That was five years ago, and since then Logitech has done little to tinker with the G502’s winning formula: add RGB lighting and make it available for $60 instead of the usual $80, but the mouse seemed to need nothing more than that. In fact, I was surprised when Logitech informed me that the G502 was getting a major upgrade.
I have to admit that the G502 Lightspeed doesn’t live up to the lofty example of its predecessor due to its high price, clunky design, and unrelenting time sink. (There are better mice on the market today than what the original G502 faced.) But if you’ve been looking for the best gaming mouse you can use without worrying about wires, the G502 Lightspeed is up to the task.
There are a whopping 10 buttons on the top of the mouse. There is a right-click button, a left-click button, a clickable scroll wheel, and just below that, a button to adjust the resistance of the scroll wheel. This feature is very useful because sometimes you need precise scrolling, and other times you want to read through a page in a few seconds.
Right out of the box, the G502 Hero has a professional look. The sharply angled front has glossy buttons, a smooth hand rest, and minimal lighting so that the mouse is visible even when fully held. Stylish lines highlight the buttons and frame the textured sides. At first glance, the ergonomics of the design make it look even more powerful.
The mouse itself is extremely lightweight, with most of the weight falling on the top rather than the bottom. Instead, a convenient glossy tab allows the user to open the base with a light touch to reveal a compartment for the included optional weights. It is also possible to adjust the sensitivity of the sensors and reprogram almost every button. The themes of adaptability, customizability, and comfort run through almost every aspect of this high-performance gaming mouse.
But things get more interesting when you flip the mouse over. There is an on/off switch and a small circular pull-out compartment. By default, this compartment houses a wireless dongle and can also hold two optional 4-gram weights (more on that later). However, if you have a PowerPlay setup, you can also replace the PowerPlay battery and charge it wirelessly while playing. While this is a convenient feature, it does limit your weighting options.
That’s where Tunable Weights comes in. Like the wired G502, the G502 Lightspeed can have the panel removed and metal weights added; the G502 Lightspeed is not exactly the same design as the older mouse because of the space required to accommodate the wireless circuitry, but the result is similar The G502 Lightspeed is a very good example of a mouse that can be used for a variety of purposes.