Software

Originally, I intended to use the Synapse 4 Beta for this review, as it'll be the go-to software for the Viper V3 Pro going forward. However, this plan was quickly thwarted by Synapse 4 itself. More specifically, Synapse 4 refused to detect the Viper V3 Pro, and this continued to be the case even after several restarts, launching with administrator rights, reinstalling drivers, and reinstalling Synapse 4. Synapse 3, on the other hand, recognized the Viper V3 Pro instantly. During my limited time with the Synapse 4 Beta, I can at least note the lower number of processes running in the background when Synapse 4 Beta has been exited, though the RAM footprint when not running has gone up even further compared to Synapse 3.

The Viper V3 Pro is fully compatible with both Synapse 3 and Synapse 4 Beta. Synapse 3 is embedded into an overarching software suite called Razer Central. From there, it is possible to install additional optional modules, such as Chroma Connect, Chroma Studio, or the highly sophisticated macro editor.

All settings are accessible through five tabs. "Customize" houses button remapping, which also includes a HyperShift function to enable a second set of button maps that can be accessed upon pressing a dedicated shift button. "Performance" is used to adjust CPI for up to five color-coded levels, ranging from 100 to 35,000 CPI. Since the sensor supports CPI adjustment in native steps of 1, truncating of non-native values is neither done nor possible, as any input value will be a native one. Polling rate can be set to 125, 500, or 1000 Hz in wired operation, with 2000, 4000, and 8000 Hz being exclusive to wireless operation. A new function called "Sensitivity Matcher" is also available. With this feature, one can match CPI between two mice. This is done by moving both mice together from left to right, and Synapse will propose a new "matched" CPI value when finished. In my testing, this isn't particularly effective, however, and the new "matched" value turned out to be off by several percent. "Calibration" allows one to adjust the lift-off distance between three presets (low, medium, high), along with the option of setting up asymmetric cut-off. The fourth tab, called "Power," enables one to set the idle time (in minutes) after which the mouse enters sleep mode, as well as the battery status percentage at which Low Power mode is enabled. Low Power mode lowers the maximum tracking speed from 750 IPS (19.05 m/s) to 550 IPS (13.97 m/s) and maximum acceleration from 70G to 40G. The "Advanced" tab contains a new acceleration function, which allows setting different curve types, along with angle rotation adjustment. Both of these settings are saved to the on-board memory. Lastly, profile management is available, too.

All setting changes are applied immediately and saved to the on-board memory, so the software does not need to be running (or be installed) all the time. On my system, Synapse had a RAM footprint of 370 MB on average when running in the foreground, which doesn't change when minimized, be it to the taskbar or system tray. Upon exiting the application, several processes with an overall RAM footprint of 181 MB keep running. 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.

Battery Life

Razer cites a battery life of up to 95 hours at 1000 Hz, up to 62 hours at 2000 Hz, up to 40 hours at 4000 Hz, and up to 17 hours at 8000 Hz. The software includes a percentage-based battery life indicator with single-digit accuracy, which is in fact reliable and accurate. That said, due to what can be presumed to be an antenna-related issue, I've encountered instances where polls have been dropped, leading to an increased number of retries in turn resulting in a higher battery drain. Consequently, consumption progression was non-linear and generally not indicative of actual expected battery life. As such, I'm unable to gauge expected battery life.

After not moving the mouse for a period of time set in Synapse, the Viper V3 Pro enters a sleep mode from which it can be woken up by moving the mouse, but not by clicking a button.

Using the included USB Type-A to Type-C charging cable, I measured the charging speed during the constant current stage, which sits at 0.158 A when lifted and 0.150 A when not lifted. The battery has a capacity of 306 mAh (3.87 V) and utilizes a 3-pin JST connector.