Sticking with the essential features of a gaming mouse, the Razer Abyssus Mirror seeks to attract no-nonsense gamers.
Product on Review: Razer Abyssus Mirror Gaming MouseManufacturer and Sponsor: Razer
MSRP: €39.99 / US$49.99
Street Price: £31.57 (Mirror) / £31.57 (Original)
On May 4th 2010 (Press release: Link), Razer announced a new mouse named after the Crotalus Oreganus Abyssus, a venomous pit spider. It is the Razer Abyssus Mirror. This mouse is entirely based on another of Razer’s mouse, the Razer Abyssus. Keeping the main features of the latter, this newer mouse does, however, feature a high gloss mirror finish, which explains the “Mirror” part of its name. Products with glossy finishes are fairly popular nowadays. Many LCD monitors and notebooks follow this trend. Complementing these products with a glossy finished mouse was one of the reasons why Razer decided to go with such a design.
The Razer Abyssus Mirror has a simple and sleek design with only 3 buttons: the right button, the left button and the scroll button (including its wheel). The mouse itself is symmetric given the fact that it was designed to be ambidextrous, i.e. it can be used with either the right or left hand. Also, the Razer Abyssus Mirror has gamer-oriented features including an on-the-fly DPI switch, an on-the-fly polling rate switch and fully customizable buttons through software. Like many other Razer products, the Razer Abyssus features their signature Hyperresponse technology which maximises responsiveness and minimizes latency.
It is worth noting that the Razer Abyssus Mirror is made to be a be a straightforward and zero non-sense mouse, which puts this mouse on the same spectrum as the SteelSeries Kinzu (Vortez Hardware’s Review: Link). Because of that, the Razer Abyssus Mirror has a fairly modest price tag at €39.99 / US$49.99 (MSRP). Is this gaming mouse worth your money and time, or should you look elsewhere? The following review will explore such a question.
The Razer Abyssus Mirror
About Razer:
Razer collaborates with gamers to develop, manufacture and market cutting-edge gaming peripherals utilizing proprietary technologies that give gamers the competitive edge. We reinvented the computer gaming industry by bringing this competitive edge to gamers
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Headquartered in Carlsbad, California, Razer collaborates with gamers to develop, manufacture and market cutting-edge gaming peripherals utilizing proprietary technologies that give gamers the competitive edge. Razer products have earned critical praise and won multiple awards from around the world for their precision, sensitivity, usability and distinctions in product design. Engineered to near perfection, Razer’s reputation of being the leader in gaming peripheral technology is embodied in every single Razer product.
Razer – For Gamers. By Gamers™.
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Headquartered in Carlsbad, California, Razer collaborates with gamers to develop, manufacture and market cutting-edge gaming peripherals utilizing proprietary technologies that give gamers the competitive edge. Razer products have earned critical praise and won multiple awards from around the world for their precision, sensitivity, usability and distinctions in product design. Engineered to near perfection, Razer’s reputation of being the leader in gaming peripheral technology is embodied in every single Razer product.
Razer – For Gamers. By Gamers™.
