Razer DeathAdder

[Frederik S]

Razer has always been known to produce some of the best mice and sensors on the market. They established their reputation with the Razer Diamondback which has now found a worthy successor. The Razer DeathAdder is the best mouse we ever tested, in both low sensitivity and high sensitivity. The bundled control panel is a breeze to work with and boasts a huge number of features. With a price of $59.95 this mouse also offers an excellent price/performance ratio.

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[drade]

i really like dont to do this but you made an error in this "it ishard" on your conclusion....need to space.... a 10/10 I dont see that much...I have the dimandback and I love it....good review.

 

[newtekie1]

I had this mouse, I had to give it away, I really don't think it deserves a 10/10, but then again that is the reviews opinion and I respect that.

I had trouble with the mouse not tracking properly on the surface I was using, I hate using mouse pads and have a wood desk. This was actually the first mouse I have ever had a problem with as the wood grain is very light, but for some reason the Deathadder just couldn't handle it.

On top of that there are really only 2 buttons that you would want to program, yeah you can program the right, left, and middle click, but why would you want to? That leaves only really the two side buttons to program for other functions in games.

Plus there is no side scroll, which I have fallen in love with on other mice like the Intellimouse Explorer.

And don't you think making the statement that this is the best mouse on the market today is a little bold? As is the statement that it give an unriveled price/performance ratio, especially when there are mice like the Logitech G5 available for $45, and the G5 has a weight system, a better tracking engine, and drivers that are arguably just as good as the Razer drivers?

And no cons? I listed at least two. Three if you count the tracking problems, but most people probably won't experience that. Plus it is expensive, I have seen that listed as a con in a lot of reviews around here, and it is a good con, especially when there is rivalling products that are cheaper.

The conclusions in this review come off a little fanboyish to me, be be honest. Maybe it is just me, but I really have a hard time accepting those conclusions, especially when it seems that the mouse wasn't compared to its direct and biggest competition in the form of the G5.

 

[Frederik S]

To be honest the G5 is really a lousy mouse when it comes to gaming, the laser engine stalls at both low and medium sensitivity. The fact that the DeathAdder doesn't function well on your particular type desk is something I can't incorporate into my review because it's hardly representative of the performance of the mouse, just because fx a G5 or Copperhead doesn't work on my desk, doesn't mean that the tracking of the mouse is poor, or that the optical engine is lousy.

When making a review I try to be as precise as possible I have tested this mouse on all of the 15 mouse mats I have and my standard wooden desk, tracking was really good on all of these surfaced.

A tracking problem with one special type of desk is hardly a problem at all, all mice have a failing point, one instance where performance isn't optimal or it simply fails.The side scroll is a somewhat use full feature but I don't think that it's a good benchmark for a mouse since it for most people have no real value.

I think that the DeathAdder delivers an excellent price performance ratio because of its unique tracking performance at both high and low sensitvity and the general quality of the mouse and software.

The weight cartridge system in the G5 isn't use full at all for a gamer or a normal user because weight is something you want to keep at a minimum at all times according to several ergonomics books. The strain on the muscles is proportional with the weight of the mouse because added weight means added friction. When you have a heavy mouse and do the same tasks over and over again you become more prone to muscle fatigue and problems with wrist and elbow because the work literally damages your joints. A small weight change is real easy to get used to, it took me about 1 hour to get used to the DeathAdder after changing from my IME 3.0.

 

[OnBoard]

So the sides are slippery shiny plastic? And top is frippy rubber (where it serves no purpose. Hate my current mouses slippery feel (Microsoft Laser Mouse 6000, yes it's cheap but I used even cheaper optical one for gaming before ). Not that I have swetty palms, but 3h BF2142 session would be impossible, if I hadn't taped the sides, to give more grip. Won't ever buy any mouse with slippery sides (or buttons), even though I like this mouse not counting all around slippery feel. Habu has some rubber skirts on sides, was my other choice for first laser mouse, but went for the cheap one, stupid me.

