Ergonomic Disaster? Logitech G203 LightSync Review

The Logitech G203 is a budget gaming mouse for just $40 or £35. The same price as the SteelSeries Rival 3 in the UK or $10 more in the US (A full comparison of these two mice is coming soon). Logitech is well-renowned for making some great premium and budget gaming mice. The G203 has had many variants in the past with the latest being the G203 Lightsync. It is essentially the same as the previous versions of the G203 but has the latest RGB technology Logitech has to offer, keeping up with the increasing demand for flashy lighting in gaming setups.

Shape, Size and Weight

The Logitech G203 is a very small mouse. Upon purchasing I was aware it was going to be small, but it was even smaller than expected. It has a length of just 116.6mm, maximum width of 62.15mm and a maximum height of 38.2mm.

The G203 is also very light at just 85g. If you have read any of my other mouse reviews, you will know I am a fan of a light mouse. However since the weight is not adjustable, the mouse is clearly aimed at people like me who like a mouse as light as possible. In my opinion, they could have reduced the weight even further. 85g is still an impressively light mouse though.

From what I could find, Logitech do not seem to state what grip this mouse is designed for. Considering this mouse isn’t the most ergonomic, I think they should have stated this. It is suitable for palm grip only for those with smaller hands, and claw for those with small or medium hands. Even with these two grips I did not find it to be anywhere near as comfortable as other more ergonomic mice. This mouse is however well suited to those who use fingertip grip.

The lack of a non-braided cable is a reminder that this is a budget mouse however the rubber cable is lightweight and does not push back on the mouse much. A quality rubber cable is better than a poorly made braided one.

Performance

The G203 Lightsync is an optical gaming mouse which uses an unnamed “Gaming grade sensor”. It has a DPI range of 200 – 8000. The sensor was great for a budget gaming mouse. It was very responsive and accurate. The lift-off distance was very low which is brilliant and meant I never experienced any cursor jiggle while repositioning the mouse. Check out the video review for a detailed look at the lift-off distance.

As with other Logitech products the build quality is high and it is nice to see they have maintained this even in their more budget products. The primary mouse buttons were a pleasure to use. I felt they required just the right amount of force to activate. There was also no movement before you clicked - you either click or it doesn’t move. This made the click consistent and satisfying.

The bottom of the mouse has 5 relatively small feet, one in each corner and one around the sensor. The mouse has no issues smoothly gliding around the mousepad. Logitech did not include any replacements in the box, however the feet should last a long time and since the G203 Lightsync is exactly the same mouse as the previous G203 versions, replacement feet are readily available online.

Scrolling was also a great experience. The surface of the scroll wheel is flat rather than rounded making it feel wide and providing a consistent scrolling experience no matter where your finger is. It is rubber but not very soft. Each scroll is distinct and was not susceptible to a lot of double scrolling while playing games. The scroll wheel also had a large range of motion meaning you can scroll quite far in a single scroll. While making no difference in games this is appreciated for other day-to-day tasks I use my computer for.

Side buttons are never going to be something that make you want to buy a mouse but can be something that turn you away from one. For the most part if they work and aren’t a problem, they are fine. This was the case with the Logitech G203. The buttons are fairly small and stick out a lot. They do not require too much force to press and feel very satisfying. There is also a dpi button behind the scroll wheel which can be programmed to anything in the software. It is also up to a good standard.

Lighting and Software

The RBG lights were as vibrant as advertised. The standard colour wave was very satisfying and smoothly transitioned across the colours. RGB of this standard is becoming more and more accessible nowadays and it is nice to see Logitech implementing it with the full range of quality and features on even their cheaper products.

At first glance, Logitech’s software is simple and well set out. It has had years of development to make it as user friendly as possible. While it was very easy to use and offered a lot of customisation such as game specific profiles, some options were not to my liking. One of which is allow games to control lighting. This is a key part of what “Lightsync” is, but I personally found it annoying having my new mouse have the lights just turn off entirely while playing some games. However this is all very minor considering the huge range of features and customisation you get on this mouse for just $40.

The website advertises 6 programmable buttons, while this is true as all 6 buttons can be reprogrammed. I find it a bit misleading as this included the primary clicks which I am sure the majority of users will not be reprogramming. The software does allow for very good reprogramming with a wide variety of options and custom macro recorder.

In the box

As you would expect from a brand like Logitech the unboxing experience felt fairly premium despite the low price point. You get an instruction manual, Logitech G welcome booklet and a Logitech G sticker in addition to the mouse which is a Logitech sleeve. I wanted to point out how there are no plastic shells or unnecessary packaging as Logitech has made an effort to make the packaging as sustainable as possible. Although this doesn’t make any difference to the performance of the mouse it is still great to see.

Verdict

Overall the Logitech G203 LightSync is a great mouse for $40, however its shape means it will not be uncomfortable for a lot of people. If you are looking to get this mouse I would think about how much the “LightSync” features mean to you, if they aren’t then it may be worth buying the now cheaper G203 Prodigy which is the exact same mouse but with only single zone RGB.