Features and Specifications
Features: Link| The Razer Abyssus™ Mirror Special Edition is created for gamers looking for quality, reliability and performance in a no-nonsense, straightforward gaming-grade mouse. Designed to focus on the fundamentals of competitive gaming, the Razer Abyssus™ Mirror Special Edition is armed with ultra-responsive buttons tuned for maximum tactile feedback. With an uncompromising 3500dpi Razer Precision™ 3.5G infrared sensor at its core, take full control of your every aim with perfect tracking so you outgun your competition. 3500dpi Razer Precision™ 3.5G Infrared Sensor Whether you are making small, precise movements or fast, long range swipes; The Razer Abyssus™ Mirror Special Edition keeps up with your every movement without tracking loss. With no drift control, experience true freedom of movement that allows your exact mousing movements to be translated into in game kills. 3 Buttons Tuned For Ultra-Responsive Feedback The Razer Abyssus™ Mirror Special Edition features large tactile buttons tuned for rapid clicking that responds to your commands with instant response – so you are always a gunshot or spell ahead of your enemies. Hardware Toggles for DPI and Polling Rate Adapt to your game instantly with 2 toggle switches for 450/1800/3500dpi and 125/1000Hz polling rate adjustments without the need for any software drivers. |
Specifications: Link
| – High gloss mirror finish – 3500dpi Razer Precision™ 3.5G infrared sensor – 1000Hz Ultrapolling™ / 1ms response time – Mechanical dpi/polling rate switches – On-The-Fly Sensitivity™ adjustment – Always-On™ mode – Ultra-large buttons – 16-bit ultra-wide data path – 60-120 inches per second and 15g of acceleration – Three independently programmable Hyperesponse™ buttons – Ambidextrous design – Scroll wheel with 24 individual click positions – Zero-acoustic Ultraslick™ Teflon feet – Seven-foot, lightweight, non-tangle cord – Approx. size in mm: 115(L) x 63(W) x 40(H) System & Hardware Requirements PC with USB port Windows® 7 / Windows Vista® / Windows® XP Internet connection (for driver installation) At least 35MB of hard disk space |
Mirror Special Edition and Drift Control
The Razer Abyssus Mirror (and the Razer Abyssus) is one of the few Razer mice that have no drift control out of the box. Another mouse would be the Razer Imperator as well as the Razer DeathAdder after a firmware update. Drift control is basically a technology that corrects small movements as a straight line. This technology is mostly noticed at low sensitivity or when using the mouse under certain circumstances, such as image editing and drawing.In a gaming situation, drift control should more or less affect performance. According to Razer, drift control might incorrectly correct the mouse movement of a gamer. An example of when this might occur is when using a sniper rifle with the mouse’s sensitivity at low.
I would believe that the impact of drift control on gaming performance is small, however. Given the fact that the target is usually large on the screen (suppose the enemy’s head here) the gamer should still hit the target.
Still, on paper, no drift control does indeed give total freedom of movement to the gamer. Whether or not it translates to improved accuracy in real-world gaming is debatable.
Nevertheless, no drift control might be good or bad in circumstances other than gaming. The best example that comes into mind is image editing. Cropping or selecting an area of an image to the pixel can be tedious with drift control. Drift control might correct small mouse movements as a straight line when you didn’t want the cursor movement to be that way. In these cases, drift control can be detrimental to performance.
Drift Control Explanation by Razer: http://eu.razerzone.com/razer-abyssus-mirror
| Q: What is Drift Control and how does it affect accuracy? A:Drift control is a common prediction mechanism in mouse sensors that is designed to assist users in drawing straight lines vertically/horizontally in graphical and work applications. Such sensors predict when a straight line is being drawn and corrects any movement that deviates from that straight line, rather than follow the user’s exact movements. This means a downward swipe of 5 degrees can be corrected into a completely horizontal line, causing a gamer to miss his target. For absolute freedom of movement, the Razer Abyssus™ Mirror Special Edition is engineered with no drift control – giving gamers the ability to translate their exact mouse movements into in game frags without interference from prediction mechanisms that results in accuracy loss. |
Packaging and Contents
The Razer Abyssus Mirror comes in a stylish and attractive black paper box. Various colours are used, but the overall feel of the package is that this is one dangerous mouse. Indeed, without forgetting that it is on fire, the mouse with its glossy black finish shows that it means serious business. The top left of the package reminds us that this is the Mirror Special Edition of the Razer Abyssus. Again, the “Mirror” part of the name denotes the fact that the mouse has a glossy mirror finish. The top middle of the package says “essential ambidextrous gaming mouse”. This pretty much describes the product in a nutshell.The front of the packaging
At the back of the packaging, we see various information regarding the product itself, including its specifications (given in 14 languages), system and hardware requirements, and features (with handy footnotes describing specific regions of the mouse). The Razer Abyssus Mirror is compatible with Windows XP, Windows Vista and the latest Windows 7. It is good to know that the mouse will work on most Windows systems out of the box
The right and left side of the packaging gives further information on the product, including a general description of the product and explanations for the Razer Precision 3.5G infrared sensor, the buttons and the hardware switches.
