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MX Revolution vs. VX Revolution

204467

204467

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 13, 2008
821
0
Philadelphia, PA
Not sure which I should get in the future. The MX is rechargeable, has side wheel, and automatically switches from precision scrolling to hyper-fast. On the other hand, the VX has a zoom slider (which I heard in an Amazon review can be programmed to do almost anything), is cheaper, and when the center button is clicked, it functions as a center click. I'm leaning towards the VX, mainly for the center click (which I love and use all the time when I'm on the internet). I've just got a couple of questions regarding assigning buttons different tasks.

1. Should I use Logitech software, USB overdrive, or Steermouse?
2. Can the search button on the mouse be assigned to perform a keystroke (such as Expose, Spaces, Dashboard, etc.)?
3. Was the Amazon review I mentioned earlier correct in that the zoom slider and the forward/back buttons on the VX be programmed to perform almost any task?
4. Can the buttons (on either mouse) be programmed for different tasks depending on the application?
5. Does the VX have a manual power button to turn it off, or do you have to put in the USB receiver?

I think that's all the questions I have. Thanks in advance for the help.
 
you don't want the rechargeable batteries. after a while, you'll find yourself charging the mx every week. not fun. my vx allows me more customization than the mx did, and i love the smaller shape and replaceable batteries.

1. logitech software wasn't any good a couple years ago, but it's stable now. i would recommend it.

2. my search button shows the desktop, so yeah, it can do almost anything you want.

3. the zoom slider activates dashboard one way, and skips an itunes track the other. you can also program it differently for specific programs as well.

4. yes.

5. yes, it has a manual power on/off button.
 
Thanks, I think I'll probably get the VX Revolution somewhere off of ebay when I get my new computer this summer. It sounds like a great mouse, but before I buy it I might try out the bluetooth MM.
 
I also considered the. Mx/vs revolution but I found the bluetooth MM more pleasing since I don't need all that fancy buttons and things. Afterall it's just a mouse, not the all-in-one device. Try the MM if want something simple to use and no rechargeable batteries. I have one and I think it's better than any fancy mouse with a bunch of useless and clunky buttons, multi touch anyone?
 
I have the MX, VX and Bluetooth MM. On my Mac I only use the BtMM...funny enough I don't really need all the buttons Logitech has and I have a hard time remembering what they are all programmed to do anyway...

Between the MX and LX, I use the LX at work, battery life is 3+ months, dongle is small and fits in the mouse body. MX...in the end it had too many buttons I never used, a bit big, and the dock took up desk space.

Both Logitech models use a USB port, for some reason Logitech does not do a Bluetooth version.
 
Funny, I don't think I have particularly large hands but my MX Revolution fits my hand perfectly. As for too many buttons I have all of them configured for different functions on mine and use all of them (even the side scroll switches of the center wheel). I absolutely love the free spin mode of the click wheel and use it by default.

I've heard the Logitech drivers are much improved but I bought Steermouse a long time ago and haven't regretted it once.
 
I just bought the VX and here's what I found:

Advantages:

1. Fits my hands perfectly (normal/large) - i was worried it was too small since its a notebook mouse, but its basically the same size as my other mouse and is the most ergonomic mouse i've tried (coming from mighty mouse, intelli, microsoft leather, wacom, razor etc etc etc).

2. Loved the fact that it only uses one AA battery and how it auto turns on/off when putting in the receiver.

3. Logitech drivers are fine, i had steermouse at the ready, but it wasn't necessary.

4. My search button is for activating spaces. I've set zoom in/out to actual zoom in (the mac thing where it zooms really far to your pointer etc), the other two buttons I use for expose.

5. No interference issues with my iDect phone (which my other belkin notebook mouse was having - at the same distance from mouse to receiver which is about 30-40cm)

Disadvantages:

1. It's annoying to switch between hyperscroll and normal scroll, so much so that i just dont do it anymore - also partly because the mouse wobbles a bit when moving in hyperscroll, but feels more "locked in" in normal scroll mode - NB my first VX didn't have this problem (but it had a zoom in problem).

