**WIN £250 WITH RAZER** Review Your Razer FPS Gaming Mouse!!

Just a question, Would I have to of bought my razer mouse from OCUK to be eligible to enter the competition or can I just review the razer mouse I currently have?
 
Does it have to be a current range of mouse? I've not owned a Razer for about 10yrs. But I'd happily write a lovely trip down memory lane, and my experiance with Boomers.
 
My Deathadder Review

Time to Review my Good ol’ Trusty Respawn Edition Deathadder

This mouse has served me well for a good year and a half and although some of the buttons are becoming temperamental its still a fantastic mouse, and ill try to show my reasons to support that.

A picture of my Set up first seems fit. :D

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My deathadder on top of the goliathus control (its not that dirty, its the flash)

Let’s get down to business, when I first received my mouse, the packaging was well presented (velcro + window = instant win from me) clearly outlining the pros of the mouse which included:

• 3.5G Infrared Sensor - you can use your mouse on pretty much any surface.
• 3500DPI - Mine is set to 1600 dpi, as the gain isn't noticeable, and makes it to fast for me to use.
• 1000Hz Ultrapolling - this will help your mouse register how many times it has moved from moving to one side of the screen to other, makes the mouse very responsive.
• 1ms Response Time - this the time it takes for your movements of the mouse to register.
• Ergonomic Right Hand Design (which works wonders and my hand sits comfortably in the palm grip style)
• Free Stickers (which are epic, I have one on the back of my monitor)(uv???????)

The cord of the Mouse is Braided which makes it extremely hard (unless you actually try) to tangle the cord, which allows it to move freely while gaming.

When I first sat the mouse down for the first time and moved it around I was shocked how smooth it was (my mouse before was a Microsoft £5 mouse) probably the fact that it was on my new mouse mat aswell but I think the Teflon feet works wonders (mine haven’t worn down at all I must say)

Once you plug the mouse in via its Gold plated USB connection you instantly see the lights on the palm of the mouse and the scroll wheel light up a pleasant blue (which if you can probably see by the picture it looks fantastic) (sold it already for me imo)

When I First used the mouse before installing the drivers, I couldn't click on a thing, it was so fast, I was sceptical at first but now im used to it im happy.
Im going to show you what driver settings i use, and so you can get a feel of what the configuration panel looks like.

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Razer Deathadder’s Control Panel

The settings I have used in this panel makes the best use of Slow movement for increased accuracy (you will just have to use the whole of your mouse pad to do so, which in my view is a good thing).

In this panel you can configure all of the buttons to do what you want them to do.

You can turn the lights on and off (I prefer mine on, who doesn’t ;)).

Then on the side you have two options, Sensitivity and Advanced Sensitivity.

Well take a look at Sensitivity option first.

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Razer Deathadder’s Control Panel on the Sensitivity Configuration Tab

Here you can Change things like Scroll speed, on the fly Sensitivity and Double Click speed .

Again I have used the options best suited for me; you should change them around until you find the settings suited for your best game experience.

Next is the Advanced Sensitivity Tab

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Razer Deathadder’s Control Panel on the Advanced Sensitivity Configuration Tab

Here you can change the Axis (which I didn’t my settings there are default), change the speed of the Windows pointer which will change the speed in windows (this does have an effect in Games aswell) and I Have Acceleration off as it hurts the polling rate, which makes the mouse jitter for some reason (that may just be my problem googling this doesn't seem to show any problems, I don't care though, all the gamers I know don't use acceleration either).

The things you can change here makes the mouse totally customizable to make this mouse your mouse.

Now that the mouse is ready we should jump into some games, i’m going to be showing my settings for three games which have helped me be not the best gamer but not the worst.

The fps games I will be testing are.

• Counter Strike Source
• Team Fortress 2
• Call of Duty : Modern Warfare 2

Let’s get straight into this.

We will start with Counter-Strike:Source

If you’re an avid fan of Source based games you will recognise this screen

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Counter strike Source Sensitivity Screen

On this game I use a low Sensitivity because it will allow me to be more accurate to aim for the head, The faster your mouse the less accurate you are, so you keep a low sense on a reletivly high DPI, so you hit every pixel, so you need to utilize the whole of the Mouse Pad (The Goliathus is relatively big anyway).

