Home : Hardware : Reviews : DeathAdder Mac Edition
Super Compatibility
We at PC Gameworld had the fine pleasure of testing out the new and improved DeathAdder, one of Razer's finest and best selling mice, not simply for the PC but now for Mac OS as well. That's right, this mouse is compatible with both.
Not only is it compatible, it's flawless. Switching between PC and Mac is a sinch; just swap the gold-plated USB connecter from one machine to the other. The drivers haven't changed much and remain sinisterly easy to use, utilizing 5 different profiles that are stored within the DeathAdder's on-board memory. Unfortunately, changing between these profiles can't be done on the fly like with the recently tested Lachesis, though for Mac gamers we feel this isn't an incredible loss.
Like the original DeathAdder, this one sports five programmable keys, a sleek black cover and light-up Razer logo and scroll wheel. The right handed design is easy to grasp and feels very good in the hand and holds up surprisingly well against sweat, even with its soft texture. The side buttons are large and easy to press; scrolling was a little tight, though overall the feel was bold.
Of course, the main question is how well does it perform on both Windows and Mac OS. With 1000Hz at 1 millisecond response time, a 3G "infrared sensor" at up to 1800dpi and Razer's history of fine craftmanship, we knew from the start it would impress.
Windows
On XP, the DeathAdder worked both with and without drivers, though changing the sensitivity requires the additional software. The drivers were easy to navigate and manipulate; sensitivity and button programming were simple and to the point. Changing between profiles is no hard feat, though on the hardware side it is a hassle to pick up the mouse and click the thin button on its underside to change profiles. There is no visible change of the profile except that the DeathAdder literally blinks on and off. Determining which profile is in use requires going into the drivers, which is excessive.
Vista had the same issue, though we were glad to see the prior DeathAdder's fault of poor Vista drivers has been solved. Gaming on both machines with Team Fortress 2 was fun, though we purposely didn't change profile once. Being used to changing dpi settings made this frustrating at times, such as when switching between a sniper and any other character, but once again the mouse is aimed for Mac and first-time specialty peripheral-buying Mac gamers.
Like the original DeathAdder, the quality during gaming is high. Original problems like jumpiness and the infrared sensor reading movement when off its surface have been completely eliminated, and we are happy to say that it is one hell of a gaming mouse. On a PC.