The back of the packaging
The front of the packaging is covered by a lid that is held in place by a bit of Velcro. With the lid opened, we can see the Razer Abyssus Mirror in all its glory. This is a good packaging design to let potential buyers see the product. There is unfortunately not enough space to grip the mouse with your hand for testing purposes though.
On the back of the lid, we see an explanation of what an Abyssus is. In fact, the mouse was named after a venomous pit viper subspecies, the Crotalus Oreganus Abyssus, found only in the United States. The common name of this animal is the Grand Canyon Rattlesnake. In a nutshell, the Razer Abyssus Mirror is suppose to be a deadly mouse, especially in precision gaming.
The front of the packaging with the lid opened
Opening the box, we find that the Razer Abyssus Mirror is contained in a bright green poisonous box. Behind this box we can find an envelope that is folded in a complicated manner. This latter contains the manual and the other accessories of the mouse.
The box inside the other box
With everything taken out of the packaging, we find that the contents are the Razer Abyssus Mirror mouse, the user manual, the certificate of authenticity, a product description sheet, a quick start guide, a product catalogue and two stickers of the Razer logo.
The package contents
Overall Look: Razer Abyssus Mirror
The Razer Abyssus Mirror is a black gaming mouse with a high gloss finish. The finish is quite beautiful, but it is a pain to take pictures of and it is a fingerprint magnet. The finish is smooth to the touch but not slippery. Unfortunately, because of its smoothness, sweat residues can be felt with no trouble. Thankfully, the mouse’s surface is easily cleaned with a damp cloth.The mouse is wired and features a 7-feet long USB cable. Briefly, in terms of features, the Abyssus Mirror is an ambidextrous mouse, features 3 large non-slip buttons and has two mechanical switches to adjust the DPI setting and the polling rate.
An overall look at the Razer Abyssus Mirror
Being an ambidextrous mouse, the Abyssus Mirror has a symmetrical design. Its buttons are not separate from the overall chassis of the mouse. They are continuous and are fairly large. At the back of the mouse, we can see the Razer logo that will glow blue when powered. Notice that the Abyssus Mirror is slightly larger in width at the back than at the front. This allows the thumb and the fifth finger to grip comfortably the sides of the mouse, making both a fingertip grip and a palm grip possible.
A bird view of the Razer Abyssus Mirror
At the bottom of the mouse, we see that the Abyssus Mirror features three “zero-acoustic Ultraslick™ Teflon feet”. Marketing gimmicks aside, there are two small Teflon feet in front and a single large Teflon foot at the back. These feel like high-quality and glide immensely well on most surfaces, especially on a cloth mousepad. There is also a large sticker with pertinent information on the mouse, including the serial number, model number and product number. We can also see two mechanical switches shouldering the centered infrared sensor. These switches are for the DPI and the polling rate. The centered infrared sensor uses the company’s signature Razer Precision 3.5G infrared sensor. This sensor has a maximal sensitivity of 3500DPI.
The bottom view of the Razer Abyssus Mirror
At the front of the Abyssus Mirror, we can see that the USB cable is reinforced at its insertion to the mouse’s chassis to reduce tension. The mouse wheel is rubber-coated and provided a good grip for the index. There are also small ridges that provide tactile feedback. Notice that the left and right buttons are large and have a particular shape. These buttons resemble a wave or a ridge. The thumb and fourth finger can rest on the outer edge of this ridge and this enhances the fingers’ grip on the mouse. Also, the ridges themselves provide tactile feedback and help locate the fingers on the mouse without looking. They also help the index and the middle finger to grip the mouse.
