Razer Diamondback 3G Gaming Mouse

Reviews: Peripherals

Accessories | Gaming Devices | Keyboards / Mice | Printers

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Max Slowik
Bethany
Razer
Oct. 23, 2007

Specifications

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First Looks

OK, it's no death knell, but this Diamondback doesn't come with a carrying bag. The Plasma had a dust-free, padded little kit, and I've always thought it was a good inclusion. That said, it has little to do with the mouse itself, so I won't bring it up again.

The big, obvious change is that the body of the 3G isn't transparent. The Plasma had a smoked shell with blue LEDs that made it a particularly flashy mouse. The new model has its share of blue light, but it's focused through the translucent scroll wheel and out the sides where the auxiliary buttons are.

Another less-than-cosmetic change is the 7' cable. Taking a step back, why a cable? The two reasons are latency and weight. Being attached to the computer reduces lag associated with processing a wireless signal (and dealing with any lost data) and cuts out the added battery weight. Although cables can get caught and tangled, or just get in the way, this can be mitigated with cable management and high-quality cables; you can't improve radio waves without, I suppose, tampering with the laws of physics. Plus, adding a battery to a light-weight mouse is just counter-intuitive, and definitely makes having a box of precision weights to tinker with the balance of a mouse that much more frivolous.

So the cable is better because it's a little lighter and stiffer, and the insulation puts almost no spring on the wire at all. Without flexing, the cable doesn't bounce and return feedback from the mouse's motion. It's still gold-plated, to stave off corrosion, and to say that the connector is gold-plated. (Seriously, though, why does the ground need...isn't nickel just as...?)

The feet are the same Teflon wafers that most "professional gaming" mice use. They look like they get scuffed and wear through, but I've put serious time across those kinds of feet and never had problems. Teflon is Teflon, and no feet made out of the same material will have different properties.

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Page 1: Introduction
Page 2: First Looks
Page 3: In Use
Page 4: The Software
Page 5: Conclusion

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