For at least 2 two years i had been making use of the very ergonomic Logitech MX Revolution. This mouse at the time appeared unparalleled in comfort, performance and macro programmability, but i noticed one thing, that i seemed especially bad at twitch reaction gaming (ie FPS), and it was up until i decided to take the plunge and purchase the Deathadder, that i had no idea what my problem was.
The Razer Deathadder is not a particularly new addition to the Razer range of gaming mice, but nonetheless a critically acclaimed piece of hardware, this is when i became interested. This mouse had the response time of a high performance mouse, and that design that i became comfortable with using the MX, a sort of draw between the “palm” and the “claw” grip. So i decided after much careful deliberation to go ahead and purchase this mouse. At first i was pretty impressed, it had a great aesthetic, it was comfortable and most of all it didn’t require constant recharging…on a dock that i kind of broke. But still i wasn’t completely impressed with the performance, so i ramped it up to 1000Hz polling rate, still i felt that i didn’t make much difference, so i decided to make a direct comparison with the MX, which is now installed on another computer. Suffice to say, the MX felt like driving a truck in comparison to the Deathadder, not just in bulk, but in response time. What i’d neglected to do initially was to make this direct comparison, but after seeing just how much the aging wireless mouse lagged across the screen, i was sold – the deathadder gave me pixel perfect precision.
Razer prides themselves on presentation and functionality, apart from the attractive mouse, it comes boxed in a container with a hinged cardboard front, thats held down by a circle of velcro to allow you do view the mouse, prior to its unvailing. The case the drivers come in is actually quite attractive, enclosed in a matte cardboard square with some stylised edges, and the Razer logo stamped on in a glossy material; it then carries on with “the benefits of buying razer” and all of the propaganda, don’t let the promotion put you off. Then finally there’s the drivers, which may i mention comes in a very nicely labelled DVD. The drivers give you some great control over the mouses performance, allowing the user to toggle various variable as such as polling rate (home many pixels the mouse moves across in a second) which comes in 125Hz, 500Hz and 1000Hz; also the DPI (the number of steps the mouse will report when it moves one inch) comes in three settings of 450DPI, 900DPI and 1800DPI. In addition, it provides advanced users with the utility to fine tune the DPI generally, and on each axis, including options for things like mouse acceleration and scrolling speed; it also features a host of tools for defining macros which can be applied to the two main left and right click, middle click, scroll and side buttons.
Coming from a gamer of all facets, as well as an animator and CAD user, this mouse is in excellent buy for anyone wanting to improve their control over the game, as well as having a comfortable mouse that can be palmed or clawed. Along side gaming, this mouse also performs superbly in every other application i’ve tried it in. If you are deliberating over your next mouse purchase, and desire a piece of hardware that can be utilised with both grip styles, is very comfortable and has a multitude of software tuning options, this mouse is a definite buy, it also looks great.
I recommend purchasing a quality mousepad with this as you want to protect the low drag feet of the mouse, as well as taking advantage of their design. I’d personally recommend the Razer Goliathus. Omega if you’re space confined, standard for gaming, or Alpha if you really want a mat you could use as a lunch tray.
Happy gaming
Miles
