A Requiem For Razer Mice

[Bensam123]

So, I've been a avid Razer fan after I decided to switch from a 'normal' Logitech mouse to a gaming mouse (before they had their gaming lineup). I demand the very best for playing FPS's, so of course I picked a mouse that was designed for it. I started with a Boomslang, then went to a Viper, a Diamondback, a Copperhead, and then a Lachesis over the last few years. I've generally enjoyed their non- ambidexterous designs, light feel, and responsiveness. However, over the last few years Logitech has caught up to them in almost every area and now they seem to be lacking quality.

I bought a Copperhead a few years ago and it seemingly started failing after the first year or so of use. The buttons would sometimes not register a click or doubleclick with me pushing a single click. I talked to techsupport and got a new one. A year or two after that it started failing again; the buttons were to blame. So instead of dealing with techsupport I decided to get a Lachesis close to a year ago. Now this mouse supposedly had tracking issues when it first came out. I being a avid fan, waited for the firmware fixes and then bought it. However, the laser worked perfectly at first and slowly started degrading over time (I didn't even think that was possible). It doesn't track perfectly anymore and if you move your hand equidistant back and forth over the mousepad it ends up in different areas. Not only that, but it sometimes does weird things on the screen when moving it. The clicks no longer register properly as with the Copperhead and sometimes don't register at all. Thankfully I haven't had issues with double clicks when I single click yet, but the double clicks don't always register. Obviously they used the same buttons from the Copperhead series in the Lachesis series.

So, I decided to contact techsupport seeing as it's starting to become unusable. They sent me around in a loop telling me to update firmware even though I did already, clean the lens which was already clean, use a different mousepad, all of which I mentioned and did before I talked to them. I gave up seeing as it was becoming too much of a hassle and my problem got worse. So this December I contacted then (the mouse not even being a year old) and wanted a RMA. I was then informed that you are no longer able to get a RMA without the original receipt. Who keeps receipts for close to a year? Most online places are able to check serial numbers of items if they really want to see when it was produced. Not only that, but I bought it from Bestbuy because it was around the same price and close, so there is no way I could get a receipt.

I can sorta understand this, but at the same time they're starting to fall as far as 'professional' gaming products are concerned. Obviously they're using cheaper components in order to cut corners and now they don't want to shoulder the burden for that shotty workmanship. I can honestly say I never had a problem with any of their mice before I bought a Copperhead either. The Copperhead tracked fine too even if the buttons went bad, but now both the buttons and the tracking go bad. Thats like your entire mouse. So, now I'm contemplating on going back to Logitech as I haven't heard anything bad about them and the specs are around the same.

Has anyone had similar experiences with Razer products or want to share their experiences (unbiased) with Logitech?

[steelcity_ballin]

I had a logitech mx 518 for the longest. Someone broke it, I replaced it with a Death Addler because it matched the rest of my riced-out glowbox crap. Honestly it's all marketing horse ****. Most FPses allow you to sensitivity to varying degrees that any modern laser mouse regardless of polling won't be affected to the degree people claim it does.

My thumb buttons help me go back and forth on porn sites quickly, and the right click helps me save boobs.jpg. In all seriousness, I really like the feel of the Death Addler, it has some nice software that responds well to programming your preferred double click speed, X and Y speed / acceleration (really great for zoomed weapons) and on the fly hotkeys to set and unset these values so that you can pick up a sniper, bind your snipe sensitivities, drop it for something else and rebind. It actually uses infrared I believe so no glaring laser under my mouse. I am almost as happy with my super-slick mouse matte made of kevlar. Damn mouse is on ice! It took about a week to get used to but now I hate anything else.

[roont]

I've had a Razor Deathadder for over a year and it still works exactly the same as it did out of the box. I haven't tried thier other mice, but the Deathadder is amazing, best mouse I've ever used.

I'm hoping I don't start to run into the problems you were having with yours.

Its not a gaming mouse, but I've also had a Microsoft Wireless intellemouse Explorer 2.0 for about 3 years and again, works just as it did the day I bought it. Haven't done anything really to keep them maintained aside from the occasional wipedown.

[jonybiskit]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... -_-Product
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... -_-Product
http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/mouse ... px?pid=008
i should also say that i have a razer da, and i'm not sure how accurate it is but it's a lot better then my mx518.
the other day i heard something about razer mice running at 1000 hz might experience some slightly inaccurate tracking stuff and what not. I'm told now that the higher the better, so nvm.
also windows xp has mouse xl built in so if u don't want that you will need a mouse xl fix, you can get one from the esea web site, and there is also one called.. anir mouse fix? i think.. not sure tho

[MaxTheLimit]

I paid 25 bucks for my brand new razer diamondback 3g, and it's been the best mouse I've owned for some time now. Granted, there has been a few mice out there I bet I would like more. I loved the feel of the Lachesis, and the MX518 but I see no need to leave behind or change a mouse that I enjoy so much. Hell I'm pretty satisfied with the A4Tech X7 I bought for visitor use, in the limited times I've tried it. You may say I'm just not picky, but I did hate the MX revolution and the sidewinder X8, which many people claim to love.
I think it comes down to personal preference, and for me it's worth a little extra, but some of Razers high end line does seem a little over the top for a mouse that doesn't have much over cheaper logitech high end mice.

[BooTs]

The first mouse I got that I really liked was a Logitech MX500. Eventually the buttons started to gum up or something, and I was disappointed it was discontinued... but then I found the MX518 which is exactly the same thing. Whatever. I have one now and would buy another if it failed. I just bought another one for a friend who wanted a gaming mouse. Thumb buttons are a major win.

