By now many of you are familiar with the Razer Naga mouse. If not, you've been missing out in your MMO gaming. Today we'll take a look at Razer's newest iteration of the mouse, the Naga 2014.
The new thumb button form factor makes the buttons more accessible.
At its core, the Naga 2014 is what made the previous Naga mice a game changer. It comes with 12 fully programmable thumb buttons which allow easy access and execution of most MMO interfaces. The 2014 now has a total of 19 customizable buttons. As they are programmable, these buttons can be put to pretty much any use in any PC game to fully customize your gameplay. With the Naga 2014 the thumb buttons are mechanical which give a nicer, more tactile feel to pressing and the depressing of the buttons. They feel good and responsive, but something I would have liked to have seen on the Naga 2014 are the small ridges that are included on some of the previous Naga mice buttons, which allow you to navigate the 12-button pad by touch.
The ergonomics make for a comfortable grip.
Ergonomically the mouse is a much better fit than any of the earlier generations of Naga mice. Your hand can rest comfortably on the mouse with proper support in all the right places, allowing your hand to rest naturally without slipping. The mouse almost seems to conform to the curves of your fingers and has a matte finish which not only allows a solid grip but is also fingerprint-proof. The 12-button pad uses a much flatter form factor, making the thumb buttons slightly easier to access. Southpaws can rejoice, too, as the Naga 2014 has a left-handed version available.
Perhaps the biggest improvement of the Naga 2014 over its predecessors is the upgraded Synapse 2.0 support. Typically packaged software isn't something that one should necessarily use to decide on a hardware purchase but the improvement is a notable one. All of your configurations can now be done in-game. The Naga 2014 is the first mouse that supports the in-game configuration allowing you to make those necessary changes on the fly without having to tab out of your game. This is a huge win as, personally, I jump in and out of Ventrilo and change the push-to-talk keys, or switch between characters and games and I'm constantly reprogramming my mouse buttons. Again, though, since the in-game configuration is technically a feature of Synapse 2.0 I'm not sure this is necessarily a key point for the Naga 2014, though I imagine it may be the only mouse to support it for the time being.
The in-game configuration tool of the Razer Naga 2014.
Synapse 2.0 also allows the handy saving of profiles which will allow you to take your profiles with you, no matter which computer you connect with as the profiles are saved in a cloud. Further to the in-game configuration is the ability to change the icon images on screen. This feature may not be useful to everyone but it certainly can come in handy to have an at-a-glance view of which buttons are assigned to which commands, particularly useful for quickly flipping through multiple profiles. The in-game configuration supports 15 of the most popular games at launch and Razer plans to keep adding more.
Jumping back to the actual hardware, the Naga 2014 comes with a tilting mouse wheel that allows even further customization (or side scrolling). It peaks out at 8200dpi which makes it a very accurate mouse which slides easily, but not to the point of slipping out of hand, on its Zero-acoustic Ultraslick feet.
The Naga 2014, of course, looks sleek. I say "of course" as Razer has never had a problem making a sharp-looking product and the Naga 2014 continues the trend of hotness. Its pulsing green Razer logo on its black matte finish has made an aesthetically gorgeous addition to my PC desk.
The Naga 2014 is currently only shipping in a wired format. Wired mice tend to be much more reliable than wireless, however with the growth of sales of large-screen 1080p television sets, more and more PC gamers find themselves further away from their PC tower than what was once the case. For this reason alone a wireless version would be welcome, or at the very least, a dual wired/wireless version.
The Razer Naga 2014 mouse has a MSRP of RM160 The quality of the product stands to warrant the price tag -- it's a beautiful mouse, highly responsive, and just feels great, but the question comes into how big of an upgrade the Naga 2014 really is over earlier Naga models. If you don't have a Naga yet, definitely get this one. Your MMO gaming in particular will improve as you will find you no longer stare at your hotbars and can focus on the action. If you already own a Naga product, only you can decide whether or not you wish to pay $79.99 for the new in-game configuration tools and improved form factor.
Everyone thinks of taking their game to the next level, and many times, the brain goes straight to replacing the video card or some other internal computer part. However, one of the easiest improvements you might be able to make is upgrading your keyboard.
I present to you the Razer BlackWidow Mechanical Gaming Keyboard. With a sleek design, high quality mechanical keys, and easily programmable macros, this keyboard will be the your front line in getting in front of and demolishing the competition.
In case you don't know how a mechanical keyboard is different from a typical keyboard, I'll give you the key differences in a nutshell.
There are three main types of keyboards: membrane, scissor switch, and mechanical. Membrane keyboards are the most commonly used, with each key positioned over a rubber dome, one for each key. However, every single one of these domes aren't always uniform thickness, which changes the endurance and springiness of each key. Because of that, the feel of each key will not be uniform across the entire board. These are the cheapest keyboards, and you can expect them to last for about ten million keystrokes.
