Mice & Keyboards by stefan @ 2014-02-24
The 2013 DeathAdder mouse from Razer features noticeable improvements over the previous revisions like a textured top cover but also rubber strips on the sides for additional grip. The updated sensor (Avago ADNS-S3988) provides optimal tracking up to 6400DPI and is capable of mouse movements up to 200 inches per second and 50g acceleration.
At first I would like to thank Razer for offering us a sample of their Razer DeathAdder Ergonomic Gaming Mouse for testing and reviewing.
"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."
6400dpi 4G Optical Sensor
The all-new Razer DeathAdder has been upgraded with the world’s first 6400dpi Optical Sensor. Achieve high levels of performance while retaining the feel of the optical sensor most DeathAdder users have come to love.
This mouse’s 4G sensor has also been optimized to work perfectly with all Razer mouse mats. Just choose from one of the preset Razer mouse mats in Synapse 2.0 to calibrate the sensor, or use the manual calibration mode if you’re using a custom surface.
Get 200ips and 50G acceleration even at the lowest dpi settings. So even though your mouse sensitivity is scaled down, it catches up to the physical movement of your hand across the surface for an almost 1-to-1 response between mouse and game.
The all-new Razer DeathAdder’s mouse sensor has no drift control, ensuring that you’ll be able to make minor movements in game, especially vital for FPS gamers pulling off that perfect headshot. This is the pinnacle of gaming accuracy with an optical mouse sensor.
Improved ergonomics
Retaining the same right handed shape of its predecessor, this incarnation of the Razer DeathAdder improves upon the ergonomics by incorporating new rubber side grips. Your fingers stay firmly in control of the mouse no matter how aggressively you swipe.
Razer Synapse 2.0 enabled
Razer Synapse 2.0 is cutting-edge, intuitive, proprietary software that functions as the Razer DeathAdder’s brain, automatically syncing the gaming mouse to a cloud server to download driver and firmware updates, as well as to save your individual settings without you needing to lift a finger. You’ll never have to set up a new mouse at tournaments again when Razer Synapse 2.0 downloads the personal settings from your own Razer DeathAdder, and ports them to the new mouse, making it an exact replica of your own.
6400dpi 4G Optical Sensor
Ergonomic right-handed design with textured rubber side grips
Five independently programmable Hyperesponse buttons
Razer Synapse 2.0 enabled
1000Hz Ultrapolling/1ms response
On-The-Fly Sensitivity adjustment
Always-On mode
200 inches per second and 50g of acceleration
Zero-acoustic Ultraslick mouse feet
Gold-plated USB connector
Seven-foot, lightweight, braided fiber cable
Approximate size: 5.00”/127mm (Length) x 2.76” / 70mm (Width) x 1.73” / 44mm (Height)
Approximate weight : 0.23lbs / 105g
Deathadder is an iconic mouse from Razer, which had its first appearance back in 2006 while sporting an Avago S3668 sensor with 1800DPI; this one featured an upgradeable firmware but no onboard memory was available. Later we had the DeathAdder 3500 with an upgraded sensor, the Avago S3888 and supported DPI up to 3500; a left hand edition appeared in the same time frame with the same specifications; in early 2011 Razer offered us the DeathAdder Black Edition with the same Avago sensor. Jumping to more recent times, we have the DeathAdder 2013 version which we are reviewing in this article, which features an upgraded 6400DPI 4G optical sensor. The box follows the usual design lines as we have been accustomed before, with the photo of the product in the middle along with the main product highlights:
These features are described in detail on both lateral sides of the packaging:
On the back side of the box Razer has placed an additional product photo from another angle in order to describe the main components:
The box is sealed on both sides for additional security:
The top cover opens up like a book and gives us a more detailed product description; here we will also be able to take a look at the mouse without unsealing the packaging:
As documentation, we will also receive a small User Guide, a green leaflet which guides us through the product registration steps and shows the benefits, but also a set of nice Razer stickers:
The version we are reviewing is suitable for right-handers and sports a textured top (not smooth as with the original version and 3.5G;
On the back we will be able to see the Razer logo which features a green LED behind it:
The right side of the mouse does not have extra programmable buttons and the included rubber band provides additional grip:
The rubber band is present on the left side too but here we will also get to see two additional programmable buttons:
The scroll wheel is made of semi-transparent plastic and features a rubber strip:
If we look on the back we will be able to see the central sensor lens along with the product serial number, code name but also the power rating. In the corners we can find the PTFE feet:
For additional durability, the mouse features a braided cord which is quite flexible:
The manufacturer did not cheap out with the USB connector and we are dealing with a gold plated model for optimal contact:
After connecting the mouse to a spare USB port, we will be able to see the nice green LED light that comes out of the logo and scroll wheel:
Both Software and Master Guide are downloadable from the Razer website:
Razer Synapse 2.0 Cloud-Based Driver Software will start downloading data after our account details will be entered in the respective fields:
The software will allow us to create multiple profiles and on the top side of the interface we have multiple menus we can navigate through. The Customize tab allows us to set different functions for the programmable buttons:
The button will be highlighted as soon as we hover nearby with the mouse cursor:
As soon as we click on a button function, a new window will appear; we can assign Keyboard Functions, Mouse Functions, Sensitivity Options, Macros, Launch Programs, Multimedia Buttons, Windows 8 Charms, Windows Shortcuts or disable the button completely:
From the Performance tab we will be able to tune the Sensitivity options but also the Acceleration and Polling Rate:
Five different sensitivity steps can be also configured:
The Lighting tab allows us to turn on or off the LED lights (independently for the scroll wheel and the logo):
Next we can go to the Calibration tab in order to fine-tune the mouse for different surfaces. Presets are available for Razer pads; in the same section we have the option for adjusting the liftoff range:
Finally we have the Macros menu from where we can define shortcuts with or without delay recording:
Razer has rebuilt the 2013 DeathAdder on a proven winning formula for providing us an even better device. Thanks to the textured matte finish we now have better grip on the top of the mouse (including the left and right click buttons) and as we have seen at the Taipan, but also at the Ouroboros with its interchangeable side panels, we have now some rubber strips on the sides which will experience noticeable less wear compared to thin rubber surfaces.
The Synapse 2.0 software gives us plenty of configuration options, including DPI switching, which can be set for the two programmable buttons located on the left side; we would have preferred though to have additional buttons alongside the scroll wheel for DPI switching so the lateral ones could be set for entirely other functions.
We did not have any tracking issues during the time of testing with some MMORPGs and strategy games; the mouse does not have DPI settings which go to the moon (like 8200DPI), but should suffice for most avid gamers.
Another nice touch is the fact that the mouse now features the iconic Razer green lighting and not blue as it was available in the previous versions.
The Razer DeathAdder mouse can be found online to be bought for about 55 Euros.
We would like to thank again to Razer for making this review possible!