The Razer Deathadder
Every dog has its day, so they say, and today is the day for the well made plans of mice (not men!). Let’s start this off by a warning: I am no expert! I have only ever owned one mouse worthy of being reviewed, and this is the review about it, so don’t take anything to seriously, ok?
Like all of Razer’s products, the container was impeccable, with a window to view a molded sheath of plastic with the Death Adder inside. The box itself contains a note from razerguy, a certificate of authenticity, and an instruction manual containing the driver software CD. The box states the specifics in quite a few languages, and is done in the classic Razer black and green colors; a nice touch, most likely oriented to those impatient with packing. All in all, a 9 out of 10.
Well, all I can say in summary is that it is a beautiful, predatory mouse. The top is a smooth flat black (with a pulsing blue razer logo in the middle) which is cleanly cut and rather uniformly illuminated, as well as smooth flowing transition from mouse back to the buttons. The scroll wheel has a nice, uniform blue glow, and is almost perfectly smooth and translucent except for small ribs which co-ordinate with the clicks on the scroll wheel. Its cord is extremely slender but sturdy, and almost nonexistent in appearance, a major plus. This all provides for an extremely smooth, awesome appearance, and a place above the crowd.
Rating: 10 out of 10
Performance:
This mouse is a pure joy to use. I am the proud owner of a large monitor, and this mouse handles the full 21 inch monstrosity with no difficulty, owing in part to the 1800 DPI sensor and 1000Hz polling rate. It glides across a desk without a mouse pad like a butter pat on a hot pan, and it’s extremely thin, flexible cord doesn’t restrict motion. Overall, probably the best mouse I have ever used, even in the face of a short session of use with good mice like the diamond back and any number of Logitech’s gamer mice. A non-gamer is a fan of the glow, though they find the pulsing hypnotic. “It is very stream-lined,” states the non-gamer.
Rating: 10 out of 10
This mouse isn’t overloaded with features, like the Logitech g9, Creative fatal1ty, or Microsoft sidewinder, but the ones it has are significant. It has razer synapse, which allows for 32kbs of profile settings to be stored on the mouse, so that it doesn’t need recalibration and setting every time you change PCs. It has 5 fully programmable buttons (six, if you count the forward ad back on you scroll wheel separately as razer does.) this is a great function, and something else cool is how many different ways you can use those buttons. Heck, if you felt like assigning a different macro to each of the 4 buttons and both sides of the scroll wheel you could. There are also a great number of simpler options in the beautiful if a little complicated driver interface. Though not loaded, it has just the right number of features
Rating: 10 out of 10
The mouse is extremely comfortable. The non-slip surface is smooth enough not to draw much attention, but it stays in contact with your hand exactly where you place your fingers and palm. It is a great mouse for people who guide their mice with their fingers, or for people who use their entire hand. I have an enormous hand, and I have yet to find a problem with the mouse if I rest my wrist on the desk, because no excess movement is required. A relative who has smaller hands and is a non-gamer finds it to be extremely comfortable when navigating with fingers, but isn’t a fan of the groves and solid clicks from the scroll wheel, though she understands that it would function well in FPS’s like counter-strike.
Conclusion:
This is the best mouse I have ever seen, and that is no exaggeration. It glides effortlessly across a less than perfect surface, wastes no wrist motion, and fits the hand perfectly. The interface is decently easy to use, and the programmability of the buttons themselves it astonishing. It takes little to no time to get used to it, and it is a dream to play counterstrike with.
Overall score: 9 out of 10
-Lee Rennolds
