Customer Reviews
They sweated the details on this mouse
I'm not a gamer.
I bought this mouse for ergo reasons. And because I spend enough of my life at the computer that there's no reason to have anything other than the hottest equipment.
I switched from the Logitech MX-510, the other hot gamer's mouse series. They're functionally very similar, but the Razer Diamondback has been far superior (for me) in practice! Here's the breakdown:
Razer Diamondback pros:
- Better ergo I: Smaller size that fits more naturally in your palm, in better "at rest" position, than the Logitech. (At least for my desk and my hand.)
- Better ergo II: Also, the way your fingers rest on the (slip-proof) main mouse buttons is more relaxed. In particular, it feels like I'm easily using my whole finger. The Logitech in comparison was awkward, felt like I was using only part of my finger, or never quite was settled right.
- More buttons, or at least more buttons available for reasonable use.
- Left and Right side buttons much more comfortable to click.
- More programmable? At least in practice, more easily programmable, so I did customie more.
- Great driver and control panel applet to set options for the mouse. This really helped me get more use out of it.
- Nice work on software details; e.g. "on-the-fly sensitivity" adjustment, without going back to Control Panel, just with controls on the mouse.
Logitech MX-510 pros:
- The Logitech has two buttons, one each above and below the scroll wheel, that mean "keep scrolling in that direction." So you roll the wheel in one direction, and when your finger hits the end of the roll, you can just move to the button right there to say "keep going." Nice. I'll miss that. (But I've already adjusted the scroll speed conveniently several times on the Razer to where I'll miss it less; I never (or at most once?) adjusted the scroll speed on the Logitech.)
These kinds of choices can be very personal. But in my experience, you couldn't get me to go back to the Logitech now.
Smooth As Glass - But . . .
The first thing I noticed about this mouse was how smooth it was, and how easily it glided across my desk. The Teflon pads on this mouse really do take you by surprise with the slickness they provide to even the slightest movement - but therein lies the first problem for me. So slick is the response, that even the most negligible hand/arm movement results in a positive movement of the mouse. The slight 'drag' afforded by cheaper devices, actually helps me keep the pointer exactly where I want it, yet with the Diamondback, button clicks on the mouse can force the pointer off target by more than a few pixels. This may not sound like much, but if you're a serious gamer, or you copy & paste a lot of text, you will soon feel the effect. Copying & Pasting text was particularly difficult, as the release of the left mouse button alone caused a backlash of the actual mouse position by at least one character, resulting in a re-selection needing to be made.
Having said that, if the sensitivity/speed of the mouse is set to a sensible lower rate, the compound resolution and accuracy of movement is quite remarkable. No matter how fast the mouse is moved, you're constantly aware of the lack of lag or 'skip', as would be felt with nearly all other types of inferior mouse. This is felt most during gaming, where fast accurate movement is paramount. The 1600 DPI and phenomenally rapid sample rate, truly separates this device from virtually any other type. That apart, brings me to my second gripe: that of the Side Buttons.
Now truthfully, the Diamondback has been developed with Right & Left handed users in mind, and the layout of the side buttons reflects this. It's specified as a seven button device, but in true operation, access to the four side buttons is realistically limited to two side buttons only - the left two if you're right-handed, or the right two buttons if you're a sinister left hander :) So basically, in real-world terms, the Diamondback is a 5 button mouse, but with an extra 2 side buttons to accommodate ambidextrousness. While in use, it's almost impossible to operate the 2 side buttons with your little finger without skitting the mouse quite badly. So there we are - the Diamondback is a 5 button mouse for left or right handed users.
My last and most serious gripe - the software doesn't work/install on all versions of Windows XP. The RazerZone.com site does explain some work-arounds for this, but some are so complicated and involved (delete this, re-booting, run this, install that, clear the Cache for this, create a file named . . . etc . . .), that most users wouldn't even bother. Besides, the mouse will work without the software, and will quite happily work at it's basic level with the generic Windows mouse drivers, so you can use the mouse at 1600 DPI straight off just by inserting it into a USB port. You can still adjust all the most important parameters for the mouse from the standard mouse settings from the Windows Control Panel. If you can't install the Razer software, you just won't be able to access gizmos like the on-the-fly sensitivity settings. This sort of thing may be useful to some gamers for instance, but I'm sure I'll survive without it.