Seems like a great mouse (too exspensive for me) but if it's slippery, it's a no go even for future years :/

Oh and I play with just my fingers, wrist resting on silicone thingy.

 

[petepete]

This mouse should not get a higher rank than the 518. Period. I mean come on CPL counter-strike players recommend the good old 518 over any razer...

edit: I agree with #3, this mouse definitely should not get 10. if so then the 518 should be perfect as well

 

[newtekie1]

I have never had a problem with the G5 of G7 laser engine stalling on lower sensitvities and I use the whole range in 400DPI increments when gaming.

I didn't say my problems with the Deathadder on my surface should be incorporated into the review, I even said it probably won't affect many people. However, there certainly were cons to the mouse that should have been included in the review, to say the mouse it 100% flawless is, quite honestly, ridiculous and something I would expect from a razer fanboy and not a legitimate reviewer.

"Cons: Nothing!" is something no reviewer should ever say. I pointed out 2 cons right of the bat with the mouse, it is far from perfect. You even pointed a con out in your review:

It is made of an anti friction coat that has a semi soft feel to it. This will probably disappear or get scratched over time like it does on the Copperhead or Diamondback

that sure does sound like a con to me.

On top of that, I still think your very bold statement that the $60 DeathAdder provided the best price to performance isn't called for. The G5 still offers amazing performance at the $45 price range, even if it is slightly worse than the DeathAdder, it is also 25% cheaper.

You talk about having a balanced feel, but then disregard the weight system of the G5 as being useless. What feels balanced varies from person to person, I prefer a slightly heavier mouse, some prefer a very light mouse, others prefer a middle ground.

 

[Frederik S]

When it comes to the surface it's hard to make one that lasts, and since a slightly warn surface doesn't hurt the performance of the mouse I regard that as a minor fault. The way I see it a durability con is only when it damages the general performance of the mouse in this case the performance of the mouse will be on pair with a new one it just won't look as cool with a tiny scratch.

When it comes to benching this mouse against the MX518 I would say they perform about the same but for a low sensitvity gamer he would have to over clock the USB port in order to get a mouse with zero negative acceleration, manually which isn't that easy. Razer provides a driver that lets the user setup up everything right from USB clock frequency to dpi ans such, besides from that you can store the profiles in the embedded memory that the mouse has. Besides the obvious the DeathAdder works on more surfaces than the MX518 because is uses the infrared spectrum. The MX-518 is a good and cheap mouse, but it lacks a driver where you can tweak it for both hardcore low and high sensitvity gamers.

It has come to my attention that the lift off distance of the DeathAdder can vary a lot, on the mats that I tested it on it was close to 4mm which is relatively good (roughly the same as with a IME 3.0/1.1 or MX-518), but there has been some reports on Razer blue print that the lift off height can go all the way up to 1cm on black and hard mats such as the Icemat, this is of course a major con but Razer has already said that their engineers are looking into the problem, I will make an update on this matter tomorrow when I have contacted Razer.

 

[newtekie1]

I don't care how minor it is, it is still a fault. When a product uses looks as a selling factor, and it is obvious that Razer products do exact that, when the looks are going to or might deteriorate over time, that is a huge con to a lot of people. It doesn't matter if it will affect the performance of the mouse or not.

 

[petepete]

No you don't need to overclock the USB to take off negative acceleration. It's called CPL Mousefix. Pro gamers use it on the 518. It goes into your registry.

also: it does have a driver that helps greatly for low sens and high sens, its called SetPoint. you can change your dpi in the click of plus or minus sign up and down of the scroll bar.. Just because the deathadder looks better doesn't mean it is. All pros use the 518 over razers

 

[KennyT772]

I do not find this mouse worthy of a 10/10. two programable buttons, right handed only, egonomics that have been around for years, and then the topcoat con does not equate to a perfect mouse. hell it took years for razor to fix the near unusable side buttons on their mice.

the g5 weight system has its uses. a light mouse has the tendency to be imprecise and a heavy mouse is straining on the hand after extended use. i have always liked heavier mice while others like light ones. it has its uses and makes for a larger customer base.

