Razer DeathAdder Review

Razer Death Adder

Razer Death Adder

Razer Death Adder

Death Adder Rear View

Razer Death Adder

Death Adder Side View

Razer Death Adder

Death Adder Bottom View

Razer Death Adder

Razer Logo

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Razer unveiled their latest mouse last month, the DeathAdder. Unlike Razer's previous mice, the DeathAdder is ergonomically shaped for righthanded players. The shape of the mouse is the same as Microsoft's Habu and IntelliMouse Explorer 3.0. Instead of using a laser sensor as is in the Copperhead and Habu, the DeathAdder uses an 1800DPI 3G infrared sensor, which is supposed to decrease the tracking height when the mouse is lifted off the surface, making it ideal for low-sensitivity players.

There are 5 programmable buttons on the DeathAdder, the standard left/right/mousewheel, and 2 thumb buttons on the left side. All of the buttons are light and easy to use, and positioned perfectly on the mouse. The entire top of the mouse is made of a rubberized sheet that is split at the front to form the two main buttons. The mousewheel is easy to spin, with notches in the wheel to make it easy to learn how far you need to go to switch weapons. Clicking the wheel takes a little more pressure than the other buttons, but is easier than some other mice, notably the Razer Viper.

When I got the mouse from Razer it shipped in a plain cardboard box with paper and plastic air bubbles to protect the package. The mouse package itself was a black cardboard box with a front flap that opens to show the DeathAdder. Included with the mouse is a quick start guide, a promo card with info, certificate of authenticity, and instruction book with the driver disc.

Compared to the previous mice I have used, the DeathAdder is the biggest. Below is the Diamondback, Copperhead, and DeathAdder. Not shown is the Razer Viper, which is smaller than the Diamondback. I also have to get used to the shape after using Razer mice for the last few years. The mouse I used before my Razer's was an MSIE 3.0, so it shouldn't be that hard to get used to the design.

Once I got the mouse plugged in, I just moved it around a little to get used to the shape and speed. The speed was about the same as my Copperhead, but it was the shape that was going to take a minute to get used to. I started up CS:Source to see if the DeathAdder had any of the problems my previous mice did - skipping ingame. I use an extremely low sensitivity, and my Copperhead would skip pixels if I moved the mouse very fast, such as when I needed to do a quick 180 ingame. I compensated by raising my sens some, but I didn't play as well. So the first thing I did was practically throw my mouse across the mousepad. No skipping. At all. I lowered my sensitivity a little bit and tried again, but no matter what I did the mouse never skipped pixels.

I have read a few reviews of the DeathAdder and some people mentioned that their mouse was skipping, they had positive and negative accelleration, and the sensor that was supposed to stop tracking after a couple millimeters off the surface was still tracking 10+ mm away. I have experienced none of those problems. I still have not installed the drivers that shipped with the mouse, and only plan to when new firmware comes out, so that could possibly be a reason some users are having trouble. ESReality ran the DeathAdder through their MouseScore benchmarking system, where it completely dominated the other mice and ended up with the highest score, 9 points better than an MX500 running at 1000Hz; 17 points better than the Diamondback. After using the DeathAdder I would have to say those results were spot on.

The only problems I have had so far has been adjusting to the shape, which shouldn't take me too long to do. The other thing has been the back thumb button, mouse4. On my DeathAdder it will stick every so often when it is pressed on the bottom front corner. The way I have my CS setup is so the 2 thumb buttons are bound to my primary and secondary weapons, making it so I can quickswitch with basically a push of my thumb. I found doing this on the DeathAdder only works sporadically due to the button sticking. I haven't heard about anyone else with this problem, so it could possibly be the particular mouse I got.

At $59.99, the DeathAdder is not cheap. But if you can afford it, I would have to say pick one up. This is hands down the best mouse I have ever used. It looks great and performs even better. Unfortunatly, the DeathAdder is now out of stock at the Razer Store due to the high demand. If you want to pick one up you will have to search for retailers like TigerDirect to see if they have mice currently in stock. The Razer DeathAdder gets 5 out of 5 D Keys from me.

As a bonus, here are some official DeathAdder desktop wallpapers.