The front of the Razer Abyssus Mirror
At the back of the mouse, we can see the Razer logo. Once more, this logo will faintly glow blue when the mouse is powered. Both the left side and the right side of the mouse have a gap between the mouse buttons and the bottom of the mouse’s chassis. Asides from letting the buttons to be depressed, these gaps provide tactile feedback for the tip of the thumb and the fifth finger, optimizing the grip of these fingers on the mouse.
the back of the Razer Abyssus Mirror
The left and the right side of the Abyssus Mirror are identical because this is an ambidextrous mouse. The back of the mouse is only slightly raised compared to the front. This low-profile design permits a comfortable fingertip grip of the mouse. Indeed, the fingers barely need to flex in order to grip the mouse properly.
Overall, we see that the Razer Abyssus Mirror was designed from the ground-up to accommodate a fingertip grip with a spot for each finger to comfortably grip the mouse.
The left side of the Razer Abyssus Mirror
The right side of the Razer Abyssus Mirror
Closer Look: Razer Abyssus Mirror
A closer shot of the front of the Razer Abyssus Mirror puts emphasis on the ridge of the buttons, the rubber coating of the scroll wheel and the reinforced insertion of the USB cable. Again, the outside edge of the buttons allows both the thumb and the fourth finger to rest upon it. As for the scroll wheel, it has tactile feedback with your typical thudding when scrolled.The ridge of the buttons, the scroll wheel and the cable
The bottom of the Abyssus Mirror has two mechanical switches shouldering the centered mouse sensor. The switch at the left sets two possible polling rates: 125 or 1000 Hz. The switch on the right sets three possible DPI settings: 450, 1800 or 3500 DPI. This mouse uses Razer’s infrared sensor, which emits no visible colour to the naked eye. As for power rating, the mouse requires 150 mA at 5V.
The mechanical polling rate and DPI switches of the Razer Abyssus Mirror
The Abyssus Mirror has a 7-feet (213cm) long USB cable. The cable itself is lightweight, thin and flexible compared to other USB cables I have come across. This is practical because the weight of the cable will not pull on the mouse, which might otherwise interfere with mouse’s movement. The cord is plastic-coated. Many other companies have begun wrapping their cables in a sort of fabric or mesh. The notable advantages of a fabric braided cable are lightweight, high flexibility and low friction against the table. I wonder if Razer will consider using fabric braided cables in the future because these cables work quite well (minus the dust that is easily seen covering these cables).
The 7-feet (213cm) long USB cable
Closer Look: Accessories
In terms of documentation, Razer has pampered the end-user:– a master guide: product information, installation, software and driver, other information (downloadable at Razer Support: User Manual)
– a quick start guide: product information, product usage and installation
– a product catalogue: Razer’s product line-up in colour
– a certificate of authenticity: certifying that you have bought a legitimate Razer product
Razer has also included two large stickers of the company’s logo. Because these stickers have a green border, I was half expecting them to glow in the dark, but they do not. Notice that no driver or software CD is included with this product. Customization of the mouse’s buttons is possible through software downloadable from Razer’s website (Razer Support: Driver and Software Download).
From centered-top and clockwise: two Razer logo stickers, the master guide, the quick start guide, the product catalogue and the certificate of authenticity
Centered: the product description sheet
Size Comparison with Other Mice
Because the Razer Abyssus Mirror was designed for fingertip grip, the mouse itself is smaller and shorter than a typical mouse with a palm grip design. I’d like to mention that although the Abyssus Mirror works best with a fingertip grip, a comfortable palm grip is also possible.This size difference becomes apparent when the Abyssus Mirror is compared to the much larger palm grip styled Logitech G7 mouse. The Razer Abyssus Mirror is still quite larger than a notebook grade mouse, such as the Dell 5-Button Bluetooth Travel Mouse.
From left to right: Dell 5-Button Bluetooth Travel Mouse, Razer Abyssus Mirror, Logitech G7
In terms of height, we see than the Abyssus Mirror is quite shorter than the Logitech G7. Its low-profile is, once again, explained by the fact that the mouse accommodates a fingertip grip. We see that the Razer mouse is only slightly taller than the Dell mouse.
