Looking for a good gaming mouse (MX518 replacement)

[Iain101]

Hi all,

My beloved Logitech MX518 has finally given up after 10+ years of hard service (scroll wheel no longer works). So I’m looking for a replacement that can deal with FPS (Overwatch, PuBG etc) as well as Photoshop & 3D studio work.

I'm looking for something good but around the budget of £20 to £30 and about the same size as the MX518 so nothing to small.

So far I’ve been looking at the Logitech G300S, G203 and Gigabyte M6900 but would like some recommendations of others please

 

[BFG-9000]

There is no perfect replacement for the MX518 which has a small amount of prediction, but there are other mice with the same shape.

You may only need to disassemble it (the screws are on the bottom under the sticker) and clean the lint out of the wheel's spokes, lens and LED to get the scroll wheel working again. It's an optical setup so there are no mechanical pots to ever wear out.

The only things that go wrong on the MX518 with any regularity are the cord, feet and buttonswitches, which are all replaceable. There is also a design fault with one ceramic capacitor ringing at a perfect frequency to annoy cats and dogs, so if you have pets it would be a good idea to replace that with a polymer or tantalum cap. Even you can probably hear it if you hold the mouse up to your ear.

 

[Iain101]

There is no perfect replacement for the MX518 which has a small amount of prediction, but there are other mice with the same shape.

You may only need to disassemble it (the screws are on the bottom under the sticker) and clean the lint out of the wheel's spokes, lens and LED to get the scroll wheel working again. It's an optical setup so there are no mechanical pots to ever wear out.

The only things that go wrong on the MX518 with any regularity are the cord, feet and buttonswitches, which are all replaceable. There is also a design fault with one ceramic capacitor ringing at a perfect frequency to annoy cats and dogs, so if you have pets it would be a good idea to replace that with a polymer or tantalum cap. Even you can probably hear it if you hold the mouse up to your ear.

Yes i like the shape of the MX518 but would be happy with something of a similar size and that will last like the MX518 did or even just half the 10+ years that it has.

I have cleaned the lint out of the wheel many times over the years and that was my first thought but it's clear and having now taken the mouse apart while on, it seems the LED for the wheel it not lighting up. i've try it in other PC's also but with no luck. So figured it was time to replace as having no scroll is rather anoying lol

 

[Iain101]

So it seems poking around inside the mouse while it was plugged in has resurrected the scroll and all is working again lol. Not sure for how long it will last but we'll see.

I'd still be interested in some replacement recommendations though

 

[BFG-9000]

The closest modern equivalent to the MX518 is the Logitech G403. Their newer mice tend to have buttonswitches rated for longer life at 20-million clicks (but are harder to press than the 8-million click ones in the MX518), and thinner but much flimsier cords. You've seen the cord just plugs in to a header inside though so it's easily replaced after the two year warranty is up.

The slight prediction/angle-snapping is gone, and of course the native DPI is way different so you'll just have to try it to see if you like it. Oh, and the MX518 can be used on PS/2 while the newer ones can't.

The long discontinued classics Logitech MX518 + MX300, and MS iE 3.0 + Wheel Mouse Optical v1.1 continue to be so popular with gamers that they are even being counterfeited so beware of new ones!

 

[Iain101]

The closest modern equivalent to the MX518 is the Logitech G403. Their newer mice tend to have buttonswitches rated for longer life at 20-million clicks (but are harder to press than the 8-million click ones in the MX518), and thinner but much flimsier cords. You've seen the cord just plugs in to a header inside though so it's easily replaced after the two year warranty is up.

The slight prediction/angle-snapping is gone, and of course the native DPI is way different so you'll just have to try it to see if you like it. Oh, and the MX518 can be used on PS/2 while the newer ones can't.

The long discontinued classics Logitech MX518 + MX300, and MS iE 3.0 + Wheel Mouse Optical v1.1 continue to be so popular with gamers that they are even being counterfeited so beware of new ones!

Thanks BFG,

I will take a look at the G403 but it sounds like the best option is to continue with the MX518 especially as it seems to be working well again.