Razer is sort of lovingly mocked for their crazy product names from time to time, but most enthusiasts understand that Razer means business, despite their sometimes odd names (Lachesis?). Not known to be a company to release “2.0” revisions of products, we were somewhat surprised to discover that Razer has updated their classic DeathAdder mouse and re-released it.
This speaks to the level of perfection that the original DeathAdder has achieved. The shape, heft, and look of the DeathAdder are basically just right. Instead of fixing what ain’t broke and rebranding it, Razer made the conservative but commendable choice to update it and keep the DeathAdder name.
In our original DeathAdder review, I effused praise for the “perfect balance” between the unwieldy Copperhead and the slightly anemic Krait. Nothing has changed here. The DeathAdder still remains my primary mouse to this day. Besides looking a bit worse for the wear, the DeathAdder that’s been on my desk for over two years has held up perfectly well, and I’ve never felt the need to look elsewhere.
So it was a bit skeptically that I took the new DeathAdder out of the (typically amazing, as Razer is wont to do) package, and set it next to my old DeathAdder. With the exception of the cord (the new one is braided, the old one was smooth rubber), they look exactly the same. Of course, they’re not; the sensor has been updated to a new 3.5g infrared sensor.
Just to be safe, I uninstalled the Razer software suite, downloaded the latest one, and reinstalled it. I hooked up the new DeathAdder and went into the control panel to see what changed. Not much, except for the newly available DPI settings: where it used to say 1800, it now offers the choice to go all the way up to 3500dpi.
The new DeathAdder 2 control panel
The minute I adjusted the DPI to 3500 and the polling rate to 1000hz, I noticed a difference. The mouse became much more “twitchy”. At first, I didn’t like it, but then I realized it was too twitchy. Looking at my mousepad, it was easy to see why; it was dirty and the sensor had picked up a tiny hair.
That’s how sensitive this mouse is. In messy conditions, you’d best turn down the sensitivity, because the sensor will pick up imperfections.
I know this is a gaming mouse, and you’re supposed to try it with games, but the very first test I performed was my tried and true “Photoshop Extract filter test.” This is something I do fairly regularly as part of my job, and any mouse that makes this process frustrating is out the door.
The Photoshop Extract filter is an interface within Adobe Photoshop that allows you to select parts of an image to “knock out” of a background. When you make your selection, you need to have pretty fine control of the mouse in order to get a good clean selection of the background. This is a mouse-breaker. A bad mouse makes this process very aggravating. With the settings at 1800 dpi (old DeathAdder) it was pretty good. Now, however, I cranked it to 3500dpi and went to work. The change was immediately noticeable. I had much finer control over where my extraction cursor went and I found the process to be even more efficient than it already was with the old DeathAdder. That, alone, was enough to sell me on this mouse.
Of course, it’s a gaming mouse, and I’m a gamer. I fired up Shattered Horizon and went to work. Shattered Horizon is an intensely difficult FPS. If your aim sucks, you’re dead. I found the DeathAdder to be a noble weapon of choice. The same accuracy I experienced in Photoshop was displayed in-game and I had better success at planting myself on a free-floating object and sniping at poor, unsuspecting astronauts.
I know I spooged all over the old DeathAdder, and I’m going to do it again. Other than the premium cost and the right-handed-only form factor, there’s really nothing bad to say about this mouse. Keep your sensor very clean, don’t use it on a filthy mousepad, and you will experience a definite improvement in your control over what is happening on your screen.
Icrontic is proud to award the Razer DeathAdder 3500dpi gaming mouse the coveted Golden Fedora award, our top honor. This is truly a precision instrument, and your game will improve because of it.
Awarded to the Razer DeathAdder 3500dpi Gaming Mouse
The Razer DeathAdder 3500 dpi mouse is available now at retail, directly from Razer for $59.99, or via online retailers (Amazon – $49.18 and Newegg – $59.99, if you prefer to buy through us to support Icrontic.)
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