Razer Atheris Review: The Best Wireless Gaming Mouse

Sometimes, all that we (meaning you, I and other gamers out there) need is a solid gaming mouse, without the entanglement of cables. At the same time, we also need a mouse to use with our regular office work. And that, dear gamers, is what brings us to this Razer Atheris Review.

But first, a little history about the Razer mice…Razer was started back in 1998 as a subsidiary of Kärna LLC specifically to make the Boomslang gamer’s mouse. However, the parent company Kärna folded in 2000.

Razer would emerge in 2005 under the leadership of a National University of Singapore graduate Min-Liang Tan. Today. Today, it prides itself as a global company making game hardware, software and related services.

With an experience spanning ten years, their computer game hardware and software have gotten better with time. This is why we have masterpieces such as Razer Atheris, which has rightfully earned the right to be called the best wireless mouse.

This is a very reliable mouse. The design and build of the mouse leaves little to be desired and the performance is just, or perhaps even more than what we have come to expect of Razer computer game mice.

Sometimes, all that we want is to buy a good mouse, one that can last a long time and allow us to do all things that gamers love to do with their mice.

If you are an avid gamer, you need a reliable, accurate and ergonomic mouse. The Atheris mouse is a good choice.

Pros

• It is a simple, easy to use mouse for gaming as well as regular activities
• Has two connection options – dongle or Bluetooth pairing
• Long battery life of more than 300 hours is commendable
• Batteries are so easy to use – just regular AA batteries
• The mouse has a compartment to store the dongle when traveling
• Small and lightweight mouse for traveling with
• Nicely contoured rubber sides with lines that run from the front to the back of mouse
• Lack of RGB lighting and fancy fanfare means you preserve the batteries
• Good build, good casing and a nice battery compartment
• Easy to master the buttons since there are just two side buttons
• Affordable price
• Faster operation, almost as fast as wired mouse especially with the dongle

Cons

• The Synapse 3 software can be quite an irk to configure
• The mouse size is too small for people with big palms
• It is hard to create profiles for your games and store them

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Bottom Line

The Razer Atheris wireless gaming mouse has 7200 DPI, which is adjustable for better tracking. The battery can last hundreds of hours on end. The mouse is light in weight, has few buttons and it is almost as fast as wired mouse. 

Razer Atheris Review – Features that you will enjoy using

Design and build quality

Where other mice, especially the wired ones are all flashy and boisterous, in this Razer Atheris review, you will see that this one is a small, portable low-key mouse. But playing games is not all that it can do. You can also use it to do your regular office work.

It is a small-sized mouse, with a length of 3.9 inches only. Bad news for gamers that have big hands, or tell you what … you can still use it but not for long. Small gaming mice cramp the wrist easily, especially when you use them for a long time. At the widest point, this mouse measures 2.5 inches.

With the two AA batteries, this mouse weighs 113 g. That is too heavy for such a small mouse but hey, precision is much better with a heavier mouse than with a lighter one.

About ergonomics, we really cannot say much, mostly because of the small size. However, if you have small palms, you will find this mouse perfect. So, the small size is a double-edged sword, with both its benefits and downsides.

Still on the design, you will realize that this mouse lacks the flashy lights that the wired Razer mice such as the Razer Naga Trinity come with.

As we continue reviewing computer game mice, you will see that the lack of color and lights is quite common. This is deliberate. After all, all that light and color drains the batteries fast. 

The casing of the muse is high quality but apart from that, there is nothing remarkable about it. The matte black finish looks good and the textured rubber sides offer a good, anti-slip grip.

As for looks, well, this could be mistaken for just another regular office mouse were it not for the side buttons.

Overall, the design and build quality is what we expect of many wireless mice. They are just subdued, letting their performance speak for them.

Performance of the Atheris

What matters most in any mouse is the performance. Now, in a cordless mouse, performance can be pegged on many things, but the most important is the connection.

If it lags, then the mouse may not be any good. In addition, performance may also be pegged on how well you can use the mouse to play certain games.

This mouse is perfect for playing games such as Call of Duty, Starcraft: Remastered, Pillars 2 and Overwatch to name but just a few of them.

To connect to your computer, this mouse uses the AFT – adaptive frequency technology on the 2.5GHz band for connectivity. For people who understand the tech side of wireless gaming mice, they know that AFT is the best.

What happens is that the AFT scans many frequencies plenty of times in one second, always looking to select the frequency that has the minimal interference. This is the reason why we say that this mouse is as precise and fast as a wired mouse, with no noticeable lag at all.

