Razer Mamba Dual Sensor 4G

The Razer Mamba Dual Sensor 4G offers the latest in wireless mouse technology with style, ensuring a response time that is equal to a wired high end gaming mouse.

Introduction

Razer has been creating high end gaming mice since the mid 90’s and is gaining a lot of momentum. Gamers have always wanted a wireless mouse that can respond as fast as the wired counterpart. Razer has introduced the Mamba Dual Sensor 4G. This product has finally broken through the barrier and can respond at 1 millisecond wired or wirelessly. It is available now for $130 and is a huge improvement over the last wireless version. Read on to find out more of the details.

Features & Specifications

This is not the first iteration of the Razer Mamba. The previous version has been fully upgraded in almost every aspect. The Mamba’s form factor is almost identical to the popular Razer Death Adder, which many find very comfortable for all sizes of hands. The mouse is a little bit more weighty due to its rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack; however, considering its sensitivity, this is a good thing. The mouse weighs in at 138 grams, just shy of 5 ounces. 

Gaming Grade Wireless Technology 

Gaming grade wireless technology is what gives the Mamba the ability to go from corded to wireless mode:  both modes providing a 1 millisecond response time with ultrapolling up to 1000Hz. Dimensions: 128mm x 70mm x 42.5mm. w  ffg

4G Dual Sensor System at 6400 DPI (up to 200 inches per second)

Outfitted with a laser and an optical sensor to accurately calibrate the mouse to any surface, the Mamba can not only match the speed of your swipes, but also the configuration of cutoff distance (to manage liftoff tracking). 

Improved Battery Life and Charging Dock

The Razer Mamba has 15% more battery life than its predecessor, letting you game unwired for longer. To recharge, the Mamba slips onto the charging dock which also acts as the wireless receiver unit. Battery life is about 16 hours.  

Razer Synapse Onboard Memory

With its upgraded Razer Synapse onboard memory, the Razer Mamba enables you to store more profiles and longer macro strings on the mouse without the need for software (after initial configuration).

Multi-Color Lighting

With the new multicolored LED that has over 16 million colors, customize the thumbwheel’s pulsating glow to suit your personal style or mood. A unique color spectrum cycling option is also available. uniqu

Pictures & Impressions

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Razer has always delivered in the appearance department. The mouse itself came on its own pedestal, with all the accessories and manuals sorted in a very neat fashion (each component in its own respective mini-box or folder).

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The small folder’s contents include: the user’s manual (in multi-language), the quick start hardware installation guide, the certificate of authenticity, and of course the customary triple-headed Razer Logo Decal. The three smaller boxes under the mouse pedestal provide access to the accessories: a battery cover and special 3.7 volt rechargeable lithium-ion battery, the recharging dock/pedestal, and a gold plated USB cord which serves the dual purpose of not only powering the base, but also of providing backup power to the mouse (useful in the event the battery runs low during a gaming session).

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Left lateral pictures lend details such as a firm rubberized thumb grip under the forward and back buttons; on the right picture towards the top edge of the mouse is the buttons for changing the DPI on the fly (and control for finer adjustments set up in custom profiles for these buttons). Accompanied with the DPI switches on the front bottom the mouse is where three small leds are present which not only indicate battery charge, but also DPI status.

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The mouse wheel is slightly oversized and is well textured with rubber. It spins very easily yet still clicks softly when spun. The right lateral side also has the same rubber grip on as on the thumb side. The wheel can be set to glow any color and even cycle through colors.

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The body of the Mamba has a high arch for the middle of the palm to rest on, all coated in the same type of rubber material that seems resistant to sweat and oils naturally produced by the skin. On the right is a detailed view of the dual sensors with the optical sensor offset from the center and the laser sensor (orange) in the standard location. The power switch is also located on the bottom, as well as the pairing button and a spring loaded locking mechanism for the USB plug.

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The other end of the braided USB cable has a special plug that slips and locks tight right underneath the wheel; once it is locked in place there is no chance of it slipping out accidentally. A nice touch is that the center sensor also has a special ring surrounding it made of the same material as the ultra-slick mouse feet.

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One of the most prominent features on the base is the pulsating and cycling color glow that emanates from bottom of the mouse — the mouse wheel even syncs up the color cycling with the base for a very futuristic glowing effect.

Drivers

The Razer Mamba does not include a CD or any software; the only requirement is the drivers provided on the Razer website to customize the mouse (they are not needed for basic operation or once the mouse is set up with the custom preferences). The driver screens are more streamlined than previous versions of Razer’s software, making the experience of setup rather quick and easy. Driver and firmware versions are clearly labeled at the bottom of each screen.

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WWhen the default Windows 5-button layout just isn’t enough, this is the go-to screen. The DPI sensitivity buttons are considered the 6th and 7th button on this mouse, and those are also configurable. On the tweaking performance screen DPI sensitivity may be set globally across all profiles or per profile. Ultrapolling sensitivity may also be set here and can be cranked up to 1000Hz. Finer adjustments may be made from the submenus listed below on this screen.

