deskthority

It's really weird how much experiences vary with protective coating on peripherals. Some people say the Logitech logo on their mice wears off after 2 weeks, with some it's still in pristine condition after 2 years. It's probably the fault of hand lotion with 200 different E-ingredients in their name. Just use regular soap guys!

Razer pisses me off just by how their products look. No matter how well made they might be, I'll never be happy with one until they make one that doesn't glow.

godly_music wrote:Razer... I'll never be happy with one until they make one that doesn't glow.

I'm pretty sure you can disable the lights in the driver/configuration software. I might be wrong as I haven't used my Razer for months, but I'm reasonably confident about this.

godly_music wrote:Razer pisses me off just by how their products look. No matter how well made they might be, I'll never be happy with one until they make one that doesn't glow.

http://www.razerzone.com/deathadder-be

I'm fairly sure you can disable the lights on most of their recent products as well. It's funny, I have never liked glowing lights on mice, but I would really like a good backlit mechanical keyboard. (sadly the BlackWidow Ultimate is not it)

The best mouse I tried is the Razer Imperator which I'm using now.
The coating is perfect and with a bit of cleaning looks always like new.
All the other mouse I had before from Logitech (various high end mouses), Microsoft Habu (great one too, I think same hardware as DeathAdder), SteelSeries had the coating wearing off, laser/optical problems.
If I need to change this mouse I have now I will chose again Razer.

PS: I believe you can turn off the glow with the Razer software

The Habu had the same physical shape as the DeathAdder, but the sensor was different if I remember correctly.
I think the Imperator uses a Philips Twin-Eye laser which is… not so good.

Really, I think the DeathAdder is the only mouse Razer currently make that has a sensor free of acceleration or tracking issues. In fact it's about the only high DPI mouse out there right now without those problems.

Wondering how you guys take care of the rubber coating for all the Razer mice. You can't really use water on it, it will damage the coating easily.
Philips twin-eye laser was the worst sensor ever

What I know about that laser is the z-axis problem when you lift-off the mouse.
I rarely do it so that is not a problem for me, I didn't notice actually other problems other than that.
For cleaning the coating I heard rubbing alcohol is good

the razer abyssus is my first mouse >$30 and i'm quite happy with it. never needed additional buttons anyway. the only thing i really don't like about it is the switches on the back of the mouse (to adjust resolution etc). they are not held in place properly and make noises when you move the mouse rapidly. really annoying. not that the noise would be annoying in general, but given that this is a useless feature it still annoys me.

Zandara wrote:Wondering how you guys take care of the rubber coating for all the Razer mice. You can't really use water on it, it will damage the coating easily.

I just use a damp microfibre cloth. (not a fluffy one though)

nebiki wrote:the razer abyssus is my first mouse >$30 and i'm quite happy with it. never needed additional buttons anyway. the only thing i really don't like about it is the switches on the back of the mouse (to adjust resolution etc). they are not held in place properly and make noises when you move the mouse rapidly. really annoying. not that the noise would be annoying in general, but given that this is a useless feature it still annoys me.

I think the Abyssus has forced angle-snapping built into the mouse unfortunately. (or perhaps it was something else?) From what I remember, it shares the same sensor as the DeathAdder but does not have a flashable firmware and so the problems that were corrected with the DeathAdder via firmware updates have not been fixed with the Abyssus.


Actually, I quite liked the idea of having hardware settings for the mouse DPI. With the DeathAdder, there's just a profile switch button built into the mouse, but that changes the setting in the drivers. If you move to another machine, it only remembers your previous settings, the profiles are not stored into the mouse itself. (fortunately it seems to default to 500Hz & 1800 DPI which is the optimal setting, and what I personally use)

Get a Xai if you want the settings stored in the mouse.

Zandara wrote:Philips twin-eye laser was the worst sensor ever

NewGuy wrote:I think the Imperator uses a Philips Twin-Eye laser which is… not so good.

xbb wrote:What I know about that laser is the z-axis problem when you lift-off the mouse.