One thing you may worry about is that there will be drops when the mouse is making a switch from one frequency to another. However, the manufacturer says that the mouse only changes its frequency only when there is a dire need to do so.

Most people wonder what is best for a quick and error-free performance between Bluetooth pairing and the dongle. There are benefits for each, and downsides too. With Bluetooth, the connection may be a bit fuzzy, but the batteries can last a long time. With the dongle, the connection will be snappy and super fast, but it could drain the batteries a bit faster.

You can use Bluetooth pairing when you do not have enough USB ports to spare. Remember, this mouse’s USB receiver requires to be used with a 3.0 USB port. Older laptops do not come with many 3.0 ports.

Batteries

The best wireless mouse comes with either rechargeable battery or disposable dry cells such as the Atheris.

This mouse uses a pair of regular AA batteries, which should be easy to get anywhere in the world. Don’t worry about running out of charge though since these batteries will last a long time – 350 hours. However, do not let them drain to their lowest just because they have a long life. It is good to change them a couple of times a year, of course depending on your playing style.

These batteries add more weight to the mouse. This makes the mouse feel a bit heavy, but the weight is worth it.

You will find that the batteries compartment is quite solid as is its cover. When the batteries have been inserted in place and the compartment door placed, this panel is solid and silent, without a rattle to it.

Because these are not rechargeable batteries, you do not need extra charging cables. In this Razer Atheris review, we have said that this is a clutter-free mouse and the lack of cables ensures there is no clutter.

Software

This mouse uses the Synapse 3 software. As soon as you insert the mouse into your laptop, it prompts you to install the software. You do not need to search for drivers, it has its own. 

Now, many resources say that this software is a bit hard to use. However, that is not entirely right. It may be hard for first-timers, but if you have used any other Razer mouse before, you should find it easy.

Inside the software, you will be able to do several things. One of them is that you can assign some of the keyboard functions to the mouse buttons. 

You will be able to set the orientation of the mouse if you are left-handed. By default, the Razer Atheris comes oriented to the right hand users.

If you just need to use the mouse for regular office work, you can go right ahead and use it with its default settings. You can wait to install the software later.

One thing that most people complain about is that the Synapse 3 makes it quite hard for them to lock profiles to certain games. Thus, you may find that whenever you use the mouse to play your favorite games on different computers, you may need to install the software again.

Some people also say that setting up the buttons and creating macros is quite tricky. One of the ways to do this is to assign one button to be the hyperresponsive button. You can then assign the two thumb buttons certain functions.

Sensor

The Atheris has been equipped with a high quality 7200 DPI optical sensor. This is quite high and actually, it is more than what you will need for playing almost all types of computer games. 

As you may well know, DPI means “dots per inch,” which means that the higher the better. With high dots per inch ratio, you only need to move the mouse ever so slightly and the cursor will travel farthest over the computer screen. Thus, high setting is one of the things that make the best wireless gaming mouse.

The importance of having a button on the mouse is that different games, and even different actions may require different settings. With this button, you would not be required to go back to the software to set up things again.

You can adjust the DPI in the software, but there is also an adjustment button located just beneath the scroll wheel. With this, depending on the range of adjustment that you will set in the software, usually starting at 100, you can adjust the setting on the move. 

In a regular use mouse, a setting of 800 is usually enough. However, for games, that is too low. Some games may even require 4500 dots-per-inch.

Buttons

The Razor Atheris has five programmable buttons. These include the regular right and left click buttons, two thumb buttons and the clickable scroll wheel, which can be assigned a button to serve as a scroll wheel. These are not awfully many, but they still enable the mouse to be very functional.

The side buttons are quite responsive, snazzy and they will last as long as the mouse itself. Although it can be a bit confusing assigning the buttons functions in the software, once you have assigned them functions, you will find them to use.

The buttons are strategically located such that you do not need to look to see whether they are. They are easy to access by hand.

Compared to its peers in the same price range such as the Logitech G602, you can see that these buttons are quite few. 

Conclusion

In this Razer Atheris review, you have seen the features that this mouse comes with. You have also seen the pros and the cons of this mouse. Since we have seen that its pros are more than its cons, we can say that this is the best wireless mouse for traveling with. It is small enough to toss in your trouser pocket and move comfortably with it. 

If you need a mouse to use as a regular day-to-day mouse and use it for playing computer games when you need to, buy the Atheris. Just like its sisters before it, it pleases more than it disappoints. Computer games are fun, so get your mouse at a good price and start today.

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