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Razer Death Adder Mouse

Posted by Scott

deathadder_lrg2
So I was at Best Buy the other day and I happened upon the mouse isle. I wasn’t really searching for a new mouse so much as an alternative input device (more on that later) but I remembered a few of you had recommended the Razer mice in the comments of the design mouse round-up so I thought I’d give them a shot. I played around with both the higher-priced “Lachesis” model and the “Death-Adder” (yes, only “gaming-grade” products are allowed to have names this bad). The Death-Adder felt the best in my hand so I focused in on that one. After playing around with it for a little while I liked it enough to pick one up. I think it was around $60, not cheap, but certainly not as bad as some of the Logitechs which can push the $100 mark.

Once I got it home the first thing I noticed was how light it was compared to my old Logitech which I had weighted with some quarters. I don’t know how I missed that at the shop but I was starting to think it was a deal breaker, I really like heavy mice. But as I used it I started to realize that the extreme precision of the Death-Adder more than compensated for it’s lightness. I think before I needed the weight to make up for how imprecise the Logitechs can be, in this case there was no need. The Adder floats effortlessly across my desk surface and the resolution is incredible. What I really love about this thing is the width, I don’t have to cramp my hand to hold on to it, it fills out the palm nicely.

It’s really a small issue, but this thing looks really cheap. The industrial design department over at Razer Inc. must be comprised solely of 15 year old FPS enthusiasts because this thing is damn ugly (I know it doesn’t look so bad in that pic up top, but you have to see it in person to truly appreciate it’s tackiness). And to top it off, it has a glowing blue thing in the middle of it that looks like some sort of tribal tattoo from 1998. And no jokes, it actually pulsates! WOW….I can just imagine that design meeting… Designer: “Hey, how about we take the ugliest, most tacky part of the design and then draw as much attention to it as possible by mounting a blue light underneath!” Product Manager: “Make the light pulsate and you’ve got yourself a deal.” Overall, the materials look pretty chintzy too but I guess I don’t mind since they seem to have spent the cash they saved on making this thing look good on making it work better.

As for real issues, I definitely miss Logitech’s Micro-Gear wheel and there are only two extra buttons on this thing, back and forward. Other than that, it’s definitely a winner, I certainly prefer it to my Logitechs at this point and I’ve only been using it for a couple days. They have several models to choose from, some with more buttons/features I’m sure but since their site doesn’t have an index it was really hard to see all the mice and compare them at a glance. I would give you a link to the website, but that too seems to have been developed by high school students so I’ll spare you. Seriously Razer, I know your demo is gamer kids, but that doesn’t mean your site has to be completely non-functional.

21 Comments Leave A Comment

1

Kristian says:

January 16, 2009 at 3:32 am

I’m 99% sure that is the mouse my brother got this Christmas. Just from looking at the mouse, it did appear to have a cheap appearance. I haven’t had any time to use it, but I have held it in my hand and did appreciate the width. The whole family were laughing when I read out the ridiculous few sentences that are on the box, About your enemies running in fear, and fragging etc. But, it’s all relevant to their target market. It would be nice if the software’s GUI was toned down. I don’t appreciate the futuristic look with it’s black and green colour scheme. I’m glad to hear its a good mouse and I may have to have a little play next time I’m back with the family.

2

Daniel Carvalho says:

January 16, 2009 at 4:25 am

Heh, this was a pretty amusing post. It’s so annoying that gaming products are synonymous with cheesy design. Tribal patterns are my pet hate and it seems they won’t let go of them. This mouse is actually pretty good looking (please bare with me) in comparison to what I would normally expect from gaming products. I’m a gamer and I find it insulting, especially since the biggest proportion of gamers are adults.

I can’t believe it pulses though, haha, that is CLASSIC. Scott, the pulsing is the evil that flowth within the mouse. Prepare to OWN.

4

Corey Hart says:

January 16, 2009 at 7:18 am

What mouse are you coming from? I’ve got the Logitech G9 and I’m VERY satisfied with it.

