Logitech G502 X Gaming Mouse review

The Logitech G502 X is nearly identical to the Logitech G502 that preceded it. As such, if you have a G502 — whether it's the original Proteus Core, the upgraded Proteus Spectrum or the wireless Logitech G502 Lightspeed, you don't really need to upgrade. If you're already sold on the G502 design, then grab the G502 X (or the wireless Logitech G502 X Lightspeed) and call it a day.

However, if the G502 X is only one among many mice in your search, the situation is a little less clear. Right up front, we should state that the G502 X is an excellent peripheral, and a strong contender for our best gaming mouse list. It's comfortable, it performs well across a variety of game genres and it doesn't ask too much for what it does.

However, the gaming mouse market has become a much more competitive place since the G502 debuted, and there are now many other mice that offer similar functionality and performance — often for less money. Furthermore, the G502 X actually eschews a few handy features that its predecessor offered, including tunable weights and RGB lighting.

Nonetheless, it's hard to come away from using the G502 X without feeling pretty good about the experience — and about the slow and steady progress of gaming mice, in general. Read on for our full Logitech G502 X review.

Logitech G502 X review: Design

For the most part, the Logitech G502 X looks like a slightly less angular version of the G502. It's still a mid-sized (5.2 x 3.1 x 1.6 inches) gaming mouse, with either a black or white plastic chassis and a textured thumb rest. It still has an ergonomic, asymmetric design which should be ideal for most righties (and, unfortunately, unworkable for most lefties). The buttons jut out a bit less this time around, and the location of the palm rest grooves are a bit different. Otherwise, though, this is a familiar look.

The G502 X has nine programmable buttons in total: a left button, a right button, a clickable scroll wheel, two dots-per-inch (DPI) sensitivity buttons on top, a profile-switching button in the middle, two thumb buttons and a "sniper" button that temporarily lowers DPI right beneath them. There's also a non-programmable button that changes the scroll wheel's resistance between rigid and free-scrolling modes. It's an incredibly useful feature, and I'm shocked that more gaming mice haven't incorporated it in the last few years.

There are two unusual things I noticed about the G502 X, however: There are no tunable weights, and there's no RGB lighting. Not every gaming mouse needs these features, but the previous G502 models incorporated both. It's almost unheard-of for a high-end product to lose features in new iterations, unless absolutely no one was using them, and that's not the case for either the weights or the lighting. Since the G502 X costs the same as the G502 ($80), it's a little hard to shake the feeling that we're getting a slightly lesser product for the same price.

Logitech G502 X review: Features

As mentioned above, the Logitech G502 X has fewer features than its predecessor, having ditched both tunable weights and RGB lighting. This isn't a terrible thing, since it does make the mouse a bit more streamlined than before, not to mention much lighter at only 3.1 ounces.

On the other hand, it does mean that you're not getting all that many bells and whistles in your $80 premium gaming mouse. Using the Logitech G Hub software, you can customize the mouse's DPI levels (up to 25,600 — much higher than you'll ever need) and set up profiles for individual games and apps. That's pretty much all you can do, however, so if you love tinkering with mouse settings, the G502 X might not be the right choice for you.

Logitech G502 X review: Performance

One area where the Logitech G502 X positively excels is in its in-game performance. I tested the device with a variety of PC games, including Age of Empires IV, Doom Eternal, Marvel's Midnight Suns and Diablo Immortal, and wasn't surprised to find that the mouse deftly handled any genre I threw its way. With a high-quality sensor, the G502 X tracked my movements and responded to my commands both quickly and accurately.

It's worth pointing out just how comfortable the G502 X feels, and how well the weight complements its design. I don't usually think much about how a mouse feels while I use it, but I was often consciously aware of how well the G502 X fit my hand, and how closely the cursor's movement onscreen matched my hand's movement on my desk.

Logitech G502 X review: Verdict

The Logitech G502 X is a simpler mouse than its predecessor. But what it lacks in features, it makes up for in performance. Above all else, the device is comfortable and functional, and it works well with just about any game genre you can throw its way. It's hard to ask for much more from a gaming mouse. Part of me wishes that the G502 X did more to distinguish itself from the G502, but another part of me wasn't exactly sure what the G502 was missing.

In the same price range, it's also worth investigating the Razer DeathAdder V2, as well as the Corsair M65, both of which are cheaper and offer comparable feature sets. But the G502 X should provide just what most PC gamers need, and essentially nothing that they don't — unless, of course, you'd rather splurge for the wireless version.