Razer Mamba - A Wireless Gaming Mouse

Gamers have avoided wireless mice in the past for good reason, milliseconds of lag can result in on-line death followed by a shameful tea-bagging from a lesser opponent. The performance of Microsoft's X8 wireless mouse has dissipated much of that stigma and It's users can no-longer blame the hardware for their lack of skillz.  Technology and design improvements have made wireless gaming a realistic alternative to the traditional wired mouse. Razer has recently released their contender for the wireless gaming crown, the Razer Mamba which they say is the first wireless mouse that's actually gaming quality.

Below are the specs that Razer gives for the peripheral:

• Dual Mode Wired/Wireless Functionality
• Razer Synapse™ On-board Memory
• Seven independently programmable Hyperesponse™ buttons
• 5600DPI Razer Precision™ 3.5G Laser sensor
• 1000Hz Ultrapolling™ / 1ms response rate
• Up to 200 inches per second*/ 50g acceleration - Depends on surface used
• Approximate size: 128mm x 70mm x 42.5mm
• Battery Life: 14hrs (continuous gaming); 72 hours (normal gaming usage)

Based on the combination of 5600DPI, 1ms response rate and 50g acceleration the mouse should satisfy any avid gamer. The specs quoted for the battery life seem good, but the wide difference between "estimated continuous" and "estimated normal" gaming time is pretty large it could make you wonder what these figures were based on.

Razer's marketing department has always employed a heavy hand, buffing out their hardware's' image with their trademark laced advertising and press releases.

Hyperesponse™, Ultrapolling™, Synapse™, Razer Precision™, Zero-Acoustic Ultraslick™, On-The-Fly Sensitivity™, Always-On™, Fibertek™ ...........and the all new "because it's trademarked you'll believe it's better™"

So how good is this new mouse? Does it live up to the hype, will it cure my in game wireless controller induced tourettes  syndrome ?

Razer promises "1000Hz Ultrapolling™"  a polling rate which is equivalent to that of their own wired mice and twice that of the Microsoft X8 wireless mouse, They also boast of 5600 DPI - do we really need that much or does it just amount to a  bigger e-penis  ?

It uses 2.4GHz, like most other mice, to avoid or minimize interference. This combined with the above specs meant that I really didn't notice any response differences between it and my trusty wired mouse. The response, accuracy and precision are there. Just like Microsoft's X8, it seems to be lag free. The tracking is good and doesn't seem like a wireless mouse at all.

The specs quoted for the battery life seem good, but the wide difference between "estimated continuous", and "estimated normal" gaming time is pretty large. It could make you wonder what these figures were based on.

The Razer Mamba uses a polymer lithium ion rechargeable battery, you can charge the Mamba by one of two means; via the charging dock or the USB port built into the front of the mouse. So far My real world usage has been a tad short of the estimated values given by Razer. Battery life for me has been about 10 to 12 hours at best and once the charge drops to the last bar you will notice the mouse becomes sloppy. When the battery is low you can plug it in to its charger and use it as a wired mouse.

Support has improved the battery and other issues:

There have been firmware and driver updates that so far have fixed known battery problems (many people indicated that the battery did not charge to full capacity), software loading issues and a problem where the mouse became non-responsive after the computer resumed from  sleep-mode or hibernation. Future updates may improve the battery's play time.

The software.

The mouse stores its settings on-board, this can be handy for LAN games or swapping to other computers but if you are impatient  and you frequently modify settings then waiting for it to transfer the settings to the mouse can be tedious. The software is flashy, but pretty standard stuff as far as gaming mice go. All the features you expect are there. It does not however have application specific settings and there is no separation between mouse speed and DPI settings in the software. This is something that the Microsoft X8 beats the Mamba at , In my opinion the Microsoft software and drivers are superior in function, intuitiveness and stability.

The ergonomics of this mouse are excellent, it's one of the best mouse shapes available and the physical feel is very nice. Previous owners of Razer products should be very happy with this new addition.

Although I may have seemed critical of this mouse I should be clear and say that it is a good mouse and one of only two mice currently available that serious gamers should consider if they want to go wireless. The teething problems experienced on initial release appear to have been resolved and now with 2 competent mice available wireless gaming is a reality. The competition should only improve the quality of the products for the consumer.

My personal choice  based on stability, price and software features was to stick with the Microsoft X8 ( I borrowed the Mamba for 2 weeks to test it out ), It was almost half the price and I don't use the 5600 DPI.

Pros And Cons

Pros

• One of the best ergonomic designs available
• Ability to play wired or wireless
• Response time is perfect
• They seem to have achieved "zero lag"
• If you can use it, the DPI is the highest in its class

Cons

• Expensive™
• Battery life isn't the best
• Software and firmware has shown issues in the past (check out the forum at the end of this article to find out the current state of play)
• Time-consuming to set up - requires driver download, firmware upgrade (for stand and mouse),

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