2. Logitech forums are filled with people complaining about mainly the first thing listed here, but also some complaints about (ii):

i) The hyperscroll feature eventually stops functioning as well as it originally did. This is usually due to the rubber on the scroll heating up, expanding, and causing it to rub at the bottom of the mouse (or due to bearings breaking - less common). Two solutions: return to logitech (and i think pay postage) Or pinch 2mm or so from the rubber and glue back on - apparently that works perfectly and will be what i will be doing if it happens to me - because the mouse is my perfect desktop general mouse (not my gaming favourite though)

ii) MX revolution doesn't hold it's charge very well.
 
I love the shape of both these mice, and I REALLY REALLY want a good one. But I'm done with Logitech mice. My third one is going back to Amazon soon. (Fun fact: Amazon's policy is to make you pay retroactively for the free shipping you had gotten, AND pay to return the dud. I'll have paid shipping twice and gotten nothing, if they stick to their policy. Sometimes they are generous though:) )

Three duds in a row:

1. I started with a Logitech G5, and liked it OK, but those have a nasty skipping bug. It's bad firmware, and a known bug which Logitech patched over a year ago. But they STILL ship mice with this same bug and make you download a firmware updater! Which requires booting Windows (my VMWare isn't good enough). So--the G5 is nicely Mac compatible in every function, except you can't make it track. (And I'm not willing to ask a Windows friend to install Logitech system software and clutter up their system for the sake of my firmware update needs.) Also, the G5 build quality seemed cheap--which the mouse is not! And the rough texture that people hate... I too hated.

2. I REALLY wanted a gaming mouse (high DPI) just to try that, but I need lots of buttons for gaming. For some reason gaming mice never have enough buttons. So I went with the mouse that has more buttons that any other on Earth: the VX Revolution. Loved the shape, loved the features, loved the tracking, loved programming it with ControllerMate and also knowing that Logitech officially supported this mouse on Mac. But the middle-button and left-right scrolling stopped working after about 4 weeks. An internal mechanical problem, no doubt related to the overly-complex scroll mechanism. (I have no use for the free-scroll mode--in practice it never seems helpful.)

3. So I exchanged it for an identical VX. This one hasn't had the middle-button problem, but periodically, for a second or two, it tracks terribly! Tracking and scrolling get slow, and clicks can even be missed. It's 2.4 GHz interference, and changing channels hasn't helped. I REALLY WISH I could get this thing tracking as well as the broken one did. But I can't :( Maybe certain individual mice are more sensitive than others.

I won't even try an MX because the battery complaints have eliminated it from the running. Plus I don't like that it lacks a normal middle-click.

I also don't like Logitech's support policies:

* Long-distance charges to call their support number and wait on hold.

* They reserve the right to send you a refurb mouse in exchange for your brand new one! No thank you.


My needs are simple. I want:

* Good tracking. (Which probably means corded.)

* 4-way scrolling and 3 extra (side etc.) buttons, OR 2-way scrolling and 5 extra buttons. (More buttons VERY STRONGLY preferred, but that's my bare minimum.)

It seems that no such mouse exists! :( I would kill for a working mouse that can match the number of buttons on the VX. I use them all for gaming.

(The Razer Lachesis would qualify, except two of the buttons are in an unreachable place, the side buttons are too stiff, and the weird non-sloped shape doesn't look comfortable. Plus they look cheap--which they are not.)

So once again I'm forced out of Quake Wars by my lack of a mouse.

At this point I'll probably just buy something cheap from Kenginston or Microsoft to tide me over until someone makes a decent mouse with the number of buttons I require. I can't believe the hours I've wasted trying to obtain a good mouse.
 
Knot sure about gaming applications - but four the record, "Thumb-Wheel" on the MX are actually 3 buttons. Add the "page forward/page backward" buttons and is approximately 5.

Then is there "search" button, which makes the count ~ 6.
 
Yes, the MX would meet my needs--except the battery problems are a deal-breaker. (Supposedly the battery quickly loses the ability to hold a charge very long--and you can't replace it. Now, my iPod's battery is no picnic to replace, but at least it still holds a charge years later!)

