Razer Mamba Review
| Name: | Razer Mamba |
| Type: | Palm-designed mouse |
| Developer: | Razer |
| Price: | $120 |
I’ve always been a fan all Razer products, despite the fact that it’s damn expensive. My first gaming mouse was a Razer Copperhead, but its sensor started to fail about one year after I bought it. To replace it, the first mouse I thought to was the Lachesis. But at the store, they only had Mamba’s, and for a price way lower than the official price displayed on the razer website ($120 + shipping costs)… and you know how it feels… You want a new mouse, you can have a Mamba, you don’t think about it too much. You just take one in the department and just go to the checkout. 
A revolution in the little gaming mice world ?
So, the Mamba is one of the newest mice brought by Razer. There were few new mice released after the Mamba (the Imperator, the Naga, the Abyssus or the Orochi) but the Mamba is still today the most powerful mouse (in terms of DPI, sensor quality…).
The most notable point of this mouse is that it’s wireless. In fact, it’s the first wireless mouse designed only for gamers. Razer was aware of reluctance of the gamers community about a mouse without a wire, because of the fact that the wireless transmission can be less reliable than the wired one, the fact that a wireless mouse needs a battery, etc.
Let’s be straight : the Mamba completely fits these objectives and there is no need to worry about this lack of wire. Indeed, if most of the time you’ll use the Mamba in wireless mode, you can still plug it with the wire and… you get a wired mouse. You just need to unplug the wire from the docking station and plug it directly on the mouse. About the wireless tranmission, it’s a 2.4GHz transmission rate, so again, nothing to worry about. Furthermore, the mouse uses its own channels system, the Mamba automatically checks for a free channel with its dock, so you can have several Mamba’s in the same room without any problem (in a LAN instance for exemple).
In an esthetic point of view, the less we can say is that the Mamba is just beautiful. The blue lighting on the wheel is eye-catchy, there is also the same lighting all around the corner of the charging dock that slowly pulses like a heart beating when the battery is charging. It’s amazing. Notice that the famous snaky Razer logo on the top of the mouse is just an engraving, there is no lighting here (personnally I think it’s better this way).
The docking station is the transmitter, and it’s also where you have to put your Mamba down to recharge the battery (on it, the mouse looks like a queen on her throne).
And aside this wireless thing ?
In a technical point of view, the Razer Mamba has no reason to be jealous of other gaming mice. You have a 5600 DPI sensor, a 1ms polling rate, combined with the 2.4Ghz wireless technology, making the Razer Mamba the current fastest mouse on the market. Like any other recent razer mouse, there is a firmware inside the mouse (the famous Synapse system), so you can set it up according to you wishes, and the mouse will still have these settings even if you use it on another computer.
Of course, you can modify the DPI or the polling rate frequency through the driver software. One can think than 5600 DPI is too much and way useless, but I’d answer to this that you can still use all these 5600 DPI and proportionnaly decresase your in-game sensivity, you’ll have a very, very precise mouse.
About the general aspect of the mouse, it’s almost perfect. The mouse is palmed-designed, which means that you’ll need all your hand and your palm to move it. If you like mice like the Copperhead that are meant to be used only with fingertips, maybe you should forget the Mamba. There are of course 3 principal buttons (left, right and the scroll wheel), plus 2 other big buttons on the left side of the mouse, and 2 other little buttons in the left corner of the left button (basically meant to adjust DPI, you can bind it with others commands thanks to the driver). Yes, this means that the Mamba can only be used by right-handers (and the ergonomy is only for the right hand as well). The two lateral buttons are perfect, at least in my point of view, because I was really disappointed about the lateral buttons of the Copperhead that I really found too tiny. The scroll wheel has been improved too, with the Mamba it responds perfectly to the finger without being too sensitive either.
You can also notice a LED on the left side of the mouse that displays the battery status and the DPI stage when you switch it.
Last but not least, the mouse is possessed of 4 teflon feet, for a perfect slithering, on all surfaces (even if a proper gaming mousepad is highly recommanded).