The second type of key, which is commonly used in laptop keyboards, is the scissor switch key. These are a little pricier than membrane keyboards, but are a slightly more springy to facilitate faster typing. In addition to having that extra pop, these keyboards also have faster response times, are quieter, and have double the life expectancy of a membrane keyboard, rated at about twenty million keystrokes.
As good as scissor switch keyboards may sound, mechanical keyboards really hit it out of the ballpark. Each of the keys on these boards have their own mechanical switch that quickly snap back into position after being actuated, which allows for even faster typing than a scissor switch keyboard. In addition to this, the mechanical switches make a very distinct clicking when pressed, and have a very solid feel to them because of their weight. However, because each key is its own individual part, it really jacks up the price. On the other hand, the price is more or less negligible when you consider the massive 50 million keystroke life expectancy; over double a scissor switch, and five times greater than a membrane keyboard. Do the math and you'll see you save a ton of money by investing in one of these instead of buying multiple of the other types.
Today, we're going to focus on one mechanical keyboard in particular: the Razer BlackWidow Mechanical gaming keyboard. While this review is about the regular edition of the keyboard, the Ultimate edition is more or less the same, just with a back light for the keys, and a USB and audio jack on the keyboard (also note that the Ultimate edition takes up two USB jacks instead of the one that the regular edition requires).
I have pictures from the unboxing that I will post in the gallery, but I think it's kind of silly and a waste of time to talk about it, so I'll just skip straight to what I think about the keyboard itself.
Operating Systems supported: Windows XP, Vista, 7 (Though there is a mac version)
Full mechanical keys with 50g actuation force
Response time: 1ms
Programmable keys with on the fly macro recording
Ten separate macro profiles with on the fly switching
Five dedicated macro keys
Multimedia controls (requires use of the function key)
Braided cord
What I noticed immediately is the really bright gloss they used to coat the keyboard. It looks nice, but it's a real finger print magnet. Honestly, I would have much preferred it if they left the gloss out. I'm getting tired of wiping my keyboard off to keep it looking nice.
The first thing I had to try out, of course, were the keys. Because it's a mechanical keyboard, the keys actually register mid way through the actuation, which can be both a good and a bad thing. Good because it allows for faster typing, but bad if you are switching between several keys (WASD movement) because that means you have to go a little farther up than you would with a scissor switch key, or both keys will end up being pressed. It was also very loud! Compared to the scissor switch keyboard I had been using before, it was almost imposingly loud, and almost unbearable. However, after a few days of use, I came to get used to the noise, and it's nice to hear that you pressed the key instead of maybe not being so sure.
As a side note, the font they used for the keys is laser engraved, giving it a nice permanent feeling to it. You won't have any issues with the letters wearing off after a while. However, they used a non-conventional font, which is a little more difficult to read at a glance compared to most keyboards. Honestly, I would have preferred if they had just used the regular font, even though the font they used looks sleek and cool.
Another thing I noticed early on was that it was heavy! Much heavier than any keyboard I had owned before, weighing around five pounds. When you pick it up, you can feel that the keyboard is durable and made of some quality stuff. A combination of the weight and rubber track on the bottom makes sure it won't slide around on your desk.
The macro program that the keyboard utilizes is pretty easy to use once you get used to where things are, and the on-the-fly macros are extremely handy. It should be noted that the keyboard itself does not have any on-board memory, so any macros you make will not be carried with the keyboard. It's a little annoying, but I don't move around much, so this isn't a huge deal to me.
Another thing that kind of bugs me a little is the altered key placement, the first being the placement of the F keys. There's a seemingly huge gap between the esc key and the f1 key, which really throws me off, because I use all of the F keys pretty frequently, and I often miss both the esc and f1 keys with this keyboard. I think this is more of a "me getting used to this keyboard" situation instead of it being a flaw, though the schizophrenic side me of me says that while there's nothing wrong with breaking the mold, there are some things you just have to conform to.
As well as the esc and f1 key issue, I often find myself pressing the m5 key instead of ctrl, because I glance down to look for the corner key, and hit the wrong key by accident. Again, I believe this is something I just need to get used to rather than a flaw.
There is an issue that I've heard of many people having with this keyboard, but I have yet to experience it myself. Several customers have reported that the space bar will sometimes somehow shift and end up touching the alt key, which makes the space bar (and the alt key I assume) extremely hard to press. I don't really know if this is a common manufacturing defect, or if these people are just throwing their keyboards against a wall; all I know is that for the majority of keyboards sold, this is not a problem. If it is a problem, however, the keyboard does come with a one-year warranty that should clear that right up.
In addition to this, I think the shift key is a little more difficult to press than the rest of the keys. It's pretty subtle for me, but it makes capitalizing a bit of a pain sometimes. I believe this has to do with the angle I press the shift key, and it is only slightly noticeable, just thought it should at least be mentioned.
