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Razer Viper Ambidextrous Wired Gaming Mouse review: Lightweight but powerful

Name: Razer Viper Ambidextrous Gaming Mouse
Brand: Razer

Alex Kidman

Last updated: 5 February 2020

Razer's first mouse with optical switches impresses with speed and accuracy that puts it up there with the very best, but it's absolutely a mouse that some gamers will love while others will loathe its lack of overall mass.

The good

Optical switches provide speed and durability
Flexible cable gives it room to move
8 programmable buttons
Almost ridiculously light

The bad

Driver install requires a Razer login
Light weight may feel odd to gamers used to heftier mice
Relatively sedate on the RGB front

Many high-end gaming mice make a virtue of their mass, and in some cases their variable configurable mass. The Razer Viper Ambidextrous Wired Gaming Mouse goes in the absolute opposite direction, with a total mass of just 69 grams. It's astonishingly light for a pro gaming mouse, but that's an approach that will essentially define whether you think this is a great mouse, or an annoying one.

Design

Insanely light
8 programmable buttons
Ambidextrous design
Just the one RGB section
Soft, snag-free cabling

The essential design of the Razer Viper at first glance doesn't seem that extraordinary. There are none of the jutting, insect-like edges you find on some gaming mice, or for that matter heavy adornment of glowing RGB sections. All you get on that score is an RGB Razer logo, which is pretty much the dead minimum I'd expect out of any Razer product.
Pick the Razer Viper up or move it around, and everything changes. When I first took it out of the packaging, I openly wondered if the cable was detachable, because the light weight of the Viper suggested to me that it might need batteries inserted into it to get it to a serviceable weight.
It's not wireless (I mean, it's right there in the name and all), but it is astonishingly light at just 69 grams in total. That makes it very easy to sweep around your desk at will, but I can very much see that some gamers may find its lack of resistance tough to get used to. I'm very much a fan, but it's going to be divisive without doubt.
The design of the Razer Viper Ambidextrous Wired Gaming Mouse supports ambidextrous use, with dual buttons on each side, a clickable scroll wheel and a final button located underneath the mouse itself, which is by default used to switch between DPI modes.
The connecting cable for the Razer Viper Ambidextrous Wired Gaming Mouse features a smooth fabric finish which futher accentuates the ease with which you can fling it around your desk. Razer claims that it's good for minimal drag, and that's true, but rather predictably it still managed to tangle around other cables and connectors at the back of my PC. Your usage may vary, and that won't matter unless you're going to be unplugging it a lot anyway.

Performance

Up to 16,000 DPI
Default DPI button won't suit on-the-fly switchers
Optical button mechanisms work very well indeed

The Razer Viper Ambidextrous Wired Gaming Mouse doesn't just rest its laurels on the fact that it's a very light wired mouse. It's also Razer's first mouse to use optical rather than mechanical actuation, which means that it's much faster to read each click as it happens. You've got to very much be on the cutting edge of response for that to matter a huge amount to your gaming, but where optical can have an edge is in removing false clicks.
A mechanical switch, especially one that's well-worn, can bounce under heavy usage, which could lead to misfires in-game. Optical switches by definition are one-and-done prospects, so you're assured of getting the clicks you actually give.
Of course, that means you can't blame that accidental grenade drop on your mouse any more, so if you're the clumsy type, you'll have to come up with an all-new excuse. Not that this describes me in-game. Absolutely not. Why would you think that?
The Razer Viper Ambidextrous Wired Gaming Mouse supports variable DPI settings, with colour cycling patterns underneath that relate to 400, 800, 1,800, 2,400 or 3,200 DPI respectively, although you can juice that up to 16,000 DPI with Razer's Synapse software if you so choose. The standard button for this is located underneath the mouse, and that's also where you'll find the status light letting you know the current setting.
If you never want to change your DPI once you settle on a range that's good for you, that's fine, but fans of switching it up mid-battle to aid speed or precision will probably want to remap that DPI change button to one of the side controls. Sadly you can't remap the light letting you know which DPI setting you're on in the same way.

Features

Razer's Synapse software is highly tweakable
Annoying having to give up your email address to get it though

You can just plug the Razer Viper Ambidextrous Wired Gaming Mouse into a PC and use it in a standard style, but that will limit its overall flexibility. Indeed, in between gaming sessions I've been using it for work purposes hooked up to a 2019 Apple MacBook Pro, which resolutely thinks that it's a keyboard every time I plug it in.
That aside, to make the most of the Razer Viper Ambidextrous Wired Gaming Mouse, you'll need to install Razer's Synapse software. The download and installation of Synapse is nicely painless, aside from the fact that you're required to set up a Razer Account to use it. That means that Razer is grabbing your email address simply to enable a driver, which feels a little pushy. I've already paid good money for your mouse, Razer – why do I need to hand over my email address too?
Synapse works across the entire Razer range, and even third party platforms like Philips Hue, so in theory you could have the same lighting effects coming from your light bulbs as your Razer Viper Ambidextrous Wired Gaming Mouse. Some might say that's overkill, but they're clearly just killjoys.
It's also through Synapse that you access the full range of the Razer Viper Ambidextrous Wired Gaming Mouse's 5G optical sensor. You can set each of the 5 DPI levels independently, although you are limited to ranges rather than precise numbers. Despite wanting to see what 123 DPI is like – because why not – Synapse will only let you jump in increments of 50 DPI.
You can punch this all the way up to 16,000 DPI, although you'll need razer-sharp reflexes to make the most of that setting outside specific FPS instances. I'm not personally a big fan of that level of DPI settings for my own gameplay, but at least it's capable of variance if you need it.

Verdict

Nicely built and very responsive
Is a light mouse the right type for you?

The Razer Viper Ambidextrous Wired Gaming Mouse is a very well built mouse, and one that I've very much enjoyed testing for both everyday boring office tasks – not the point, but you'll inevitably end up at least browsing the web with it anyway – as well as gaming action. Its optical switches are highly responsive, but I'd need a few months of testing to properly see how they stand up under repeated finger bashing.

Still, that's not going to be the most divisive part of the Razer Viper Ambidextrous Wired Gaming Mouse. That's the overall weight of the mouse, which is deliberately shaved as light as it can possibly go. If you want more heft and resistance when you're deep in battle it could be a hindrance, but if you want a mouse that comes perilously close to feeling like it's not even there at all, it could be a postive boon.

Pricing and availability

The Razer Viper Ambidextrous Wired Gaming Mouse sells in Australia for around $134.95.

Razer Viper Ambidextrous Gaming Mouse

Weighing in at just 69g, the Razer Viper is an ultra-light gaming mouse suitable for both left- and right-handed gamers.

Buy at eBay

Specs

Where to buy

Sensitivity

Maximum DPI

16,000

Polling Rate

1,000Hz

Physical Dimensions

Number of Buttons

Depth

126.73mm

Width

66.2mm

Height

37.81mm

Weight

69g

Cable Length

2.1m

Features

Wireless

RGB

Yes

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Alex Kidman

Alex Kidman was the tech and telco editor at Finder and is now a freelance technology writer. He's been a technology writer with experience spanning more than 20 years, writing and editing at Gizmodo, CNET, PC Magazine, Kotaku and many more. Alex has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of New England and a serious passion for retro gaming.

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Razer Viper Ambidextrous Wired Gaming Mouse review: Lightweight but powerful