From left to right: Dell 5-Button Bluetooth Travel Mouse, Razer Abyssus Mirror, Logitech G7
Driver and Software
The driver and software for the Razer Abyssus Mirror are not included with the retail mouse. Installation is optional and the driver/software can be downloaded from Razer’s website. The current version of the driver is 2.00 (released on 2010-05-14) and it only supports the English language. The driver comes in other languages, but the driver version is currently 1.00 (released on 2010-11-19).Razer Support: Driver and Software Download
Asides from the downloadable driver, the user manual (master guide) can also be downloaded from Razer’s website. It is currently offered in English or Japanese.
Razer Support: User Manual
The size of installation file of the driver is 6.37 MB. Installation is straight-forward and it will create four shortcuts in the star menu.
Start menu shortcuts: Enable Tray Icon, Load Customizer, Razer Abyssus Help and Razer Homepage
The setup will also launch the Tray Icon. This tray icon has various options and can launch the Customizer, the main part of the Razer software.
The contest menu of the Tray Icon
The Customizer has three main tabs: sensitivity, scroll wheel and buttons. The Update button leads to Razer Support’s website. In the Sensitivity tab, we can modify the sensitivity of the mouse (in the same manner as Motion under Mouse Properties of the Control Panel of Windows). The test area is quite amusing; double clicking this area will shatter the area as if it was glass with a bullet running through it.
The Sensitivity tab of the Customizer
On-the-fly sensitivity can be enabled and shown on-screen. A button will need to be assigned “On-The-Fly Sensitivity” under the Buttons tab. When said button is depressed, the scroll wheel can be scrolled upwards or downwards to modify the sensitivity accordingly. The on-screen scale will be shown in most games. It did not show under Counter-Strike 1.6, however.
The on-screen display of the sensitivity
The sensitivity can be further customized according to the x-axis and the y-axis. There is also a master control for the mouse acceleration and windows control.
Advanced sensitivity settings
In the Scroll Sheel tab, the scroll scroll wheel speed can be modified. The universal scrolling can be disabled or enabled.
The Scroll Wheel tab of the Customizer
In the Buttons tab, the orientation of the mouse can be made to accommodate the right or left hand (the button assignment of the right and left buttons will be exchanged). The right, left, scroll buttons can each be independently modified to other functions or they can be assigned specific macros.
These settings will be kept as long as the software is installed. In other words, modifications made through the software are kept on the local computer only because the mouse does not have any on-board memory. It would have been interesting if the software could export or import settings.
Even though there are only a handful of buttons to configure, it is unfortunate that there is no profile system in the software to make switching between previously configured button assignment or sensitivity settings quickly.
The Buttons tab of the Customizer
Each button can be assigned new functions
The scroll wheel movements can also be assigned new functions
Buttons may be assigned specific macros with or without delay (1 to 99999 milliseconds)
The Razer Abyssus Mirror driver requires two processes to run: razerhid.exe and razerofa.exe. Both of these processes are light on the system and consume only 6 MB of RAM.
