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Kevin 'RotterdaM' Van Der Kooi

 
Razer Mamba Review by Kevin 'RotterdaM' van der Kooi
Posted on 20th Jun 2010
Bio
Name:  Kevin van der Kooi
Nick:  RotterdaM
Game:  Warcraft III
Team:  Serious Gaming
Mouse:  Razer Deathadder Cypher Edition
Keyboard:  Lycosa
Headset:  Carcharias/Moray
Mousepad:  Mantis/Goliathus Alpha Speed

Intro
This is the first time I write an official mouse review, so I am a kind of new to this. I focused on things which are important to me when acquiring a new mouse. I have used a Razer Mamba reviewers guide along the way to guide me a bit.

My review will start with the basics, which means the way the product is presented, the look and feel, and later I will go deeper into the technological aspects and the performance of the Mamba both in wireless and in wired mode. Another thing I have kept a close look on is the battery life.

Presentation, Look/Feel
Receiving Razer products in general is like being handed a cool gift. The packaging and presentation are always close to perfect and totally represent the Razer brand and image. The Razer Mamba is by far the coolest box for a mouse I have ever seen and I honestly mean this. It feels like I just won a trophy without even start using it, great job for this.

The loading station looks good, and is easy to use. Attaching or releasing the cord from the station is a matter of a click. In the wireless mode the station will locate the mouse with pressing one button. On top there is the option to make the blue light shine underneath the station.

Shape and Weight
The mouse has a similar kind of design as the Razer Deathadder which I currently use and also has the same kind of feel. The top surface of both mice is the same, and I like the new rubber grip patches on the side of the Mamba.

A difference with the Razer Deathadder is mainly the weight and also a little bit in the height. The Razer Mamba is heavier compared to other mice. To experience how that works out I have tested the Razer Mamba in a long practice session of over two hours.

To me the weight didn’t make a big difference while using it. I am sliding my mouse a lot on my mouse pad, for users that are used to ‘lift’ their mouse more, this might be a different experience. The battery was still almost full after this session.

You could save weight by removing the battery during playing in wired mode.

Driver menu
After I connected the mouse to my pc without problems, the device was found as it is supposed to be, I went to razerzone.com to download the drivers. I installed the drivers and was ready to play my first games, but not before I had adjusted my settings to how I want it.

This is where I bumped into a small problem. I could set speed and many other different things, but not the sensitivity in the scale from 1/10, like all Razer drivers normally have. This was unusual since I'm not used to that, the only settings I normally set is sensitivity and speed. After trying different things I managed via the DPI to find the right speed, although this was kind of confusing in the beginning.

In the menu there is the option to store your personal setting onto the new Razer Synapse On-Board Memory. This is a handy addition and saves me from carrying my settings on an usb stick.

Performance
Since I play Warcraft III which is a RTS (Real Time Strategy Game), it is very important to be able to use my items and cast spells instantly, mouse delay is very disturbing. The speed has to be as fast as I click. To test this I have played 2 similar sessions both in wired and in wireless mode.

I must admit I expected at least small delay with a wireless mouse, but to my pleasant surprise I haven’t notice any problems.

The second thing that I tested, and which is important to me, is the battery life. After fully charging it first, I have been able to play for hours and hours without having any battery problems. The battery is being charged when placed in the station and while being used in wired mode.

Several options the mouse has, such as the buttons on the mouse to change the sensitivity ingame, I have not tested since I never use these options.

Conclusion
Several months ago during Dreamhack Winter in Sweden I was introduced to the Razer Mamba and had a brief testing session. This was mainly to give us a first impression on the mouse and to test the sensor on different surfaces. Back then I can remember I was pretty reluctant about a wireless gaming mouse.I was convinced a wireless mouse was never able to compete with a wired mouse in terms of response. 

My conclusion though is that from my experience there is no difference in using the wired or wireless option. The only reason to prefer the wired option is so you are 100% sure the battery doesn’t run out of power while playing a game. From a performance point of view I have not noticed any differences.

Currently I use a Deathadder, and since we have our own team edition, I will continue using this, but if I in the future want to change mouse, the Razer Mamba for sure is one of the options.



Fav games: Warcraft III, Starcraft 2
Personal achievements: 3rd in Mad Processor Starcraft2 LAN, 1st in Eurocup 13 Warcraft III
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Customer Testimonials on the Razer Carcharias Gaming Headset

"Great quality, great comfort, awesome experiences."

Jordan - From United States Posted on Sep 28th 2009

"The velvet earcups and the quality of the whole product."

Austin - From United States Posted on Sep 26th 2009

"Very impressive realistic sound feeling."

Patrick - From Germany Posted on Sep 26th 2009

(View all 44 customer testimonials on the Razer Carcharias Gaming Headset.)
 
Razer Carcharias Gaming Headset

Razer Carcharias Gaming Headset

Razer Carcharias Gaming Headset

Razer Carcharias Gaming Headset

Razer Carcharias Gaming Headset

Razer Carcharias Gaming Headset

Razer Carcharias Gaming Headset

Razer Carcharias Gaming Headset

Razer Carcharias Gaming Headset

Razer Carcharias Gaming Headset