Razer Pro|Click Mac Gaming Mouse

Introduction:

    I’ve almost lost track of the number of Razer products I’ve reviewed over the last few years. All of them heavily catered towards gamers. The difference this time, is that I am reviewing a Razer Pro|click. This is part of a different series of products, all listed under the “Razerpro.com” website, instead of the usual “Razerzone.com”. This site is Razer’s dedicated Mac compatible products. The “Mac Compatible” logo is on almost every page on the site.

The Razer Pro|Click, is a wired, high sensitivity Mac gaming mouse, with same “Always on” feature common with Razer’s other mice. It is an Optical mouse, like the Razer Deathadder, but it takes it shape from the Razer Copperhead. Introduced to me as a gaming solution for my Mac Pro. The white coloring is an obvious choice to match Apple's color scheme for pretty much everything that isn't silver.

Razer Pro|Click

White themed

Specs

Features:

·         Infrared engine powered by Razer Precision™

·         1600 dpi, twice that of conventional high performance sensors

·         High speed motion detection, up to 40ips and 15g

·         Frame rate over 6400 frames per second (5.8 megapixels per second)

·         16 bit data path, as compared to 8 bit and 12 bit data paths used by other conventional mice

·         Always-On™ Mode – the optical sensor never powers down

-          provides instantaneous response at all times

·         Buttons – 7 independently programmable physical buttons with multiple macros

·         Ultra large non-slip mouse buttons, tactile response design

·         Non-slip side rails and new ergonomic ambidextrous design

·         Zero acoustic Teflon feet for smooth motion over any surface

·         Gold plated USB connector for maximum conductivity

·         Size: 5.04" length x 2.5" width x 1.54" height

·         7 foot, lightweight, non-tangle cord

·         Award-winning Razer™ drivers featuring On-the-Fly™ sensitivity adjustment

First Impressions and Installation:

Simple packing

Drivers + install guide

Does it live up to 'Razer'?

Unfortunately, some problems with the Razer Pro|Click started almost right out of the box. Initially, I was glad that the Pro|Click had copied the shape of the Copperhead. I’ve been using a Copperhead for just over  2 years now and I’ve yet to find a better mouse (Though I do like the feel of the Deathadder over the Copperhead). The problems start with the location and design of the side buttons of the Pro. Instead of 4 buttons below the rubber grip on the edge of the mouse like the Copperhead, the Pro places them right into the grip, and combines each pair of buttons into one physical switch that pulls double duty.

Online

Pro|Click with Copperhead

It looks the same

This combination makes the buttons very hard to press accurately. Pressing the front left button is not a problem normally, but the rear button is very difficult for me. The reason for this, is because the switch must be pushed past the rubber grip, and my thumb usually gets stopped by the grip, so I have to press harder. That ends up clicking the front button when I didn’t want that to happen.

And while the right side buttons on the Copperhead were not the easiest to press, the Pro|Click version is virtually impossible to press while actually using the mouse. The only reason I think they are even there, is for left handed users or just to provide more options for macros that you don’t need to use in a fast paced game situation.

I don’t know what happened with the driver CD that I received with the Pro|Click, as they did not include any Mac OSX driver files on them. I did not have a problem finding the drivers on the website, but it’s a quality control issue that should be really obvious for a product specifically designed for Macs.

Generally, the drivers are problem free, and tuning the sensitivity to my liking was no problem. If they could change anything, I would like the settings to only affect the Pro|Click, and not change sensitivity settings for other mice that might still be connected. I also have to wonder, why is it that without drivers, the scroll wheel does not function at all? No other mouse has this problem on my Mac pro, including the Copperhead.

Sensitivity

Scroll wheel

Binding buttons

The Razer Pro|Click puts up a good showing for its sensitivity and accuracy, as I would expect from any Razer mouse. If I had to compare it directly, I would have to say it is exactly the same as the Razer Deathadder. The buttons are just as responsive as a Copperhead, and it hasn't missed any clicks. Compared to any wireless solution, it's leaps and bounds better for gaming of course.

The tests of a mouse are pretty much all subjective, anyone who says otherwise is kidding themselves. The numbers really don't matter; if you think a mouse is better than another mouse, then for you, it is end of story. For my own tests, I still find that a mod for Quake 2, Gloom, is still far and above the best way to really put a mouse through it's paces (and also runs on OSX). Team Fortress 2, Call of Duty 4 are my more up-to-date addictions that keep me using Windows. The Pro|click is fine for when I play Team fortress, but I don't like to use it with COD4, because I use the side buttons in my configs.

Comparing the Pro|click to any apple branded mouse, well... lets just say that's not a fair comparison, shooting fish in a barrel.... with dynamite. For starters, you can actually use Opera mouse click shortcuts, and even, heaven forbid, hold one mouse button down, and click the other! (Try doing that with the 'Mighty mouse', which I almost threw out about the same day I got my Mac Pro)

Conclusion:

Why yes, I do have...

Two Copperheads.

I’m a bit disappointed with the Razer Pro|Click. I know that my opinion is biased, and that if this mouse was coming from another company, this would be a fairly impressive mouse. But this isn’t some other company, this is from Razer, even if they try to relegate their “Mac” products to a completely different website. They completely dropped the ball on the side buttons for this mouse, which I find very strange, when you look at the other mice than have been released after the Copperhead. Hopefully they improve the quality control on the driverless driver CD's, but at least they don't have to do anything with the drivers.

Even if you are doing all your gaming on a Mac under OSX, if you want the best of the best, I'd go with the Copperhead or Lachesis (though I haven't tried a Lachesis personally yet, you can read Stygian's review of it here). But the Pro|click is $20 cheaper than either of them, and does have all the driver support for OSX.

Update 10-14-2008:

I just got an email from a reader by the name of Jason H. asking that I add a couple notes to the review. Here's what he had to say...

"Latest drivers are problematic on MacBook Pro

Driver problems that were acknowledged months ago by Razer have not been fixed.

Plugging in and out the mouse causes the trackpad's scroll speed to automatically reset to the lowest setting.

If you're hooking the mouse up to a laptop, wait until Razer updates their drivers from v1.67"

Thanks for the email Jason!

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