The guys at valve recently added the raw input button, raw input bypasses any windows mouse configuration and lets the mouse use whatever configuration it has for it self, which is good in this instant as we have set up the mouse using razers own control panel, the game is smoother and more responsive with raw input on so I would advise you use it at all times.

Next I will show a short video on how the deathadder moves through the game. (any video in this review is mine, so it shows my movements and not always the best movements).


Every time I spin round 180 degrees I’m using three quarters of my mouse pad which allows for precision kills, but in other cases it might slow you down, Its mostly down to preference, see how you fare with it. But its better to practise with a lower sensitivity on CSS because you learn to aim better and quicker, less of a learning curve. (imo)

The next game is Team Fortress 2

This game is still a source engine game, but I use a faster sensitivity as you need to be on the edge of your seat with the quickest reactions around, and this helps you to accomplish that.

You need to be fast in TF2 its the fastest paced game I have ever played and if you play with the same settings as Counter-Strike:Source you will never get anywhere.

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Team Fortress 2 Sensitivity Screen

As you can see all the settings are the same, but I have more than doubled my sensitivity to keep up with the game, I still use all my settings from the Razer Control Panel and keep raw input on.

Again a quick video to show the movement.


The video shows that although you are fast (I could do a 480 with my Entire mouse pad) you sometimes cannot control it; you might miss when you shoot a few times until you get used to it.

Again this is mostly down to preference but give it a go.

Finally I will show you my settings in Call of Duty : Modern Warfare 2.

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Call of Duty : Modern Warfare 2 Sensitivity Screen

There isnt much to show you here, but I have used a reletavily low sense in this game as your aim is important in getting those precise shots before the enemy does.

(I haven't opted for smooth mouse as when I turned it on I had stuttering issues and the game crashed :s)

A quick video to show the movement.

I apologize if there is screen tear, it may not show the movement fully, because my computer isnt very good when running Fraps.

I use Wide movements to create the 180 degree turns you see in the video By using the full extent of my Mouse pad which creates increased aim, but again slow movement in heavy situations, so you need to take it easy when you charge in all guns blazing.

This Concludes my Review and I will give my final thoughts.

The Razer Deathadder brings aim, precision and comfort aswell as longevity and pleasing appearance with very good features for its price point, my only gripe is the side buttons are very temperamental which start to not register after about year.

Well worth the buy, you can buy it from the guys over at Overclockers UK with the Link below and if your a forum member you get free postage making this mouse a BARGAIN!

http://overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BU-001-RA

It currently comes with a boogie bug XL which is a very good mouse mat and currently valued at £16.99 which makes the mouse only £33. :o (I have seen the mouse mat in person, its soft, smooth and very large and best of all responsive it also stops your keyboard from slipping. :D)

I can't recommend this enough and when my buttons become unusable after countless clicking and long gaming sessions, this is the mouse I will order again in an instant but please razer if you take anything from this review make the buttons on the side of the mouse last longer.

Before this mouse, I wasn't a very good fps player, despite all the people who say you don't need a decent mouse this does make you better at games and its easily worth the price they retail it at, heck I would even buy it for double the price.

I hope you find this useful in your search for the best gaming mouse, at least we can probably agree that its a Razer mouse just which one? This one!

Razer > Anything Else.

Michael Bevan

And good luck to everyone who entered. :D

Edit: I would have shown BF3 but alas my pc isn't good enough to fraps it, let me just add, sniping is soooooo easy. :D Cant praise this mouse enough.
Edit: Grammar is a work in progress.
 
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Microsoft / Razor Habu mouse

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Ive always been a big fan of both Razor and Microsoft so in 2007 I opted to purchase the Habu mouse which along with their matching keyboard the Reclusa is in my opinion highlights the best cooperation between the two companies. It combines elements of Razors gaming mouse history and Microsofts long standing reputation for making ergonomic peripherals.