[Airmantharp]

The first mouse I got that I really liked was a Logitech MX500. Eventually the buttons started to gum up or something, and I was disappointed it was discontinued... but then I found the MX518 which is exactly the same thing. Whatever. I have one now and would buy another if it failed. I just bought another one for a friend who wanted a gaming mouse. Thumb buttons are a major win.

I wound up buying a G5 (v2) to replace my MX518 when the pads wore out; a G500 replaced that not a month ago. The first MX500 preceded all of these, and I've loved each of these mice and they've all been passed along to new homes.

I've wanted to try the Razer mice for some time, however, I've always wound up with Logitech's latest, because as someone else said above, the button placement is perfect.

[Voldenuit]

Another long time razer user.

Original Diamondback - 3 years of use, no issues.
Diamondback 3G - 2 years use, no issues.
Diamondback 3G - 6 months use, RMB started sticking in heavy gaming.
Copperhead - 3 months use, still good.

Most of the mouse changes (aside from the 2nd 3G) were necessitated by geographical relocation. Oh, and I have a mini Salmosa that hasn't thrown any issues at me, as well (although to be fair it has never been used for gaming).

So 1 bum mouse out of 5. Hopefully the OP's experience is not representative of the general population, because I like the feel of razer mice (I'm a fingerer, not a palmer) over logis. And I've had logis die on me, too - a wireless VX500 (quite an expensive animal, too) died completely on me after a year. And the logi drivers were terrible, with adware (wtf!). I uninstalled them, but then horizontal scrolling wouldn't work. -_-

[Bensam123]

I should point out that higher DPI is not nearly the same as higher sensitivity. That's like getting a sharper blade vs just zooming in on what you're going to cut. You can feel the difference between higher DPI and between sensitivity. That is, of course, subjective tastes, but it is what my friends and me have all experienced.

I am starting to think they're just having trouble with their laser lineup of mice. I never had any problems with their infrared mice and neither has anyone else I've talked to. Either way I'm contemplating things like the G10 from Logitech (the one shaped to your hand not the tiny palm mouse). It has higher DPI and it's a logitech (they have 1000ms pulling too).

[silent ninjah]

I've been using my Diamondback (magma colour!) since 2004, one of the best 25-30 quid purchases I've ever made. I was looking at the new ones, but honestly, I don't see any point in changing my mouse, I still love it, it still works perfectly. They even released a windows 7 driver for the retail release <3.

My friend bought the Diamondback 3G recently after I told him how much I love my mouse, need to see what he thinks of it.

[Neutronbeam]

Dumb question...but that has never stopped me before [often wrong, never in doubt ]. Ever checked at Best Buy to see if they would pull up and print the receipt for you? Don't cost nuthin' to ask.

[Aphasia]

Yeah, I've had the same problems, especially with regards to double-clicking. I started with the old boomslang, with replace one of the first large mx-style logictech, long long before they had the name mx. And while the boomslang was a great balled mouse, it was abit flat and it got outrun by the optical ones. Boomslang started acting up, got a new one for free. Same problem started showing up after a while. And they had also exchanged the metall rollers for plastic by that time. Went over to Microsoft for a intellieye explorer, then a v3, then for kicks i tried out the diamondback, and lo and behold, same problem as the old boomslangs, registering double-clicks, or no clicks, so i got that one exchanged for mx518 and never lookced back. Switched up to a G5 laser v2 a while thought. So no, microft and logitech it is, depending on which has the best mouse of the moment. Right now its the G5 v2 Laser i think, although for keyboards its microsoft natural keyboard all the way, not the latest iteration.

[shaq_mobile]

I've had one Razer mouse and I was pretty disappointed. Poor button placement, the thumb button rubbed the inside of my thumb and really irritated it.

Logitech isn't really impressive though. I like their mx500. I've had two now, one was 2.5 years old before I quite literally beat it to death. The one I currently have was sitting at a workstation computer where I worked and they requested that I remove it. That mouse is probably pretty close to 6 years old. It's still working good, since I've learned to tame my anger.

I've had an mx310 and two mx518's in my online gaming days. I had a death adder that died after a few months. The MX310 probably has the best design out of any mouse i've ever used. If only it tracked faster.

I have an intellimouse 3.0 thats a backup/paperweight. Its decent but kinda cheap feeling.

In any case, the razer deathadder and mx500-518 and intellimouse 3.0 are the only mice that i've used that are worth the money for gaming. i've returned and thrown a few out due to poor tracking. mx518 has a shorter lifespan than the 500's and i suspect some quality sacrifice with it. Most of these mice are find, its just hand preference.

[NeronetFi]

I have had my Logitech MX700 for about 5+ years now. Being a wireless mouse it has never failed me. But it is getting old now (slight response issues) and I have been looking into a replacement wireless mouse, but I love this mouse so much that I am just gonna use it till it finally dies or the response issues get unbearable.

Edit: I also wanted to mention that this mouse I got with a keyboard / mouse combo...think its the Logitech cumfort duo. Love the keyboard too. For as much gaming as I do I cannot believe both have lasted me this long. I got the logitech G110 for x-mas, have to say i dont like how the keys are pressed so closely together. So will probably go back to my wireless logitech keyboard

[jabro]

I have really enjoyed my Razer Deathadder, but it came down with the "double-click" of death symptom after about a year. Razer's RMA process was not too bad (I am soooo thankful my wife kept the receipt for it from Frys - I never would have on my own), and they replaced it without any hassle. Still, I find it a bit disturbing that the double-click during single-click problem is so common with Deathadder owners (just check google). I wonder if I will replacing this current mouse again in a year?