Will the Razer Ouroboros be the right wireless gaming mouse for my PC gaming needs?
In my last post I mentioned that the Razer’s Ouroboros was among the two wireless mouses I wanted to test to see if its the right gaming mouse for me. I was able buy one off the shelves of Bestbuy for $99 dollars, otherwise it would usually be $149.
I visited Razer’s homepage “http://www.razerzone.com/” to better understand what I had bought before opening it. You could say I bought it on an impulse since it was on sale and it was the last one on the shelf. Razer’s website was proud to display the multiple awards won by the Ouroboros. Much like another mouse they created called the “Taipan”. I noticed that the Taipan and the Ouroboros almost look the same. The Taipan was released before the Ouroboros with two color choices and similar body design. But their are differences.
The Ouroboros had changeable parts, a compartment for a rechargeable AA battery and a palm height adjustment. It seems that what isn’t broken with the Taipan didn’t need fixing. Improving on what makes the the Taipan better with a wireless feature is the result of the Ouroboros.
Customization and Software Installation
The Ouroboros comes out of the box and was ready to be used but I wanted to customize it before anything else. I’m a right hand user, so I began to disassemble the mouse to fit my right hand playing style.
I kept a wing on the left side of the mouse and switched out the right side with a flat rubber pad. This was the easy part of the hardware customization, as the wings on the side can easily be removed and attached, thanks to the three magnets that were built on both side of the mouse. The palm area could also be adjusted with a simple dial on the back of the mouse.
The hardest part to customize on the mouse was accessing the battery compartment. Two screws can be located under the mouse and below the mouse’s laser. The two screws never gets unscrewed completely. Once you unscrew it enough you can pull out the battery compartment. I later found it easier to pull out the battery compartment after unscrewing a little further.
Installation and the Software
Some reviews have criticized that the software to program the Razer mouse requires you to sign up with an email and will need a internet connection. Signing up for the software wasn’t a hassle at all. I actually found the Razer mouse programing software to be one of the best mouse customizing software I have ever used. Unless you don’t have internet connection, I definitely recommend this software.
The software is called Razer Synapse 2.0. The Synapse is a Cloud-based configuration software that can mange profiles, update drivers and cross sync with any other computers that you would like to use your Razer devices on.
The software could pretty much do almost anything I could ask from a gaming mouse. I could make an infinite amount of profiles which can sync from computer to computer including my mac. Other features include DPI settings, glow light settings, linking your games to the mouse and of course button setup.
What ranks high on my list when it comes to mouse features would be the button customization. The Ouroboros has 12 customizable buttons but counting the left mouse click since its locked. The mouse is designed to be an ambidextrous solution which means I could setup the mouse to work for right and left hand uses. There are even 2 switches on the bottom of the mouse so you can lock the left or right side of the mouse buttons to prevent accidental use. Then again you could just go into the Synapse and disable the buttons.
I customized the buttons for right hand use only. I kept the mouse buttons (opposite to my thumb) unlocked and programed them for quick access to menus. A very cool setup I made was replacing the scroll up and down buttons with a action button. This is cool because I could use those scrolling dials to spam certain actions especially for an MMO game. You can even assign a profile switch in case you need to switch back to normal mode.
Wired and the Wireless
Finally the feature that I most wanted to test was the wireless capability. When I think wireless mouse, I think of Logitech and their little USB adapter which was what I thought I was getting. Instead I found a dock device which allows me to house the mouse, charge the battery and acts as a wireless receiver for the mouse. My impression at the time was that I would never be able to travel with this mouse if I had to carry a wireless receiver dock with me all the time. I could just plug the USB wire directly into the mouse and use it without the wireless dock. But I was looking for a wireless mouse. So I used the mouse with it wireless dock for several weeks. The wireless dock never distracted me nor became an inconvenience. It was always working exactly as expected from my desktop PC to my Macbook Air. It never fails whenever I plug it in to any of my computers. I just pick the profile and a few seconds later it’s ready.
The Feeling and the Control
The three types of Mouses according to Razer.
Razer defines the Ouroboros as a “Claw” type of mouse. This means most of the actions that I would want out of the mouse will come from the tip of my fingers and the bottom half of my palm. In the past I been more of a “Palm” user which usually means I would like a resting area for my palm, otherwise my hand tends to tense up and tingle. With the right adjustments, the palm area can become a good palm rest.
I spent a few weeks using the mouse to play MMO’s, FPS and using it for office work. I found no performance drop between using the mouse wirelessly or with it’s wire. It was always consistent. Most gamers are afraid of lag and loss of performance when it comes to wireless mouses. But I was very happy to use it both wired and especially wireless.
Final Thoughts
It’s a great mouse. It’s wireless performance is flawless with no lags or failures. The dock prove to be a great companion accessory. The AA rechargeable battery that came with the mouse wasn’t all that strong or lasted that long. But since it uses a standard AA battery, you can use any AA battery of choice to substitute it. I wouldn’t say this is the perfect wireless gaming mouse at least for me. It would of been better if the palm area was a bit larger and taller for a more ergonomic design. If Razer could of add two more buttons or a mouse tilt, then this mouse would of been great for MMO gaming. If you play more FPS, you would love the DPI shift button on the side for perfect sniper aiming. Maybe the Mad Catz MOUS9 is the answer. I’ll be spending a few weeks with that mouse next and I will love to share my finding with everyone then.
