An Early Review of the Razer Lachesis

By David Johnston
Contributing Writer, RealTechNews

Razer’s new Lachesis gaming mouse is the latest in Razer’s line of laser-based gaming mice to hit the streets. The mouse looks quite good on paper. Its “3rd Generation”, 4,000dpi laser sensor is unmatched in precision and sensitivity by any competing mice (the new Logitech G9 boasts a dpi rating of “only” 3,200). The mouse can also be used with a 1,000hz USB polling rate which decreases the response-time lag from the standard 8ms to only 1ms. There are a large number of additional improvements to the mouse which you can read all about here if you’re interested.

Upon receiving the mouse, I was immediately struck by the quality of the packaging. The box is black with a rubbery matte finish. There is also a swing-out front door which shows the mouse behind it. There are also a large number of informational sheets and manuals in the box. Too many if you ask me, but perhaps some people enjoy thumbing through five generally-redundant pamphlets. When I first picked up the mouse I was surprised by how little it weighed. It is noticeably lighter than both my Logitech G5 and MS Intellimouse Explorer 3.0. The extremely light weight combined with low-friction mouse skates makes this mouse glide across my mousepad with greater ease than either of the other two mice. However, this is not necessarily a good thing for everyone. The mouse is so light and easy to move that it seemed almost spastic before I got used to it.

I’ve found the Lachesis much more comfortable than the MS Intellimouse Explorer 3.0 for long-term use. It also has a much better feeling clicking mechanism on the side buttons than the IME 3.0 and is on par with the G5. Where the mouse really shines, however, is in its materials. I have been a fan of Logitech’s MX series in the past and was disappointed when they switched to the sandpaper-like rubber material for the sides of the G5. I find the Lachesis’ smooth surface much preferable to both the G5’s rough feel and the IME 3.0’s plastic. A nice bonus for me was the pulsating blue Razer logo. I know it’s a gimmick (and it can be turned off in the driver settings if you prefer) but I think it’s a nice touch. Lefties will also appreciate Razer’s adherence to an ambidextrous design. Even the side buttons are mirrored on both sides (though they can perform different functions, even macros). Compared to the Logitech MX and G lines of mice, the Lachesis feels longer and less ergonomically shaped. The wide front does provide nice separation between buttons to prevent accidental mis-clicks in games, but the narrow middle and back leave me wanting for a bit more support. It seems to me that this mouse was meant to be controlled with the tips of one’s fingers, with the palm only slightly touching the back of the mouse.

The two main reasons why I bought this mouse have to do with where its button configuration differs significantly from the G5. I, for one, couldn’t take the single side-button on my G5 any longer. I don’t know what Logitech was thinking when they removed it from the first-generation G5 (it was present on the MX-510 and -518 which came before it). Luckily for all of us, Logitech learned from its mistakes and has added the second side button back to the second generation G5’s and the new G9. Why then, you may ask, did I spring for the Lachesis instead of a new G5 or G9? The answer is simple: Logitech’s awful wheel click mechanism. Starting with the G5, Logitech decided to add a tilt wheel to their gaming mice. The problem with this is that I found myself constantly mis-clicking. Instead of doing a center mouse click, I would click right…or left…or all three at the same time. I was able to minimize this problem with practice, but it still bothers me occasionally. Logitech decided to keep this “feature” in the G9, and I just couldn’t bring myself to spend any more money on what I see as a glaring design flaw. Thankfully, this is a feature that Razer has kept out of the Lachesis. The mouse wheel only clicks one way: down–the way it should be. In order to keep the button-count on the Lachesis equal to that of its Logitech competitors, Razer added side buttons to both sides of the mouse. I’ve found that my pinky and ring finger just aren’t dexterous to effectively use the right-side buttons during intense games, but its better to have a useless feature than a huge flaw.

There has been a lot of talk about whether or not laser mice are “ready” for gaming. Many people complained that the G5 mouse “skipped”. I never experienced this skipping myself except when I purposefully stressed the mouse to acceleration beyond what I consider normal use, but it was there. I cannot reproduce any skipping issue with the Lachesis, though I doubt that the G9 has this problem either. Tracking seems to be at least as good as the Logitech MX-518 and better than both the IME 3.0 and first-generation G5. The much-touted 4,000dpi laser sensor, however, is useless as far as I’m concerned. With my 1600×1200 primary display, I find a dpi setting of 1,000 to be much more usable. Luckily, the Lachesis has the ability to fine-tune the dpi settings anywhere from 125 to 4,000dpi in increments of 125dpi. You can also set 5 different dpi levels that can be activated using two buttons on the mouse.

The question is - is the Lachesis worth its $80 pricetag? There are other gaming mice that may cost half as much and do a great job. My answer is a definite maybe. If you’re already happy with your current mouse, I don’t see any reason to switch. However, if you’re looking for a new mouse or have some issue with your current one like I did, then the Lachesis is worth a look. I can’t compare it directly to the G9 since I don’t own one, but the Lachesis is clearly better than both the G5 and the IME 3.0 which I have used extensively. That said, the G5 can be had for under $50, and the IME 3.0 is around $30 so you’re certainly paying for that difference.