ACTUALLY USING IT: Well, I've had it a few days now, and it was definitely a learning curve for me. Most first-time users will probably take a while to warm to it, myself for one, yet others will take an instant liking to it. Personally, I've felt the most benefit from this mouse while using it for web design scenarios. The sheer accuracy of this device at low speed/sensitivity allows me to at last use the mouse as a genuine graphics tool, rather than a rough, clumsy approximation of one. I've found to my delight that pixel-by-pixel movements and alignments are an easy task with the Diamondback when set to low sensitivity/speed (compressed resolution), and this alone has decided upon my continual use of it. This is the point: - this mouse is being pushed as a 'Gaming Mouse', and while this is true, it's also a fine-tuned tool for graphic use too when used correctly. If you use this for gaming, you'll notice a marked improvement in smooth movement in-game, allowing fast, yet accurate and smooth aiming and 'looking' with no lag or jitter. If you use this mouse for graphic design, you'll soon find this mouse extremely smooth, accurate, and faithful to your movements, allowing you to draw, drag, drop and select with pixel perfection.
All-in-all, I'm deeply impressed with the Diamondback, particularly after experiencing 400 and 800 DPI devices - but please contact RazerZone.com if you have difficulty installing their software that comes with the mouse, and place some pressure on them to do something about it - a patch or other answer to the XP problem. In all fairness, I blame the endless Microsoft Updates (definitely needed for security) for problems such as software install failures, and software developers are probably finding it difficult to keep up with Mr. Gates and all his Windows slaves, gurus and acolytes.
My Final word - A Highly Recommended Buy. Well Done RAZER!
Great Product, Horrid Customer Service.
Pros
Good Looks, Light, Accurate, Fast, Good Tactile feel on Buttons, Easy Sensitivity Adjustment
Cons
No Phone Support, Poor Customer Service, Questionable Mouse Longevity, Two Buttons unusable
The Bottom Line
I feel compelled to give this product 4 stars, but unfortunately I consider customer service as part of any product I buy. I cannot recommend this product to anyone.
Full Review
Razer was the first to mass market mice specifically for gaming, and so their name has always stuck in my head as the premier gaming mouse. I owned one of the original Razer Boomslangs years ago, and it perform flawlessly. So when I went looking for an optical gaming mouse, Razer was my first choice. I decided upon the Razer Diamondback Plasma LE as it had a cool blue glow which would match my computer decor.
The mouse looks great, even in the dark. There is no light that emanates from the bottom of the mouse, it uses invisible wave lengths.
The cord is tangle free, thin, and light. It stays out of the way - I hardly notice its there. The mouse itself is extremely light, especially compared to my Microsoft or Cordless mice on my other machines.
The mouse tracks incredibly, even on my black desk which has a slightly reflective surface that throws off cheaper optical mice. The "on the fly" adjustment for sensitivity is invaluable when switching between gaming and application mode.
The Diamondback has 7 buttons, but it should really be marketed as a 5 button mouse. The two buttons on the right hand side of the mouse, while independently programmable, do not lend themselves to use by a right handed person. In fact, its downright impossible for me to hit them during a heated gaming session. I imagine a left handed person would find the buttons on the left hand side equally difficult to press.
My Diamondback actually developed a problem with the right mouse button during normal use. This problem developed after the stores 30 day return policy, but during Razer's 2 year warranty. I had thrown out the packaging, so the store I purchased the mouse from would not take a return. So I turned to Razer (http://www.razerzone.com) to service my mouse.
Razer informed me that I had to go through the store I purchased my mouse from in order to process the return. I explained why this was not possible, and they replied with a form requesting information about the mouse (date of purchase, serial number, etc). They stated that this information was necessary to process an item not directly purchased from them. I provided them with the details they requested as well as a copy of my receipt. This is where the ignoring started. Instead of receiving a reply within 24 hours as is stated in their terms of service, I did not receive replies at all. I replied to my support case email twice over the course of several days asking what the hold up was, and received form letters in response basically stating that they do not accept RMAs for mice not purchased from them.
Keep in mind, this is how the MANUFACTURER of this mouse is treating its relatively small customer base. I am now stuck with a mouse that does not work, and after 2 weeks of dealing with Razer I have no resolution in sight. They agreed to take the mouse back and then reneged. I will personally NOT be buying another mouse from Razer, despite genuinely liking the product.
Recommended
No
