Hardware Razer Abyssus Mirror Review

Can Razer's new cut back Abyssus mouse still hack it despite its budget DNA?

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/peripherals/2010/07/31/razer-abyssus-mirror-review/1

 

You sure you aren't talking about the Razer Salmosa? Exact same looks from the pictures and much cheaper but only with a 800-1800DPI switch.

 

You've given it low marks for features, but surely the fact that it's an ambidextrous gaming mouse is something of a unique selling point? I'm not left-handed, so I've never been hugely interested in the left-handed mouse market, but I thought there were very few gaming mice for southpaws to use.

That would explain the missing thumb buttons - if Razer is intending this for use by left handed people.

 

I could be wrong, but there must be nearly zero value in an ambidextrous gaming mouse. I'm 100% left handed in everything I do.... but even I use my right hand for a mouse. Are there any gamers here that actually do use their left hand?

 

I have plenty of friends who play games left handed. However, even they would scoff at the fact there is no thumb buttons. That's the kicker. Among some of the mice I own, I have a Dell 6 button laser mouse, which costs about £6 on ebay. Fully ambidextrous, thumb buttons, and four DPI settings. That was the best any left handed gaming mates.

 

Yes. I know several actually. Most can use right handed mice because that's the only option but at least one has to use a left handed.

Top - you should fight for the left handed cause brother!

 

Lefthander here. And I use my mouse with my left hand exclusively. The right one sucks at accuracy.
Right now I'm using a Lachesis - thumb buttons, ridiculous DPI options and a great feel in my hand. And, no, I wouldn't trade down for something without thumb buttons.
It's a shame the only left-handed mouse they produce is the DeathAdder, because I can't bloody stand big, palm-grip mice. So I guess I'm sticking with this one until it breaks. And then getting another one

 

How is removing thumb buttons an ambidextrous "feature"? It's like saying we can't build bigger doors for big people so let's just leave one wall out.

I've had the Diamondback for ages and it's properly ambidextrous (not that I'm a lefty) because it has a symmetric design and thumb buttons on both sides. Also, it's an amazing mouse, despite its age. I've also had the Roccat Kone which was great but I could never get used to the middle mouse (very stiff, you could almost never press it without scrolling) and, like Singularity, I can't get used palm-grip.

What this mouse appears to be is a cheap Razer for secretaries/office work, which to them is probably an expensive replacement for the standard Microsoft 3 button mouse.

 

This really does strike me as an unnecessary product. There are better mice out there, and I'm not sure how to classify this thing... a budget luxury product?

 

I never claimed it was a feature, but you haven't got thumb buttons on both sides, you've now got pinky buttons.

 

They should've given it a more descriptive name. Abysmal comes to mind.

 

True, the "pinky" buttons on the other side of the mouse are rather hard to use, but for rare functions they are quite useful. It's easy to use if you don't try using your pinky; rather use your ring finger while having index and middle on the two mains.

Sorry for quoting and rephrasing earlier, I just replaced "unique selling point" with "feature". The point is, it has no selling points (in my very humble opinion, always ) since there are lefty mice out there for the left-handed gamer (at normal gaming mouse prices) and this mouse is too expensive for the plain 3-button users. I fail to see the target audience. It's smack-dab in the middle of two consumer classes: too expensive for the office user, too featureless for the gamer (even if he is left-handed).

 

I can't refrain from commenting on this review, because frankly, Paul didn't grasp for whom or for what purpose the Abyssus was designed. His points of criticism are more or less moot, accordingly. The thing is, small low-weight mice are best for Real Time Strategy games. Pro players control them with their fingertips, not their palm. In collaboration with a famous Starcraft player, the Razer Salmosa was designed, being the only Razer mouse that was small, light and accurate enough to be even considered an alternative to the Logitech Mini Optical mouse, which most Starcraft Pro Players used. The Abyssus is the successor of the Salmosa, having an improved DPI resolution of 3500, which, by the way, is the reason I switched to this mouse, 1800 on my old mouse being too low. I have a screen width of 1600 pixels and moving my mouse 2 cm on the mousepad, I need to be able to reach the whole screen. Fingertip control means you can't make large movements, unless nature has equipped you with long spider fingers. With a DPI setting too low, the mouse will jump several pixels at once and you can't target each pixel.

Comparisons with mice like the DeathAdder make no sense because they are a completely different breed. You won't play RTS games with them on a high level. Likewise, the Abyssus is not comfortable for web browsing, because in daily use, you'll prefer to rest your hand on the mouse and you'll go for an ergonomic one, which the Abyssus isn't, being controlled with your fingertips. Saying that, I don't see why there should be a thumbs button (whose absence you call a criminal omission), since the mouse isn't comfortable for everyday use in the first place. You'll only use this mouse in RTS games and I don't think you'll need a thumbs button there.

Your review will only be purposeful if you actually test this mouse in an RTS game, giving your impression to grip, precision, ease of movement/clicking etc.