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Comment by jjtheblunt | Hacker News Reader

i have a logitech mx something and it's absolutely awesome.

I loved my Performance MX. I finally had to replace it at work (software wouldn't install after migrating to Windows 11) and the MX Master 3 I got seems much ergonomically worse to me. I also am not a fan of the thumb wheel replacing buttons. Only thing I won't complain about is that the resolution is better. From testing my coworkers' mouses (older Masters) I'm pretty sure they have each been a step downhill from my perspective.

My sister in law gave me her G700S to fix the main button microswitches, and she convinced me that it's the apotheosis of the design - it's what should have replaced the Performance MX. No soft-touch plastic, extra buttons, and the higher resolution sensor. I'll probably have to get one off eBay.

Edit: also all of the Masters have non-user-replaceable batteries.

But the battery only lasts a day or two. The G604 is almost as nice, but battery lasts weeks. But it will likewise need switch replacements before long and is likewise no longer made. None of Logitech's current mice fill the same niche. Why do they discontinue their most popular mice without replacing them? Who can say. I'm pretty confident a direct 700/604 replacement with better switches would sell well.

> But the battery only lasts a day or two

Yes, but the battery is standard and easily replaceable.

My main gripe with the G700s is the weight, although it's not much heavier than the mx master 3. It also helps to have a great mousepad, or else I get tired of pushing that brick around. There are also aftermarket pads if you use it on the desk and they wear. I haven't tried any, though, my pads are still fine.

> Yes, but the battery is standard and easily replaceable.

The G604 that the prior post referenced uses a single AA battery, so also standard and easily replaceable.

I have a 20-year-old hard plastic gaming mouse pad I use at home and it's terrific. At work I have some promotional neoprene covered pad with a terrible Qi charger on one side. The mouse pad similarly works great. The biggest annoyance I have with these things is that I have replaced the switches on all of them, the process of which tends to destroy the skates. None of the replacement skate kits ($10, highway robbery) on eBay or Amazon or whatever include the thick adhesive like the originals, and all the foam tape I can find is too thick, so I've taken to building up layers of double sided tape until they are both even and proud of the recesses in the mouse. This isn't exactly a criticism of Logitech except that they could absolutely sell repair parts for their peripherals and they don't.

I can't say I like the 604 from looking at it, but that's a pretty surface level judgment and I'd have to use it to really compare. For my purposes a rechargeable mouse that lasts more than a day is fine because I'm using this at work and I just plug it in when I leave. Having a replaceable rechargeable battery also means if it starts running out of juice before one day I can just pop in a new battery and it'll be good for a couple more years.

G604s are pretty annoying to open up but if you don't want to solder on eBay they have full replacement boards that you can just drop in that have new switches already soldered in there for you.

Those are great but often expensive mice. I wish the Apple tax didn't extend to third party hardware, but here we are.

It's not really an Apple tax. Those are just great mice, and I've used variations of them on Linux for more than a decade.

(except that my latest one has just suffered catastrophic battery failure)

Catastrophic? Like a battery fire?

It has just stopped holding charge. It can be 100% charged according to Solaar, unplug the cable and it is discharged in < 1 minute. Warranty replacement on the way.

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