More than 20 years ago Logitech introduced their first mouse to the computing industry in 1981. For the next 18 years Logitech mice tracked motion using the now familiar ball-based mechanical system. In 1995 Logitech released its first optical sensing technology for trackballs. Then, in 2000 they released their first mouse with a optical tracking system which has become the standard today. There were some downfalls to this early optical mouse most notably the inability to work on some surfaces and trouble with quick motions. In 2002 Logitech worked with partner Agilent Technologies to develop their MX Optical Engine which is used in all of their new mice.
Traditional vs. optical
The biggest problem with traditional ball mice that probably everyone has experienced is when it gets dirty. Because traditional mice have a ball in them that rolls around on some surface it is bound to pick up debris. This debris that is picked up will eventually clog the rollers and cause the mouse to be choppy or to stop completely. When that happens you have to take out the ball, clean the rollers, and your back up and running again. Though the solution is simple and normally takes only a few minutes it does get annoying. If you have ever tried to use a traditional mouse without a good mouse pad you irritation it can cause. If you do not use a mouse pad with a good surface to properly move the ball your pointer will no go where you want it to and be inaccurate. Optical mice do not have either of these problems because they track movement without moving parts. Not only are there no moving parts but they can be used on almost any surface.
How optical mice work
Optical mice use a LED to light the surface below the mouse, a lens that focuses the image of the surface on the sensor of a tiny digital camera, and a specialized digital signal processor (DSP) with intelligent software algorithms to analyze the images.
Motion is tracked by taking a continuous series of pictures of the surface under the mouse. These pictures are taken very quickly so there are overlapping areas between successive images. The images are fed to the DSP, which analyzes small surface details to see how their relative position changes from one picture to the next. From this analysis the direction and amplitude of movement are determined. For example, the pictures below simulate two successive images captured by the digital camera within an optical mouse. Details in image 1 are compared with image 2, and from the difference in position the DSP determines the mouse is moving down and to the right.
Advantages of the MX Optical Engine
As mentioned earlier, optical sensors are complex systems and overall performance is a combination of many factors. Because of this, nearly every aspect of the MX510 has been enhanced to set a new benchmark in performance. The following are some of the key features and improvements.
Image Processing Power
Logitech’s MX510 Optical Engine has an Image Processing Power of 5.8 megapixels per second, more than two times higher than other leading mice. This number attests to the significantly improved tracking capabilities of the MX Series.
Sensor Size
The MX510 Optical Engine captures images that are more than 80% larger than those from other sensors on the market today.
Frame Rate
Frame rate is another important factor of tracking quality. If the mouse is moved too quickly and successive images don’t overlap, then the DSP will not be able to determine actual motion and the cursor will move in a random direction. The MX510 Optical Engine combines improvements in all these areas with a significantly increased frame rate for accurate, responsive control under nearly any circumstance. It’s safe to say that few people will ever move a mouse faster than the MX510 Optical Engine can track.
Resolution
Logitech’s MX510 Optical Engine resolution is 800 DPI, twice that of most competitors’ optical sensors. This allows smoother, more accurate cursor control with large screens while minimizing the amount of left-and-right hand motion. By default, the cursor is also easy to control with smaller screen sizes, and Logitech’s software enables users to adjust the responsiveness of the cursor to suit their individual preferences.
The Optical Path
Because the lens is just a fraction of an inch above the tracking surface, and the actual size of the images is very small, even slight variations in manufacturing tolerances can result in blurry images that seriously degrade tracking quality. Logitech designed a proprietary new lens for the MX510 Optical Engine that improves the depth of field. The result: more details are captured in each image with greater clarity.
Software Intelligence
The proprietary algorithms used in the MX510 Optical Engine incorporate years of extensive research and testing, and contribute to the outstanding performance on surfaces that traditionally pose problems for other optical mice.
Acceleration and Speed
Mouse movements are characterized by short bursts of rapid acceleration and deceleration as the user points to different locations on the screen. This is especially true while playing games, when the mouse tends to be moved very quickly. Maximum acceleration and speed figures are frequently used as a measure of performance. The MX510 Optical Engine is capable of tracking movements up to an acceleration of 15g, and a maximum speed of 40 inches per second which exceed typical human limits.
Surfaces
Aside from extremely smooth, glossy, or glass surfaces, the MX510 is capable of navigating a much broader range of surfaces than previous generations of optical mice. The benefit to the user is that they can use the mouse on almost any surface and move the mouse more quickly in gaming applications.
The CD that comes with the MX510 contains Logitech’s MouseWare 9.80 drivers which will allow for better configuration of the mouse. After putting in the CD the splash screen comes up allowing the installation process to begin.
Next you choose the language that you want to use.
Then you choose where you want to install the software and in which program folder you would like it to go into.
You need to agree to the licensing before continuing.
You can then proceed and choose what you would like to install. I choose to only install the MouseWare as I have no need for an eBay shortcut, the resource center, or Musicmatch.
After clicking next the installation starts and when it finishes it asks if you would like to activate the desktop manager which checks for software updates. I choose not to install this service since I don’t want extra things running on my system that are not necessary.
If you choose not to activate the desktop manager it asks if you want to activate it later. Again I chose no since I still had no desire to have it running on my computer.
After that a RealOne Arcade offer comes up which I also declined. I understand the reasoning in adding this kind of service for a typical user however I don’t feel that something like this is necessary to add into an installation for the type of user that is most likely going to be using this mouse. Of course if they were to customize the CD for every mouse it would cost more. Either way it was just a little bothersome to have these options keep being presented to me when I simply wanted to install a driver.
