The Razer Deathadder. Synonymous with such names as the Logitech G5 and MX518, the Deathadder is truly one of the most popular mice in the gaming market today. But does popularity mean it is truly a great mouse? Is it simply something cooked up by Razer's marketing teams and a slick design?

Packaging and Price

This is undoubtably where the Deathadder gets some of it's success. The packaging is spectacular, and creates an excellent first impression. If you see this mouse on a shelf (and that is not unlikely, as Best Buy and Futureshop carry it) it definitely jumps out at you. The packaging contains a driver disk, a manual, and a certificate of ownership. The mouse is held cradled inside plastic and cardboard. I was very excited about this mouse after picking it up in person. On E-tail however, it loses some of its luster.

It retails for around $50-60 and is now replaced by an update, the Deathadder 3500DPI which features a new sensor and braided cord, among other features. At this price range, it is competing with the Logitech G5/G500, Cyber Snipa Stinger, Coolermaster Sentinel, Microsoft Sidewinder, and the Silverstone Raven.

Specifications

• 1800dpi Razer Precision™ 3G infrared sensor
• Ergonomic right-handed design
• 1000Hz Ultrapolling™ / 1ms response
• Five independently programmable Hyperesponse™ buttons
• On-The-Fly Sensitivity™ adjustment
• Always-On™ mode
• Ultra-large non-slip buttons
• 16-bit ultra-wide data path
• 6400 frames per second (5.8 megapixels per second)
• Up to 60 inches per second and 15g of acceleration
• Zero-acoustic Ultraslick™ Teflon feet
• Gold-plated USB connector
• Seven-foot, lightweight, non-tangle cord
• Approximate size: 128mm (length) x 70mm (width) x 42.5mm (height)

Design and Aesthetics

Sorry, lefties. This is a right handed mouse. Sticking with a design not that dissimilar from Explorer mice, the Deathadder has left and right click buttons and a scroll wheel on top and two programmable thumb buttons on the left side. The right and left click have a nice groove for your fingers to rest in, and extend half of the way down the mouse - it's pretty hard to click too far back. It has a large "palm" area, with enough space to use any grip that you like. It works well for palm, claw, and most other grips. I personally rest my palm on my mouse pad and move the mouse in small increments - I'm a high sensitivity person.

The construction of the device overall isn't excellent - the G5 and Lachesis feel much more sturdy. It is very light, which does not lend well to a sense of quality. The top is coated in a rubbery surface, which gets very hot during gaming sessions. It is not uncommon to sweat with this mouse, especially if you rest your palm on the mouse. The sides are a glossy plastic, which gets covered in oil fairly quickly, yet is easy to clean. The teflon pads on the bottom are your standard fare (the Ultraslick moniker doesn't mean much) and the scroll wheel on the top is a notched rubber design. The cord is 7 feet long and coated with rubber (the new 3500DPI is braided) which, while preventing tangles with itself, is very prone to being caught up in other cables. It is quite slim and light, and doesn't cause any discomfort to moving the mouse around wildly. The USB plug is gold-plated.

The buttons are as follows - left click, right click, scroll up and down, scroll click, 2 thumb buttons, and the profile change button. Yes, that little tiny afterthought on the bottom does have a purpose. On paper, it looks like a nice feature. In reality, it is useless. It is in a very awkward spot and doesn't work very well anyways - more on that later.

Now, for the Deathadders sex appeal. The scroll wheel glows blue and the Razer logo on the palm pulses blue. These can be turned off in the drivers if not desired, but I think they create an excellent look. The left and right click buttons slant outwards, and give the appearance of fangs. The slit that runs from the scroll wheel down the mouse provides an illusion of symmetry and allows the left and right click buttons to flex, creating a smooth top without any breaks or seams.

