Pros
Awesome Chroma lighting
Top notch construct high quality
Ambidextrous
Great monitoring
Cons
Slightly costly
Awkward to carry and transfer
Annoying button placement
Key Specifications
Review Price: £79.99
16,000 DPI 5G sensor
1,000Hz ultrapolling charge
50g acceleration
Ambidexterous design
Chrome lighting
2.1mm (7ft) braided fibre cable
89g (with out cable)
What is the Razer Diamondback 2015?
Razer has been making peripherals for 17 years, and a spotlight of that lifespan was 2004’s Razer Diamondback gaming mouse. Beloved by avid gamers – skilled and novice alike – the Diamondback is fondly remembered as considered one of Razer’s early large wins. Enter, the Razer Diamondback 2015. The new Diamondback, introduced late final 12 months, is positioned as a high-end, ambidextrous mouse, similar to its forebear. But does this daring successor instil that very same pleasure in its customers as the unique did over a decade in the past? I’ve spent just a few weeks utilizing the Razer Diamondback to seek out out whether or not this oddball mouse nonetheless holds up in 2016.Related: Best gaming mouse 2016
Razer Diamondback 2015 – Design & Ergonomics
The Razer Diamondback 2015 arrives in Razer’s usually engaging black-and-green boxing, and unpacks with ease. This is a straightforward, wired mouse, so getting it desk-ready takes a matter of seconds.
Win the Razer Diamondback: plus different Razer peripherals in our competitors. At a look, the Diamondback seems like your traditional Razer fare; it’s darkish, good-looking, and glows. The supplies feel and look high-end, and the it has a sure heft within the hand that you simply don’t get from a regular desk mouse. But then you definately discover one thing: this factor is significantly skinny. The Diamondback sports activities an extended, svelte chassis, the kind that’s seldom seen within the trendy age of gaming mice. I’ve in contrast mice to chocolate bars in earlier critiques as a weight reference, however that is the primary machine to truly nab a Dairy Milk’s precise type issue. This elongated, symmetrical design is partly to the top of creating the machine ambidextrous, nevertheless it’s additionally paying homage to the unique 2004 mannequin – and therein lies the issue.
My primary concern with the Razer Diamondback is a direct results of the mouse’s ambidextrous design. In attempting to please everybody, Razer will disappoint most. While the Diamondback may work as a really area of interest decide for a mouse that’s utilized by a number of customers, or a participant who prefers to work with each arms, it’s onerous to suggest for a lone righty or lefty. The awkward ergonomics of the mouse additionally imply that, regardless of the high-end sensor, positioning the machine in twitch moments may be awkward. It’s apparent that mouse design has come a good distance since 2004, and the Diamondback was somewhat quirky even then. The button symmetry – two on both facet – implies that two buttons are all the time too awkwardly positioned to make use of, and grow to be ineffective. The absence of curves additionally means there’s no good strategy to grip onto the Diamondback’s frustratingly angular physique. I sit right here, desperately clutching onto Razer’s jagged mouse, my ring and pinky fingers dragging lifelessly throughout the mousemat, eager for extra modern design. I decide it up every day and suppose: “Oh, not this thing again…”Related: Best PC Games 2016
Razer Diamondback 2015 – Features
This mouse in a minimalist affair, so options are few and much between. There are a complete of seven programmable ‘Hyperesponse’ buttons, all of which may be set to do no matter you want. Note that these embrace the left- and right-clickers, and the textured scroll wheel. Interestingly, Razer has eschewed DPI switchers on the Diamondback, which appears odd contemplating the ludicrously excessive 16,000 DPI sensor. It’s additionally a disgrace, contemplating the Diamondback’s historic eSports background. Perhaps the most effective function – as is commonly the case with Razer merchandise – is the Chroma lighting, a buzzphrase that didn’t exist again in 2004. It’s Razer’s in-house lighting expertise that permits you to customise the best way your mouse glows. Chroma all the time seems good, nevertheless it seems completely phenomenal on the brand new Diamondback. Straight out of the field, the Razer Diamondback is a-glow with the entire colors of the rainbow, biking easily across the high rim of the mouse. The scroll wheel additionally lights up, for good measure. Honestly, you may purchase this factor simply to make use of as an decoration – or a lightweight fixture to your subsequent basement rave.Related: Best Gaming Headset 2016
Razer Diamondback 2015 – Software
There’s little that must be stated about Razer Synapse in 2016; Razer’s peripheral software program has been tried, examined, and acclaimed. Synapse, which works with Razer’s whole vary of peripherals, offers you full management over how your mouse performs. Part of that features customising Chroma lighting, together with synchronising the glow with different units (like a keyboard). The Razer Synapse suite additionally offers you entry to extra highly effective instruments nonetheless, like establishing gaming profiles, altering DPI (learn: sensitivity) values, creating button macros, and modifying the polling charge. As all the time, you possibly can assign profiles to particular video games too. That means the Razer Diamondback will routinely select sure settings primarily based on whether or not you’re taking part in Star Wars: Battlefront or Starcraft 2. The solely actual prickle with Synapse is that it’s cloud-based, so there’s no bodily storage on the mouse. That stated, logging in at a good friend’s home is straightforward sufficient, so don’t let this put you off. Overall, the software program is nearly as good at the moment because it ever was, and the Razer Diamondback suits comfortable into the Synapse fold.
