Releasing several months after its wireless sibling, the DeathAdder V3 is by and large the same mouse as the DeathAdder V3 Pro, save for the wireless part. At 59 g, the DeathAdder V3 weighs only marginally less than the Pro at 62 g, and shape, switches, materials, and internals are mostly identical, too. However, whereas the $149.99 DeathAdder V3 Pro is limited to a polling rate of 1000 Hz out-of-the-box, and requires the HyperPolling Wireless Dongle for an additional $29.99 for more, the DeathAdder V3 does 8000 Hz right out of the gate. In that regard, the DeathAdder V3 matches the Viper 8K, albeit with two crucial differences: First, the cable of the DeathAdder V3 is much more flexible. To ensure signal integrity at 8000 Hz, full shielding of the cable is needed, but unlike the Viper 8K, the DeathAdder V3 does a much better job retaining cable flexibility. Granted, the cables of 1000 Hz mice such as the HyperX Pulsefire Haste or Endgame Gear XM1r manage to be more flexible still, but among 8000 Hz mice, the DeathAdder V3 cable places among the best. The second difference pertains to sensor performance. General performance is on the same high level previously demonstrated by the Viper 8K: CPI deviation is nonexistent, all polling rates perfectly stable throughout, and motion delay is as low as possible across the board due to there not being any smoothing. In addition, and in contrast to the Viper 8K, the PAW3950 sensor used for the DeathAdder V3 supports MotionSync even at 8000 Hz, though the real-life benefit is limited as each interval already is very short at 0.125 ms each, leaving little room for improvement.

Other than that, the differences to the Viper 8K and DeathAdder V3 Pro are marginal. Click latency is on the same stunning level as the Viper 8K, averaging out to no more than 0.1 ms, regardless of the set polling rate. Much like on the DeathAdder V3 Pro, Razer optical switches of the latest generation are used, which provide a firm and snappy button response, some pre and post-travel notwithstanding. The side buttons likewise are outfitted with switches from CF and score with minimal pre and post-travel, along with even actuation across the entire buttons. For the scroll wheel, a different encoder from Kailh is used, which is a bit noisier when scrolling, but otherwise matches that of the DeathAdder V3 Pro in terms of tactility, which is decent. Another thing that has been changed is the coating, though I have trouble telling it apart from the DeathAdder V3 Pro coating. The feet are no different and glide as well as ever.

Of course, the DeathAdder V3 is compatible with Synapse, Razer's capable yet resource-hungry software. The good thing is that Synapse can be easily skipped altogether. The DeathAdder V3 has no firmware bugs or deficiencies in need of fixing, CPI deviation is not present and therefore doesn't need to be accounted for in the software, and most importantly, one can conveniently swap between 1000 and 8000 Hz by pressing and holding the CPI button on the bottom of the mouse for five seconds. The only real benefit brought by Synapse is the ability to use game-specific profiles, which allow automatically switching polling rate to potentially avoid compatibility issues. Hence, with the ability to change polling rate directly on the mouse, there is no compelling reason to bother with Synapse, outside of things such as button remapping as part of an initial setup, which is a big plus in my book.

The DeathAdder V3 debuts at $69.99, which is $10 less than what the Viper 8K retailed for two years ago. The DeathAdder V3 is also much more affordable than the DeathAdder V3 Pro, and is largely in line with other 8000 Hz wired mice such as the MSI Clutch GM51 Lightweight ($69.99) or Corsair Sabre RGB Pro ($59.99), while pulverizing them in terms of quality and performance. As such, the DeathAdder V3 earns our Editor's Choice.