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After my wireless mouse finally stopped charging anything and the temporary £5 replacement mouse was just terrible, I decided to take a look at the Razer DeathAdder Chroma.

I went with Razer since they are generally a brand that's well known and known for reasonably good hardware. Luckily on Linux, we don't have to deal with their terrible software (I've seen first-hand how terrible their Windows software can be).

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I suffer from a permanent injury in my main hand/wrist, which hurts the longer I use a mouse, but surprisingly the DeathAdder Chroma is incredibly comfy. One of the features is "Ergonomic Shape" and they certainly aren't lying about it. It's been a real pleasure to use for both work and play and really does the job perfectly. This has been the longest my hand hasn't been annoyingly painful after prolonged mouse-use in years.

It fits the hand well and the material doesn't feel cheap. Many mice have awful solid and cold basic plastic, whereas the DeathAdder Chroma has a slightly rough feeling to it which also gives it a good bit of grip in your hand for the more intense gaming sessions. The rubber side grips also help dramatically with this, it gives me a real feeling of actual control over it.

It doesn't come with hundreds of useless buttons attached to it to give it some ridiculous "MMO" or "gamer" label, but it does have two extra buttons on the side. Personally, I find those two extra buttons extremely useful for web browsing as forwards/backwards buttons, and as handy extras in online FPS games for things like throwing a grenade. Their button placement for the extra side buttons is right on the mark too, ample room to rest your thumb with minimal movement needed to access the extra buttons.

It has a 10,000dpi optical sensor, which is incredibly smooth and precise. I've tried it on a number of different surfaces and it's had no issues at all. A problem I had with my last two mice in FPS games was where the sensor seemed to bounce off tiny crumbs, dust and whatever else my desk had on it, making my aim all over the place. My testing with the Razer DeathAdder Chroma shows just how good the sensor is, with crazy accuracy and no random twitches.

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While I'm not really fussed about the lighting on the mouse wheel and the back of the mouse, it's still a nice touch and it is perfectly configurable on Linux. With thanks to the 'razercfg' tool, adjusting colours, DPI and more is incredibly easy. I used the Arch AUR-git package and it made the setup a breeze, I just had to enable it afterwards with systemd without issues.

An absolute world of difference compared to the various mice I've had before. I highly recommend it. Mine was on sale too in a local store, so double win there. Well worth the money in my books. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Tags: Hardware, Review
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About the author -
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I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly came back to check on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly. Find me on Mastodon.
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46 comments
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AnachronyX May 4, 2017
"I suffer from a permanent injury in my main hand/wrist, which hurts the longer I use a mouse..."

Maybe you could try a trackball. It helps a lot.
Aryvandaar May 4, 2017
I live and die with Logitech G700S.
Sslaxx May 4, 2017
Nice mice suggestions, but are there any good cheap mice around?
Guest May 4, 2017
Quoting: SslaxxNice mice suggestions, but are there any good cheap mice around?

You're gonna have to define "cheap". Roccat has a few $40-50 mice. That sounds dirt cheap to me.
WorMzy May 4, 2017
I'll add my voice to the chorus of complaints about build quality -- I've had a number of Razer devices over the years, and they all developed faults (usually with the scroll wheels) over the course of a year or so. I'd recommend avoiding them and going with roccat instead (at least, for devices supported by the no-longer developed Linux configuration tool).
Kimyrielle May 4, 2017
I have a Razer Naga for about 4 years now (I disagree on the MMO buttons being useless btw. - I couldn't imagine playing a MMO without them anymore, or really any game that needs the number keys). I never had any issues with the mouse, and I'd probably buy from Razer again. Btw. even on Windows you don't need their software if you can live with the buttons assigned to standard keys. The MMO buttons are liked to the 1-9,0,-,= keys, which in 99% of the time is what you want anyway.


Last edited by Kimyrielle on 4 May 2017 at 4:35 pm UTC
rick01457 May 4, 2017
I've got a naga (my second) and couldn't do without the numpad anymore. I play too much wow to stop using it.
Pro-tip Liam. Turn that light off. It generates heat and will make the palm of your hand sweat after long term use.
Samsai May 4, 2017
You are all such fancy pants with your ultra c00l gamer gear. The path to glorious frags is paved with many broken cheapo mice and modesty!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/4g1ucyhw4487rhw/2017-05-04%2021.07.54.jpg?dl=0


Last edited by Samsai on 4 May 2017 at 6:12 pm UTC
Philadelphus May 4, 2017
Congrats on getting something that doesn't hurt your wrist Liam, that's important in a mouse!

Quoting: rudzhaYou did some research before your purchase, right?
I'm looking for a new Linux "gaming" mouse, because my Saitek/Mad Catz R.A.T. 7 is falling apart.
Can you suggest any other brands and mice that work well with Linux and/or have Linux support?
My Logitech G502 Proteus Core's served me well for a few years now. I think it has some Windows-specific software or something, but I've never tried it, and never had any problems with using it on Linux.
hallieballie May 4, 2017
Still use my Razer Diamondback (red) from 2004.

Max 1600 dpi, do not need more.

Have a Wolf Claw II keyboard, perfect combination


Last edited by hallieballie on 4 May 2017 at 6:44 pm UTC
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