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The Excellent Razer Viper Mini Ultra-Lightweight Mouse Review: You Need to Know Top 5 Amazing Points
Nov
In this article, we will provide you with a Razer Viper Mini Ultra-Lightweight Mouse Review.
When the Razer Viper (and the Ultimate version of that mouse)…
…hit the market you could almost hear the cheers of mouse enthusiasts everywhere.
After a few rough launches that didn’t exactly appeal to competitive gamers…
…it became obvious that Razer was getting back into the competitive gaming market.
The Razer Viper (and the later released Viper Ultimate) was praised for its superb design…
…lightweight shell (without holes! ), extremely flexible cable, flawless sensor, onboard storage…
…and Razer’s new Optical Mouse Switches.
Although the Viper isn’t the smallest mouse of the bunch…
…people soon started wondering when Razer would release a smaller version.
It’s finally here. To confirm that the Razer Viper Mini is exactly what enthusiasts…
…of small ambidextrous mice have been asking for…
…we sent a unit over to our reviewer, who has the full verdict below.
A few words from Kareem…
Gaming mice have a great shape, are light, and are good for gaming.
Additionally, thanks to the laser system, the button’s tactility and response are perfect.
However, the sensor leaves a lot to be desired, particularly the lift off distance…
…which needs to be addressed in a potential update.
It would be amazing if there was a wireless version with a better sensor, similar to the HERO sensor.
Now let’s get started…
First Impressions of Razer Viper Mini
There are a few differences between this and your regular Razer Viper put through the shrinking machine.
For starters, the Mini has only left-hand side buttons, doesn’t have rubberized sides…
…and the DPI selector button is moved to the top of the mouse.
Also under the hood, we’ve got a different sensor (more on that later) and on the underside, we see PTFE feet.
Almost right away, I noticed that the Viper Mini feels a bit humpier in my hand than its bigger brother.
I’ll discuss that in the ‘shape’ section, but it’s definitely something…
…that I noticed fairly quickly, so I added it to my first impressions.
Another feature that immediately caught my eye was the RGB zone at the back of the mouse.
It’s not that noticeable in bright light, but at night it gives the mouse…
…a tiny ‘half aura’ that looks cool if you like that sort of thing.
Mouse
Considering that the original Viper was already a lightweight mouse…
…it’s only logical that the smaller version would be lighter, too.
According to my scale, this mouse weighed 61 grams…
…which places it in the ultralight mouse category, and it does all that without having holes in the shell.
I’m pretty neutral on the whole hole debate (although I do know people…
…who absolutely detest mice with holes in them)…
…but I am impressed by how light Razer has been able to make this product…
…while maintaining structural integrity and so on.
Packaging
Razer includes the mouse, a quickstart guide, and a sticker with the Viper Mini in a mini Razer box.
Due to this being an unofficial ‘budget Viper,’ I didn’t expect much fancy packaging…
…so this rather straightforward unboxing experience was not too disappointing…
…but I always appreciate a set of replacement mouse feet. Even so, not including them here isn’t a big deal.
Here’s the main part…
Razer Viper Mini Ultra-Lightweight Mouse Review
Shape and Finish
In my hands, the Viper Mini Gaming Mouse feels quite different from the original Viper…
…as I mentioned in the introduction.
This is because the hump feels a little less gradual…
…since it’s a couple of millimeters higher than the regular Viper…
…because they had to make it shorter.
In contrast to the pretty flat feeling I got from the OG mouse…
…this one gives the mouse a bit more of an egg feel.
The shape is not bad, however; I think that a 1:1 copy made smaller…
…would have turned out rather odd for a mouse of this size…
…so I cannot say that I disagree with the (small) changes that they made.
Even though the shape is a bit small for my liking, it’s a safe shape…
…considering that there are no sudden curves or grooves.
It’s not like I’m a chemist, so I don’t know what Razer does with their coatings…
…but as far as I’m concerned, the coating team at Razer is top-notch.