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A really great feature is that each profile can not only be setup with different stages of sensitivity controlled by the DPI switches, but the number of stages per profile (1-5) can also be configured. This alone gets a nod towards flexibility and innovation. The auto surface calibration and lift-off range features may also be toggled here. We recommend keeping Surface Calibration on unless the surface is multicolored.

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The profiling manager is where preferences are saved onto the synapse chip and more specifically, if a profile should be auto-activated upon program specific execution. We advise keeping the profile list to a minimum if possible, since each profile takes 6 seconds to load and save to the Mamba wirelessly. Complex macro chains may also be set and saved accordingly, to aid in maddening keyboard mashing games where long strings of input key strokes combined with timing is essential.

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When Razer introduces a new product from the elite line, it’s usually done with an appropriate amount of class and flair — the Mamba 4G is no exception. The lighting and power section allows user to control the intensity of the mouse wheel light as well as selecting any color. A full color spectrum of pulsating light that syncs up with the base is also an attractive feature. Power savings may be controlled by adjusting how long the mouse stays awake before going into sleep mode (monitored by a green status light on the side). 

Testing & Methodology 

A higher end system is being used for testing to ensure the 1000MHz polling can be utilized; some older motherboards sometimes have issues with this due to USB port configuration (this can introduce artificial lag into an application or game making the mouse feel unresponsive). Listed below is the relevant testing gear specifications: 

Applications and games were rigorously tested over a 3 week period to get an overall feel for the Mamba’s performance. The software tested was intended to give a maximum in variation (of movement) to the duties the mouse may perform: from precision work; to hyper-reflexive aiming; to skilled firing on all buttons. Here is the list of applications used: 

Surfaces tested was basically all the mouse pad types available:  steel series, standard cloth, rubberized gel (with cloth over it), hard textured plastic, smooth textured plastic, and aluminum with a sandblasted surface. Glass, mirrors, and other fabrics were also tested; however, in most scenarios these surfaces are far from ideal for any serious use.

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Results

The tracking on the Mamba 4G is second to none and performed rock solid once set up to more accessible settings. The default setting of a 5 staged DPI was a little over the top. Yes, the Mamba can do a staggering 6400 dpi sensitivity, but for all practical purposes, this is more than likely twice as sensitive than the average hyper-responsive gamer can handle. The staging set up for the main profile was set to 3 stages: 1000, 2000, and 4000dpi, mostly using the 2000dpi. To toggle between the 3 stages the main dpi profiling buttons were left at their default functions for this purpose.

Whether the Mamba was plugged in with USB cord or being used wirelessly, there was (unbelievably) no discernable difference in response time at all. What it all ultimately boiled down to was the preference on mouse surface. All the surfaces tested worked well; however, the Mamba just seemed more precise with a hard flat surface for it to move around on as opposed to a fabric coated one. The one surface that seemed to work best was one with smooth and rigid properties, such as the sandblasted aluminum. The automatic surface calibration tool appeared to work great on all of these surfaces (it can also be toggled off in the drivers). The Mamba’s sensor can get confused if switching surfaces when the mouse is coming out of sleep mode.

Anyone who has ever used Adobe Photoshop can attest to how important the mouse is, very similar to the personal tools of an artist. After many weeks of testing with the dpi set to 2000 (for standard viewing) and 1000 (for zoomed mode) there is no evidence of mouse waver or quiver what so ever. Crysis 2 and Deus Ex: HR both felt tight, but after cranking up the dpi to 4000, everything was buttery smooth. Of course user experience may vary with these games due to the high-end hardware requirements.

We also torture-tested the Mamba on Hellgate London, an older game that requires fast-paced and precise mouse usage. The side buttons worked excellently and sprang firmly back into place fast enough to get ready for the next action; the top buttons worked equally well with only an occasional misfire with the right mouse button (the misfires eventually stopped after we got used to the mouse).

Users should note that the mouse goes into sleep mode after a minute of non-use. This does create about a 0.25 second lag time for it to power back up and reconnect to the base. This isn’t really a problem and is expected for the mouse to be able to save power, but it’s just an adjustment that may be hard to get used to.

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Experiences with the charging of the Mamba appears to be a mixed ordeal. The battery life is rated at 16 hours, and the mouse does stay charged for 14-15 hours (though even a 16 hour battery life is somewhat short for a gaming mouse). However, to properly charge the Mamba, the mouse has to be shut off and then placed on the base after the system is in sleep mode. Attempts to go into sleep mode by placing the mouse on the base without turning it off first results in the system immediately booting back up. As it was, the test rig was often found mysteriously powered up the next day with the base light flashing. The real issue is that is very difficult to slide the power switch on the bottom of the mouse to the off position without hitting any of the buttons and bringing the system out of sleep.

Conclusion

Razer delivers on the performance and it is pleasing to feel the response time wirelessly with absolutely no lag. Being on the cutting edge, however, does come at a price of a $130. As far as the quality of the Razer Mamba, the mouse feels weighty and solid and is easily gripped with it’s smooth rubberized coating. The features have been refined and the driver set more streamlined than Razer’s previous versions, but not without some issues concerning OS sleep modes and charging. We hope these issues are addressed in future firmware upgrades. However, as they are now, they make usage inconvenient.