Razer DeathAdder Mac 3G Gaming Mouse
by Razer
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Our Price: $79.95 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Razer DeathAdder Mac 3G Gaming Mouse
Customer Review: Finally Compatible!
Summary: 4 Stars
...with OS X 10.5.6. The latest drivers are only fully compatible with 10.5.4. The mouse feels great, but it's a 2-button mouse for me with no way to configure the other buttons the way I want until the next driver update.
As of the date of this review, Razer's online FAQ says "Our current drivers for the Macintosh Deathadder are supported up to OS 10.5.4, and this issue with the resetting of the tracking speed was resolved in these drivers for 10.5.4 and below. However, it appears with the release of 10.5.6, this problem has re-occurred. Our driver developers are currently working on this issue. Please keep an eye on the website for more information as it becomes available."
A call to their tech support confirmed no fix is currently available and I would recommend holding off on purchasing this product until the updated drivers are available.
Edit 10/8/09: Razer finally came out with an updated driver which addresses my issues with the buttons so I raised my rating from 2 to 4 stars. It would be 5 stars, but there's still the occasional inadvertent double click when a single click is wanted.
Customer Review: Great multi button mouse for the Apple
Summary: 4 Stars
It may not have the best apple interface, but it does work, and I like for games.
I agree with other posters on the interface. It seems to confict with the default mouse settings, you can set it each use/signon, but it reverts when you restart. Scroll speed settings, movement speed settings and acceleration never seem to save/persist. I keep mine set to the highest settings to reduce mouse hand movement, and it still feels a bit slow.
BUT, it is a very comfortable mouse, if you like to keep your hand completely over the mouse. The buttons are in perfect position for that kind of hold. If you are more of a pinch type holder (you hold the mouse softly between your thumb and ringer or middle finger) you may not like the button placement and size of this mouse. But pinch holders will like it better than apple's magic mouse.
Customer Review: Update drivers for best performance.
Summary: 4 Stars
This mouse was bought to use with a Macbook Pro while playing World of Warcraft. It has a comfortable feel and seemingly solid construction. I was a little disappointed in its "out of the box" functionality as it required a driver update to enable the mouse steer function to work in game. Once the new software was up and running it does a fine job at filling the role it was purchased for. A quick Google search cleared things up for me but the number of posts on Blizzard's forum asking for tech support for this particular device suggest that Razer could do more to have their product better prepared to meet the world.Customer Review: Awesome mouse - Lousy Software
Summary: 3 Stars
I have not owned a wired mouse since the early 90s.
I am a World of Warcraft player, hunter class, and enjoyed learning all the techniques to maximize the gameplay. One of these is called a jumpshot, where I would be running away with my back towards the target, I leap into the air and spin back towards the target, shoot, and land facing away again. This is a tremendous technique, as hunters having a speed buff, I can outrun most of the opponents, and still shoot at them. This technique requires skill, and a lot of practice. Try as I might, I was never very good at it, and really did not feel confident to use this technique in actual matches. Needless to say, I was at a big disadvantage without this ability.
I happened to be talking with a friend about this, and he inquired about my mouse. Not really knowing, I told him I had a nice Bluetooth wireless mouse that I like a lot. He started to smile, and said, "just get a razer and a mousepad". A mousepad??? I have not had one of those since the days before optical sensors...and what is a "razer"?
Being a Mac guy, he told me to just get the DeathAdder for Mac, and one of their Destructor pads. Since Amazon lets me return anything I don't like, I bought the setup.
When they arrived I was impressed with the packaging and professional look of the items. I now understand Razer is the company for gaming mice, and I was about to understand why.
The mouse moves on the pad as if it was levitating. It feels almost spooky it is so smooth, like a ball bearing on glass. The mouse is designed to have a very light touch for click and right click, and feels great in my hands.
One of the main features is on-the-fly sensitivity adjustment. Push the mouse wheel down and dial the right sensitivity, even in-game. I open WoW and started trying the jumpshot. After only about a minute of trial-and-error adjusting the sensitivity...I was doing the move like a pro. I could not believe it...all this time I thought I did not have the coordination to do it, but I was wrong. Shortly after that, a number of my opponents were quickly dispatched and I earned a bunch of honor points that day.
OK, I got it...gaming mice have to be wired, special sensor, special pad...all worth it.
Now unfortunately, it is not all singing and dancing. The software for the DeathAdder is, in my opinion, god-awful. It is fragile, clumsy and as unintuitive as you could possibly imagine. I understand gaming is a Windows stronghold, and Razer only touts this one mouse model as Mac compatible, so I did not expect that they have a Mac programmer on staff. The key to Mac programmers, is that the Apple Human Interface Guidelines is the book they live by. Adherence to its principles guarantees user-centric, optimally-intuitive designs.
On the other hand, somebody simple porting a Windows app to the Mac provides none of this tuning that Mac users not only expect, but demand.
The mouse has five profiles in it that the user can switch to. This involves pushing a button on the bottom of the mouse, and watching to see the LEDs in the mouse flash the correct number of times to match the profile. In practice this is sooo clumsy, and many time would fail causing the mouse to freeze up, and requiring I unplug it and reconnect to reset the condition. I still cannot believe that the software does not contain the ability to automatically switch profiles when I switch applications. I don't want to think about it past when I programmed it...just switch when I open that app.
OK, I gave up on the stupid profiling thing...I have my Logitech MX mouse running, and when I switch to Warcraft, I reach for the DeathAdder and really love it. It is just sad that such a great device and pad has such lousy software. So buy one (don't forget the pad too) and enjoy your games a LOT more...but expect frustration from the software. I hope they make it right soon.
Customer Review: Excellent mouse if it wasn't for the drivers and software.
Summary: 3 Stars
Pro:
Very comfortable and ergonomic
Cool LEDs
The actual function of the mouse is excellent
Cons:
This may not apply to you, but I HATE mouse acceleration and I really like high sensitivity. The Mac software that comes with it says that it should turn off acceleration, it simply doesn't. Even at the highest sensitivity, the mouse still is too slow for me. Both system settings and other software offer much faster sensitivities, so I don't know why they limit it.
I still use the mouse, but I went back to the USBOverdrive software control as it does what the included software SHOULD do.
Note: I used to the MS sidewinder gaming mouse and this mouse performs better with USBOverdriver than the MS Sidewinder mouse does. So I would buy the mouse again, but feel like I'm overpaying a bit since their control software doesn't do what it should do. But then if you like acceleration and a lower sensitivity, then you're set!