Razer Mamba

Mamba is clearly Razer's most carefully designed product yet. Even the packaging was clearly agonized over: The mouse is held aloft on a pedestal inside an acrylic cube, which has a shelf system built into it holding parts like the battery, power cable and charging stand.

But the design is only part of why you're paying $130—it's to make you feel good about dropping that kind of cash. You're paying that much because Razer says it's the first wireless mouse that's actually gaming grade, with a latency of just 1ms—twice as fast as other wireless mice, and the same 1000Hz polling rate as their own wired mice. In other words, they're promising zero lag while taking the gaming mouse DPI wars to the unwanted and ridiculous new level of 5,600 DPI.

It uses 2.4GHz for wireless, just like Microsoft's SideWinder X8 and Logitech's now old-school G7 (and every other wireless device) but supposedly Mamba detects and avoids noisy channels to skirt by interference. In this respect, does live up to the hype—at least when you've got sufficient juice. After using it in a couple weekends of Team Fortress 2 and Left 4 Dead, I really didn't notice any response difference between it and my wired mouse. It's perfectly lag-free and twitchily responsive. Wakeup is also surprisingly quick, or at least it was with the 1.02 firmware—it seems a bit slower with the 1.03 update, which is designed to improve battery life. I also never noticed any interference, despite running in close proximity to my dual-band router and the X8, actually.

Where the polish rubs off and shows some rough patches are on the battery and software front. Razer claims 72 hours of "normal gaming usage" and 14 hours of continuous gaming. I didn't quite have the balls to game for 14 hours straight, but with Razer's 1.02 firmware, I never got more than 48 hours of what I'd call normal usage battery life, and when it drops to that last bar of battery, it does not play well at all. They've since released firmware 1.03, which is supposed to improve battery life. Installing the update on Vista 64-bit is something of an arcane science (Update: Razer wanted me to note that the process is a just a simple installer with XP and Vista 32, and that new mice will have 1.03 already on it). You have to boot into a mode where it accepts drivers that aren't digitally signed, and then the update process itself requires a second mouse. The configurator software, while it provides a full-featured set of options, is not as responsive as I'd like—it takes a bit to read the mouse's settings (which are stored onboard) and longer still to change them.

When your battery does get low, you can plug the USB cable into the mouse to play and charge, turning it into a standard wired mouse with the same 1ms latency. It pops easily out of the charging cube/wireless receiver, but for some reason it tends to fight you to avoid plugging into the mouse, which is my biggest problem with the otherwise smart modular design.

Ergonomically, it's one of the best mice around. It's essentially a lighter version of Razer's DeathAdder, though with the addition of a new groove for your pinkie, which took me a little bit to get used to. My only problem with the button placement is that the DPI selection buttons are not distinct enough, so if you're trying to quickly drop the DPI down to precisely snipe someone's head off, you might crank it up instead and shoot the guy in the foot. The texture is a nice use of rubber—it's not super sticky and rubbery, so your hand doesn't feel weird and gross if it gets sweaty, but it does give you a solid grip.

Shape and texture feel fantastic

Smart design touches throughout

Response time is perfect

Battery life not so great

Firmware updating process is a pain on Vista 64. for now anyway

$130 is pricey!

SideWinder X8

The design apparently still outsourced to the Empire's mice and keyboard division, Microsoft's third SideWinder mouse cuts the cable and improves on the series in a lot of little ways that add up to making it the best SideWinder yet.

As I suspected when I eyeballed it, ergonomically it's finally designed for humans. The sharp spine has been softened into a far more pleasant hump, though it retains the same overall shame as the past two. (It's huge.) So, it's not as sleek as the Mamba, but they have finally nailed the way it should feel in your hand. The unorthodox vertical thumb buttons have been reshaped into ergonomic slopes that form a groove for your thumb, so after the initial adjustment period, this touch finally works. The metal scroll wheel isn't super fantastico to use a lot, but the on-the-fly DPI buttons have a good placement in the middle, but need to be larger—it's too easy to hit the wrong one. The textured plastic feels a little cheap, too.

It uses 2.4GHz wireless at a 500Hz polling rate (half of Mamba's) and can crank the DPI up to 4000. Playing the same games as I did with Mamba—TF2 and L4D—again, I never noticed any real difference in response versus my usual wired mouse. In other words, it seemed lag-free to me. On the DPI front, you can only pick between three steps at a time—not five, like on the Mamba or on-the-fly. One superior touch over the Mamba is the built-in LCD that displays your DPI setting—on Mamba you have to decode what the combination of green and red bars on the side mean. On the other hand, try to find where it displays battery life. (I couldn't.) Speaking of, the battery life is vastly superior to Mamba—I got over five solid days with four intense three-hour gaming sessions on a single charge.