Software



The included sotware for the mouse is more than enough for most, if not all, users. You can program any button on the mouse to a variety of functions - macros, On-The-Fly Sensitivity, profile changes, you name it. The built in macro creator is decent but I found it hard to get accurate 2 key macros - for example, pressing Ctrl + W to close a tab in Firefox didn't work all the time. You can also turn the lights on and off and change DPI and polling rates. Take heed when using 1000hz polling speed, as it eats up a fair bit of CPU usage compared to lower rates. There are also settings for sensitivity, X/Y axis movement, double click speed, and scrolling rate. The software covered basically everything I could think of, while using less than 1,700K memory (more than Daemon Tools in the background, less than AVG Tray Monitor). The one function that doesn't always work here is the profile change button on the mouse. Normally once pressed the scroll wheel flashes the number profile you are on (eg. 4 flashes for profile 4) but mine stopped flashing for some reason (I presume it is a firmware bug). It also simply doesn't work sometimes. With that said, I don't think there is much room for improvement here.

User Experience and Performance

This is where choosing a mouse gets personal. Some people like a hefty mouse, which is useful for sniping, precise movements, and high sensitivity. Some people like light mice, for increased sweep speed, easier movements (a heavier mouse wears your arm out quicker, if at all) and is better for FPS games with low sensitivity. It is rated up to 60 inches per second of movement, which is enough for most if not all gamers. I found it excellent for twitch movements in Counter Strike and Call of Duty 4, while it left a lot to be desired in desktop applications like Photoshop and Google Sketch Up, where (at 1800DPI, which is my preferred setting) it is hard to move the mouse less than 10 pixels at once. It simply does not like to register very small movements at high DPI. Other users who use low sensitivity should not have issues with this.

It tracks on most surfaces, but not on my smooth white or glass-topped desk. It worked fine on the following mouse pads - Steelseries I2 (prone to grinding noises, not sure if it is the mouse pads or dirt on the pad), Steelseries QCK (very soft movements, it felt like the mouse was in too much contact with the pad), Razer eXact Mat, Razer Goliathus, and a generic $1 mouse pad without any issues regarding tracking.

The buttons on the mouse are excellent, to say the least. Left and right click have excellent response, with a nice tactile "click", with a fitting audible noise. The scroll wheel has a very defined movement, which makes it excellent for FPS games where scrolling changes weapons. For web pages, it's all up to personal preference. I like the solid scrolling over smooth-scrolling myself. The scroll-wheel click is not quite as good, with a tendency to scroll due to the pressure required to push it down. The thumb buttons are perfectly placed and require just the right amount of force to trigger them - you won't hit them by accident. As noted before, it does get very hot with your palm in contact and oil does build up on the glossy plastic.

Support and Reliability

As the light weight suggests, the Deathadder is not top-notch quality. I have seen two mice break (one simply ceased working, and the other one had the side button cave in) and I had some brief problems with mine due to dirt getting under the scroll wheel. If it does break, Razer has good enough support but you must pay shipping to them, which costs almost $15 for me in Southern Ontario. They reply in time (usually a 24-48 hour wait) and the RMA process is rather straightforward, but if it is anything like my Barracuda's they are very slow shipping it back to you (it took me 4 weeks to get my headset back). This is probably the weakest area of the Deathadder, simply due to sub-par build quality.

Conclusion

The Deathadder is definitely one of the top mice for low sensitivity and light weight. If you prefer a good heft and high sensitivity, this is not the mouse for you. It provides excellent packaging, software, design, and user experience while lacking in support and build quality. As with any mouse, it is a personal choice. I suggest you go try them out in a store before reaching a verdict. Overall, the Razer Deathadder is a top contender for the $50-60 price bracket.

Pros

Great aesthetics
Appealing retail packaging
Excellent button response
Perfect side button placement
Almost perfect ergonomics

Mediocre

Light (some may like it, some may hate it)
Cord loves to get tangled with other cords
Profile change button could be implemented better
Support is quick but RMA is slow

Cons

Not the best for high sensitivity or desktop use
Build quality is sub-par
Gets hot and sweaty, plastic gets oily

Overall rating: 9/10