 

[petepete]

Agree with #3 and #11, not worth 10/10. period.

 

[Frederik S]

The only way to get rid of the stalling and negative acceleration on a MX518 is to manually overclock the USB port. CPL mousefix does not remove negative acceleration, it resolves the issue with positive acceleration generated by windows, please read about the stuff before you claim to know everything about it.

The topcoat of the DeathAdder is just as durable as any other coat/finish that Logitech uses, the surface of a mouse will always be warn down over time, and that is why it isn't a good benchmark, especially not when it doesn't impair the performance of the mouse.

 

[newtekie1]

The hard plastic coating on the Logitech mice and many other mice, almost never wear down, so please take your own advice and do a little research before you "claim to know everything about it". I have a MX700 that I used as my main gaming mouse for 5 years and the finish still looks as good today as they did the day I bought the mouse. There is no signs of wear on the top of the mouse. However, the Razer coating is known to start to show signs of wear after a year of use or less. The plastic buttons are much more durable than Razer's anti-slip coating they use.

You are correct, it doesn't affect mouse performance. However, seeing as how about a quarter of your review was dedicated to how the mouse looks, and it is clear that Razer uses looks as a selling point, anytihng that is going to negatively affect how the mouse looks is a huge con and not something that can just be thrown in the review real quick and then ignored later on.

And I don't care how you have to get rid of the negative acceleration on the MX518, if the person knows enough to see the affects of negative acceleration they know enough to overclock the USB ports, but I still don't see how that is even an issue with this review.

A 10/10 says the mouse is perfect in every way. It means if the reader went out and bought this mouse they would never ask for more. It means there are absolutely no cons at all with the mouse. Clearly that is not the case, and hence I believe this mouse doesn't deserve a 10/10. It is not perfect, there are cons to the mouse. Whether they affect performance or not, they are cons.

 

[Frederik S]

Well my MX510 plastic changed color after about a years use so did the coating on my G5 and IME 3.0. The coating that Razer uses is just as durable / weak as the stuff used on Logitech / Microsoft mice. There will always be some wear and tear on the surfaces on a mouse, the Razer surface isn't any different than any other mouse coating on the market when it comes to durability.

The negative acceleration is a serious problem, almost every low sensitvity gamer that takes gaming seriously will tell you that it's hard to get rid off. To alter the USB polling rate is really really hard, you have to boot your PC into safe mode and then alter a couple of strings in the registry, to some specific value which I don't remember. Even then there is the chance that some of your other peripherals won't work because you can't OC one USB port at a time, you have to do it on all.

The main reason why this mouse gains such an extravagant score is simply due to the performance of the sensor, it's simply far better than any other sensor on the market. So is are the buttons and drivers of the mouse.

 

[newtekie1]

First of all, it really isn't that hard to change the USB polling rate, you make it seem like it is brain surgery to do. You boot into safe mode, run a program, set what polling rate you want, and then reboot. No hand editing of anything is required. It really is very simple and any "gamer" should be able to handle it.

As for the plastic, I sit at my work computer 8 or more hours a day, I have had my G7 for over a year now, no discoloration of any kind is present, and my MX700 I used before that lasted 5 years and there is really only very slight discoloration in the right click button and I put that mouse through hell, including a failed paint job that had to be removed with paint thinner.

Performance of the mouse is just on aspect, and being(arguably) the best on the market doesn't make it deserve a 10/10. If performance is the sole factor you are judging the mouse on I wonder why it takes up less than a third of your review. Seems like you are just wasting your breath the rest of the time if nothing else matters.