The mouse takes some of the best elements of Microsoft design and adds in razor hardware, with the ability to swap out side buttons to customise it to how you hold your mouse and how many macros you want at your finger tips. I normally have the two button load out on the side, which leaves me enough room underneath the buttons to rest my thumb comfortably when not in use. The mouse sits comfortably in my hand and i play on average for several hours a day and have never experienced wrist problems or any pains from prolonged use. With the two button load out on the side the mouse is sporting a total of 7 buttons including the two main and the wheel giving you plenty of options to customise without been over the top for the average gamer. I have found some mice that have too many buttons on seem like a good idea but that they end up harming the ergonomics of the design or I simply forget which buttons do what.

Some would argue that the two main buttons are two big for the serious FPS gamer as they are quite big and depending on your play style you could end up mashing the buttons while moving around. There were also issues raised with the location of its optical sensor, which is at the back of the base which means in practical terms it could be less responsive to slight wrist movements meaning you have to wok a bit harder for the kill shot.

The mouse comes with a driver package which gives you the ability to customize your mouse, including altering the sensitivity, which obviously is key in FPS style games. Razor also have the added feature of having onboard memory which gives you the added benefit of been able to store your customized profiles even if your using the mouse on an other pc.

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Now with only a DPI of 2000 the Habu has certainly been supposed by higher precision mice such as the Razor Naga at 5600dpi or even the Deathadder at 3500dpi, but then they also cost more. Is it the best FPS out there? No. Does it offer good customization and response times for the average gamer both in FPS and general gaming? After living with the mouse for four years I would say yes without a doubt. Does this mouse give me an edge over a bog standard mouse in FPS? Certainly it does, my response times are slightly higher, the cross hairs are slightly quicker going were I want them to (assuming I was aiming in the right place to begin with) and with the added customizable buttons I am able to swap out weapons or lob a grenade before the guy with the standard mouse knows what hit him. I also prefer the fact that the mouse is wired (although its only a thin cord) I have never been a fan of wireless mice and have had problems before with batteries running out or interference mid games, I don’t get that sort of problem with the Habu.

A mouse is a personal choice and must fit with the style and feel of how people play, especialy in FPS were you are required to make a lot of movements. The mouse you use must be an extention of your hand and the Habu certaintly fits my style and hand, will it fit yours? maybe not, but then Razor offer a huge range of mice and there will certainly be one in the range that fits youur style of play and will enhance your FPS experience.

This mouse is currently been put through it paces on battlefield 3, having not played the beta I am currently doing the campaign as to familiarize myself with the game. My thoughts so far is that the mouse allows for an enjoyable experience with smooth scrolling and no sudden jerk movements, all in all the mouse does nothing but enhance my game experience. I have also started playing multiplayer and decided to go for the recon sniper option, so it is essential that i have a smooth and responsive mouse in order to pick the enemy off and they run around the battlefield. All i can say is the mouse delivers in spades and while im certainly not the best recon sniper in the game my failings are not to response times on the mouse or poor scrolling its down to my failings in not seeing the enemy or my own response times. Now if only razor could develop something to help with with that then i would be the master of FPS :P However here is a link to some demonstration of the Habu in other FPS titles:

C.S.S

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-Q01kcPObo

The build quality and reliability of the mouse means that I am a razor convert through and through now and while this mouse does not make me a master of the FPS world it certainly helps me enjoy the experience. My next mouse purchase will be an other razor mouse.

•2000dpi Razer Precision laser sensor
•1000Hz Ultrapolling / 1ms response time
•Ergonomic right-handed design
•Interchangeable side button panels
•On-The-Fly Sensitivity adjustment
•Always-On mode
•Up to 45 inches per second and 20g of acceleration
•Seven independently programmable Hyperesponse buttons
•GlowPipe non-slip side rails
•Large, ultra-slick mouse feet
•Thin, flexible cord
 
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i was really bored, so here's my review of the razer naga:

Why is the mouse good for FPS?
its good for FPS games because it is incredibly comfy no matter what grip i use, perfect for those long FPS sessions. at times it has felt like the mouse wasnt even there
However, it is very unresponsive to movements and button presses, often completely ignoring all inputs.

