[nextpage title=”Introduction”]
Razer has just reached a new height in terms of tracking resolution for gaming mice: its new model, the Lachesis, features a jaw-dropping 4,000 dpi of resolution. It also has an ambidextrous design, a rubber-coated large body and a pulsing blue light Razer logo. As with all the products from the company, the impeccable presentation goes along with the desire of making the best weapon of the virtual warrior. Let’s take a detailed look about the mouse and then proceed to see how the Lachesis fared in the field test.
At first glance, the mouse has an unusual design. Instead of having a narrow head like the also ambidextrous NZXT Avatar (which we already tested), the Lachesis has a Y-shaped head alongside a broad backside. If it were a person, the mouse would take two seats in a bus. The head is also so broad that a small handed person can fit three fingers on top of it. The large and a bit elevated backside delivers a different grip from regular gaming mice (this is either good or bad depending on personal taste and hand size).
The Lachesis has buttons on both sides since it has an ambidextrous design. Unlike the Avatar which features a single button sticking out on each side, the Lachesis has two shallow buttons on each lateral. Being smaller and surface-deep, the buttons above the pinkie (either in a right or left-handed grip) cannot be pressed so easily. The glossy plastic mouse body doesn’t feature finger rests for the toe and pinkie like other designs.
On the top we can find the usual buttons to change the mouse’s tracking resolution and the transparent scroll wheel. It can be lit with a glowing blue light the same as the Razer logo on the broad backside (this feature can be disabled through software). On the underside the Lachesis features a button to change the user profiles (the mouse has an internal memory of 32 KB to save up to five different profiles), three white Teflon feet to ensure a smooth slide, and finally the 4,000 dpi laser cannon.
[nextpage title=”Configuring the Lachesis”]
Like a good gaming-grade mouse, the Lachesis is highly adjustable through its proprietary software. The application allows the user to customize eight individual buttons plus the scroll wheel; enable or disable the blue LED; and also configure advanced settings. Unlike other models that alter their DPI by set values, you can change the tracking resolution in 125 dpi increments, from 125 to 4,000 dpi. The application has a main screen and four tabs that control profile creation, X/Y sensitivity setting, scroll and pointer speed, and 16-key macro assignment. Once you master the convoluted interface, you can see all the changes you made in a single glance.
Figure 4: The Razer application.
To prepare for our test, we customized the Lachesis to our particular liking, assigning the lateral buttons to “duck” our virtual gunslinger from Team Fortress 2 and to open team communications. Unfortunately the changes we made to the other lateral buttons were useless since our pinkie had a hard time pressing them. The macro function worked nicely executing several complex Photoshop commands. The mouse has an internal memory so you can store your profiles and having them work in other computers, being at a friend’s home game or a LAN party.
[nextpage title=”Playing and Working with the Lachesis”]
Before testing the Lachesis on the virtual battlegrounds, we first tried it on regular work-related tasks. That was when we discovered a serious problem: even with the much vaunted high precision and all other bells and whistles, the pointer used to slide a little off course when the mouse was left to its own devices. Plus it kept on missing icons and clicking over the wrong commands because of that millimeter slide. It was not that a big deal but we ended up opening a wrong file because of that. With the whole technology behind the Lachesis, it’s an inexcusable mistake. We changed the surface beneath the mouse (we were using a gaming-grade mouse pad from Razer itself, the Destructor, already tested by us) and altered some of the sensitivity but the issue continued, to a minor degree. Just as we were typing this review, we saw the pointer moving on its own even though the Lachesis is resting untouched by the keyboard’s side.
As we proceed to play Team Fortress 2 (same map and server, as always), we noticed the sniper’s scope leaning a little off center in key moments. We missed a couple of shots and ended up dead because of it. Frustration took hold of us until we tried to compensate changing the DPI setting and trying to improve the grip on the mouse. It still wasn’t as precise and steady as it should have been. During intense shootouts and running action, the Lachesis delivered with the high sensitivity it advertises. But ergonomically it’s not a good mouse: the broad Y-shaped head and the large and high backside don’t make for a steady grip like, for instance, the leaner body shape of the NZXT Avatar, for instance.
In final analysis, besides all the highly laudable attributes, the Lachesis didn’t deliver the excellent performance we were expecting on account of Razer’s curriculum. It’s not a bad gaming-grade mouse per se, but what we observed during gameplay and work tasks shouldn’t have happened.
[nextpage title=”Specifications”]
Razer Lachesis main specifications are:
- USB laser mouse
- Ambidextrous design
- Assignable buttons: 9
- 32 KB onboard memory to save up to 5 user profiles
- Tracking Resolution: 125 to 4,000 dpi (user selectable in 125 dpi increments)
- Maximum velocity: 100 inches/second
- Response time: 1 ms
- Seven feet (2.13 m) cable
- Approximate size: 5 5/64" x 2 51/64" x 1 37/64" (129 x 71 x 40 mm) (L x W x H)
- More information: https://www.razerzone.com
- Average price in the US*: USD 62.00
* Researched at https://www.shopping.com on the day we published this review.
[nextpage title=”Conclusions”]
Strong Points
- Ambidextrous
- Tasteful light scheme
- Comprehensive software
- Tracking resolution selectable in increments and not by set values
- Onboard memory allows the user to keep their profiles when changing PCs
Weak Points
- Unreachable pinkie buttons
- Unsteady pointer and target cursor during gameplay
- Configuration software has a convoluted interface
- Body shape doesn’t allow for a good grip
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