Do you want a $100 mousepad? Of course you don’t. No one does. Not even these with “pro esports” aspirations. And if that’s all you wanted out of this evaluation, you’ll be able to go forward and shut the tab now. But do you need a $100 mousepad, one which’s large and premium and greater than a little bit extreme? If the reply is sure, and naturally, if in case you have 100 bucks to blow, the Razer Atlas would possibly as properly be what you blow it on.
As I stated in my initial post, the Atlas is a $100 piece of tempered glass. It’s bombastic, it’s ridiculous, it’s an train in gamer extra. But it does work. And not like a few of Razer’s different choices (just like the original RGB mousepad), it really provides some performance…assuming you’re the form of gamer who can justify a mousepad the scale of a sewer manhole cowl.
Expert’s Rating
Pros
- Big
- Super-fast monitoring
- Competitive value
Cons
- Possibly too large?
- Requires cleansing usually
Our Verdict
Razer’s glass mousepad is large and daring, however it’s extra practical for the obsessive PC gamer than earlier LED-laden designs. It’s additionally surprisingly aggressive on this very area of interest house.
Price When Reviewed
$99.99
Best Prices Today: Razer Atlas glass mousepad
$99.00
$99.99
And although it’s 100 American dollars, it’s not my place to evaluate anybody on their purchases. (Seriously, my extra business-like, “grown-up” desk mat is barely any more restrained in purely financial phrases.) And in comparison with the very small area of competitors, the titanic price ticket of the Atlas is, if not affordable, at the least aggressive.
What’s completely different a few glass mouse pad?
If you’ve ever sat your laptop computer and journey mouse down on a resort glass desk, solely to search out the latter ineffective, you’re most likely questioning what the deal is. In brief, sure, the Atlas actually is product of glass, and sure, it actually works as a mousepad. And not only for super-fancy gamer mice, or one thing with the superior, multi-surface laser monitoring of a $100 “work” mouse. I attempted it with a Logitech Pebble, about as primary as they arrive, and it labored fantastic.
Michael Crider/Foundry
What’s the key? Well, there’s glass and there’s glass. In addition to the rubber backing that retains the heavy Atlas in place in your desk, there’s a slight coloration to the glass and a form of frosting on the floor that retains it from being clear. This comes from a tiny .0002-millimeter etching sample designed particularly for optical sensors. So sure, briefly, it’ll work simply in addition to any fabric mousepad, for any mouse you’d care to throw at it.
Only don’t really throw a mouse at it. As the insert within the packaging is fast to level out, it is glass. So regardless that it’s tempered, and must be at the least as sturdy because the window of a automotive, you continue to wish to train a little bit warning. Razer says by no means to put the Atlas on surfaces the place it could stick out or protrude, don’t place it on an uneven floor the place any nook isn’t touching, don’t place unusually heavy issues on its floor (like, say, that 128-oz Yeti thermos?), and don’t stick something too scorching or chilly on it.
Michael Crider/Foundry
That’s a little bit extra care than a traditional mousepad wants. And as a result of it’s so strong, it’ll sometimes have to be cleaned with a moist fabric (no cleaning soap or cleansing brokers) to deal with mud and pores and skin oils. I discovered myself cleansing it usually after a protracted day of utilizing my desktop for work.
Oh, and this is perhaps form of apparent, however don’t strike the Atlas with something. Like a closed fist or a thrown controller. Overly demonstrative players would possibly need one thing that’s rather less high-maintenance.
You’re gonna want an even bigger desk
In mythology, Atlas is a Titan who holds up the sky and the heavens. It’s an applicable title for this factor. 17.72 x 15.75 inches (450 x 400 mm) doesn’t sound too large, till you’re holding almost 70 ounces of glass in your hand and clearing away that a lot house in your desk. Space the place, for the sake of the upkeep talked about above, you’ll be able to’t place something however your mouse.
The level of all this glass is that it takes hardly any effort in any respect to maneuver your mouse.
As somebody who prefers huge mats that go beneath my keyboard and each arms directly, I’m no stranger to large mousepads, and my triple-monitor desk is huge. But even I used to be struggling to search out house for this factor on the Y axis of my desk, as a result of I’ve usually acquired a drink or some paperwork up there. I form of assume Razer would possibly wish to contemplate a smaller model of the Atlas — the Atlantide, maybe? — for these with out limitless actual property.
Michael Crider/Foundry
Of course, that will form of defeat the purpose. And the purpose of all this glass is that it takes hardly any effort in any respect to maneuver your mouse. My private Razer Naga Pro is an enormous, beefy, wi-fi gaming mouse made even heavier with interchangeable aspect buttons, however the factor virtually flies off the sting of the Atlas with a easy faucet. It takes some getting used to, particularly in case you’re accustomed to one thing with increased friction for extra precision.
Frankly, it’s much more motion than I would like in my normal shooter or motion recreation. Since I don’t play MOBAs, I booted up Ye Olde Starcraft II to check out a few marketing campaign missions, and certainly, discovered that I by no means wanted to elevate the mouse off the mat to be able to reposition it, one thing I’ve grown unconsciously accustomed to as my monitor setup has grown expansive and costly.
Is the Razer Atlas well worth the cash?
As I touched on earlier, 100 bucks for a mousepad is lots in anyone’s cash. But very very like the BlackShark V2 Pro, I used to be shocked to search out that Razer is definitely making an effort to be aggressive with its newest pricing, at the least among the many admittedly less-than-frugal class of high-end PC gaming gear.
There are different glass mousepads in the marketplace, likewise aimed on the esports crowd. While I can’t communicate to the standard of the SkyPad or the Pulsar Super Pad, it’s both comparable or higher in value, relying on what measurement you decide.
Michael Crider/Foundry
So yeah, whereas a tempered glass mousepad is perhaps a ridiculous extra for anybody who doesn’t receives a commission to play video video games, a Razer-branded tempered glass mousepad isn’t extreme to a larger diploma than that alternative.
So in case you actually, actually desire a Razer Atlas, go for it. Just be sure you have the house, each in your desk and in your finances. The remainder of us could make do with much less vainglorious supplies…or possibly simply await a smaller model.