Review:
The Razer Naga is marketed as the “ultimate MMOG Laser Gaming Mouse.” It is designed to shift the player from the keyboard to the mouse. How does it plan to do this? By having a 12-button grid on the side of the mouse in addition to the other 5 more traditional buttons.
When I first got my mouse, I admit, I was a bit intimidated. I’m used to having a mouse with 5 buttons, as opposed to this one with a dwarfing 17. You have your every day three buttons (left, right and middle mouse) to start with. Then you get a couple more that are typical with gaming mice, such as the forward and back buttons. Then you get an entire 12-button grid designed to replace either the number pad or the number row. On the bottom of the mouse, there is a switch to toggle between the two. In addition to this, you can also reprogram each key to be pointed to whichever key/key combination you want through the Razer Naga Configurator.
Through this software, you’re also able to change the DPI which ranges from 100 to 5600. Personally, I don’t need over 2000. Through the software, you’re also able to adjust the acceleration of the mouse, as well as the polling rate. You also have the option of making macros in the configurator, which are then able to be bound to any of the keys on the mouse. All of this stuff can be saved into different profiles, each of which can be tailored to your liking for specific things. You may have a profile for each different game you play, such as video editing, graphic design, etc. However, I’ve found that just having a single profile for general use works just fine.
Now, for the hardware itself. The connector is gold-plated and the wire has sort of a mesh coating, making it tangle resistant. The 12-key grid on the side of the mouse doesn’t stick out so much that you’re constantly hitting the keys unless you actually desire to, as well as the keys requiring just enough of a push that you have to/want to push them. On the same note, the keys also don’t require so much pressure that your thumb is going to be worn out from pushing them.
The more typical mouse buttons (the 5 up on top) are, for the most part, really nice. The only complaint I have about the keys are the forward and back buttons. They’re in a decent locations, sitting just on the left side of the left mouse button. The two buttons sometimes like to pop up unwanted when you’re trying to hold them down. For most people, this won’t be an issue, as a typical person will only have the button down for a fraction of a second.
The overall comfort of this mouse is very nice. The first time I felt the mouse in the palm of my hand, it felt unlike any mouse I have ever used before, and that’s not a bad thing at all! After a few days of use, it became very comfortable to me. It’s slightly bigger than an ordinary mouse, with the palm area being raised up quite a bit. It also has a rest on the right side of the mouse for your ring finger, and your pinky will typically rest on the side of that.
The mouse comes with some lighting built in and turned on by default. There is a Razer logo on the palm area that pulses, and is really quite nice. The scroll wheel also has some lighting on it, which I enjoyed.
However, the lighting on the 12-key grid was a bit more troublesome. It’s not overly bright or anything like that; the problem lies with temperature. If you have the lights on the thumb grid on for a while, it starts getting a bit warm. It doesn’t get so hot that it burns your finger, but you will definitely notice the increased temperature. Within the configurator, you’re able to turn the lights off for the thumb grid, but it will also turn off the mouse wheel, the toggle for the Razer logo is separate. Overall, however, the lights on this mouse are pleasant to look at, being diffused enough that they’re not blinding you.
Final Words:
All together, this is an amazing product. It more than lives up to the title of “ultimate MMOG Laser Gaming Mouse.” The overall design and functionality of this mouse more than make up for the above average cost of almost $80. I would highly recommend that any true gamer pick up this mouse. Personally, I’ve used a lot of different mice, and none of them even come close to equaling this one.
Score: 9/10