Performance

The performance of a mouse is always hard to judge objectively because there are so many unknowns. What I try to focus on in my performance tests is if the mouse can produce coherent tracking at both high and low speeds and that the acceleration and mouse movement in game matches the moves I am doing on the mat. To further test the capabilities of modern sensory technology I do all of the tests at different DPI settings since this sometimes has a huge impact on the sensors performance.

Besides the obvious performance details like tracking under acceleration and precision I also test what the lift-off distance is while using several different mouse mats just to get an idea how the surface impacts the mouse.

When buying a mouse one should always be aware that a good high sensitivity mouse will not always be good for medium or low sensitivity gamers because the performance demands at different sensitivities differ a lot.

For testing purposes I use the following equipment: SteelSeries S&S, Razer Mantis Speed / Fnatic Everglide Titan mouse mat, NOIDpad Eclipse (3.5 mm thickness).

To start off with I entered CounterStrike:Source to test the Lachesis in a fast paced First-Person-Shooter game. At the beginning the shape of the mouse bothered me a lot due to the rather odd shape of the shell I just couldn't get a good enough grip for the mouse to be playable at low sensitivity. This is actually pretty annoying because when you play with low sensitivity you tend to move the mouse around a lot and lift it to the center of one’s mouse mat. And when you feel as if you could lose grip of the mouse any second it removes your focus from the game. Of course this isn't all the mouse fault I have a fairly large hand, but it's definitely something you should consider when buying this mouse, the bigger the hand the worse the shape becomes for low sensitivity gaming.

Even though the shape of the mouse wasn't ideal for low sensitivity gaming the sensor functioned really well. The lift-off distance was about the same as my Microsoft IntelliMouse Explorer 3.0 and nothing like last generation laser mice where you have to lift it like 3 cm off the table. I tried measuring it and I came to the conclusion that the lift-off distance for the new 4000 DPI sensor is about 1.5-2 mm, of course depending on the nature of the mouse mat you are running it on. The fact that the lift-off distance is really small even compared to standard optical or infrared mice is a real breakthrough and could mean that we will see laser based mice aimed at low to medium sensitivity gamers the next year.

As I bumped up the overall sensitivity by increasing the DPI of the sensor it became more and more clear to me that the sensor of the mouse is perfect for high sensitivity gaming. Even though the DPI of the mouse was maxed out, the tracking was still flawless and precise. Sometimes with high DPI mice you have a small, almost delay-like movement at the beginning of a movement, but with the Lachesis it felt spot on all the time. The general shape of the mice works best if you only use your fingertips to move the mouse around if you try to grip it like an ordinary mouse it will be uncomfortable and feel awkward.

This mouse will without a doubt suit most medium to high sensitivity gamers with ordinary sized hands just fine, but at low sensitivity the shape of the shell will inhibit you from getting a decent gaming experience because it feels awkward and less precise than a normal shaped mouse.

The laser sensor is placed almost dead center and the mouse feels quite balanced to use at any sensitivity.

After using this mouse for a week I'm confident that this mouse is one of the best mice for high sensitivity gaming on the market today, perhaps only rivaled by the highly customizable Logitech G9. The tracking capabilities of the Lachesis are far beyond that of traditional laser mice and don’t have the usual flaw of a high lift-off distance. Besides that the sensor seems to perform equally well at any DPI setting which makes it easy to tweak the sensitivity to exactly your needs.

Comfort

The Lachesis's odd shape makes it almost unbearable to play with for a low sensitivity gamer. The shape makes it impossible to get a decent gaming experience because you need to maintain a firm and controllable grip. It's clear that the Lachesis's shape wasn't intended for people who use low sensitivity. Strangely enough the shape of the Lachesis functions really well once you turn up the sensitivity and only use fingertip actions to control the mouse. Because you are only using your fingertips to control the mouse the base of your palm can actually rest on the odd positioned palm support on the mouse and you are able to get a comfortable gaming experience.

In other words the only people who will be able to appreciate the shape and function of this mouse are medium to high sensitivity gamers.

Durability

The Lachesis mouse is one of the best built Razer mice to date. All of the buttons feel firm and well bonded to the mouse. Since the Lachesis uses the same type of top coat as the DeathAdder you can scratch it with a nail if you are unlucky. My main concern is that the soft and performance wise brilliant mouse feet will wear down relatively quick. When comparing them to the mouse feet on my new Microsoft IntelliMouse Explorer 3.0 they seem rather thin.