Review : Razer Mamba Wireless Gaming Mouse

Introduction

There are many known disadvantages with wireless gaming mice such as slower response times, batteries dying and wireless interference. It’s these common stereotypes which has left the wired mouse to rule the gaming scene.

Razer, a company not known for doing things by half, has attempted to turn this stereotype around with the Razer Mamba. It’s been years in the making and its features are out of this world. Let’s see how it performs…

About Razer

“Razer collaborates with gamers to develop, manufacture and market cutting-edge gaming peripherals utilizing proprietary technologies that give gamers the competitive edge. We reinvented the computer gaming industry by bringing this competitive edge to gamers when professional computer gaming was in its infancy. In the mid 90s, with the advent of networked gaming and competitive first-person-shooter (FPS) games, gamers found that their legacy peripherals were inhibiting rather than enhancing their gameplay.”

Features

Specifications

• Gaming Grade Wireless Technology


• 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


• Approximate size: 128mm x 70mm x 42.5mm


• Battery Life: 14hrs (continuous gaming); 72 hours (normal gaming usage) *Depends on surface used


• Windows® 2000 / XP / X64 / MCE 2005 / Vista / Vista64
  Available USB port
  CD-ROM Drive (for drivers)
  At least 35MB of hard disk space (for drivers)
  

  The Package

  
  The Razer Mamba arrives in a slightly unique style of box. It features a transparent acrylic top half where you are able to see the Mamba on its pedestal and a black acrylic bottom half where all the accessories are contained. The bottom acrylic half sits in a cardboard section which lists all the specifications and features.
  
  
  
  The technical specifications are bullet pointed and an insight behind the technology that the Razer Mamba uses is also given. The features are listed towards the bottom in a mix of languages.
  
  
  
  On the base of the cardboard section, the package contents and system requirements are listed.
  
  
  
  After removing a piece of cardboard from the front, you will find instructions for opening the box. It’s quite good that Razer has provided these because believe me, it’s not the easiest box to open.
  
  
  
  Once the box is disassembled, you can see clearly see how overboard Razer has gone with the package. The black acrylic bottom half has been designed like a chest of draws, all the accessories are located within the draws.
  
  
  
  After removing all the accessories, it’s easy to see what’s included with the Razer Mamba:
  
  
  
  • Charging Dock
  
  
  • Rechargeable Battery with Battery Door
  
  
  • USB Cable
  
  
  • Certificate of Authority
  
  
  • Quick Start Guide
  
  
  • Master Guide
  
  
  
  
  
  The Razer Mamba mouse itself comes attached to an acrylic stand. To remove it from this you simply unclip it.
  
  
  
  
  
  

  The Razer Mamba

  
   
  
  The Razer Mamba itself is very attractive with a sleek and sharp design. It comes with a matt black rubber texture on top, on the buttons and where the fingers/thumb would rest. This allows the user to have a very secure and comfortable grip on the mouse.
  
   
  
  The right side specifically is completely bare with no buttons. As the Mamba is quite comfortable in both left and right hand, this is a slight let down as it’s nearly impossible for left hand users to make use of the buttons on the left.
  
   
  
  
  
   
  
  The two buttons on the left side of the mouse are quite large and perfectly positioned for easy use. It feels good pressing the buttons as they compress a fair amount and make a nice ‘click’ sound. This is helpful in-game as you know your click have been registered.
  
   
  
  
  
   
  
  There are also two more buttons located at the side of the left-click button. These are positioned very closely to the main left click button and so it’s very easy to accidently press this too.
  
   
  
  
  
   
  
  A subtle but obvious feature of the Mamba is the black outlined tribal-like Razer logo which locates towards the rear of the mouse. This looks rather appealing and has a menacing look towards it.
  
   
  
  
  
   
  
  The front of the Razer Mamba reminds me a lot of the motorbike-like vehicle from ‘The Dark Knight’. The sharp edge of the left and right click buttons and the gap in the centre really does look very sinister.
  
   
  
  
  
   
  
  
  
   
  
  Hidden below the scroll wheel is a USB connector. The Razer Mamba can be used as a wired mouse as well as a wireless one and so this is where the cable connects.
  
   
  
  
  
   
  
  
  
   
  
  The bottom of the Razer Mamba is gloss black plastic. There are three large Teflon feet to protect the surface and to help the mouse glide well. Also on the bottom are three buttons: on/off, wireless connect and eject (allows the USB cable to be disconnected when being used as a wired mouse). Located in the centre is the laser sensor with surround.
  
