Razer – Death Adder

Software

The software for the death adder didn’t change much at all. The maximum polling rate is still 1 ms (1000 Hz) the 5 buttons are still completely programmable there are still a total of 5 profiles. In fact the only difference between the old Death Adder main screen and the Death Adder 3500 is the ability to select “3500 DPI” as a selection.

The functions that can be assigned to each button are: Click, Menu, Universal Scrolling, Double-Click Advanced Functions, DPI Settings, Windows Button 4, Windows Button 5, Switch Profile and On the Fly Sensitivity. There are also a total of 5 different profiles which gives the death adder a total of 25 distinct programmable buttons.

Sensitivity control is another important aspect of the Death Adder. To maintain the accuracy and precision of the mouse, the infra red sensor is always set at the maximum 3500 DPI setting. The turning down of the sensitivity happens at the software level rather than a hardware level. Each division represents the original 3500 DPI minus 10 %. This way, the accuracy of the laser is maintained while in-Windows sensitivity has been reduced.

Another interesting aspect of the Death Adder is that it does not come with Drift Control. Drift Control basically helps prevent false movements that occur between the human input, the surface of the pad, and the laser. The mouse’s engine tries to predict the heading of the mouse based on previous path and tries to correct the new location if it senses that the mouse is drifting off course. This means intentional deviations will be interpreted as mistakes and users (especially gamers) might miss their intended targets.

Conclusion

The Death Adder 3500 is is an excellent and well designed mouse which faces the same question a lot of car manufacturers today face. For example, say that you have a vehicle that has been a best seller, and the time has come for you to do a redesign. As you sit back in a chair and consider the possibilities, the following thought crosses your mind: “Well this car is a best seller, so there is no need to re-design those areas which make it a success ” Following that chain of though, all you do is change a radio, add a couple of wires and call it a day. Surprisingly enough, new buyers will still buy the car, but those that have the previous version will not. Since there is not enough innovation in the new design, the owners of the old model will not see the reason to dish the money for a whole new vehicle to have the latest and greatest radio and wires. Same thought applies here. The new Death Adder looks like the old Death Adder, feels like the old Death Adder, and even has the same interface as the old Death Adder. Thereby if I was in the market for a first time gaming mouse, the Death Adder would definitely be near the top of my list, but if I already had a Death Adder, I would not feel very compelled to dish out another $59.99 to go from 1800 DPI to 3500 DPI. That being said, the new Death Adder raises the bar for gaming mice and keep Razer firmly in one of the top positions for gaming peripherals.  We highly recommend you consider a Razer Death Adder for your next gaming mouse.

Note from the Editor In Chief:  I have personally used close to 50 different mice in the last few years and my favorite is still the Death Adder. So much so that I have passed up other more expensive mice to go back to it.

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