What features does it have?
one very useful feature is the wireless connectivity. this makes it far easier for me to move it from my PC at uni to my laptop at home without falling over the wire and hitting my head on the bed, and much easier to move it from back to uni again without the cat trying to eat the entire wire.
it also has an invisibility cloak which makes your desk look very tidy when you aren't using it. the downside of this is you can easily lose the mouse by knocking it off the desk. i've looked into ways of removing this invisibility cloak, but it costs up to £105, and takes a whole day to turn off, so i have avoided doing this for now.
the designers have also got the shape spot on. you hardly notice it at all while using it, and would swear that it wasn't even there at times

Does it improve your skills in FPS gaming?
due to the mouse completely ignoring my button presses and movements this mouse significantly improves my otherwise quite terrible FPS skills. At one point i was as high as 2-50 in the battlefield 3 beta so it must have been giving me a major advantage

Would you recommend it?
yes, it is the perfect mouse for people like me who are not so great at FPSs. despite the high cost of removing the invisibility cloak i would recommend it to anyone

(well, that passed 10 mins)
 
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i was really bored, so here's mine:

Why is the mouse good for FPS?
its good for FPS games because it is incredibly comfy no matter what grip i use, perfect for those long FPS sessions.
However, it is very unresponsive to movements and button presses, often completely ignoring all inputs.

What features does it have?
one very useful feature is the wireless connectivity. this makes it far easier for me to move it from my PC at uni to my laptop at home without falling over the wire and hitting my head on the bed, and much easier to move it from back to uni again without the cat trying to eat the entire wire.
it also has an invisibility cloak which makes your desk look very tidy when you aren't using it. the downside of this is you can easily lose the mouse by knocking it off the desk. i've looked into ways of removing this invisibility cloak, but it costs up to £105, and takes a whole day to turn off, so i have avoided doing this for now.
the designers have also got the shape spot on. you hardly notice it at all while using it, and would swear that it wasn't even there at times

Does it improve your skills in FPS gaming?
due to the mouse completely ignoring my button presses and movements this mouse significantly improves my otherwise quite terrible FPS skills. At one point i was as high as 2-50 in the battlefield 3 beta so it must have been giving me a major advantage

Would you recommend it?
yes, it is the perfect mouse for people like me who are not so great at FPSs. despite the high cost of removing the invisibility cloak i would recommend it to anyone

(well, that passed 10 mins)

What mouse?
 
Razer Diamondback

Why is the mouse good for FPS?

The 1600dpi gives great sensitivity and responsiveness from a stationary position. The added buttons and easily gripping mouse wheel allow for plenty of additional commands on the mouse meaning that the other hand has less keys to press and fingers can remain on the arrows (or wasd) keys more as they have less need to move.


What features does it have?

A pretty light :P.
7 clickable buttons plus scroll-wheel.
Additional software to greater customise button settings between programs and sensitivity (as well as the ability to switch buttons off).


Does it improve your skills in FPS gaming?

No. However, it allows for better accuracy and responsiveness which may help improve aim and reaction times.


Would you recommend it?

Definitely. However the shape isn't for everyone. I've had this one for around five years or so, if not more. It remains as good as new minus a little dirt.
 
A quick review of Razer mice from me.

I've owned 2 Razer mice in my time gaming, and i'm please to announce that they've both been fantastic. These have been:

- Razer Diamondback 1600DPi
- Razer Krait 1600DPi

These mice provided rapid response and precision, much improved over a standard or non-branded mouse. Both were comfortable and easy to configure with the included software. And let's be honest, you'd be hard pressed to find a Razer mouse that doesn't look fantastic!

Unfortunately, both of these mice have failed of the same issue, in that the main mouse buttons eventually stop working through normal (and unabused) use. As a reviewer has already mentioned before me, when taking the mice apart to determine the cause of the failure (no one wants to declare something as broken!), it appeared in both cases that the plastic part of the button that physically clicks the microswitch had worn away. Other than this, I can think of no other negative issues with the physical products themselves.

As to value for money, looking at newer products the prices have forced me to look elsewhere for my third mouse. Mice like the Krait which were at the cheaper end of the scale were budget mice, but yet still performed far better than a standard or equivalently priced mouse. It would be nice to see some more budget entries into the market, to look after the little guys as well as those with big pockets.
 