About the driver
Of course, like any other gaming mice, you have a driver software that allows you to set almost everything up.
You can change the assignation of the buttons, define new DPI stages (especially on X and Y axis), create up to 5 profiles, create macros… The software can be a little bit too complicated at the beginning, but no worry, you’ll get over it easily.
Conclusion
In all respects, the Razer Mamba is a high-end gaming mouse, maybe for hard gamers only (more than few hours a week if you want to secure a return on your purchase). Below, some positive and negative points about the Razer Mamba.
Positive points :
- Huge specs
- The scroll wheel
- The amazing ergonomy
- The woven wire (no memory)
- The wired/wireless thing
- The insane packaging (even if you gonna have a hard time when you’ll unpack your Mamba the first time ah ah)
Negative points :
- The price (maybe the most expensive mouse on the market, except if you find a golden one)
- The driver software maybe still a bit temperamental
- Right-handed mouse
I hope you’ll think to the Mamba for your next mouse, if you don’t mind about the price it costs. But… anyway… gaming love is priceless, isn’t it ? 
Check it out !
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“But… anyway… gaming love is priceless, isn’t it ?”
hmm it isnt…
Logitech OEM RX 250 FTW
i can play with it, but as soon as i have enough money it will be a new one
Mac compatible? I’m still reluctant to buy a mouse, because I’ve only ever played Urban Terror with a trackpad. I love my MacBookPro. =) If I buy a mouse, it’ll probably screw up my game. Not to mention that I play predominantly on the sofa. xD But if I ever do get a mouse, I know where I’m looking.
What’s your kill/death ratio with the trackpad?
Depends on the map, and on how warmed up I am. The ratio’s not amazing, but it’s nothing to sneeze at either. I’ve had ratios anywhere between 31:30 and 79:4 (both CTF). Depends on the map and my mood (whether I’m sniping, nading, camping, or capping. I’m usually in the top 5 for a team of 10. Course, that team of 10 usually isn’t the best. So…. yeah, no precise number, it varies game to game.
My Diamondback 3G is compatible with mac. The only thing is, that you can’t set the buttons.
You only can set them up in the q3config.cfg
Trackpad ?
I have a Macbook too (the last unibody generation)… I can’t understand how you play with the trackpad… >.<
Haha, I’ll try to get a video up showing the trackpad + the game. It’ll take some work and a lot of editing.
Same here. Last unibody gen, 15 inch MBP. I used to use trackpad for Halo, but UrT..heh. I can see how Cookie could utilize the speed for jumps though. I’d like to see your video
Though in CTF, higher ratios is a little easier XD
Just a lil bit.
which is why I’ve learned to max out my speed. Oildepot, for instance. I can easily break 1000 on my speedometer. Keep in mind this is low grav we’re talking. I’m also pretty decent at sneaking around. I learned that one fairly quickly- it promotes longevity.
I use a trackpad, too. It works out fine and I can click really fast on it so that’s not a worry, actually. On mac.
I’ve found that mac mouse acceleration screws up mice movement and the trackpad is precise enough for me, if you get used to it, so I just use the trackpad. I’ve used a mouse on windows before and it wasn’t much different.
So I’m not the only one who can be found playing with an MBP trackpad… Well, I found that while it works well with the SR-8, it is hard to re-aim while clicking when using a semi-automatic or burst weapon. If i want to spam a lot, it isn’t too bad, as clicking and dragging isn’t hard.
I ended up just getting a $15 logitech mouse and downloading an app to disable acceleration for the USB mouse, but not the trackpad.
Works well for me.
I can only play Icy Jumps with a trackpad :s
Or else I’d have a 1:3 ratio or something horrible like that.
PS: If you have the money, I’d recommend you to buy a Razer mouse
I just got the new Deathadder last week and it works awesome.
Hey Cookie, where do you buy it in HK?
I love my Mamba
One thing to note is make sure you are using the latest firmware, because there were problems with some not-so-old firmware versions
I guess you pay 90% for design and 10% for performances…
Mouse performances must reach a good level (that a 15€ mouse can easily reach). After that point it is all worthlessness, at least for 99% of players.