The Razer Abyssus Mirror consumes about 6 MB of RAM
Test System and Testing Methodology
Software used:
– Mouse Rate Checker:Link
Games used:
– Neverwinter Nights 2: Link
– Unreal Tournament 2004: Link
Test Setup
– CPU: AMD Athlon X2 5000+ Black Edition @ 2.6 GHz 1.15V
– Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H 780G
– RAM: Corsair XMS2 TWIN2X4096-6400C5 PC2-6400 2x2GB
– Case: Antec NSK3480 mATX
– Power supply: Antec EarthWatts 380W
– CPU cooler: Noctua NH-U12P with Noctua NF-P12 @ 5V
– Case fan: Noctua NF-P12 @ 5V
– Hard drive 1: Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB
– Hard drive 2: Hitachi DeskStar T7K500 HDT725025VLAT80 250GB
– DVD Drive: LG GH22NS30 DVD Writer
– OS: Windows 7 Ultimate (x64)
– Mouse pad: QPAD|UC Large
– Monitor: Dell E207WFP 20” TN
Sample Rate
The sample rate or polling rate of a mouse is the number of time the cursor’s position is updated per second. By default, the sample rate for a USB device is 125 Hz or the cursor is updated every 8 ms by default in Windows. Some gamers advocate that a higher sample rate correlates with the higher overall responsiveness of a mouse. Sample rate becomes apparent in certain games such as Unreal Tournament, dubbed a twitch game where fast movements are a must.The Razer Abyssus Mirror attempts to please these gamers by having an on-the-fly polling rate switch at the bottom of the mouse. Two polling rates are selectable: 125 Hz or 1000 Hz. At a sample rate of 1000 Hz, the response time is a fast 1 ms. In other words, the mouse will be 8 times more responsive than at a sample rate of 125 Hz. Using Mouse Rate Checker (Download Mouse Rate Checker: Softpedia), it was confirmed that the polling rate was indeed adjusted with the hardware toggle.
Between sample rate adjustments, there is a delay of about 2 seconds when the Abyssus Mirror does not respond to movement. This can be problematic if you are planning to modify the polling rate during a game, but I suspect that most people will set the polling rate once and forget.
Mouse Rate Checher with the Razer Abyssus Mirror adjusted to 125 Hz sample rate or 8 ms response time
Mouse Rate Checher with the Razer Abyssus Mirror adjusted to 1000 Hz sample rate or 1 ms response time
Mouse Surfaces, Ergonomics and Usage
Mouse SurfacesThe Razer Abyssus Mirror was tested on various surfaces including a cloth mousepad (QPAD|UC Large), wood, granite, carpet and glass.
The mouse’s tracking worked perfectly fine on a cloth mousepad, wood, granite and carpet. The infrared sensor did not work at all on a glass surface, unfortunately.
The three Teflon mouse feet of the Razer Abyssus Mirror glided across each of these surfaces with ease except for the granite because of the latter’s grainy and rugged surface. The mouse feet of a mouse are essential to the overall quality of the mouse. I am glad that Razer did not skim on them and they provided quality Teflon feet.
Ergonomics, Grip and Buttons
There are three common ways to hold a mouse: the palm grip, the claw grip and the fingertip grip. Each of these grips has advantages and disadvantages in terms of comfort and overall control of the mouse’s movement. Palm grip is probably the most popular grip, mostly because it is highly comfortable even after long-term usage of the mouse. The claw grip provides great control over the mouse’s movement while sacrificing long-term comfort. The fingertip grip can be said to be a compromise between these two previously mentioned grips. In the fingertip grip, only the tip of the five fingers touches the mouse. Therefore, mouse movements are controlled by the fingers, giving a better control of the mouse. For more information on these grips, feel free to read Razer’s excellent explanation on this topic.
Razer’s Explanation of Mouse Grips: Frintertip Grip
As for the Razer Abyssus Mirror, the company designed this mouse to accommodate the fingertip grip, i.e. it is small and has a low-profile. Razer has done a very good job because each fingertip has a specific spot on the mouse where it can rest upon and grip the mouse comfortably and firmly.
Some users might find the mouse to be too light. The problem becomes more important because the Abyssus Mirror does not have a weight system. Personally, I found the weight of the mouse adequate for good movement control while using a fingertip grip.
Although the Abyssus Mirror works best with the fingertip grip, the palm grip is also possible and it is a comfortable grip style to use, especially in non-gaming situations. The claw grip is also possible, but it is very uncomfortable because the mouse is not long enough. Therefore, the pit of the hand will not touch the back of the mouse without unnaturally bending the fingers.
When the Abyssus Mirror is powered, the Razer logo will glow blue. This light is very faint and it will not blind the user nor will it be able to light up a room. Razer has done a good job on the intensity of the light.
