Razer Viper Mini review

Razer's position in the PC hardware space is strong, with many of its gaming mice among the best that money can buy. Until recently, however, there has been a notable blind spot in Razer's offerings: it didn't have anything to compete against the increasingly popular ultra-light gaming mice hitting the market.

To rectify this, Razer has released the Viper Mini, a leaner and more compact version of its ambidextrous Viper wired gaming mouse. Full of smart compromises, the Viper Mini delivers high-end performance in an accessible package that has a lot to offer PC gamers with smaller hands.

Design

Design

• Smaller and lighter without compromising on build quality
• More accessible for folks with smaller hands
• Retains ambidextrous design, though lefties miss out on thumb buttons

• Read more about the Viper Mini's design

  Since its reboot in 2019, the Viper gaming mouse line has established itself as one of the most popular in Razer's portfolio. Razer attributes this success to its close working relationship with eSports competitors and other prominent people in the PC gaming community. According to Razer, their input heavily influenced the design of the Viper Mini, and it certainly shines through in many of the small tweaks and smart compromises that Razer has made here.

  Let's start with the basics. As the name suggests, the Viper Mini is a scaled-down version of the regular Viper, measuring in at 8.4mm shorter and 4.1mm narrower than its older sibling. This shifts the target audience to folks with smaller hands or tighter grips, or those who simply find regular gaming mice too large and heavy.

  Since hand sizes can vary dramatically from person to person, Razer provides the following hand size chart:

  Note: Hand length is determined from the base of your hand to the tip of your middle finger, while hand width is determined from the knuckle of your thumb to the outer edge of your palm.

  Hand size	Hand length	Hand width
  S	Less than 17cm	7.5cm to 8.5cm
  M	17cm to 20cm	8.5cm to 10cm
  L	More than 20cm	10cm to 11cm

  The Viper Mini is aimed at folks who fall into the S and M sizing ranges, with the regular Viper more suitable for people in the M and L ranges. That said, my hands place me in the L group, but I was able to acclimate to the Viper Mini's smaller size with little trouble.

  Along with hand size, the way you hold a mouse can influence which one is right for you. With the Viper Mini, Razer is targeting gamers who prefer the claw or fingertip grips, the former of which involves resting just your fingertips and part of your palm on the mouse, while the latter is all fingertips and no palm contact at all.

  

  Once again, I fall outside the target audience as I favour the traditional palm option, where your fingers and palm lay flat across the mouse. Nevertheless, I found it easy enough to adjust to a tighter grip without any noticeable impact on comfort or performance.

  The Viper Mini isn't just smaller – it's lighter, too. Sans cable, it weighs in at a paltry 61g, 8g less than the regular Viper. Critically, Razer has managed to shave off those grams without sacrificing build quality, as the Viper Mini feels solid and sturdy – exactly what you want from a gaming mouse that you're going to be hammering on and flinging around for hours on end. Combined with a pair of slick PTFE (Polytetrafluoroethylene) mouse feet, this reduction in weight makes it incredibly easy to whip the Viper Mini around with minimal effort.

  To reduce the Viper Mini's footprint, Razer has made a few compromises worth keeping in mind. There are fewer buttons than the regular Viper, for instance, with the two right-side thumb buttons removed. This is a real bummer for left-handed gamers, especially as the Viper's ambidextrous design is one of its greatest strengths. You still get the two left-side thumb buttons, though they're slightly smaller. Hitting them from a flat palm grip without lifting your thumb is trickier, too.

  One feature from the regular Viper that didn't make the cut are the grip pads on either side of the mouse. It's a tad disappointing, since extra grip can be the difference between a win and a loss in fast-paced competition. Its absence here is one of the few knocks I have against the Viper Mini.

Performance

Performance

• Lightweight design confers a significant advantage in fast-paced games
• New optical switches offer firmer feedback while retaining responsiveness
• Sensor downgrade doesn't have any noticeable impact on tracking performance

• Read more about the Viper Mini's performance

  Smaller it may be, but the Viper Mini still packs plenty of high-quality hardware under the hood.

  On the switch front, it features updated versions of the optical switches used in 2019's Viper and Viper Ultimate. These switches use infrared light to detect clicks rather than traditional metal contacts. Razer's claim is that this allows optical switches to respond three times faster than their mechanical counterparts, and I've certainly noticed the difference when swapping between the two.