The Kensington Si300 looks like a contender:
http://us.kensington.com/html/14459.html

I just have to make sure they really mean 6 button PLUS 4-way scroll. (Sometimes people count left-right scroll as another two buttons.) The price is right!
 
Only battery issue I'm aware of is a charging problem. It is most certainly replaceable - I've had one open before. But requires soldering. (no more difficult than most ipod batteries)

They have a 3 year warranty - and while mine is healthy (creeping up on 2 years now) my friend had his exchanged. They just sent him a new one - he didn't even have to send in the old one.
 
Thanks. Soldering is definitely out of the question, but it's good to know that some people don't have the battery complaints. I fear, with the long hours I'd use it, that I wouldn't be one of the lucky ones. And I'm kind of off Logitech after 3 bad experiences. Too bad--I like their ergonomics.

(Plus I don't want the clutter of a corded charger for my cordless mouse. Replaceable batteries using my standard rechargeable AAs would be OK, but I won't buy 2.4 Ghz wireless anymore now that I know this interference problem can happen. So that pretty much means I need wired.)

What I wouldn't give for a corded MX without the free-scroll mode! (Since that complexity is what made my first VX's wheel fail.)

(That Kensington si300 seems to be cheaply made and gets a lot of complaints too. I still might try it if it's returnable (and works with ControllerMate) but it could break after the 30 day return period. By now I'm ready for a mouse that works, rather than warranty hassle.)
 
nagromme said:
Yes, the MX would meet my needs--except the battery problems are a deal-breaker. (Supposedly the battery quickly loses the ability to hold a charge very long--and you can't replace it. Now, my iPod's battery is no picnic to replace, but at least it still holds a charge years later!)
Click to expand...

I'd like to know who's making these claims and whether or not they're just getting dud mice. I've been using my MX for a year now and have not had a single issue with battery life and believe me I use it a LOT. Generally, I just place the mouse in it's charging cradle overnights but I've forgotten for over a week or more at times and the the charge level LCD has never dropped below the 3rd of 5 lamps.

If and when this MX Revolution ever dies I will be replacing it with another one. It is hands down the best mouse I've ever owned. That said, at the rate it's going it might be some years before I need to.
 
I think they probably ARE getting dud mice--the problem's not a sure bet that it would happen to me, but having gotten so many dud Logitech mice, I'm not willing to risk a fourth one. (And that's not the only deal-breaker with that mouse anyway, but combined with the other factors I can't use it. Particularly the 2.4 Ghz and the wheel mechanism. I also don't like that their wheel mechanism on the MX, unlike the VX, needs their driver software to toggle hyperscroll. I want to use ControllerMate and I don't want to use Logitech's driver. I don't trust their drivers yet after their careless use of APE. And I never like installing drivers for each different device--I'd rather have one system add-on than several. ControllerMate meets that need.)
 
Sort of a thread revival... but anyways:

I had a MX Revolution for a little over 6 months and it stopped charging completely. The battery LED would just flash at me. Logitech sent me another one upon not being able to solve the problem over the phone.

I even got to keep the first one, not that it matters since it stopped working.

Before throwing it away I tried charging it on the charger that came with my new MX Revolution, and it started working again.

Well it's been another 6 months or so now and that first one is starting to have charging problems again.

It just won't charge on anything, and the wheel doesn't work as good as it used to.

My replacement is still working fine and at this point I think I'm going to throw away my first MX, keep the other one for my desktop at work, and buy a VX Revolution for my new macbook pro.
 
jpmittins said:
and when the center button is clicked, it functions as a center click. I'm leaning towards the VX, mainly for the center click (which I love and use all the time when I'm on the internet).
Click to expand...
This thread is so old the OP probably doesn't care, but the MX Rev's wheel can be set to work like a normal middle-click using LCC or Steermouse or probably other mouse drivers too.

DirtyDan said:
Well it's been another 6 months or so now and that first one is starting to have charging problems again.
Click to expand...
I'll just say, if there's one problem Logitech mice have, it's extremely poor batteries. My MX1000 stopped being able to hold a charge for more than a day (though, I used it for a couple years before it got to that point) and neither the MX1000 or MX Revolution work for more than 3-5 days on a charge even with minimal use. I put it on the charger every couple days and it's usually fine. I can say I've had it for about a year and not had charging problems yet, just poor battery life even when it was brand new.
 
apfhex said:
This thread is so old the OP probably doesn't care, but the MX Rev's wheel can be set to work like a normal middle-click using LCC or Steermouse or probably other mouse drivers too.


