Overview:

Now, back to real life.

Copperhead box

Back side

Side view stats

   I’ve said before that I’ve never used a controller that has actually noticeably improved my skills in first person shooters, mice included. I’ve used lots of different mice on my main system over the years. My main choice of mouse has been my Logitech MX310, because it’s the highest performing wired mouse with that shape they offer. I’ve tried the MX 500 series of mice, the 700 series, a few of Microsoft’s optical mice as well. Mostly they haven’t fit my hand that well, I’m sure people with smaller hands find them more comfortable but I prefer holding a mouse with the tips of my fingers rather than my whole hand. I’ve also used a competitor to the Copperhead as well, that would be the Logitech MX1000. I returned that mouse the day after I purchased it, not only did it cramp my hand, I didn’t notice anything other than the DPI was higher than the average mouse.

   I always try to look at things from an unbiased point of view; you know ignore the hype, and see the good and the bad in something, even if it’s hard to see. This is the first review I’ve done where I’ve actually sat back and gone “I don’t think I can do a fair review of this!” I’m serious, I took the Copperhead out of the box, plugged it into my computer, and fired up a first person shooter; then played for 15 minutes. Boom, that’s it, I was completely hooked. No ifs ands or buts, I said right then “This is the best mouse EVER” and the fact that I said it out loud when I was alone in the house disturbs me just a little.

   I guess I actually have to explain myself now that I’ve made such a stupid claim, which I know shouldn’t be said by any reviewer ever…. All I can say is “I’m sorry, I love it!”

   For starters, the shape of the mouse, and the feel of the rubber gripping pads, while they look odd and uncomfortable (and are if you are using it for 5 minutes standing up at Quakecon) are actually perfect for gaming. The pad sits in the right spot for the tips of your fingers, and is made of a soft rubber that gives good grip for fast movements.

   The weight of the mouse (which is customizable through the optional “Pro-Tools”, which were not included in my review sample) gives you some stability when you are moving it around so you won’t fling it all over the place with the slightest movement. On the other end, it’s not so heavy that you have to work at stopping it to change directions.

   The main buttons are extremely fast and responsive, actually, this was the biggest thing I noticed. Even in the fastest sections of gaming, every click is registered without fail. Now I know exactly what you are going to say “I don’t have a problem with that with MY mouse”, and you know what? I didn’t have a problem with it either, at least before I got the Copperhead anyway. I never noticed that in mods like Quake2 Gloom, where you have to jump as fast as possible, and fire a grappling hook at the same time (also incredibly quickly) that many of my clicks weren’t registering. I found that with my old mouse, if I got into a frenzy, sometimes I was more “hoping” that I would jump when and where I wanted. I think I had unconsciously attributed this to “Lag” from my connection or the server. I never thought that a mouse would be the cause. The Copperhead removed that thought entirely. The change was instantly noticeable. I went from randomly trying to jump at someone, to knowing exactly where I would hit, when I could grapple and that I could jump to safety to attack anew.

   In other games, like Counter-strike:Source, Unreal Tournament, Quake 4 etc etc, I always thought I was good at “snap-shots”. With the high DPI, polling and “always on” the instant you see someone, a slight flick of a finger and “pop” headshot.

   The ability to adjust the “DPI” by default with the two buttons on the right side of the mouse comes in handy for the snipers among us (damn awper’s :P) You can take the DPI to 400, 800, 1600, and 2000. Personally, don’t find myself using anything other than 2000DPI / 1000Hz. Even when I’m using a sniper rifle I find that the Teflon feet and weight let me do very minute movements without it sticking.

   You can also change the polling rate of the copperhead, between; 125, 500 and 1000 Hz. There is a warning that having the rate set to 1000 Hz might cause a loss of performance of your computer if you have a slow CPU, or are transferring data using another USB device.