Software

The Zephyr Pro comes with its own lightweight software. All options are distributed across several tabs. The first one has button remapping to mouse, keyboard, media, and macro functions. The second page includes CPI adjustment for up to seven color-coded levels, at a range of 50 to 16,000, and in increments of 50. Key Response denotes click latency and can be adjusted from 1 to 100 ms, in increments of 1. Further options are polling rate (125, 250, 500, or 1000 Hz), lift-off distance (low or high), and the ability to set x and y-sensitivity separately. The third page concerns lighting options and is detailed below. The fourth and final page has the macro editor. Lastly, profile management is available, too. When applied, all settings are saved to the on-board memory, so the software does not need to be running (or be installed) all the time. On my system, the software had a RAM footprint of 20 MB on average, which doesn't change when minimized to the system tray. Upon exiting the application, all processes are terminated, as they should be.

Lighting

The Zephyr Pro has three physical lighting zones, which are the scroll wheel, fan, and LED strip looping around the base. Whereas the scroll wheel color is linked to the currently set CPI step and cannot be changed, the other two lighting zones can be customized. Seven pre-defined lighting effects are available: Color Change the Tail, Nuu, Neon, Colorful Time, Breathe, Continuous Light, and Finger Movement. Colors, transition speed, and brightness can be further customized. Of course, the lighting can also be disabled altogether.

Color accuracy and vibrancy are excellent throughout. Here's a short demonstration video in which I go through the Nuu, Neon, Colorful Time, and Breathe lighting effects:

The Fan

Compared to the first implementation of a cooling fan on the original Zephyr, the fan in the Zephyr Pro has received numerous improvements. On the original Zephyr, the fan could be set to different run modes, either at lower RPM, resulting in lower noise and less cooling, or higher RPM, resulting in more cooling, but rather obnoxious noise and vibration. The Zephyr Pro presents itself much improved in this regard. First of all, if there are different RPM modes on the Zephyr Pro, differences between them are subtle to where I'm unable to tell. In any case, the fan in the Zephyr Pro is nowhere near as loud, both in terms of fan and electrical noise, and doesn't produce the same level of vibration, yet the cooling effect is almost on the same level as with the highest RPM mode on the original Zephyr. The vibration is still noticeable, albeit roughly cut in half compared to the original Zephyr running at full power. The video below may serve to illustrate expected noise levels:

While the improvements to noise output and cooling performance are obvious, there is still a question mark behind the durability. I've been told by Marsback that the Zephyr Pro is using a sliding bearing, which is commonly equated to a sleeve bearing. As mentioned in the review of the original Zephyr, a sleeve-bearing fan should be mounted vertically for optimal operation and lifespan. Meanwhile, the fan in the Zephyr Pro is mounted horizontally, for which a ball or fluid bearing is preferable.

Unlike on the original Zephyr, which came with a 25 mm fan, a 30 mm fan is used on the Zephyr Pro, connected through a 2-pin connector. As such, replacing it should pose no challenge. Pressing and holding the fan button for three seconds turns the fan off.