This is a lot of nonsense, all started because someone posted a youtube clip of doing something abnormal with the mouse i.e. lifting it straight up and down (z-axis) without moving in any other direction (x & y-axis) This was never an issue in game/normal usage, because you can't get the deflection to happen while moving the mouse in x or y-axis at the same time. Razer fixed their firmware anyway to make sure people would be less concerned about a possible handicap in their games.

I tested my collection of mice, covering a variety of Philips & Avago and observed similar deflections when lifting all of them from stationary, though the specific Razer/Philips sensor in question did it more obviously than the others. No deflection is observable when lifting or placing a mouse that is also moving in the x or y-axis. Razer tried to improve their firmware because of this issue, and to be fair they did initially botch the job and introduce some other tracking problems. However the 3rd or 4th attempt nailed it and the performance was fine. There is no problem, you cannot get a strange pointer deflection during normal use. Imperator/Mamba/Lachesis 5600 are all good.

When people bitch about how they are terrible with Philips mice but somehow brilliant with Avago, I am 99.9% sure it's because they've failed to notice other things about their set up. I have noticed that Razer/Philips requires lower DPI to get a similar feel to Logitech/Avago, if people try to use the same DPI without changing the mouse speed and/or acceleration settings, then the Razer/Philips will be more twitchy. I also think that Razer/Philips tends to use less aggressive 'angle-snapping.' This doesn't suit everyone, and the differences can be subtle, but to me it's another reason why some people, without really knowing why, end up preferring one type of sensor over another.

Also, setting very high DPI (anything over 3200dpi) on either of the laser types leads to other major performance compromises e.g. limitations on the maximum velocity for the sensor to detect movement accurately. People are dumb and set maximum dpi, then turn down the mouse speed in the OS, and it just means you have the worst performance attributes of the mouse sensor combined with the worst performance attributes of the OS mouse driver.

NewGuy wrote:DeathAdder is the only mouse Razer currently make that has a sensor free of acceleration or tracking issues.

DeathAdder has gone through several revisions, the version that acquired this reputation is no longer available. Hasn't been for ages, though I get the impression that people now are mostly happy with the newer version.

NewGuy wrote:Actually, I quite liked the idea of having hardware settings for the mouse DPI.

Useful, but for the most part I don't think it's a deal breaker. Getting a mouse that fits is more important, and most these days have dpi buttons or hardware profiles anyway.

IanM wrote:DeathAdder has gone through several revisions, the version that acquired this reputation is no longer available. Hasn't been for ages, though I get the impression that people now are mostly happy with the newer version.

There have been two sensor revisions. The original DeathAdder was using an 1800 DPI sensor, the newer model uses a 3500 DPI sensor. The 3500 DPI sensor initially had quite a few issues, but those have all been eliminated via firmare upgrades. The only difference between the two now is the higher DPI option, and a slightly higher lift-off distance with the 3500 DPI DeathAdder on dark mouse pads. (which is apparently fixed if you put a bit of scotch tape over the sensor)

does anyone here knows how to prevent further corrosion on my Kinzu mice? the word steelseries is gone, all the thing left is the steelseries logo with the top part

lucidlts wrote:does anyone here knows how to prevent further corrosion on my Kinzu mice? the word steelseries is gone, all the thing left is the steelseries logo with the top part

i am guessing you sweat quite a bit for it to be wearing off like that or you've had it for ages but either way you can't really stop it unless you wear gloves or cover the mouse with a tissue or something when you use it

The stereotype of them continuously pumping out unreliable and undurable shit products has kept me away from razer, aswell as the fact that their mice aren't innovative or groundbreaking anyway. Doesn't really make me feel as if I'm missing out.

I used to think the same thing about dumb blondes but after much experimentation have decided that stereotypes can prevent much pleasure.

lucidlts wrote:does anyone here knows how to prevent further corrosion on my Kinzu mice? the word steelseries is gone, all the thing left is the steelseries logo with the top part

I had the steelseries wow gaming mouse (why steel? where is steel?), for the price definitely not worth it! I trashed it because it was really corroded... even green somewhere (like copper corrosion) .

