At first I would like to thank Razer for offering me a sample of their Ouroboros Gaming Mouse for testing and reviewing.

 

About Razer:

"Razer is more than just the world's leading brand in gaming.

We were founded in 1998 in San Diego, California by our CEO Min-Liang Tan and our President Robert “Razerguy” Krakoff in a tiny shared office with a couple other gamers. We have grown today to hundreds of employees worldwide with offices in seven cities, including San Francisco, Hamburg, Seoul, Shanghai and Singapore.

Our vision from the very beginning was to be the world's greatest gaming brand and we've set out to achieve that by designing the best gaming products that any gamer has ever seen.

We believe that truly great products are based on technology, designed with extensive human factors and user ergonomic studies and then tested by the top professional gamers. In simpler terms, our own world class scientists and engineers develop cutting edge technology in-house or with partners, design phenomenal products around core technologies – and test the hell out of them in the field with our pro-gamers before we launch them.

We are the only gaming hardware company in the world with dedicated gaming user interface research and development labs, and our technology and designs are incubated in three dedicated design centers located in facilities in California, Singapore and Shenzhen. No other company boasts of technology like we do – because we're the only guys who have what it takes under the hood.

We tell it like it is: some can pretend to co-develop products with professional gamers, but gamers don't develop technology: scientists and engineers do (and ours just happen to be gamers as well).

We develop and design our products in our own labs and then put them to the test with top professional gamers who use them in pro-level tournaments and then provide us with feedback. Then we iterate on the product, refining it with the feedback – over and over and over again. That's how it's done, that's how a Razer product is built from ground up. No marketing BS and no hype.

We pioneered the eSports movement with the world's first $100K tournament back in 2000 and we have continued to give back to the community by sponsoring top eSports athletes who give back to Razer by beta-testing our products. We remain one of the largest sponsors of eSports community sponsoring top global eSports teams worldwide.

The people that work here at Razer are gamers just like you – some amateur, some ex-professional gamers, some just play for fun, just ask our CEO who will lay the smack down on you in Quake Live or our President, who has over ten level 80's on his local server. Hell, he will even take you on a raid in the middle of the work day.

We are the same gamers who are told by the suits that we need adult supervision and we need a professional CEO or management team – and we're the same gamers who tell the suits exactly where to shove it because we like doing what we do – and we do it on our own terms.

We hope our passion for gaming speaks to you like it does to us, through our products and we hope you enjoy the competitive edge we bring to your game."

Product Features:

 

Fully Customizable Ambidextrous Ergonomics

 

The Razer Ouroboros features customizable ambidextrous ergonomics with an adjustable arched palm rest and back, as well as two interchangeable side panels. This gaming mouse will perfectly fit any and every hand curvature and grip-style, ensuring optimum comfort and minimal fatigue during extended play for every gamer – especially you.

 

4G Dual Sensor System

 

Experience the new pro-gaming standard of precision with the 8200dpi 4G Dual Sensor System, outfitted with a laser and an optical sensor to accurately calibrate the mouse to any surface for exceptional tracking. The Razer Ouroboros not only matches the speed of your swipes, no matter your play style, but also gives you adjustable liftoff tracking distance, empowering you with more control than ever.

 

1ms Gaming-grade Wireless Technology

 

Unrivaled gaming-grade wireless technology means that the Razer Ouroboros performs as well cordless as it does corded, giving you total freedom of motion as you crush the competition. With a 1ms response rate, your command is executed first even if you and your opponent react at the same time. When you need to charge the mouse, use its stylish dock, or plug the cord in to keep on gaming.

 

Dedicated DPI Clutch Trigger

 

Sometimes in the heat of battle there’s a need to slow down and focus to get that perfect headshot off in sniper mode. With our dedicated DPI clutch trigger, you can temporarily decrease / increase your DPI for pinpoint precision at a squeeze of the trigger. Release it to unleash your usual lightning fast speed.

 

Powered by a single AA battery

 

The Razer Ouroboros is powered by a single AA Battery, and it supports 12hours of continuous gaming. We’ve included a rechargeable nickel metal hydride (NiMH) battery, but it will also run on normal AA alkaline batteries for those times you need a quick swap, otherwise, just plug your mouse in wired mode and you’re good to go.

 

Razer Synapse 2.0

 

Synapse 2.0 is cutting-edge intuitive proprietary software that functions as the brain of the Razer Ouroboros. Save your custom profiles and sync them from anywhere in the world through our cloud system. Automatically download driver and firmware updates easily through this unified configurator software.

 

Product Specifications:

 

Customizable ergonomics to fit all hand sizes and grip-styles

8200dpi 4G Dual Sensor System

Gaming-grade wireless technology with dock

Razer Synapse 2.0 enabled

11 programmable Hyperesponse buttons

1000Hz Ultrapolling / 1ms response time

Up to 200 inches per second / 50g acceleration

Approximate Size: 122 mm to 137 mm / 4.80" to 5.39" (Length) x 71 mm / 2.80" (Width) x 42 mm / 1.65" (Height)

Approximate Weight: 115 g / 0.25 lbs. (without battery) to 135 g / 0.29 lbs. (with battery)

Battery life: (Approx) 12 hrs (continuous gaming)

 

System Requirements:

 

PC / Mac with USB port

Windows® 8/ Windows® 7 / Windows Vista® / Windows® XP (32-bit)/ Mac OS X (v10.6-10.8)

Internet connection

100MB of free hard disk space

Razer Synapse 2.0 registration (requiring a valid e-mail), software download, license acceptance, and internet connection needed to activate full features of product and for software updates. After activation, full features are available in optional offline mode.

