There have been fairly a couple of new entries in my best gaming mouse record not too long ago, from Corsair’s Ironclaw RGB and Harpoon RGB Wireless to Roccat’s Kain 120, however virtually all of them have been designed with right-handed PC peeps in thoughts. Finally, nonetheless, we’d have a brand new finest gaming mouse contender for the lefties amongst you within the type of the brand new Razer Viper. An ambidextrous gaming mouse that’s each extremely light-weight and extremely customisable, the £80 / $80 Viper lastly brings some a lot wanted competitors to the Asus ROG Pugio and Steelseries Sensei 310. Here’s wot I believe.
I need to admit, I’m not a large fan of its normal look. The ridge separating the again of the mouse from its two important clickers seems to be ripe for mud assortment in my eyes, to not point out being a bit awkward to wash, as does the sunken gangway the place its scroll wheel sits. It is, nonetheless, gloriously gentle. I assumed the 80g Logitech G Pro Wireless mouse was as gentle as gaming mice might get, however this… this is divine. It’s simply really easy to swish round my mouse mat, and its cozy form makes it nice to make use of for lengthy durations of time. Its mushy contact rubbery sides additionally present loads of grip to your thumb and little finger no matter what kind of grip you’re utilizing, and I by no means discovered the again of the mouse getting sweaty from having my palm on all of it day – which, on this warmth, is kind of some going.
The Viper’s two facet buttons had been additionally very simple to succeed in with my thumb, and supply a pleasant, satisfying clicky little bit of tactile suggestions to let you recognize you’ve pressed them correctly. That’s simply as effectively, actually, as they sit fairly flush to the remainder of the mouse and it wasn’t at all times apparent to me the place they had been beneath my thumb. It’s one thing I obtained used to it over time, however they will really feel a bit invisible if you first begin utilizing it.
One factor you do discover, nonetheless, is the stunning agency really feel of the Viper’s two important clicker buttons. Razer have determined to make their very own optical switches this time spherical, utilizing infrared gentle to detect every click on, however they really jogged my memory lots of the Titan Switches in Roccat’s Kain 120 – which, as chances are you’ll recall, was one among my favorite issues about Roccat’s new mouse.
So, too, with the Viper. It’s not usually I get excited a couple of pair of mouse buttons, however as I mentioned in my Kain 120 evaluate, that is actually “phwoarrr” ranges of loveliness. Combined with its extremely light-weight chassis, the Viper simply feels nice within the hand, no matter whether or not you’re enjoying games or just utilizing it for each day desktop duties.
It’s fairly versatile, too. It has eight programmable buttons in whole, though you’ll need to obtain Razer’s Synapse three software program earlier than you can begin configuring them. Once you do, although, you’ve obtained loads of customisation choices at your disposal. There are all the standard Razer choices right here, together with assigning keyboard or media controls to your mouse, rearranging different mouse capabilities, recording your individual macro instructions, launching desktop purposes or different Windows shortcuts, altering RGB profile, and adjusting its sensitivity speeds. You also can assign one button to be what Razer name a ‘sensitivity clutch’, which is able to drop the Viper’s DPI to no matter pace you want for so long as you maintain the button down – a bit just like the ‘sniper buttons’ you’ll discover on different gaming mice that may assist regular your purpose when lining up headshots and the like.
That mentioned, the one factor I can’t get my head round is the choice to place the Viper’s DPI change on the backside of the mouse. Normally, these sit slightly below the scroll wheel, however this time Razer have determined to cover it altogether and plonk it subsequent to the Viper’s sensor. Admittedly, it’s probably not that a lot of an issue per se, as I very not often really feel the necessity to cycle via a mouse’s DPI settings once I’m enjoying games anyway (if solely as a result of they’re nonetheless rattling exhausting to succeed in with out contorting my fingers indirectly even when they’re inside attain beneath the scroll wheel). It nonetheless feels odd to not have it in plain sight, although, and simply provides somewhat further layer of faff if you do want to alter sensitivity pace.
Either means, although, you continue to get 5 DPI settings to select from, which you’ll regulate from a dead-slow 100 DPI all the way in which as much as a lightning quick 16,000 DPI in increments of 50, and, when you actually need to, you may also set a unique DPI pace for vertical and horizontal mouse actions. I wouldn’t suggest enabling this if you’re simply browsing the online or no matter, but it surely could possibly be helpful for games the place you want extra management over your up and down actions as you scout for enemies on the horizon, say, however nonetheless must zip spherical shortly backward and forward, for instance.
The Razer Viper is certainly not excellent, however for all its bizarre, niggling flaws I reckon it’s nonetheless the most effective ambidextrous gaming mice I’ve ever used – and that’s primarily all the way down to its cozy design and splendidly light-weight chassis. It is, admittedly, much more costly than the Steelseries Sensei 310, however in my eyes it’s positively definitely worth the improve. Not solely does it really feel extra luxurious than the Steelseries, but it surely’s a heck of much more versatile, too.
The similar goes for the Asus ROG Pugio. Yes, the Pugio has the additional benefit of coming with further switches and removable facet buttons within the field, however its RGB-laden design isn’t practically as tasteful because the Razer Viper, and it’s nonetheless solely obtained a 7200 DPI sensor inside it as effectively. Plus, neither of its important clicker buttons make you are feeling fairly as mighty as those you get contained in the Viper. If my trusted Logitech G Pro Wireless mouse broke tomorrow, that is the mouse I’d get to switch it (or a minimum of till the Roccat Kain 120 lastly comes out, anyway). It’s my new ambidextrous gaming mouse of selection.
