Razer Salmosa Gaming Mouse

Taking a Test Drive

To fully put the Salmosa through its paces, I used it for a week on a variety of tasks, from FPS games to web browsing. For the gaming tests, I loaded up Unreal Tournament, and set it to play several botmatches against low-difficulty bots. For this test I played UT3’s Greed mode, which equips everyone with instant-kill hitscan weapons. I used it on a variety of surfaces, from bare desktop to slick steel & teflon pad, to textured cloth pad. Here are my impressions on:

Accuracy: The 3G optical sensor is put to good use here. The pointer did not once skip or lag on any surface I tested. Pointer trembling, which can happen when the mouse is misreading a surface, never happened either. Low-sensitivity testing in several UT3 Greed botmatches gave satisfying results: consistently hitting point of aim was simple.

Stability: For this test, I cranked the resolution and sensitivity up to maximum, and then went into another Greed botmatch. Here the mouse’s light weight and slick PTFE feet worked against it; I was having constant overshoot problems. Switching to the high-traction cloth mat helped somewhat, but hitting a point of aim quickly and consistently remained problematic. This can be overcome with practice, but it is something to watch for.

Ergonomics: Here the Salmosa slips a bit. There are no ridges, bumps or indentations to grab onto with this mouse.  If not for the grippy texture of the rubber coating, this mouse would be slipping out of my grip constantly.  As it is, I still find myself having to pinch the body of the mouse hard between thumb and pinky finger to keep it under control during high-intensity matches. The oversize buttons have a clicky feel to them that is quite satisfying. I have noticed an occasional squeaky noise when I press them, though, accompanied by a bit of friction. This never persists for more than a half-dozen clicks, but it is distracting. The mouse wheel rolls smoothly between notches, and each notch has a solid click to it.

Fit and Finish: The Salmosa’s looks can best be described as subtle. There are no glowing LEDs, bright colors or outlandish shapes here, just a simple, no-nonsense black. The thin, long cord is covered in a hard rubber sheath that provided minimal friction, and no resistance during use.

Conclusion

“Budget Gaming Mouse” may sound like an oxymoron to some, but that’s exactly what Razer has delivered here.  The Salmosa may lack the bells and whistles of its more expensive cousins, but it has all the essentials of a solid mouse.  With an average price of $35 (Google Shopping results here), this mouse raises the bar for what we consider to be “entry-level mice”.

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