As for the buttons being better than anything on the market, are you serious? The mouse only really has 2 programmable buttons! No way is that enough for a lot of serious gamers. I have a feeling you are just grasping at staws to try and defend your bogus score now.

The drivers are a personal preference, personally don't think they are better than anything on the market, but hey you wrote the review and you do, so I understand that.

However, that still leave my main point. A 10/10 score means perfection, it means there is absolutely no place where this mouse could be improved upon, and means there is absolutely no cons at all to having the mouse. Obviously that is not the case. I along with others have pointed out a few cons the mouse has, regardless of how important you think they are, they are still cons, and any good review should point them out and not just ignore them because they feel they aren't important.

 

[Frederik S]

I have to disagree a 10/10 only means that the mouse is the best on the market today, otherwise no product will ever receive a perfect score, since every product no matter how good can be improved upon. I have mentioned the con I just think it's such a small one that it isn't something that deteriorates the quality/value of mouse and therefore can be dismissed.

 

[newtekie1]

So when something better comes out, what does it get? An 11/10 since it is now better? Rarely is anything given a 10/10 because rarely is anything perfect. 10/10 doesn't mean the best on the market, it means perfection. That is what people who read reviews think.

I have mentioned the con I just think it's such a small one that it isn't something that deteriorates the quality/value of mouse and therefore can be dismissed.

There is more than just one con, and NO CON CAN BE DISMISSED! What kind of reviewer says, "Well I didn't think the con was important so I dismissed it"? I don't care if you think it is important or not, it is your job to give people the pros and cons of this mouse, and you have failed to do that, you have ignored several cons and instead of informing people about them you just write "Cons: Nothing!". How helpful of a review is it if you aren't actually informing people about the bad aspects of the mouse? Most people that read reviews don't want to just re-read the same stuff they can read on Razer's site, they want to know what problems or imperfections the mouse has.

And yes, I think poor durability is something that deteriorates the quality/value of the mouse. I would expect the coating on a $60 mouse to last more than a year, especially one that I bought because I wanted one, that not only performed nicely, but looked good too. The worst part is that you actually put "Build Quality" in the Pros section! Yeah, the screws might not fall out, but the mouse is going to look like crap in a year because of the poor coating quality.

 

[KennyT772]

i have read several reviews of mice lately and if anything razer and logitech are behind. ive seen mice with 4000dpi sensors and even ones with programable buttons independent of drivers. i see nothing new in this mouse other then a new version, which razer seems to pump out every 3 months. the price is way high for a normal lazer based mouse, and theres nothings special about it other then the blue leds. im sorry but some lights will not sell me a mouse. compare this mouse to the mx revolution and see how it fairs. i would gladly drop an extra $20 to get that mouse over this. not to mention the g5 was released middle of last year. and the mx518? over 2 years ago. i would sure as hell hope this mouse is better then the older competition, however compared to other current mice it is not.

 

[Thermopylae_480]

Yes, it is very important to include cons, if they exist. The thing that separates an advertisement from a review is the objectivity and capability to point out flaws in a product. A product may still be extremely excellent even with its flaws, but it is still important that those flaws be addressed. A flaw, seemingly small to a reviewer, may be of dire consequence to a reader, and should be addressed even if it detracts from the quality of the product.

 

[petepete]

not worth 10/10 with no cons either what a great review!

 

[newtekie1]

not worth 10/10 with no cons either what a great <strike>review</strike> advertisement!

Fix'd

 

[EastCoasthandle]

DeathAdder or the Habu? I'm still not sure. Which of the 2 are heavier? I have big hands and can't deal with mouse that has no weight. Can someone please help me?

 

[newtekie1]

Out of the two I would get the DeathAdder. The sensor placement on the Habu really does make it off balanced feeling to me.

 

[Frederik S]

Well the Habu is a bit heavier and a bit longer. From an ergonomic point of view you should probably go with the Habu if you have really big hands. If I were you I would try the two mice in a shop and then decide from there.