to be thorough.

Given the fact that the G604 has no cable (not even a charging cable since it uses batteries) this section is rather short. The only included cable is the one that you can use to place the receiver closer to your mouse and that one’s made out of a regular thin rubber.

Sensor and Everyday Performance


You can use the G604 in Bluetooth mode or in Logitech’s LIGHTSPEED Wireless mode. Since this is a website dedicated to gaming I almost exclusively tested it in LIGHTSPEED mode and the HERO sensor that’s inside the G604 performs exactly as we’ve come to expect from Logitech’s sensors. There’s no delay, nor is there any smoothing or acceleration. In short: the G604 translates your movements with perfect precision, which is what you should expect from a modern gaming mouse. In LIGHTSPEED mode the battery should last for 240 hours of actual usage (I didn’t reach that limit during my testing so I can’t comment on that) and in Bluetooth mode it can last up to 5.5 months under standard usage according to Logitech. That’s mightily impressive, and it means that you won’t have to be switching out the battery very often at all.

The G604 can be used out of the box without any issues but if you want to get the most out of it you have to download Logitech’s software. Their G Hub software (as it’s called now) undergoes changes pretty frequently but it’s not my favorite piece of software if I’m honest. It just seemed easier to navigate and understand a couple of iterations ago. I don’t think it’s hard to use the program today but I can’t help but think ‘why change something that works’ when it comes to Logitech’s software.

Software aside: the G604 does have onboard memory, so if you’re someone who doesn’t like driver software you can always just download it once to program your mouse and then ignore it.

Logitech G604 Review – Conclusion


If you’re looking for an ergonomic mouse with a bunch of extra buttons and/or you like heavier mice then the Logitech G604 is one to consider. With its flawless wireless performance and ditto sensor it’s an interesting product for people who like these kinds of ‘luxury, full-featured’ types of mice. Without any noteworthy flaws it’s as such a recommendation if you’re after this type of mouse, and it’s also one to consider if you’re a MOBA/MMO gamer due to the myriad of extra features that it has.

For anyone else I’d recommend looking somewhere else though. I’m not someone who says that mice over 70 grams are useless, but this is definitely a very heavy mouse, and that combined with its ‘comfort first’ design style makes for a mouse that isn’t really suited for (fast-paced) FPS games.

Not every mouse should cater to the ultra lightweight competitive FPS market though, and the Logitech G604 does what it has to do: it’s a reliable product with a bunch of extra features that seems to be tailormade for MMO/MOBA games or more casual gaming. It’s a great one for that.

This product was received for free from the manufacturer and given to our reviewer to test and review. Brands and manufacturers have no editorial control over our reviews. For more information, check out our review FAQ.

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