The Razer Abyssus Mirror powered with the blue glowing Razer logo
Recall that the Razer Abyssus Mirror has three buttons. The left and right buttons are easily depressed. Both buttons give a very light clicking sound and smooth tactile feedback. The middle button also has the same noise and tactile feedback characteristics. The scroll wheel provides a good tactile feedback and a soft thudding sound. However, if the scroll wheel is spun upwards without lightly depressing the button, it will give you a loud clicking sound. This loud clunking sound moves away from the overall quality of the product and it honestly makes the scroll wheel sound cheaply made.
Gaming
Neverwinter Nights 2
From Atari’s Neverwinter Nights 2 website: Link
Neverwinter Nights 2 (NWN2) is a computer role-playing game set in the fantasy world of the Forgotten Realms, one of the popular campaign settings of Dungeons and Dragons. It takes the player from the tiniest of villages into a sweeping tale of danger and war, chronicling their rise from a peasant to a full-fledged hero of the Realms, defending it against one of the greatest threats of the age.
Neverwinter Nights 2, in a nutshell, is a role-playing game that is immersive and fun to play. Playing the game for many hours non-stop is my new hobby. Fast mouse movement is not necessary when playing this game, but a long-term comfort is primordial to keep the gaming experience pleasant.
When I played Neverwinter Nights 2, I adopted a palm grip that the Abyssus Mirror accommodated without problem. Comfort was maintained and control was not loss. Even after many hours of usage, I did not have any pain or aches in my right arm. The high gloss finish of the Abyssus Mirror was also quite welcomed. The smoothness of the finish was pleasant but it did not make the surface slippery. At times I found myself caressing the mouse.
Unreal Tournament 2004
From Epic Games’ Unreal Tournament 2004’s website: Link
Unreal Tournament 2004 is a multiplayer first person shooter that combines the kill-or-be-killed experience of gladiatorial combat with cutting-edge technology. Ten game modes – both team-based and “every man for himself” — provide even the most hardcore gamer with palm-sweating challenges through unbelievably detailed indoor arenas and vast outdoor environments. As the ultimate techno-gladiator of the future, players will take their fates into their hands, battling against up to 32 other players online in action-packed, frag-filled arenas.
Unreal Tournament 2004, like Quake, is your typical twitch game where you are required to move the cursor at furiously high speeds in various directions to stay in the game. The fingertip grip or the claw grip is a must for optimal gaming performance. The Razer Abyssus Mirror was very comfortable with the fingertip grip, but I noticed that I transitioned between the fingertip grip and the palm grip quite frequently. The Abyssus Mirror did not mind, however, and either grip felt natural.
Responsiveness of the mouse was excellent, and the 1000 Hz polling rate was highly welcomed. The DPI switch was more or less used by me. The main problem with the DPI switch is that it is at the bottom of the mouse, which makes DPI adjustment more or less convenient in a fast-paced game like Unreal Tournament 2004.
Normal Usage
In various non-gaming Windows applications, I adopted both a fingertip grip and a palm grip with the Razer Abyssus Mirror. Again, both grips were comfortable. I found that the absence of drift control in the Abyssus Mirror quite useful with image editing, such as when selecting an area of an image to the pixel. Normally, drift control would interfere with my precision cursor movements by wrongly correcting them as straight lines. The Razer Abyssus Mirror performed admirably in these situations, but I think a mechanical switch to enable or disable the drift control could have been a neat feature to have on the mouse.
The on-the-fly sensitivity control (after configuring with the software) was quite handy in situations such as image editing where small cursor movements were needed.
I am fond of ergonomic-type mouse with a design that specifically accommodates right or left handed users. Gripping these kinds of mice usually feel very natural. Before testing the mouse, I was sceptical about the overall comfort of the Razer Abyssus Mirror, considering my more or less good experience with ambidextrous mice (NZXT Avatar: Review at Vortez Hardware) . Nevertheless, the Abyssus Mirror exceeded my expectations by being one of the more comfortable and responsive ambidextrous mice I have used to date. Indeed, gripping the mouse felt very natural because of its low-profile. As such, the hand stayed in a neutral position with fingers only lightly flexed. I can now safely say that even ambidextrous mice can be ergonomic.