If you had to pick a headlining technical feature (since Mamba also eclipsed its 4000DPI crown), it'd probably be that it uses Microsoft's BlueTrack technology which can track on anything. Indeed, it worked perfectly on multiple surfaces, including a a glossy plastic SteelSeries SP pad that Mamba wouldn't touch at all. (My standard surface is the cloth SteelSeries QcK+, in case you're wondering.) So if you game on crazy surfaces, BlueTrack is a definite check in the X8's column.

The charging dock/receiver is more functional and less "ooooh" than Razer's—it's a hockey puck with a groove for wrapping the cable. But what's neato is that the play-and-charge cable attaches to the mouse magnetically so there's no trying to cram it into a stubborn hole like on the Mamba.

Improved ergonomics over last-gen

Long battery life

Good response time

Shape and vertical buttons an acquired taste

Positioning of the hump for your hand makes it feel ginormous

There Can Be Only One?

Can you cut the cord and achieve sweet, wireless freedom while feeling safe that your fragging powers are undiminished? Yep. Response time felt the same for every mouse I used: X8, Mamba and my wired mice. Which means two things: Gaming-grade wireless is here (just in case you doubted it), and performance isn't the reason you should pick the Mamba over the X8.

Mamba has better design, feels better (especially if you have smaller hands) and more functional software. The SideWinder X8 has longer battery life, less finicky software and it's much cheaper. You can get the X8 for about $75, while Mamba is very much $130. As always, whether or not the frills of gaming gear is worth the extra scratch is up to you, and this is more true here than usual, given the price gap. [Razer, Microsoft]

Happily, they're (probably) not exaggerating the battery life, touting 30 hours of "active gaming" on a single charge. While the G7 gives you two hot-swap batteries in case you run out mid-genocide, the X8 has a play-and-charge cable that you unwrap from the small hockey puck. You've also got the usual gaming mouse standards—on-the-fly DPI switching, macro recording, and a total of seven buttons, plus the scroll wheel now tilts left and right.

Ergonomically, this looks better than the previous two SideWinder mice. The sharp "bump" at the top has been smoothed out and should be more comfortable, and it's less angular overall. Most importantly, they're halfway to admitting defeat on the thumb buttons. Though still vertically aligned (damn it), the uncomfortable, hard-to-hit circles have been replaced by sloping rectangles that make them easier to distinguish and press instinctively. While I love that they're doing things differently, I think they just need to concede that horizontal thumb buttons are the standard for a reason—it's better.

It'll be out in February for $100, though you should be able to pre-order it any minute now on Amazon.

Update: Right now, actually.

Experience Untethered, Uninterrupted Gameplay With Microsoft’s New SideWinder X8 Mouse

First wireless SideWinder mouse features Microsoft BlueTrack Technology for the best speeds and feeds available.
REDMOND, Wash.  Sept. 10, 2008  Microsoft Corp. today unleashed the SideWinder X8 Mouse, offering wireless freedom with wired performance with a 2.4GHz wireless connection that is built for lag-free play. The latest SideWinder mouse features an innovative play-and-charge system to ensure a nonstop gaming experience — up to 30 hours of active gaming on a single charge — with no need to stop the game to change batteries. The SideWinder X8 Mouse is a top performer thanks to Microsoft’s new, proprietary BlueTrack Technology that gives this mouse the best frame rate, speed and acceleration on the market and a tracking range from 250 to 4,000 dots per inch (dpi).

“When conducting our research, we found room for improving on the wireless experience for gamers, especially as it related to perceived delay or lag time of response. The SideWinder X8 Mouse will put those wireless gaming mouse fears to rest,” said Bill Jukes, product marketing manager for Microsoft Hardware. “We designed this mouse to perform to the highest gaming standards — with near-zero latency, uninterrupted gameplay and the world’s most advanced tracking with BlueTrack Technology.”

Innovation for Gaming Performance
The SideWinder X8 Mouse is a top-performing wireless gaming mouse, with a combination of BlueTrack Technology tracking that provides the best speeds and feeds available, 2.4GHz wireless technology built for lag-free play, and an easy recharging system that keeps gamers in action.
• BlueTrack Technology. The world’s most advanced tracking offers next-generation tracking technology for gaming with image processing of 13,000 frames per second, 75g maximum acceleration and 120 inches per second maximum speed.
• 2.4GHz wireless. The device is built for lag-free play with virtually no latency.
• Play and charge. Get up to 30 hours of active gaming on a single charge, or use the play-and-charge cable for nonstop action. The winding cord management system offers easy charging — simply unwrap the cord from around the storage box and snap it onto the underside of the mouse.