  For the Viper Mini specifically, Razer has tweaked the optical switches to feel more like mechanical contacts without sacrificing that responsiveness. Comparing them to the switches on the Viper Ultimate, there's more force in their feedback, with each click bouncing back firmer and slightly louder. This didn't have any noticeable impact on performance, and it could be a compelling change for folks who've found Razer's regular optical switches to be a little too soft.

  

  Interestingly, the tweaks Razer made to the switches have reduced their expected lifespan from 70 million clicks to 50 million. Admittedly, 50 million clicks is still a massive number that should last you through plenty of frantic gaming sessions, but it is worth noting nonetheless.

  Razer has made some concessions on the sensor front, equipping the Viper Mini with a standard optical sensor rather than Razer's own Focus+ sensor found in the Viper Ultimate and recent Razer DeathAdder V2. On paper, this means a lower maximum DPI setting (8,500 vs 20,000), a lower maximum tracking speed (300 inches per second vs 650) and lower maximum acceleration (35g vs 50g).

  In practice, though, it still delivers top-notch performance, tracking precisely across multiple DPI settings throughout my testing. It proved especially capable in fast-paced first-person shooters, responding immediately to my lightest touch. Snapping my aim from enemy to enemy in Destiny 2 was a breeze, with the Viper Mini's lighter frame letting me whip around with more speed and agility than I've been able to achieve with larger, heavier mice.

  My only complaint around the Viper Mini's performance is that, like the DeathAdder V2, the scroll wheel is looser and softer than I'd like. It's precise enough for most tasks, though it would occasionally register multiple inputs on a single scroll, which can be frustrating mid-match.

Features

Features

• Six programmable buttons plus Hypershift support allows for plenty of customisation
• Speedflex cable enhances performance and dramatically reduces tangling
• RGB underglow is tasteful

• Read more about the Viper Mini's features

  Shrinking both the Viper Mini and its price tag hasn't stopped Razer from cramming in a healthy supply of handy features.

  As is the norm, each of the Viper Mini's six main buttons can be remapped to function as a different mouse button, a keyboard key or any of a wide array of built-in actions. Of course, you can create your own macros, too, allowing a single button press to execute a specific in-game combo or issue a long sequence of keyboard commands in an instant.

  The Viper Mini also supports Razer's Hypershift feature. This lets you access a second set of custom bindings when holding down the mouse button or keyboard key you've designated as the Hypershift button. I'm a big fan of this feature, and I like to assign Hypershift to one of the thumb buttons and set the scroll wheel to zoom in and out. This lets me quickly and easily survey the battlefield in strategy games without relying on keyboard shortcuts.

  One of my favourite innovations from Razer in recent years is the Speedflex cable, a performance-focused alternative to a standard braided cable. Thankfully, it's made the transition from the Viper to the Viper Mini unscathed, significantly reducing the friction from sliding across desks, table edges and other snag-happy objects you may have sitting between your mousepad and your PC. It gets tangled far less frequently than other cables, too, which is always a big plus in my book.

  Razer rarely skimps on RGB lighting for its gaming products, and that remains true with the Viper Mini. Along with the standard backlit Razer logo, there's a semicircle of underglow lighting at the base of the mouse that's surprisingly tasteful. It's hidden by your hand when in use and adds just enough flair without being ostentatious. As usual, you can customise the lighting with a variety of patterns through the Razer Synapse app.

  Speaking of customisation, the Viper Mini lets you store a single settings profile on its internal memory. This lets you maintain the same button mappings, DPI settings and RGB customisation when using the mouse on a different PC, even if that PC doesn't have the Synapse app installed.

Verdict

Verdict

How we score our reviews

• More accessible and affordable than many other gaming mice
• Maintains Razer's high quality standards with some smart compromises

Should you buy it?

The Razer Viper Mini is a fantastic gaming mouse that excels in its accessibility. Its light and compact design makes it especially attractive to gamers with smaller hands, while its affordable price tag gives it an edge over many of its competitors. Smart compromises mean it still delivers top-notch performance, making it an easy recommendation for anyone looking for a quality gaming mouse that won't break the bank.

Pricing and availability

Price

RRP $69.95

Where to buy

Razer

Specifications

Where to buy