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Why is the mouse good for FPS?

Razer has been synonymous with high-end peripherals for many years now, but it's their mice that started the love affair with serious gamers. I'll be reviewing an oldie but goodie - the Copperhead, a 2000 dpi classic.

I'm a left-hander, which means my mouse choice has always been limited. Logitech simply do not cater to us poor lefties in the high-end, so they have always been out for me. However, as long as Razer churn out quality Mice like the Copperhead, I can't say I care one bit.

Seven years ago, I was heavily into Counter-Strike and so required the best mouse I could get my hand on to defeat my clan buddies, or to be more accurate, keep up with them! I chose the Copperhead as at the time this mouse stood out. It had a high polling rate, 2000 dpi sensitivity and a few of my clan mates highly recommended it. It could have turned out to be all marketing guff, but the fact is, it simply didn't.

Over the years I've looked at countless other mice and I'm sorry to say that most of them simply do not match the performance on offer from Razer's line up. The shape, while less ergonomic than the competition, is actually so usable, so balanced - it gives you the sense that you are in absolute control. The Copperhead is perfect for those who tend to have their palm float above the top of the mouse, controlling it with their fingers.

In the past I've also been the type of gamer who will sit down and play a FPS for 8 hour stints and over multiple days. I've never suffered from any aches using the Copperhead apart from a slight soreness on my thumb from pressing against the transparent rubber that protrudes outwards. However, it has never become more than a minor soreness, and is nothing of concern. With the Steering wheel I own (T500) and less use, i get worse problems on my thumbs, and with a 360 controller, I can succumb to RSI style pains if i play similar lengths of time with racing games like GRID, requiring a 3-4 day recovery period. However, in general I do not specifically suffer with my hands, so your mileage may vary.

So is it good for First person shooters? Speaking strictly about the Copperhead and not the new models from Razer, it would still my first choice and I can't be the only one to think this way as it was still on sale at major e-tailers until relatively recently - that's a long life-span for a computer peripheral! For one, it is a no-brainer for left handers. It's far more comfortable for long use than it's design suggests, and it can in some cases add a sense of control that many lesser mice absolutely lack.

What features does it have?

- 2000 DPI laser engine
- 1000 Hz interpolling
- 16bit data path
- Ergonomic design for left and right hand use
- 4 additonal buttons (two on left, two on right)

By todays standards, the Copperheads dpi can look deceptively low. However, gains above these numbers exponentially decrease, so while 5600 million billion dpi is nice, it's not what I look for in a mouse - 2000 dpi was and still is more than enough. Far more critical is the polling rate. The polling rate-- also known as the sampling rate--determines how many times per second a sample of movement is taken and registered to the screen. An example - If your polling rate is 10 hz and within a second you had to make a sudden movement to the top left of the screen, the mouse will only be able to register 10 sampling points for that entire movement.

polling.jpg

-------- 10 sampling points for a theoretical polling rate of 10hz -----

As you can imagine, this amount of sampling points is going to be extremely choppy and to a certain degree not dissimilar to playing at 10 fps.

The default USB polling rate in Windows 7 is 125hz (8ms) so it will sample 125 times per second, but this is still noticeable to experienced gamers under high fps conditions. Most high-end mice allow for higher polling rates, with the Copperhead's driver software (which has a small fortprint and has always been rock solid) allowing for 125, 500 (2ms), and 1000 hz (1ms) polling rates. A low polling rate can have the effect of making mouse movements appear choppy in-game, and at it's most noticeable can even look like the frame rate is lower than it actually is. A good example of this is the now discontinued OCZ 2500 dpi Equalizer mouse, which came out with a lot of hype (due to a low price), with the marketing coming from OCZ suggesting this was a true gaming mouse. The truth was nothing of the sort, it had frame rate issues, probably due to a standard polling rate. The moral of the story is, beware of copy cats, the numbers don't always explain the true picture, especially as DPI is still the most considered number in choosing mice.


Does it improve your skills in FPS gaming?