Designed for Gaming
Comfort continues to be one of the main needs of PC gamers, and the SideWinder X8 Mouse features a unique, comfortable design that gamers will appreciate for extended sessions of play. Features include the following:
• Scroll wheel with tilt. The mouse has better feel and response with detents for precise control.
• Engineered for speed. The shape was designed for quick, balanced and precise gaming actions.
• Vertical side buttons. The top and bottom design makes locating side buttons easier and reduces unintentional activation. The X8 also offers smart features to enhance the gaming experience, including an LCD screen on the mouse to quickly view dpi settings and macro-recording icons, and a Quick Launch button that provides one-touch access to Microsoft’s PC gaming features.

Custom Tuning
Gamers also like to customize their gaming mouse to fit their needs, which is why the SideWinder X8 Mouse offers the following adjustable features:
• DPI switching. Instantly switch sensitivity among high, medium and low with one click, ranging from 250 to 4,000 dpi.
• Replaceable mouse feet. Choose from three materials for glide preference.
• Seven programmable buttons. Customize five programmable main buttons, plus left and right tilt.
• Macro record button. Easily record macros while in game with the dedicated button.

Pricing and Availability
The SideWinder X8 Mouse will be widely available in February 2009 for an estimated retail price of $99.95 (U.S.).2 The mouse is available now for pre-sale on Amazon.com and will ship in February when it is released. The SideWinder X8 Mouse will be backed by a worldwide three-year limited hardware warranty from Microsoft Corp. More information about this and other Microsoft Hardware products can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/hardware.

About Microsoft Hardware
For more than 25 years, the Hardware Group has employed innovative engineering, cutting-edge industrial design and extensive usability testing to create products of exceptional quality and durability that enhance the software experience and strengthen the connection between consumers and their PC. Microsoft Hardware leads the industry in ergonomic engineering, industrial design and hardware/software compatibility, offering consumers an easier, more convenient and more enjoyable computing experience. Microsoft IntelliMouse Explorer, which launched in 1999, earned a place on PCWorld.com’s December 2005 list of “The 50 Greatest Gadgets of the Past 50 Years” as the first mainstream optical mouse that “brought gunk-free pointing devices” to a broad consumer base. More information about the Hardware Group is available at http://www.mshardwareguide.com.

About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

[Microsoft]

The Price: $80

The Verdict: A really fabulous effort.

Since coming back from the dead, Microsoft's SideWinder has been making some bold, unique design choices with its gaming hardware—and we're not just talking about the obvious Darth Vader overtones that we seriously dig—they've been toying with conventional ergonomic designs and layouts. I love that they're trying to do something genuinely new—the switchable keypad in the X6, the steel vertical thumb buttons on the first (new) Sidewinder mouse.

The problem is that some of the conventions they buck impact usability occasionally—the vertical thumb buttons on the Sidewinder mice, for instance, is a cramped, inferior setup to the standard horizontal layout. The X6 has a couple of similar issues—the space bar is longer than on most keyboards, running from the tip of the X key all the way to the question mark, so when reaching for right Alt, I'd smack the space bar eight times out of 10, even after a week with the keyboard.

The other major issue, versus other gaming keyboards, is that it doesn't have built-in USB or audio ports, like ones from Razer, SteelSeries or Logitech (though it doesn't have audio), for easy swapping of mice, headsets or other peripherals.

I still like this keyboard a lot—the punchiness of the keys is perfect, and has a very Logitech-y feel to it, actually. Dial controls for volume and backlighting are vastly superior to stupid buttons, and add to the "this fully armed and operational battle station" vibe. The removable keyboard is held in place with surprising strength by the magnets, so you won't worry about it coming apart in the middle of a frantic fragfest. And macros, macros, macros—there are lots of them, although I'm more of an FPS gamer, so they're less important to me—thought that might change when Starcraft 2 hits.

Eighty bucks puts it at the same price as Logitech's G15 and Razer's Lycosa (to which it's the most similar in style/build quality), but it's not better than either of those. Spring for this one if you're trying to complete your SideWinder set, need a ridiculous number of macros, or having a detachable keypad would be the bee's knees for you. Since this is only their first effort, I am pretty excited to see what they do next with the feedback on the X6. [Microsoft]

For anyone willing to put in the serious amount of time it will take to piece this lamp together, the kit contains instructional videos and manuals, templates, and decals. Expect to pay around $60 for parts on top of the $20 it costs for the kit itself. All in all, $80 is a small price to pay for a lighting solution this awesome. [Roger Dodger via TFTS]

(There are, I think 6 buttons total.) There's even an LCD that displays the currently selected DPI (up to 2000). The case those weights come in double as a cable organizer, keeping the cord out of your way during play. $80 in October. [Microsoft]