I wouldn’t say you don’t pay for the design at all, but, well, it’s like all products like Apple, etc.
You pay for the brand, the design, but also for the own quality on the mouse (sensor technology, on-board memory…).
So Tizz, you wrote that you have a MBP. Does that mean that you did the review of the Mamba in MacOSX? Not in Bootcamp mind you but instead in actual OSX.
I have no doubt that the Mamba would work as a regular mouse in OSX as most mice do, but am wondering if the driver software is working on the Mac?
The Razer website says “Windows® 2000 / XP / X64 / MCE 2005 / Vista / Vista64″ for the tech specs…
Just found this on the Razer website:
Q: Does the Razer Mamba work with Macintosh OSX?
A: No, the Razer Mamba is not designed or supported to work with the Mac OS and we do not have Mac drivers available. Technically plug and play operation will work with basic mouse functions usable on the Mac. However, Razer is unable to support any issues or conflicts with the Razer Mamba and the Mac OS as the Mamba has not been tested for compatablity.
No, I have a MacBook, but I use it only for work / school.
To play UrT, I use a desktop with Windows XP Pro.
i got a razer deathadder and love it so much
i dislike palm mice, my hand hurted for a week when i bought my first palm mouse.
Well it depends on the size of your hand and the way you’re built as a human.
I have pretty small hands but I always prefered palm mice because I think its easier to control them when you have to be very accurate.
But its a personal preference issue.
Waaaaay to expensive!
Wireless? I don´t know…
Logitech sorely disappointed me with the MX5000. Mouse and Keyboard just sucked…
Also i don´t like the wheel and the drivers of my Copperhead.
I think i don´t buy a Razer again.
good read thanks.
First of all: DPI DOES NOT EQUATE TO PRECISION. IT IS HARDWARE-BASED SENSITIVITY.
I own the Imperator. I can set it to 5600DPI, too. I am speaking from experience.
5600DPI is extremely unnecessary (in FPS gaming). It MAY be useful if you play with an insanely high monitor resolution. If you aren’t playing on a high resolution, 5600DPI will cause you to have negative acceleration from moving your mouse quickly (pending you play with a mid to low sensitivity). The only people that will be fine with 5600DPI in UrT on an average screen resolution are the ones playing at a very high sensitivity (1-4 inches=360 degree turn); and sensitivities that high don’t lend themselves toward precise aiming (especially in long distance gun-fights); which means you will be heavily relying on your strafe keys to fine-tune your aim in those gun-fights, which defeats the whole fucking purpose of your mouse having more “accuracy”.
400 is enough DPI for ANYBODY at any playing sensitivity; 800 is the most anyone should ever need. If you have trouble aiming, it is not because your DPI isn’t high enough. It is because you suck at aiming. Bottom line.
p.s.
I am currently playing at 200DPI, in-game sensitivity 1, m_yaw and m_pitch are 0.12. Windows sensitivity is at default middle notch (6/11). I do not use mouse acceleration. It takes 17 inches to do a 360 degree turn. I will go out on a limb and call myself an upper-mid tier to lower-high tier player. I have my days where I am average, I have my days where I steam-roll everyone that crosses me. None of that has to do with the amount of DPI my mouse is set to.
On the Mac I am forced to use 3200 dpi. I use USB overdrive to overcome the built in accelleration of OS X, and that kills the speed of the mouse. At 800 dpi I have to move it all around the desk to be able to open a document.. And I can’t set the sensitivity too high since it starts to skip pixels. I play with 3200dpi.. sensitivity around 11.5 and accelleration to 0. I play at 1440×900. Believe me: I’m a low senser. These numbers doesn’t mean much.. with my settings my mouse probably moves at the same speed that yours with 400dpi and sensitivity set to 1.
Hmm. Mac for the win eh ?
hey do u guys have a clan if u dont u should make 1 (name) TK$ (the killing soldiers) or the killer soldiers =)