Razer Synapse 4 Brings a New User Interface and Up to 30% Performance Boost

[phints]

Installed it over synapse 3, yes it's definitely a bit faster, but also more cluttered with optional junk you can disable. Really just use it to check for any firmware update for my Viper V2 Pro, then promply close it and disable it from system startup. Don't plan on opening it again anytime soon but will leave it installed. Razer makes fantastic 1KHz wireless mouses with onboard memory so thankfully we don't need bloated software running.

 

[EAS1974]

paid actor

ok love might be to strong of a word.

 

[DLAV]

pzogel did all razer mice reviews on TPA. On the software page, he always has this:

Remarkably, these processes continue to load if Synapse is set to not auto-start with Windows. The most convenient way of terminating these processes is to run any recent Razer mouse firmware updater.

After each boot, just run any updater and it will kill any razer stuff from memory. You have to open the .exe and hit next then close it. It's a 3 seconds thing. This way you can keep synapse installed and quickly launch it if needed.

 

[Chaitanya]

Good of them to admit it's bloated. Now for Corsair and the rest to follow along. Then they can reduce their SW footprint to something reasonable and we'll be back to where we were years ago .

Corsair already admitted iCue is bloated and they did try to reduce bloat. Have you tried CM Masterplus+? Extremly slow and bloated for the functionality it offers.

 

[Onasi]

Razer, guys, just do the non-stupid thing and move to a web-based UI for customization with on-board memory. It’s clearly the best possible solution.
I mean, you won’t, cause Synapse is obviously a data-mining thing for you, but it would be nice.

 

[Legacy-ZA]

I used this, it has removed one big annoyance from my end, the User Interface that didn't play well with VRR/G-Sync Enabled. As a result, it also at times caused issues in-game. The fact that it took this long to fix, is what will also make me never buy one of their products again.

Now, Corsair... OH CORSAIR! I am looking at your LOW-IQUE software too, fix that crap.

Overpriced crap.

 

[Jermelescu]

1. Bought Razer stuff
2. Installed Synapse to do some configs and update the firmware, this took around 30 minutes.
3. Uninstalled Synapse.
4. Enjoyed the gear without any issues on multiple computers.

It’s pretty simple tbh if you do not want to change the lightings and macros all the time.

edit: as long as there are no issues I probably reinstall the driver once a year or so to check for firmware updates and delete it again.

 

[Chrispy_]

I'm old enough to remember when peripheral drivers just made your peripheral work and didn't need optimizations to improve performance by 30% because they didn't use enough performance to actually impact the system in any meaningful way. That Razer is bragging about dragging down your system a little less than before is a very strange brag.

Many of my modern peripherals still adhere to this driver model.

It's only the massive nonsense suites from Razer/Logi/Corsair/NZXT etc that are really guilty of being 99% bloat. Most of them include all the running services and libraries for every product in their entire past and present product stack, layered with a bunch of feature-creep and heavy on 'notifications' which are thinly-veiled marketing and unwanted user-engagement requests.

So the soft touch surfaces of your devices started to peel after... six years?

This seems fairly normal wear and tear.

Maybe (and this is just my opinion) manufacturers should stop using coatings that degrade when in contact with skin oils or common alcohol-based cleaning wipes.

The soft-coating is yet more pointless built-in-obsolescence and many of my peripherals outlast their coatings. I'll then go to the hassle of dismantling the item down to the plastic shell and using petrol to dissolve what's left of the sticky, patchy mess before reassembling the now-clean, perfectly working keyboard/mouse/gamepad/laptop.

Many mice and gamepads have hard plastics with a rough texture. These are vastly preferable to the nasty soft-touch nonsense and the worst that will happen is that they'll get worn smooth over time without getting all sticky, flaky, or both.

 

[dgianstefani]

Maybe (and this is just my opinion) manufacturers should stop using coatings that degrade when in contact with skin oils or common alcohol-based cleaning wipes.

The soft-coating is yet more pointless built-in-obsolescence and many of my peripherals outlast their coatings. I'll then go to the hassle of dismantling the item down to the plastic shell and using petrol to dissolve what's left of the sticky, patchy mess before reassembling the now-clean, perfectly working keyboard/mouse/gamepad/laptop.

Many mice and gamepads have hard plastics with a rough texture. These are vastly preferable to the nasty soft-touch nonsense and the worst that will happen is that they'll get worn smooth over time without getting all sticky, flaky, or both.

My Viper V2 Pro came with grip tape you install over a hard plastic shell, the previous Viper Ultimate used inbuilt rubber pads.

The reality is that most protein leather, foam or soft touch human interface surfaces can be replaced, but people don't bother. Same thing with couches and beds, you are supposed to replace the mattress every x years.

The understanding is that the comfort of materials comes with a durability constraint, thankfully things like ear pads, head bands and grip tape have many first party and third party replacement options for cheap.

 

[Chrispy_]

My Viper V2 Pro came with grip tape you install over a hard plastic shell, the previous Viper Ultimate used inbuilt rubber pads.

The reality is that most protein leather, foam or soft touch human interface surfaces can be replaced, but people don't bother. Same thing with couches and beds, you are supposed to replace the mattress every x years.

The understanding is that the comfort of materials comes with a durability constraint, thankfully things like ear pads, head bands and grip tape have many first party and third party replacement options for cheap.

Ear pads on heaphones, yes.
Rubber caps on gamepad thumbsticks, yes.

I'm talking about the paint-like rubber finish applied to laptop top decks, gamepads, keyboard decks, mice shells etc. That stuff is disgusting after a while, depending on how much you use it and how much UV light it gets exposed to.

The fact that your V2 Pro came with tape AND a hard shell is telling - The grip tape wouldn't stick to most of these coatings in the first place.

 

[DLAV]

edit: as long as there are no issues I probably reinstall the driver once a year or so to check for firmware updates and delete it again.

You don't need synapse to check for or install firmware updates.

They have a dedicated page where you can see and download the latest firmware for your razer.

Software and Firmware Updates for Razer Peripherals

mysupport.razer.com

 

[Vayra86]

pzogel did all razer mice reviews on TPA. On the software page, he always has this:



After each boot, just run any updater and it will kill any razer stuff from memory. You have to open the .exe and hit next then close it. It's a 3 seconds thing. This way you can keep synapse installed and quickly launch it if needed.

Oh only after each boot... WTF!
That's just horrible

 

[Prince Valiant]

Corsair already admitted iCue is bloated and they did try to reduce bloat. Have you tried CM Masterplus+? Extremly slow and bloated for the functionality it offers.

I've used it and I'd agree. The UI is also quite poor, can't resize it, wasted space everywhere, and the "advanced" mode is worse than "simple" because the same functions are more annoying to get at. I haven't bothered trying the most recent versions though.

 

[Jermelescu]

You don't need synapse to check for or install firmware updates.

They have a dedicated page where you can see and download the latest firmware for your razer.

Software and Firmware Updates for Razer Peripherals

mysupport.razer.com

Probably. Installed it to mess a bit with the lights on the keyboard and update all firmwares from one place.