The last screen tells you that the computer needs to reboot to finish the installation. I went ahead and let it reboot my computer since I wanted to get the most out of this MX510 right away.
After logging into Windows XP Professional I received a message saying the MX510 was detected and asking me if I wanted to configure it now which I did.
From the mouse properties you can change what each button does, how fast the mouse is, how many lines the wheel should scroll, and things of that nature. I left everything stock initially just to get a feel for the mouse and to see what it could do.
The Logitech MX510 comes in two colors, blue and red. I asked for the blue one since I am not a big fan of red. The front and back of the box are quite impressive having a great design and giving a lot of good information. I also really like how you can see the mouse before you buy it because it is truly a work of art. The picture I took does not do the mouse and justice which is the fault of my digital camera.
The mouse has a USB plug and also includes a PS/2 adapter if you are unable or do not with to use USB. The CD included comes with Logitech’s MouseWare 9.80 drivers which work with Windows XP, 2000, ME, and 98. Also included on the CD is Logitech’s Control Center 1.2.1 which are drivers for Mac OS X v. 10.1.2 – 10.3.2 which will make Apple users happy.
From the top of the mouse you can see that the paint job is just amazing. The blue and black mix looks really nice and the Logitech logo fits nicely into the middle. One thing that I didnt notice right away about the mouse is that the shell is one piece, the buttons are not cut away from the rest of the body. This is a very small aesthetic detail however I really like the fact that Logitech did this. I think that it makes it more comfortable to use as well as looking a lot better. The bottom of the mouse has five feet which is one more than most mice have. Adding this extra foot will help with movement by creating less friction. In the center of the mouse is the specially designed lens where the LED will shine through to track movement.
From the left side of the mouse you can see the forward and back buttons. Let me tell you, if you are currently using a mouse without forward/back buttons and switch to this mouse you will never go back. These buttons make browsing, gaming, and working so much easier to do its amazing. I currently use a traditional 2 button mouse with a scroll wheel at work and I always want my MX510. Not only are these forward/back buttons extremely useful but as you can see from the picture the mouse is concave to fit your thumb. The rubber layer that goes over this shape is very comfortable and does not stick to you. This mouse is the most comfortable mouse I have ever used and I cant stress that enough. The right side of the mouse also contours to your fingers so that it is more comfortable and easier to use.
This mouse has really cool button features on the top as well. There is of course the wheel for scrolling and clicking which like everything else on this mouse is amazing. Above and below the wheel are two cruise buttons which scroll up and down. I tested this feature in just about every application I could think of and it worked flawlessly in each.
I really like this feature because it is much simpler than scrolling with the wheel. Lastly on the top of the mouse there is a quick switch button which lets you switch between running applications. This function works just like Alt + Tab except it is one button on the mouse. I think this button takes the most time to get used to because it is a little awkward to push. Also since I have been doing Alt + Tab for so many years I instinctually still use it and use it faster than the button. The last picture is just there so that you can see this mouse in all its glory.
Before getting this Logitech MX510 I had been using a mouse with only two buttons and a scroll wheel for many years. Immediately I could feel how much nicer this mouse tracked and how it was so much more accurate than any other I had ever used. It did take me about a week to get used to all the buttons the mouse had however after using the mouse for about two weeks now I don’t know how I ever functioned without them. Not only was the mouse more responsive and accurate but it is extremely comfortable to use and fits perfectly into my hand. All of my applications are easier to use, especially browsing with the forward/back buttons.
Game testing
I don’t have a whole lot of time to play games these days because of my schedule but when I do get the time I like to enjoy myself. With my previous mouse which was a standard optical mouse with a scroll wheel it would get frustrating to game. The design of the mouse made it really hard to hold and felt very poorly built. Not only was it poorly designed but it was not as responsive as I needed it to be and was not accurate. Now that I am using this MX510 I can enjoy the time that I get to spend gaming. Since using this mouse my score has improved, I can feel the responsiveness of the mouse, and comfortable is an understatement. I never really knew how important a good mouse was until I laid my hands on this MX510. For you gamers out there I would suggest no other mouse for you unless you. As far as upgrading from a MX500 if you have one I cannot say since I have never used that mouse nor can I compare it against this one. However most of the features are the same with the exception of the improvements to the MX engine.
Refresh rate testing
I wanted to do some sort of conventional testing however there really isn’t a tool to test mice. The best I could do is find a refresh rate checking program which outputs the refresh rate of your mouse as you move it in the program. The average refresh rate for this mouse was 124-125 which is just about the highest you will see with any mouse. A lot of the time you will have to use a separate program to tweak your mouse to this high of a refresh rate because it is so low. This is not the case with the MX510 and anything higher than 125Hz isn’t really necessary as far as I know.
Conclusion
This is one of the most exciting reviews I have done in a long time and it is a mouse. After getting fed up with my previous mouse and how bad it was I started looking for the best mouse on the market. The overwhelming response from everyone I talked with was to get a Logitech MX500 or MX510.
Now that I am a MX510 user I understand why everyone vouches for this mouse and says it is the best. Not only is this mouse technically superior to all others it looks great and is very comfortable. Simply put this is the best mouse I have ever used and you cant go wrong with it. If you are a gamer you will notice the difference in your game and feel the response this mouse offers to your movement.
I am extremely pleased with with this mouse and am going to give it a 10/10 and award it the OCmodshop Seal of Approval. I would like to thank Logitech for sending me this product to review.
Pros
- Superior 5.8MP MX engine
- Very accurate and smooth
- Forward, back, cruise, and quick switch buttons
- Extremely comfortable
- Looks amazing
- USB and PS/2 compatible
- Drivers for Windows and OS X
Cons
- Wouldn’t work for left handed people