Logitech G203 Lightsync

• PROS

  • Improved lighting options
  • Solid sensor specs for the price
  • Very affordable

 

• CONS

  • Basically identical to the G203 Prodigy
  • Small for a palm-style grip

Logitech’s simplest gaming mouse just got a little bit flashier. The G203 Lightsync ($39.99) upgrades the company’s G203 Prodigy with a little more room for RGB customization. If you’re looking for a no-frills gaming mouse, the G203 (Lightsync or otherwise) is a decent choice. It’s light and it’s fast, and that’s really all you need for most games. Are there areas where Logitech could have made some improvements? Definitely. But for the price, the Lightsync’s high quality is enough to make it a safe entry-level pick.

Let’s Lightsync Up

The G203 Lightsync is a simple wired mouse, and, since it’s nearly identical to a mouse that’s been around for a few years, it may look very familiar. Its buttons fall into the right-handed six-button gaming mouse layout: two clicks, a scroll wheel, and a DPI-preset select button in the central column. On the left side, you have two side macros. It’s about as simple as a right-handed gaming mouse gets.

In keeping with the general trend toward lighter, competition-friendly mice, the G203 is smaller than the average gaming pointer, measuring 1.38 by 4.5 by 2.28 inches. That smaller stature puts it more in line with “mini” esports mice made for claw-style grip players, like the Razer Viper Mini and the Cooler Master MM710. Unlike those mice, though, a high-sloping base shape keeps the bottom of your hand from dragging behind your mouse when holding it palm-style. Despite the smaller shape, the G203 doesn’t gain much of a weight advantage: At 2.86 ounces, it’s an average weight for a competitive mouse, a bit heavier than you’d expect for one this small.

 

The shape is surprising, however. Though it doesn’t have the ergonomic hump near the base of the thumb that I look for in right-handed mice, it is not uncomfortable to hold. In a category increasingly defined by “faux ambidextrous” mice, which boast about providing little to no support for your hand, that is not a small accomplishment. Rather than using a shape that guides your hand into a specific position, the G203 balances things out by simply raising the base of the mouse all the way across from left to right. Though the mouse is technically lower than average, it feels like your hand is riding high.

With a mouse this simple and inexpensive, the optical sensor is incredibly important. While most premium gaming mice—particularly those from major manufacturers—tend to work fine, there is more room for variation at the low end of the spectrum. That said, I can’t remember a time when a Logitech product disappointed on the tracking front. The G203 Lightsync’s proprietary “gaming-grade” sensor tracks at up to 8,000dpi, and, like the Prodigy’s, is accurate at up to 200 inches per second. That’s in the same ballpark with most modern mice in its class but not groundbreaking.

Last but certainly not least, we should talk about the G203 Lightsync’s RGB lighting, as it represents the mouse’s primary upgrade. Like the G203 Prodigy, the Lightsync features two lighting elements, a light-up logo on the base and an RGB rim around the back of the mouse. Unlike the Prodigy, however, the Lightsync allows you to set three distinct lighting zones for the left, middle, and right side of the rim. Though it’s an improvement, the customization isn’t great: Weirdly, you cannot set a separate color or pattern for the logo. (It blends the color from the left and center sections of the rim.)

This belies a larger issue: The G203 Lightsync isn’t much of an improvement over its predecessor. Though there is an upgrade, it’s the bare minimum necessary to refresh the design and maintain its current price point. This doesn’t really change anything for the average new mouse buyer—it’s still a good mouse—but the improvements aren’t worth trading in your Prodigy.

Light Up the G Hub

The G203 Lightsync supports Logitech’s gaming hardware configuration software, G Hub. G Hub is among the best, most intuitive pieces of config software around for mice. It’s very easy to remap buttons, create macros, set a profile’s four DPI presets, and of course, customize the mouse’s RGB lighting.

Through G Hub, you can create as many configuration profiles as you please, and sync them to the games on your system. The G203 Lightsync doesn’t have onboard memory, so those profiles are locked to your device. That’s unfortunate, especially for a mouse with esports leanings, but expected given its price point.

Low Cost, Low Maintenance

The G203 Lightsync costs $39.99, so it’s more than fair to call it a budget gaming mouse. That space is more crowded and complex than it’s been in the past, because of the rising demand for cheap and light but accurate esports mice. For now, the Lightsync also needs to compete with its predecessor. In the short term, Logitech continues to sell the G203 Prodigy, which is essentially the same mouse with unicolor lighting, for $29.99.

Though it doesn’t quite keep up with optimized and refined competitive mice like the Glorious Model D, the G203 Lightsync is a very good all-around choice for a cheap gaming mouse. It’s comfortable for all grip styles, despite its small stature; it’s simple and easy to use. For a lot of people, that’s enough.