5

frank says:

January 16, 2009 at 8:29 am

What does the “resolution” of a mouse actually affect? I have cheapest bottom of the line $19.95 Logitech optical mouse and I can make it move one pixel at a time across the screen if I move slowly. What would added resolution give me?

6

Corey Hart says:

January 16, 2009 at 12:33 pm

@frank: A higher resolution mouse is more accurate and sensitive overall. This includes slow AND fast motions.

7

Blargh says:

January 16, 2009 at 1:39 pm

Actually, Razor is the only company that makes symmetric gaming mice. When you are left-handed, that’s a must ;)

8

Scott says:

January 16, 2009 at 1:44 pm

@frank-
like corey said, it’s more sensitive. A lot of people might not notice, but I have had some major issues with repetitive stress injuries in the past so even the slightest issue with mouse sensitivity/tracking can cause me a lot of discomfort.

9

Dt says:

January 16, 2009 at 7:13 pm

Actually I know the people behind the Razor mouse. It is design and developed out of Singapore.

1) yes they have a number of young gamers in the company.

2) yes they are struggling with the industrial design identity.

3) and tribal is part of their brand. Interesting to see if it’s relevant these days.

It’s interesting. They are selling mice at a premium but the design is marketed to the young. Some one mention that a lot of gamers are older. Perhaps this brand needs too as well.

10

David says:

January 16, 2009 at 7:16 pm

I’m glad you did pick one up. I was one of the individuals who suggested giving it a try. I own this mouse as well and use it as a primary mouse. However I also am somewhat shameful of the product “tackyness”. Its hardly something I’d want to show off next to my apple desktop, but it serves its purpose.

Note*, I used an airbrush of black gloss to hide the pulsating light. I have to say… it makes the product twice as likable.

12

Cameron says:

January 18, 2009 at 8:33 pm

Hmmm, I have this mouse and its based of the older V3 microsoft mouse which was the most popular gaming mouse of its time. Logitech have some of the worst mouse designs in the industry imo. This mouse is nice and clean.

14

Mikael says:

January 19, 2009 at 3:45 am

I did the mistake of buying the Death Adder only to find the size, design and material totally unacceptable (was not able to try it out at the store). Basically, I bought it because there are drivers for Mac OS X — Which I thought where finally going to let me adjust mouse pointer speed and acceleration individually — What a joke! The driver only let you do this in Windows, not in Mac OS X! So I returned it and finally settled for the Logitech G9 together with Steer Mouse. The G9 is a superior mouse however quite expensive, but since it is such an essential part in my daily usage, it was worth it.

15

Jonathan says:

January 21, 2009 at 12:58 pm

I’ve used a Razer Copperhead for a while for design – great product… until it failed. Some sort of button flaw was giving false clicks after 3 months of typical daily use. So I send it back, much bitching from Razer, finally get it replaced. New mouse works great… for six months. Same issue. F them.

16

Sander says:

January 26, 2009 at 9:33 am

Scott, you can turn the glowing thingie off from DeathAdder software. I did and it doesn’t look so ridiculous anymore :)

17

Jayden Lawson says:

January 27, 2009 at 10:46 pm

Scott,

After that previous mouse post… my bro ended up getting me the Lachesis for Christmas! (which is the mouse you have pictured). I agree with most of what you said – Razer are producing awesome products, with extremely cheesy names :)

I kinda like the pulsating thing though – hehe although their logo is seriously ugly so I’m torn!!

Now… where is that mouse acceleration fix program for the Mac you mentioned in an earlier post. Maybe it’ll sway me to use Boot Camp less :)

21

PC Mac says:

June 8, 2010 at 12:32 am

The Lefthanded edition will be great for all the left handed people. I thought it was really silly of Razer to make the Death Added only for right handers.
Sure, I did not like the mouse, but it was very limiting if you were left handed.

But over all, I think the Death Adder is a great Gaming mouse.