I absolutely adore the Viper Mini because it has this matte-rubbery mixture.
When I’m tryharding in games, my hands can get pretty sweaty…
…so I have a very low tolerance for coatings that don’t handle skin oils and sweat well…
…but luckily the Viper Mini (and most other recent Razer releases) do the job well.
With its fantastic coating and super light weight, picking up this mouse is no problem either.
Performance-wise, we’re all good.
The side buttons are now only on the left.
Left-handed gamers might take offense…
…but I can easily see their reasoning here: had they kept the buttons on the right side…
…I’d accidentally hit them all the time due to the smaller size of the mouse…
…and I doubt I’d be the only one experiencing that problem.
However, the two side buttons are easily accessible and recognizable.
There are now two large PTFE mouse feet on the bottom of the mouse…
…(and a smaller ring around the sensor…
…that oddly enough doesn’t seem to be removable) that provide good glide.
Even though this isn’t the fastest stock experience I’ve had in recent months,…
…there is no scratching and it runs smoothly so no worries there.
The fact that the center ring is made out of plastic does seem odd to me;
…if you bump or dent the ring while traveling to a LAN or whatever…
…you would feel it when gliding, and there would be no way to fix it.
Even though the chances of this happening are extremely small, it is still possible.
Keep reading…
Buttons and Scroll Wheel
The Razer company has been pushing their new Optical Mouse Switches with their recent releases…
…and if you knew that, you probably also knew that they have been polarizing in the gaming community.
Adding durability is great, and in theory getting a faster response time is great too…
…but they did have to sacrifice a lot of crispiness that you get with a traditional mechanical switch…
…in order to achieve those response times and durability ratings. At least at first.
My Viper Ultimate and the new Razer DeathAdder V2 are noticeably different…
…but here the difference is even more pronounced.
I can definitely feel the difference between both main sets of clicks…
…when compared to the Viper Ultimate that I normally use.
The Viper Mini has a pretty nice clicking sensation…
…and even though the main buttons aren’t the crispiest on the market…
…it’s clear these Optical Mouse Switches are improving with every new model.
The mushier feeling clicks didn’t really bother me (I do prefer clickier switches)…
…but I know a lot of people who did, so this should be great news for them.
There is one downside here, namely the durability rating has been lowered…
…from 100 million clicks to ‘only’ 50 million clicks…
…but that’s a welcome trade-off for crispier clicks, if you ask me.
I could point out that there is some post travel on the main buttons…
…if you tend to press them farther to the back or that there is some side to side movement…
…on my left mouse click, but honestly none of these are noticeable to the extent that they annoy me.
When it reaches the side buttons, the good news train stalls.
They do have a decent click (though it feels hollow)…
…but there’s a lot of travel and once pressed the buttons can feel a little wobbly.
The original model had really nice buttons.
With the rubberized grip elements, the scroll wheel feels the same on the surface…
…but when you start scrolling, it’s quite apparent that the Viper Mini’s wheel feels a bit looser.
It depends on your preferences, of course, whether you like that.
This is a silent wheel with very little differentiation between the steps…
…and it’s very easy to click, making it a great wheel for me personally.
Quality and Cable
It’s not uncommon for ultralight mice from both experienced…
…and inexperienced manufacturers to fall short when it comes to quality…
…but that’s not the case with the Razer Viper Mini.
Despite shaking, swiping, and squeezing…
…this thing does not move nor does it make a sound.
That’s something I personally enjoy seeing…
…particularly when I’m holding one of the lightest gaming mice on earth.
It’s completely refreshing to see Razer shift up a gear…
…or two when it comes to their products…
…both in terms of specs and design, especially for a company…
…that has had a reputation for releasing ‘form over function’ products in the past.
My purpose here is not to comment on that reputation…
…but I think we can all see how much the enthusiast community loves Razer’s new direction. So do I.
This is Razer’s Speedflex cable.
It is their take on the paracord-style mouse cord, and I think it is a good one.
It’s a very light and flexible cable, and I’d be happy to use it with or without a bungee.