Related: PS4 vs Xbox One
Razer Diamondback 2015 – Performance
While the design is perhaps iffy, Razer has but once more nailed the efficiency. The Razer Diamondback comes geared up with the corporate’s 5G sensor, which has a top-end DPI of 16,000. That may sound unfathomable to you or I, however a well-trained gamer with a 4K/UHD monitor might most likely make good with that type of sensitivity. Honestly, most customers will find yourself operating sub-5,000, however Razer desires to focus on as many avid gamers as doable with its vast DPI vary. Other perks embrace the 50g acceleration – that’s 210 inches per second – and the 1,000Hz ‘ultrapolling’. That form of polling charge (what number of instances per second the mouse pings the pc) is properly above the 500Hz benchmark that’s appropriate for professional gaming, nevertheless it’s a vendor for individuals who need maxed-out rigs.Related: Best Games 2016
Razer Diamondback 2015 – What video games work greatest with this mouse?
So what’s the Razer Diamondback really good for? With its lack of usable buttons, you need to most likely keep away from hotkey-heavy MMORPGs – strive the Razer Naga as an alternative. In idea, the Diamondback ought to work properly for sport genres that historically have a low variety of controls; suppose MOBAs, first-person shooters, and motion RPGs. In actuality, nonetheless, the Diamondback was an utter ache to make use of on Counter Strike and League of Legends. Both depend on correct cursor placement, which was troublesome with the Diamondback’s awkward design. The skinny, gentle physique made it extremely troublesome to grasp twitchy mechanics, negating a lot of the 5G sensor’s correct monitoring. If you’re taking part in casually, and also you don’t rely of pinpoint cursor accuracy, the Diamondback is okay for many gaming. But when you’re a aggressive multiplayer gamer, there’s a prolonged studying curve right here that’s nearly actually not value it. Heck, I used it for 3 weeks and I’m nonetheless not having enjoyable with this mouse.Related: Best Gaming Laptops 2016
Should I purchase the Razer Diamondback 2015?
The Razer Diamondback is a typically competent mouse that has a really spectacular roster of elements. Unfortunately, the inescapable drawback with the Razer Diamondback is its awkward design. Razer’s success with the mouse in 2004 was partly right down to an absence of fine competitors, however 2016 is rife with formidable contenders. The indisputable fact that none of Razer’s different mice appear to be the Diamondback is testomony to its dodgy ergonomics. As such, we’d suggest options just like the Razer Deathadder Chroma, or the Logitech G303 Daedalus Apex, each of that are barely cheaper than the Diamondback. And for a similar value, Razer’s Mamba Tournament Edition is a greater purchase. The authentic Razer Diamondback departed in 2007. It ought to have remained dignified in loss of life, slightly than being reborn within the form of this oddball Frankenmouse.
Verdict
The Razer Diamondback has attractive lighting and more-than-capable innards, however clumsy and outdated design makes this mouse robust to suggest.