Razer Viper vs Razer Deathadder

On this page I’ll be comparing the new Razer Viper vs the Razer Deathadder Elite. The Viper is a new release from Razer and it is now their lightest gaming mouse by a longshot. The Deathadder Elite, on the other hand, has been around for a long time and is probably Razer’s most popular gaming mouse. If you’re looking to buy a Razer gaming mouse then you may end up choosing between these two mice. Hopefully this page will help you decide which of the two mice is best suited for you.

Razer Viper

Razer Deathadder Elite

Mouse review: Razer Viper

Razer have officially entered the lightweight gaming mouse market with the newly released Razer Viper. The mouse weighs just under 70 grams making it Razer’s lightest mouse by a long shot, their lightest mouse before the Viper would be the Razer Abyssus weighing 83 grams. Lightweight gaming mice have had a recent boost in popularity so it was only a matter of time before Razer made their own. Razer have designed this mouse with esports in mind, I could see a lot of both casual and competitive gamers using the Viper as their main mouse.

Shape and design

It’s a medium-sized mouse with an ambidextrous shape, low profile, and plenty of comfort curves. The low profile makes it best suited for a claw or fingertip grip style, this does depend on your hand size of course. Each side has rubberized grips for improved grip and comfort, the sides are also slightly curved for the same reason.

Razer have used their speedflex cable for this mouse, it’s ultra-smooth and highly flexible. When paired up with a mouse bungee the Razer Viper should feel almost wireless.

Like most Razer mice, the Razer Viper has an all-black design with a Razer logo on the backside of the shell. The logo has RGB backlighting which can be customized using Razer Synapse. Overall it has a pretty minimal design when compared to other gaming mice on the market.

Extra buttons and optical switches

Both of the primary click buttons have Razer Optical Switches that come with a few notable benefits:

40% Longer lifespan compared to traditional switches
3x Faster actuation
Zero double-clicking issues

Razer have put two side buttons on each side to stay true to the ambidextrous design. They are standard side buttons placed just above where your thumb would rest. Having buttons on both sides may take some getting used to, thankfully, Razer have designed them in a way that shouldn’t affect the comfort of the mouse.

Unlike most gaming mice, the DPI button on the Razer Viper is on the bottom of the mouse rather than the top. This means you cannot change your DPI on the fly, although it is nice to have it placed out of the way.

Sensor

The Razer Viper has an amazing optical sensor with near-flawless tracking, you should have no sensors issues when using this mouse. The DPI can be adjusted in steps of 50 with the max being 16,000 and the minimum being 100.

Razer Synapse

Like all Razer mice, you can use the Razer Synapse software to adjust all of the important settings for the mouse. A few examples of these settings are the DPI, RGB lighting, macros, and profiles. The Razer Viper has on-board memory so you only have to configure your settings once, this is great for people who travel with their mice.

Razer Viper Ultimate – 74 grams & wireless

There is now a wireless version of the mouse available called the Razer Viper Ultimate. It’s only slightly heavier than the wired version weighing just 74 grams, this makes it possibly the lightest wireless gaming mouse in the world.

Other than the fact that it’s wireless, there is only one key difference between this mouse and the original, and it’s the sensor. The Viper Ultimate uses Razer’s new FOCUS+ sensor which was designed with wireless gaming in mind, it has a slightly higher max DPI of 20,000. Much like the G Pro, the Viper Ultimate has a near flawless wireless connection so you’ll see no issues there.

It has an impressive 70 hour battery life with the lights turned off, but keeping the lights on will cut this down significantly. In the box you’ll get an RGB charging dock, the wireless adapter, and a charging cable. While the Viper Ultimate is an amazing mouse, there is one obvious drawback… the price. It’s $150 as of writing this which is a lot more than most people are willing to spend on a mouse. Although, if you’re looking for the lightest wireless gaming mouse, then the Razer Viper Ultimate is the clear winner.

Mouse review: Razer Deathadder Elite

The Razer Deathadder is quite possibly the best selling gaming mouse of all time. The Deathadder Elite is the latest version of the mouse and it has several improvements from the original. This is definitely a safe bet for anyone who wants a medium to large mouse with an ergonomic shape, RGB lighting, and a great sensor.

Shape and design

I think it’s the shape of the Deathadder that’s allowed it to remain so popular for such a long time. It’s on the larger side compared to other mice so it’s best suited for people with big hands. People with small hands may find it uncomfortable to use a fingertip or claw grip on the Deathadder. Both sides of the mouse have rubber grips for improved grip and comfort, the sides are also slightly curved for the same reason. Both of the primary click buttons have pretty steep comfort curves for your fingers, this is pretty common with Razer mice. It weighs 100 grams which is fairly lightweight considering the size, this makes it 30 grams heavier than the Viper.

Much like the Razer Viper, the Deathadder Elite has a pretty simple design. It’s an all-black mouse with an RGB Razer logo on top of the shell. The scroll wheel also has RGB backlighting and you can customize all of the lighting settings using Razer Synapse.

Extra buttons

There are two side buttons on the Deathadder Elite just above where your thumb would rest. They’re pretty big for side buttons but there’s plenty of space for them as the mouse has a high profile (44mm). There are two DPI buttons on top of the mouse just below the scroll wheel, this allows you to switch allowing you DPI on the fly. If you’re not interested in the DPI functions then you could always rebind the DPI buttons to something else like in-game keybinds for example.

Both of the primary click buttons have mechanical Omron switches which are said to last for up to 50 million clicks.

Sensor

The Deathadder Elite is equipped with Razer’s esports-grade 16K optical sensor. It’s extremely important to have a high-quality sensor when playing competitive games, especially first-person shooters. Thankfully most high-end gaming mice have good sensors and the Deathadder is no exception. The sensor has a DPI range of 100 to 16,000 that can be adjusted in steps of 100, you can set and save multiple DPI profiles on the Razer Synapse software.

Razer Synapse

Like all Razer mice, you can use the Razer Synapse software to adjust all of the important settings for the mouse. A few examples of these settings are the DPI, RGB lighting, macros, and profiles. The Razer Deathadder Elite does not have on-board memory, this means you will have to install Razer Synapse whenever you use the mouse on a new computer.

Razer Viper vs Deathadder Elite

These are two amazing mice from Razer with a few similarities as well as some notable differences. There are three key differences between these mice, their size, their weight, and their age. The Deathadder Elite is larger, heavier, and older, and these are not necessarily negative qualities, the fact that it’s an older mouse gives it a long-standing reputation. The Viper, on the other hand, is lightweight, medium-sized, and was released this year (2019). Neither mouse is better than the other, it’s all up to your personal preferences!

Thanks for reading : – )

Key differences

The Razer Viper is 30 grams lighter than the Deathadder Elite
The Deathadder Elite is a larger mouse and is best suited for big hands
The Razer Viper is ambidextrous with two buttons on each side
The Deathadder Elite has RGB lighting on the scroll wheel, the Viper does not
The Razer Viper has on-board memory, the Deathadder Elite does not
The Deathadder Elite has two DPI buttons on the top, the Viper has one DPI button on the bottom