   
  
  
  
   
  
  The battery sits in a compartment on the bottom of the Mamba. It doesn’t need to be connected to any wires as it has metal contacts on the battery which contacts with metal contacts inside the compartment.
  
   
  
  
  
   
  
  The charger is made from glossy black acrylic and has a translucent acrylic base. There is also a connect switch on the front of the dock and the Razer logo.
  
   
  
  
  

  Lighting

  
  The Razer Mamba has a blue LED installed which makes the scroll wheel glow blue. Also, there are three bars on the left side of the mouse which indicate how much battery the mouse has and also how sensitive the DPI is.
  
  
  
  The acrylic bottom of the charger also glows blue. It seems to look as though the charger is floating.
  
  
  
  Whilst the mouse is charging on the dock, the LED installed at the base of the charger fades on and off.
  
  
  

  The Drivers and Software

  
  Rather than including a driver/software CD with the Mamba, Razer has provided a link to where they can be downloaded. The latest ones available when testing the mouse were v1.05 and came in a file size of just 38.9MB.
  
  The first screen in the software allows you to assign different functions to the buttons. There are over 15 assignments to be had and so you can pretty much do anything possible.
  
  
  
  The second screen has a slider for DPI and cursor acceleration and also three options for polling rate. The DPI speeds available range from 100 all the way up to 5600.
  
  
  
  The software can also create different profiles. Therefore, you could have one profile with all the settings for day-to-day tasks and then another just for games. By simply switching profiles all the settings are then configured. Many mice come with the ability to do this and I find it’s a really useful feature.
  
  
  
  For automated commands, you also have the option of Macros. You simply record the macro and then you can configure one of the buttons to play it. This makes it simple in-game to quickly perform actions with one single click – some see this as cheating.
  
  
  
  As you saw on the previous page, the Razer Mamba has a number of lights. Although these do look quite appealing, when gaming in the dark they can often distract. So using the software you can also turn on or off the various lights.
  
  
  
   
  
   
  

  Testing

  
  

  Surface Response

  
  I tested the Razer Mamba on five different surfaces: transparent glass (no frost), wood, glossy magazine and XtracPads Logic mouse pad (which we’ll soon have a review on). Usually many mice fail on the glossy magazine and transparent glass test.
  
  The Razer Mamba performed exceptionally well on wood, the glossy magazine and the mouse pad. It registered all slight movements and the Teflon feet glided across either of the surfaces. Unfortunately it didn’t work on transparent glass, but this isn’t a surprise because very few mice work on this.
  
  
  

  Performance

  
  I gamed with the OCZ Mamba in Far Cry 2 and Crysis. Usually I’m not a fan of high DPI as I tend to end up navigating too far across the subject I’m shooting or pointing to. However, with the Razor Mamba this wasn’t the case. I wacked the DPI up to 5600 and loved every second of it. It was dead accurate and even on wireless it was not ‘laggy’ or unresponsive at all.
  
  Like I mentioned in the overview on the mouse, the buttons on the front of the left click are a bit difficult to press. This was the case in-game too and I simply disregarded them after plenty of accidental clicks.
  
  In Windows the Razer Mamba was a pleasure to use. I even used the mouse at 5600DPI here too. It navigated me to buttons quickly and effectively without any hassle.
  

  Durability

  
  After a couple of weeks of constant use, the Razer Mamba wasn’t battered at all. The top does tend to pick up dirty easily and the charger is a magnet for dust, but the overall build quality is second to none.
  

  Comfort

  
  The Razer Mamba will fit snugly in most people’s hands. I have larger than normal hands and the Mamba was still comfortable for me to use. The rubber texture on top gives good grip on the mouse too.
  
  However, in intense gaming situations or long games you’ll find that the rubber thumb and finger grips become very sweaty. I even had to use a tissue to dry them off they got so bad!
  
  But for most normal people… you’ll find it very comfortable and enjoyable to use.
  

  Conclusion

  
  The years in the making have paid off. What we have here is a gaming mouse which performs great, looks great and is great to use. What more could you want?
  
  The only problem is the price. At a whopping £115 it’s certainly not the cheapest of gaming peripherals. But if you give it a try… trust me you’ll be tempted.
  
  Bottom Line: If you’ve got the cash to splash I would fully recommend the Razer Mamba. However, for the lot of us with not-so-deep pockets, there are many other good alternatives.