I did find, however, that because of its low-profile, the bottom of my palm would sometimes rub against my mouse pad. This was easily solved by having my thumb grip against the outside edge of the left button instead of gripping the bottom left side of the mouse.
Conclusion
The Razer Abyssus Mirror was designed to be a straight-forward and simple gaming mouse. Taking its roots from the original Abyssus, the newer Abyssus Mirror is a highly responsive mouse thanks to its excellent infrared sensor capable of sensing up-to 3500 DPI and its polling rate of up-to 1000 Hz. No drift control assures that all mouse movements are perfectly translated to the cursor movement, providing an optimal gaming and overall experience.Designed to be ambidextrous, the Abyssus Mirror excels in terms of comfort with its carefully placed ridges that provide adequate spots where fingertips may rest upon and tightly grip the mouse. Both palm grip and fingertip grips feel natural with this mouse. The high gloss mirror finish is an insane fingerprint magnet, but its smoothness provides a great feeling when holding the mouse and the surface is not slippery.
Tactile feedback and button clicking noise are just right with the exception of the scroll wheel when spun upwards, which will give off a loud clunking sound. Buttons are large and are easy to depress without fatiguing the hand.
The Razer logo lights up when the mouse is powered on. Its intensity is just enough and it adds to the overall look of the mouse that basically says “serious business”.
The cons of the Razer Abyssus Mirror include the more or less strategically placed DPI and polling rate switches, the absence of profiles, the clunky sounding scroll wheel, only 3 buttons and the price tag. The lack of extra buttons will disappoint some. Indeed, extra buttons can be convenient when assigned particular macros for both gaming or normal usage. The price tag is probably the largest shortcoming of the Razer Abyssus Mirror.
Marketed a zero non-sense mouse with the essential gaming features, the Razer Abyssus Mirror should have had a lower price tag. Albeit a MSRP of €39.99/US$49.99 is similar to its competitors, such as the SteelSeries Kinzu (Vortez Hardware’s Review: Link) and the Microsoft SideWinder X3 (Microsoft: Link), the older but still popular Logitech MX518 optical gaming mouse (Logitech: Link) can be had for the same price. Because of that, the Razer Abyssus Mirror should be on your shortlist if you’re planning to purchase the mouse at regular price. Fortunately, in online retailers, the Razer Abyssus Mirror can be found online for as low as CAD$33, in Canada, (Original) (PriceCanada: Link) or £31.57, in Europe, (Mirror) (cclonline.com: Link). At this price, the mouse becomes much more attractive and it becomes a good purchase.
The Razer Abyssus Mirror Special Edition Gaming Mouse
Pros
+ 2 year warranty after product registration
+ Adjustable DPI and polling rate without software
+ Customizable buttons and sensitivity (with on-the-fly sensitivity adjustment) through software
+ High gloss mirror finish is smooth, non-slip and easy to clean
+ Highly responsive thanks to high DPI sensitivity and polling rate
+ Large buttons and scroll wheel with good tactile feedback
+ Long and lightweight 7-feet USB cable
+ Long-term comfort with both palm grip and fingertip grip
+ No drift control
+ Powered-on light is just the right intensity
+ Quality documentation (and stickers!) with no wasteful driver CD
+ Smooth surface gliding thanks to the three quality Teflon feet
Cons
– Clunky and cheap sounding scroll wheel
– Excessive packaging material
– High gloss mirror finish is easy to dirty (but easy to clean also)
– Lack of profiles in both software and hardware
– Only 3 buttons
– Price tag leaves more to be desired
The Razer Abyssus Mirror Special Edition mouse deserves the Vortez Hardware Gold Award
We would like to again thank Razer for providing us with this sample. To discuss this article or product, please visit our forums
