A smaller DeathAdder has always been something people showed interest in. The DeathAdder V2 Mini was one such attempt, but its near-miniature size limited its wider appeal greatly. The DeathAdder V3 Hyperspeed, on the other hand, lands right in the middle between the DeathAdder V3 Pro and DeathAdder V2 Mini in size. That said, given that the DeathAdder V3 Hyperspeed essentially is a uniformly sized-down DeathAdder V3 Pro, it still may feel smaller in hand than it actually is, despite comparing to the Zowie EC2 in size. Aside from making the DeathAdder V3 shape available to those with smaller hands, the shrinking has another benefit, which is a much lower weight. At 53 g, the DeathAdder V3 Hyperspeed weighs 10 g less than the Pro. This has been achieved by utilizing a similar design approach as with the Viper V3 Pro, where an endoskeleton holding the PCBs for the main buttons and scroll wheel as well as the side buttons has been screwed into the top shell, aiding with structural rigidity in the process. As a result, the DeathAdder V3 Hyperspeed is remarkably sturdy, there is no creaking or flexing when applying lateral pressure, and actuating the side buttons by pressing below them cannot be done regardless of force used. The only minor flaw I could find on my sample pertains to the main buttons, which emit a most subtle rattle when shaking the mouse. In any case, compared to a competitor such as the LAMZU Thorn, which had to resort to an open-bottom design to reach a weight of 54 g at the same size, the DeathAdder V3 Hyperspeed no doubt compares most favorably.

The DeathAdder V3 Hyperspeed not only shares much of its internal design, but also many of its components with the Viper V3 Pro. For the main buttons, Razer's third-generation optical switches see use, which likewise are present on the DeathAdder V3 Pro. Both pre and post-travel are low, button response is firm and snappy, and lateral button movement kept low, even when trying to provoke it. Surface-mounted switches from CF are used for the side buttons, which score with low pre and post-travel, though due to the smaller form factor compared to full-size mechanical switches, feedback isn't quite as pleasing, particularly on the back button. The scroll wheel encoder is also familiar from the Viper V3 Pro, being the same blue TTC with a mounting height of 8 mm. In terms of tactility, I've found this one to be just as excellent as with the Viper V3 Pro, as each step is very nicely defined, though noise levels when scrolling tend to be higher. Whether this is a side effect of the shell design or due to differences in manufacturing tolerances or binning, I do not know, but for all intents and purposes, these two scroll wheels should be interchangeable. The feet are made of pure PTFE and, matching the Viper V3 Pro in this regard as well, their footprint has been increased over previous Razer releases, offering potentially better glide on rougher surfaces.

The biggest difference in terms of internals to the DeathAdder V3 Pro lies in the sensor. For the DeathAdder V3 Hyperspeed, a newly minted 8-pin sensor going by the name "Focus X 26K" sees use, whose specifications eclipse the 3370 but do not match the 3395/3399 family of sensors. In practice, most would likely be hard-pressed to tell the difference, as performance is excellent. There is some CPI deviation, and to inconsistent degrees, but since steps can be adjusted in increments of 50, rectifying this can be done with ease. When looking at tracking, the most immediately obvious difference is the lack of MotionSync, though considering that this merely concerns the consistency at which SPI reads happen, the lack thereof is hardly felt in practice. Somewhat peculiar is how differently wired and wireless operation behave. In wired mode, smoothing is either inactive or kept to a minimum, whereas wireless mode has significant levels of smoothing applied at higher CPI steps, and a different sensor run mode is enabled as well, leading to higher SPI timing jitter compared to wired. Thus, in order to keep motion delay at its lowest, staying below 5000 CPI is recommended for wireless usage. Remarkably, the motion delay differential in wireless operation relative to the Logitech G403 (control subject) stands at less than 0.5 ms, which essentially is the same level seen on the DeathAdder V3 Pro or Viper V3 Pro. Click latency likewise matches Razer's top-tier offerings, averaging 1.0 ms at 1000 Hz in wireless operation. For those wanting even better numbers, the DeathAdder V3 Hyperspeed is compatible with the HyperPolling Wireless Dongle, allowing polling rates of up to 8000 Hz in wireless operation, and bringing performance on par with the $159.99 Viper V3 Pro.

Razer cites up to 100 hours of battery life with the included wireless dongle at 1000 Hz, and up to 20 hours when using the HyperPolling Wireless Dongle at 8000 Hz. While the software does include a percentage-based battery life indicator, the DeathAdder V3 Hyperspeed lacks the fuel gauge IC found on pricier Razer mice, which is why the readings are less accurate. In my testing, the indicator still showed 100% after more than five hours of continuous at 1000 Hz, whereas less than five minutes of usage at 8000 Hz had it drop by 2%. Neither is plausible, which is why I'm unable to gauge expected battery life, though I do consider the numbers given by Razer to be within the realm of possibility. The similarities with the Viper V3 Pro continue in the battery department, as the same 306 mAh model is used. Once again, capacity has been favored over charging speed, which is rather snail-like at around 0.15 A. This wouldn't be so bad if one could simply keep playing while charging, but due to the cable being not only stiff, but extraordinarily short at barely 1.15 meters, one needs to be mindful of the current charge status on the DeathAdder V3 Hyperspeed. Ultimately, this is easily solved by charging overnight or during breaks, or by using a different USB Type-C to Type-A cable most people likely have lying around, but something to keep in mind nonetheless.

On the DeathAdder V3 Hyperspeed, one has the choice between Synapse 3 and the newly released Synapse 4 Beta. Going forward, the latter will be the go-to software for the DeathAdder V3 Hyperspeed, but for the time being, I'd always pick Synapse 3 for stability reasons. In terms of functionality and resource usage, there currently isn't much difference between the two anyway, so might as well go for the tried and tested Synapse 3. All setting changes are saved to the mouse in any case, and this even includes the acceleration and sensor angle adjustment functions.

Aside from the sensor, which may be worse on paper, but hardly in practice, the DeathAdder V3 Hyperspeed is no worse than the $149.99 DeathAdder V3 Pro, which is remarkable. In fact, from a performance standpoint and even regarding most of its internals, this is also a Viper V3 Pro in everything but name when combined with the HyperPolling Wireless Dongle, albeit for a good $45 less. Hence, while not a bargain on its own, the DeathAdder V3 Hyperspeed is easily among the more fairly priced mice in Razer's roster, rivaled only by the Viper V3 Hyperspeed, although that one does not have an internal battery but uses replaceable AA-batteries. As such, the DeathAdder V3 Hyperspeed receives our Editor's Choice.