I tried out the xai laser & ikari laser. Not too bad but i prefer the ikari for the comfortable feel.

ripster wrote:I used to think the same thing about dumb blondes but after much experimentation have decided that stereotypes can prevent much pleasure.

Right, well, I do need a new mouse..

bought my kinzu on 21st of July 2010 (as written on the receipt). been using it for most FPS games here

The Steelseries Xai has one of the best high DPI sensors out there, I currently am using a G500 that I received after my G5 broke down, a month before the warranty ended. I had the G5 for almost 3 years, I believe, and the logo is gone on it. Razer Mice aren't the best for me. I have rather large hands, (19 cm from base of palm to tip of middle finger, 10 cm across palm at widest point [above the knuckles]) and most Razer Mice made me use an odd claw grip. With my Logitechs and even Intellimice I use a finger grip, where I mostly control the mouse with my fingertips.

claw grip D:
i prefer palm grip as claw grip strains my fingers

I'm not that convinced of razor mice.
In the beginning my razor diamondback 3g had a very annoying squeak when the right mouse button was pressed. Luckily that stopped after about a month of usage. But after about half a year the mouse button showed decreasing response. Opening the mouse showed the cause, the stem of the mouse button that pressed on the switch showed heavy wear. Fortunately I could fix that problem with a bit of sticky tape.

I've had razer mice for ages 2 Vipers, 2 Diamondback and now my Deathadder (1800dpi).

All i can say is that the quality of the mice are a bit hit and miss;

- 2 Vipers both the middle buttons died
- first Diamondback both mouse buttons died, second Diamondback is still working fine
- Deathadders middle button is dying

so thats like 3 mice out of 5 working and one more to follow? pretty bad imho i think my next buy will be a steelseries just to try out i think, that or learn to solder and fix/replace the microswitches lol

any suggestions appart from steelseries?

Razer looks pretty crappy. If anything I think steelseries is better.

I've had my Deathadder for over 3 years now and it's still going strong, the only damage to the rubber finish is from where I dropped something onto it which tore a tiny bit of it off, also when I bought mine I managed to find it for £30 which was a bonus. I'd really like to get the Mamba but don't really have the money to spare...

I have 2 Razer Mice (diamondback model if I recall correctly). I like the straightforward design and the feel of the rubber coating. I find them much more comfortable than other "ergonomically" shaped mice, primary reason being that I push the dpi to the max and use a fingertip grip. I don't move my mouse on a surface greater than a post stamp that way, so it is actually pretty comfortable. They are accurate and respond well, and are good for both gaming and more casual use.
But they are not perfect. One of them stopped working once, sudden death, just like that, boom. I think I just had bad luck but I feel like it's worth mentioning. Then, they are a dust magnet. They get dirty very rapidly, all kinds of things get under the buttons, hair curl up around the wheel's sides, and since it's impossible to take apart, well, it stays there. I know it's a problem with every mouse but I've never seen a mouse amass so much filth. I would also have liked a button to free the wheel. I can"t find a way to turn the led off, even inside the driver panel. About the driver, I find that the mouse works LESS good when the driver is installed (wtf ?).

i think imperator is quite good, the grip, sensors. Never run a single problem with it....
but i like Xai better, maybe Sensei the lattest from Steelseries (?).

Some people complain about the laser z-axis issue with the Imperator, but I have it for long already and I'm really happy with it, that issue did not bothered me at all.
As for the steelseries... I had just the wow gaming mouse and the paint they used is the most terrible I have found in a mouse, after some months of use it became scary with greenish spots everywhere... wtf?
The imperator after more than one year, looks still like new.

xbb wrote:Some people complain about the laser z-axis issue with the Imperator, but I have it for long already and I'm really happy with it, that issue did not bothered me at all.
As for the steelseries... I had just the wow gaming mouse and the paint they used is the most terrible I have found in a mouse, after some months of use it became scary with greenish spots everywhere... wtf?
The imperator after more than one year, looks still like new.

its true that WoW mouse is terrible with their paint, my friend sold it after one day