Sea god 2.0, now with more lighting options
At a Glance
(+) Finding Nemo: Futuristic design; thumb rest; dual-mode scroll wheel.
(-) Sharknado: Scroll wheel is loud!
The Logitech Proteus Spectrum is arguably one of the most anticipated peripherals from Logitech. Building on the success of the Logitech G502 Proteus Core, the Spectrum version has been updated to glow in 16.8 million different colors. In time, the G502 Proteus Spectrum will replace the G502 Proteus Core as Logitech's flagship wired gaming mouse.
The G502 Proteus Spectrum still has the aggressive angles and sharp lines reminiscent of a jet fighter from 2070. Its surface texture smoothly transitions from matte plastic into the hard rubber side grips. The numerous side buttons inconspicuously blend into the chassis for a seamless look.
This design is as functional as it is cool. The thumb rest on the right side does a good job of keeping your thumb off of the mousepad. The rubber grips on the left and right flanks feel exceptionally comfortable as well. The G502 Proteus Spectrum also has mouse feet for days—there are Teflon gliders in the front, back, middle, and sides of the base.
Being Logitech's flagship mouse, it's no surprise that the G502 Spectrum has fantastic build quality. With details like the metal scroll wheel, thick braided cable, and a polished chassis, the mouse is built to last. The buttons feel tactile and responsive and equally resilient with a life cycle of up to 20 million clicks.
Despite being 2.95 inches in length, the G502 Proteus Spectrum is friendlier to claw grip and fingertip grip users. The reason being that in palm grip, the user's thumb rests right over the thumb button, which make it prone to misclicks.
The mouse weighs in at 4.3 ounces, but this is configurable by the user. The G502 Proteus Spectrum comes with a set of extra weights that can be inserted to its base once its magnetic cover is removed. The weights are 36g apiece and V-shaped (for victory!). Users can use them to increase the weight of the mouse as well as to shift the balance point by distributing them unevenly to the front or rear. We chose to add two pieces to the center of the mouse for a heavier, but still balanced feel.
While we're glad to see both infinity scrolling and notched scrolling on the scroll wheel, its notched mode is incredibly loud. If you're going to be gaming when your roommate is studying, this could technically constitute as a noise complaint. In the infinity mode the scrolling is virtually silent, but is also more difficult to control. We initially had some concerns over whether the metallic wheel would become too slippery for sweaty fingers, but that concern was quickly laid to rest as the ridges on the wheel kept it very grippy.
Logitech installed the most bad-ass sensor it could find into the G502 Proteus Spectrum—its Pixart PMW3366 optical sensor is hailed by many as one of the best currently on the market. Logitech also flashed it with its G Delta Zero image correction algorithm to minimize acceleration.
The result is a buttery-smooth tracking experience. We didn't feel any acceleration or angle snapping. Movement was responsive and accurate. There were some small but noticeable jitters in small movements at DPI settings beyond 9,000, but I highly doubt that anyone would be playing at that range. While there's no setting to change it, lift distance is very low.
The G502 Proteus Spectrum features a condensed yet organized button layout optimized for lightning-quick access. The two buttons next to the left mouse button add extra functionality without being intrusive. There's also a thumb button in front of the thumb rest that's set to temporarily decrease the DPI by default. We find this to be a great asset when sniping in first-person shooters and making small adjustments in Photoshop. As useful as it is, gamers with larger hands may accidentally hit it if they slide their hand forward.
The Logitech Gaming Software is Logitech's "install once, work for all" driver suite, and has every setting a gamer would want to configure. Users can store up to three different profiles either on the mouse itself or on their PC. Other neat features include programmable macros, heat analysis map, and a fluid user interface with plenty of pretty animations.
Because it has "spectrum" in its name, we'd imagined that the RGB lighting would play a bigger role. Unfortunately, the programmable RGB lighting is only regionalized to the logo and the DPI indicator lights. The color of the logo can be set to change when the profile changes. The other, more critical indication is the three LEDs next to the side buttons that let the user know the current DPI setting. We prefer on-screen indicators, but installing custom drivers may not always be an option at LAN tournaments.
Retailing for $80, the Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum sits in the middle-high tier price spectrum. It's also $15 more than the Logitech G502 Proteus Core. Until the G502 Proteus Spectrum completely replaces the G502 Proteus Core, there's very little incentive to invest in the G502 Proteus Spectrum when the only difference between it and the original is the RGB lighting. But giving credit where credit is due, the G502 Proteus Spectrum has got every aspect covered to a T, and doesn't bust your wallet doing it.