 

The Ouroboros Gaming Mouse comes packed in a different type of enclosure compared to other samples we have received from Razer in the past. The transparent plastic top will allow us to see how the mouse does look in all its splendor right from the start:

 

 

 

On the bottom side of the enclosure we will get to see some more information regarding the product:

 

 

 

After removing the plastic top, we should have seen the documentation envelope; unfortunately, our sample did not come with it:

 

 

 

As accessories, we will find an USB cable, the charging dock/sync station and also a secondary set of replaceable side panels:

 

 

 

The USB cable is gold plated for optimal electrical contact:

 

 

 

The secondary set of side panels have rubber coating in the middle and are fixed to the mouse via magnets in three points:

 

 

 

 

The dock comes with a simple, professional design with the two golden contacts on top:

 

 

 

On the front, the dock has a black sync button:

 

 

 

In the back of the dock we can see the USB port:

 

 

 

On the bottom we have rubber material in order to have a better grip on the surface we will put it on:

 

 

 

The Ouroboros mouse was inspired from high-end automobiles like the Lamborghini Reventon and fictional designs like the Batmobile. Razer have opted this time for a fully adjustable chassis so it would fit in any hand. On the top we will find the battery indicator which will light up differently depending on the status:

 

 

 

The adjustable palm support comes with a subtle Razer emblem:

 

 

 

This part can be raised or lowered with ease:

 

 

 

The mouse is ambidextrous, optimal for both lefties and righties; on the left side of the mouse we have two additional programmable buttons along with one of the removable side panel:

 

 

 

The right side is identical:

 

 

 

In the front we will be able to see besides the scroll wheel and the left/right click two extra programmable buttons:

 

 

 

On a closer inspection, frontal side of the mouse resembles the air intakes of a high-performance sports car:

 

 

 

In the middle we have the USB connector for using the mouse in wired mode:

 

 

 

Let’s take a look at the bottom side of the mouse; the edges are equipped with PTFE feet for smooth gliding and in the middle we have the 4G Dual sensor system (a laser and an optical sensor for calibrating the mouse on any surface we’ll use it on):

 

 

 

Here we will also see the golden contacts for recharging the battery, the product code name and power rating:

 

 

 

The side panels are easy to remove and switch:

 

 

 

 

 

In order to charge the mouse properly, we will have to attach it onto the dock; additionally, the mouse also ships with a rechargeable battery, something our sample did not have. However, the stock battery should last for about 12 hours of continuous usage:

 

 

 

After connecting the dock to the computer, a green ring will light up surrounding the sync button:

 

 

 

 

When operating the mouse and when charging, additional LED lights light up on the chassis:

 

 

 

If we want to access the battery compartment located in the back, we will first have to remove the palm support assembly:

 

 

 

One more cover must be removed to gain access to it:

 

 

 

 

After installing the Razer Synapse 2.0 framework, we will be welcomed by the Account Login screen which will ask for our details; if we do not have one created yet, it will be possible right from the interface:

 

 

 

When the login has been completed successfully, the program will start downloading automatically the rest of the necessary files and will perform the installation automatically:

 

 

 

As we have been accustomed before, the Razer Synapse 2.0 shows a re-modeled GUI depending on which peripheral is connected. On the left side we will find the profile creator and selector, the button for linking a program to a specific profile and in the middle we have the ability to assign custom functions to the mouse buttons:

 

 

 

 

 

When clicking on each button, a new dialog box will appear with a drop-down menu which will ask us which type of action should be programmed to it:

 

 

 

Here are some example functions that we can assign to the programmable buttons:

 

Keyboard Function

 

 

 

Mouse Function

 

 

 

Sensitivity

 

 

 

Program/Website Launch

 

 

 

Multimedia Functions

 

 

 

The buttons can be also disabled completely:

 

 

From the next tab, which is named Performance, we can adjust the current mouse DPI, along with the Acceleration and Polling Rate:

 

 

Here we can also configure the DPI selector stages:

 

 

The Lighting tab allows us to change the mouse LED brightness depending on the mode we are in (wired or wireless):

 

 

From the Calibration tab, we are able to tune the mouse sensors to one of the current Razer mats or any other surface if we get through the calibration procedure. The same menu allows us to adjust the liftoff range:

 

 

The Power menu comes with options when a battery/rechargeable battery is present and we can adjust the sleep mode timer or the battery indicator flash effects:

 

 

Finally we have the Macros menu from where we can create any custom combination and assign it to a specific button:

 

 

 

With Ouroboros, Razer impresses us thanks to the unique design, customizable body for achieving optimal ergonomics and high performance sensors. The materials used are of good quality and slick PTFE feet ensure smooth gliding on almost any surface.

As with the Razer Naga Epic, the mouse can be used in both wireless and wired mode so we won’t have to wait for a recharge if the battery is at a low level and we still need to use the computer.

 

When using this mouse we remembered a lot of the R.A.T. series from Mad Catz with their replaceable laterals; the Ouroboros also ships with two sets of side grips and we did particularly enjoy the smaller, rubberized ones since the mouse became more compact.

 

For setting custom functions of the nine buttons, we will have to use the Razer Synapse 2.0 software which is mostly online so without Internet access we won’t be able to install the drivers; some people see this as a negative as far as we have seen on some of the forums.

 

Sadly, because of the stock rechargeable battery was not included, we were not able to test out the usage time.

 

The Razer Ouroboros can be found online for about 130 Euros, quite expensive in our books.

 

We would like to thank again to Razer for making this review possible!