With a bungee, though, you’re getting pretty close to ‘no cable’ feeling, depending on your sensitivity.
Go on…
Performance and Sensor
The Razer Viper Mini isn’t just a smaller version of the regular Viper;
…it is also an attempt by Razer to get into the budget mouse market.
Due to this, the Mini doesn’t have the usual Razer Focus+ ‘it’s over 9000 DPI’ sensor…
…but simply a ‘regular’ variation of the 3359.
Budget gaming mice a couple of years ago could have been ruined by cheap sensors…
…but now even the budget sensors used by top companies provide flawless tracking…
…so there’s no need to worry about acceleration or smoothing.
Depending on your tolerances, you might need to pay attention to the LOD.
The mouse stops tracking just above 2 DVDs (2.4 millimeters)…
…and while that is not outrageous, it is still quite high.
The LOD can be modified a bit under the ‘mouse mat surface calibration’ tab in Razer’s software…
…where you can play around with different configurations and lower the LOD slightly…
…but it’s always (a bit) above 2 DVDs for me.
This may or may not be an issue depending on your playing style…
…and I can’t say that I was actively bothered by it while gaming…
…but it’s something that should be mentioned.
Is there a sensor out there that is superior to this one? Yes, theoretically.
For example, Razer’s own Focus+ and 5G sensors come to mind. In practice…
…this sensor will be fine for 99% of people, so I wouldn’t worry too much about the ‘downgraded’ sensor.
Using the mouse, the only difference is a slightly higher LOD.
Amusingly enough, this mouse now has sensitivity stages of 400, 800, 1600, 3200, and 6400 by default.
As logical as that sounds, it wasn’t always the case with previous Razer mice…
…so it’s pleasing to see that they’ve gone with sensible settings here.
“The Viper Mini is perfect under smaller hands and large pads with smaller digits, and as we’ll cover in gaming performance, brilliant for quick, precise movements across the mouse pad at low CPI settings. ”
Phil Iwaniuk – Tech Journalist
Grip
The shape of this mouse makes it pretty safe, so it should suit a lot of grip types…
…though it won’t be the right one for people who have shovels for hands.
The grip could work well for palm grippers with small hands…
…but it shines for people who use fingertip grips or claw grips…
…(or variations that tend towards those…
…since hybrid grips are the most common) and prefer smaller mice.
I can only give you a couple of pointers, but in the end…
…it almost completely comes down to personal preference,
so I encourage you to do your own research and find what works best for you.
Sum Up!
I find this one a bit odd.
Viper Mini has all the qualities…
…to be one of the best budget mice on the market…
…(great cable, great clicks, PTFE feet, super lightweight, fantastic build quality…)
…but I’m not convinced people who wanted a Viper Mini wanted a budget mouse. T
he mouse doesn’t really feel like a budget model, but still.
The decision to use a cheaper sensor (that, once again, performs flawlessly…
…as far as tracking goes) seems a bit odd to me.
I believe that aspect alone will turn away some of the more spec-oriented customers…
…and that is a real shame since this product aside from that is fantastic.
Since flawless sensors have been the norm for a few years now…
…any theoretical performance gains won’t make much difference ingame…
…so I don’t mind the inclusion of a theoretically ‘subpar’ sensor to lower costs…
…but the LOD is still too high for my tastes.
Your personal preference will determine whether or not that bothers you.
Aside from the LOD, this is a great product.
Despite using Razer’s optical mouse switches…
…the clicks on the Viper Mini are crisper than I’ve seen in Razer products with these switches.
PFTE feet have also been upgraded, clearly Razer listens to their customers.
Conclusion
Is this the best gaming mouse I have ever seen?
The mouse offers a bunch of very attractive features at an extremely attractive price…
…so if you’re looking for a small and ultra light ambidextrous gaming mouse…
…this should be on your shortlist.
If you’re on a budget, this is also a great mouse to go for…
…(spec-wise; just make sure your mouse fits your hands).
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