All in all, this is a great keyboard. The design is sleek and smooth, the key presses are sharp and accurate, the macros are fairly fast and simple to use, and it's priced relatively cheaply at $79.99. Also keep in mind that if you would like the back lighting and USB/Audio jack plug ins, you can pay $30 more for the Ultimate edition, but I don't think it's worth the money. Turn on the lights and plug your stuff into the front of your tower; save your hard earned money for something more worthwhile.
Despite the drawbacks I talked about in this article, I still think the pros outweigh the cons, and the keyboard is worth every penny. I really enjoy the keys, macros, and the ungodly 50 million keystroke life. If you're looking into getting a keyboard that will last you a long time, I highly recommend you add the Razer BlackWidow Mechanical Gaming Keyboard to your gaming arsenal.
The mouse features a dual-sensor system, which pairs a laser sensor with an optical sensor, providing 8200dpi sensitivity and uninterrupted tracking on almost any surface, and even when lifted slightly. Tracking at speeds up to 200 inches per second, with a 1,000Hz polling rate, the Ouroboros is extremely accurate, no matter how intense your gaming sessions get.
The mouse actually features an on-board 32-bit ARM processor, which allows the mouse to offer a crazy-fast 1ms response time while also managing the high-resolution sensor calibration. The Ouroboros doubles up on the connectivity options, letting you plug in with USB 2.0 for a solid wired connection, or switch to wireless, with wireless base station that plugs in and provides a stand for charging the mouse when not in use. It's quite similar to the stand used by the Star Wars: The Old Republic Gaming Mouse by Razer. In wireless mode, the Ouroboros powers off of a single rechargeable AA battery (included) which should offer up to 12 hours of intense gaming time when fully charged.
But there's a lot going on with this mouse beyond the technology inside. The Ouroboros has a modular design that offers all sorts of physical adjustment and customization, taking on the likes of the Mad Catz M.O.U.S. 9. The back end of the mouse is an adjustable length palmrest, which can be extended almost a full inch, letting you adjust the mouse to the size of your hand. Adjusting the module is a bit of a pain; you need to loosen (but not remove) two tiny screws, pull the sliding module to the desired position, and then retighten the screws. The palmrest also can be adjusted to different angles, this time with a knob that raises or lowers the back end of the palmrest.
Included with the mouse are four magnetic side panels that can be easily attached to the sides of the mouse. The mouse is ambidextrous, and with the use of the detachable side panels--two thumb grip panels and two finger rest panels—you can tweak the grip and shape of the mouse to your liking. The one adjustment that seemed to be missing was weight. Many high-end gaming mice offer modular weight systems so that you can adjust the weight and balance of the mouse, but the Ouroboros does not, probably because all of the internal hardware left no room for it.
Last but not least, you can also program the Oroboros through Razer Synapse 2.0, Razer's proprietary cloud-connected customization dashboard. This tool lets you tweak button assignments, assign macros, and even set up separate profiles for different types of games. Because it's cloud-connected, you can then easily use your Ouroboros mouse on any PC that has Synapse installed, and all of your presets go with you. Additionally, you can also pair the mouse with other Razer peripherals (like keyboards or gaming keypads) and even switch mice without losing your settings and profiles.
Performance Gaming mice are designed for use in gaming, so game testing makes up an important part of our evaluation process. I tested the Ouroboros in several games, including Team Fortress 2, DC Universe Online, and the demo for the currently-in-development game Superhot. Whether I was fragging some friends, super-punching aliens, or dodging bullets like Neo from the Matrix, the Ouroboros functioned perfectly.
My biggest worry for the modular mouse was that functions like DPI switching would get lost among all of the moving parts and angular edges. This wasn't the case, and I was able to smoothly and easily ramp up the mouse sensitivity when I needed it, and dial it down for precision actions like sniping. My other major concern was that the detachable side panels and adjustable palmrest might come loose or prove distracting. The side panels attach with powerful magnetic latches, so that was no problem at all, while the palmrest is also solid, requiring two hands and (sometimes) a screwdriver to adjust it.
Last, but not least, performance also stayed consistent whether I used the wired connection or wireless. This wireless feature is especially important to anyone using the mouse with a PC set up in their living room connected to a TV. The wireless signal gives you more than enough range to sit on a couch while gaming on a TV across the room. Additionally, the gaming-grade wireless connection never gave me any issues with lag or interference.
Ultimately, the Ouroboros is only dragged down by the fact that there's so much going on, which will appeal to gamers who love to endlessly tweak their rig and equipment, but won't do much for the gamer that doesn't want to spend precious free time setting things up. Then there's the price. With a list price of RM430.00, the Ouroboros is even more expensive than other premium competitors.
The new thumb button form factor makes the buttons more accessible.
The ergonomics make for a comfortable grip.
The in-game configuration tool of the Razer Naga 2014.
