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By Hanleigh Daniels 7 March 2013

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Razer’s wireless Ouroboros gaming mouse looks more like a prop from a sci-fi movie than a PC peripheral, and boasts some out-of-this-world features that make it ideal for casual and professional gamers.

The Ouroboros features an ambidextrous layout, meaning it can be comfortably used by both left- and right-handed gamers, as well as customisable ergonomics highlighted by an adjustable arched palm rest and two interchangeable side panels.

These panels allow you to tailor the device to your prefered style of grip and hand curvature, ensuring optimum comfort and minimal fatigue during extended playing time. Swapping them out is easy and quick since they click magnetically into place.

We preferred to use the finger rest side panels (pictured below on the outside of the mouse) to the finger grip side panels (on the inside), since the former provided more support for our thumb as well as our pinky, and also made the mouse appear a bit more like a stealth fighter.  

Razer's Ouroboros gaming mouse is flanked here by the finger rest side panels (outside) and finger grip side panels (inside).

Overall feel in use

Beyond the extra gripping comfort delivered by the side panels, the mouse also has a nice hefty feel in hand thanks to its weight of around 115 g, sans the rechargeable nickel metal hydride AA battery that powers it. Unlike Logitech’s G9x gaming mouse (review), you are not able to tailor the mouse’s weight to your liking by making use of various weights.  

Just because the mouse feels sturdy and solid in hand does not mean its performance is slow and unresponsive. On the contrary, thanks to its blistering one millisecond response time, which is essential on a wireless mouse and 8200 dpi 4G Dual Sensor System that sees the unit outfitted with a laser as well as an optical sensor, the Ouroboros provides exceptional tracking accuracy.

We like the fact that users are able to adjust the mouse’s sensitivity on the fly, via two DPI (dots-per-inch) buttons right below the scroll wheel. Further customisation of the mouse’s features is made possible by way of Razer Synapse 2.0 software, which allows users to change the function of the mouse buttons, tinker with its sensitivity and even with the brightness settings of its LED notification lights.

Battery performance

The rechargeable battery delivers up to 12 hours of continuous gaming from a single charge. Once depleted you can either pop in any standard AA battery or connect the mouse to a PC via the provided USB cable. Opting for the latter enables users to utilise the Ouroboros as a wired mouse whilst recharging the battery.

If their gaming session has ended, users can also clip the mouse onto the provided docking to recharge its battery. This dock means that even when not in use the mouse will still obtain some envious glares from passers by, as it assumes the looks of Batman’s Batwing readying for take-off.   
Ready, set, and game...here we find the Ouroboros perched upon its charging dock.
 
To the point

The Razer Ouroboros gaming mouse is one of the best on the market thanks a wealth of customisation options that even enables gamers to alter the physical appearance of the device, to more closely fit your hand and grip style.

Add to this a lighting fast response time and the ability to use it as either a wireless or wired mouse, and you have a very compelling all-round package, wrapped up in a unique design that will get noticed as much as its feature set.

All of these features do come at a price though, as the Ourobors costs an exclusive R1 500.  

This makes it a bit more expensive than rival devices such as Logitech’s G700 cordless gaming mouse (around R1 200), which offers more buttons (13 compared to the Ouroboros’ 9), but lacks the side panel and ergonomic customisations, as well as the design presence of the Razer gaming mouse.    

Pros:

Standout design.
Customisable ergonomics.
A button lover’s dream with nine mouse buttons.  
Nice, weighty feel to the mouse.
Wired or unwired usage supported.
Lightning quick response time.

Cons:

Premium pricetag, but not much else.
PROS
Standout design; customisable ergonomics; button lover's dream with nine mouse buttons; nice, weighty feel to the mouse; wired or unwired usage supported; and lightning quick response time.
CONS
Premium pricetag, but not much else.
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