I'll just say, if there's one problem Logitech mice have, it's extremely poor batteries. My MX1000 stopped being able to hold a charge for more than a day (though, I used it for a couple years before it got to that point) and neither the MX1000 or MX Revolution work for more than 3-5 days on a charge even with minimal use. I put it on the charger every couple days and it's usually fine. I can say I've had it for about a year and not had charging problems yet, just poor battery life even when it was brand new.
Click to expand...

Just curious, is it safe to use logitechs software yet? I am using steer mouse, but its the trial version as I am scared of using logitechs control center because people says it was horrible and messing up their computers.
 
The question

Also, an update on my VX:

My replacement VX has not has wheel problems yet. The momentary tracking problems never went away entirely and probably never will: it's a flaw with using 2.4GHz for the wireless when I have so many other devices (WiFi, Bluetooth) using that same band. Changing channels helps--somewhat.

VX battery life with a rechargeable AA has been great! I would never touch the MX with its non-removable battery. Non-removable is OK... if the battery lasts sufficiently!

And I sure do like all those buttons. I have 24 functions programmed onto my mouse for use in Quake Wars. (Only possible thanks to much customization I've done with the ControllerMate driver. Or "Driver Construction Kit" is more like it.)
 
nagromme said:
VX battery life with a rechargeable AA has been great! I would never touch the MX with its non-removable battery. Non-removable is OK... if the battery lasts sufficiently!
Click to expand...

I'm glad you like your new VX but since you revived this old dead thread I thought I'd also throw in an update: It's now been over a year and a half with my MX. I put it in the charging cradle every night and it has yet to drop below 4 bars of charge on the LED indicator. (Oh, and the wheels are fine too)

Like I said back in August, as bad as the reports you might read on user forums about the batteries are it is not a universal issue. Users with problems post to forums. ;)
 
SaSaSushi said:
I'm glad you like your new VX but since you revived this old dead thread I thought I'd also throw in an update: It's now been over a year and a half with my MX. I put it in the charging cradle every night and it has yet to drop below 4 bars of charge on the LED indicator. (Oh, and the wheels are fine too)

Like I said back in August, as bad as the reports you might read on user forums about the batteries are it is not a universal issue. Users with problems post to forums. ;)
Click to expand...

True--that's how it is with all tech problems. Still, if some people have problems while others make it 18 months just fine, I still prefer the VX's AAs: that kind of recharging will last forever and removes the risk.
 
nagromme said:
True--that's how it is with all tech problems. Still, if some people have problems while others make it 18 months just fine, I still prefer the VX's AAs: that kind of recharging will last forever and removes the risk.
Click to expand...

Indeed, I dread the day which will come when the battery in my MX finally hits its last recharge cycle. Also, if I were in your situation and had three consecutive duds I'd probably have switched too.

Ultimately I'd like to see Logitech make mice with user-replaceable cradle-charged batteries that can be removed, replaced or switched for regular AAs. That would be the best of both worlds.
 
SaSaSushi said:
I'm glad you like your new VX but since you revived this old dead thread I thought I'd also throw in an update: It's now been over a year and a half with my MX. I put it in the charging cradle every night and it has yet to drop below 4 bars of charge on the LED indicator. (Oh, and the wheels are fine too)

Like I said back in August, as bad as the reports you might read on user forums about the batteries are it is not a universal issue. Users with problems post to forums. ;)
Click to expand...

I only charge my MX when it gets down to no bars and the lock sign... Why do you need to do it every night.
 
numbersyx said:
I only charge my MX when it gets down to no bars and the lock sign... Why do you need to do it every night.
Click to expand...

I don't "need to" charge it every night. But I put it in the cradle when I'm not using the mouse and thus it never gets very far from a full charge and is always good to go.

Why do you need to wait until it gets down to no bars and the lock sign? :p
 
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