In a nutshell, yes. I'm sure any high-end mouse with true internals similar to the specification of this one will give a similar advantage over standard mice, too. Mouse choice will always be personal preference, but seven years on, when my Copperhead finally gives up I'll be looking at Razer again, no question. A properly designed mouse makes all the difference in FPS, and those who have lived with quality can't go back. For me Razer absolutely cater to my style of play and the way i grip a mouse like no other. For others, it might be the reverse feeling. As i said, it's personal preference.

Would you recommend it?

The Copperhead is now discontinued, with many new Razer models to choose from such as the Deathadder, Lachesis or even the pretty darn pricey wireless Mamba. But seven years use and two Copperheads later, I certainly don't regret my purchases. The Copperhead is a classic.

There are a few cons that show up over years of use, however. The first is that on the Copperhead, the side button are all but useless as in-game buttons, the "click" feel and position makes them too unreliable to bind. The second issue is that the clear rubber surround in the below picture does start to wear out over time, it starts to split apart. The scroll wheel has too much deadzone to it before it clicks up or down. However, after several years of use, I must admit that it probably wasn't like this when new. The last grumble is that you couldn't turn of all the LED lighting in the driver, making leaving your PC on overnight in a bedroom quite annoying. I actually ended up opening up my mouse and removing all the LEDs...

Thankfully most of these issues have been corrected in later Razer models.

razercopperheadtempest2.jpg


If today i had to choose a new mouse I'd probably go for the Lachesis, which to me looks like the next-gen left-friendly Razer product where all the faults of the Copperhead seem to be fixed. No more rubber surround, on/off LED's, better side buttons (though possibly still not 100% usable, only testing will tell...), and hopefully a more clunky scroll wheel, by the looks of it.

Thanks for reading, and here's a pic of my trusty Copperhead on my desktop, with no LEDs :)

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Old pic, so missing my Hazro 27-inch and Yamaha speakers. And yes, that's a Razer eXact mat in there, too, which is an excellent mouse mat to partner with a Copperhead.
 
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My Razer Deathadder:

This review is from: Razer DeathAdder 3G Infrared Gaming Mouse (Personal Computers)
A gaming mouse (high dpi laser and wired rather than wireless) has a quickness and consistency that wireless laser mice just cannot match. I have owned a number of gaming mice over the years and while I have liked them all, I think this one is the very best so far.

The most important issue here is the shape of the mouse. The top (left and right) buttons of this mouse are a continuous part of its top surface rather than being separate buttons like on the Diamondhead or the Copperhead. For me, this is important because it makes the mouse feel much smoother when my hand rests on it. As a result, my hand rests more naturally on this mouse than any other.

Another important issue is the carefully thought-out shape of the basic right and left buttons on this mouse. Note that these buttons have a subtle up-and-out curvature that allows one's fingers to rest more naturally and to click faster and with greater precision than with the uniformly downwardly curved (or convex) buttons on mice made by manufacturers like, say, Logitech.

Previously, I liked the shape of the Microsoft 6000 gaming mouse (not to be confused with the ubiquitous Microsoft 6000 wireless mouse) the best. But the shape of this mouse is clearly better.

Many gamers do like the Logitech mice, but I have always felt that the curvature and shape the G5 and MX518 mice is a bit off. The problem is that the fingers do not rest as naturally relaxed and yet poised on a downwardly curved surface as they do on a surface with a slight and subtle upturn at the front edge of the basic right and left buttons.

Speed and control:
This mouse is extremely precise and it is easy to adjust its sensitivity with the proper drivers.

Vista Drivers must be downloaded:
My operating system is Vista Premium Home. While the print on the box that the mouse came in proclaimed that this mouse was Vista ready, it turned out that there were no Vista drivers on the CD ,so I had to download drivers from the manufacturers support site. This proved fairly easy though so I do not consider this a serious issue.

Adjustable Lights and the Look:
I do not like the purple lights on the wheel and on the logo that are always shown in the pictures of the Razer mice. Accordingly, I was delighted to realize that turning these lights off is a simple matter of clicking on two buttons in the driver setting panel. Once the lights have been turned off the mouse looks much plainer (and much better too in my opinion).
 
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