Customer Reviews

Razer Copperhead Tempest Blue 2000 Dpi Mouse with built-in Memory

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

Let's start with the basics:

My computer is midrange. I have a 3.0 Ghz P4, 200GB Hard drive, 1.5gig PC3200 RAM, and a GeForce 6600GT. This places me at the slightly above average range for computers, as I understand it.

The original mouse I used was the stock Gateway ballmouse. Disgusted with it very quickly, I bought a Kensington Optical Mouse. This mouse lasted a little while until one day it mysteriously started dying on me (about a year to a year and a half later).

I replaced it with a Logitech MX610..I'd always wanted a wireless mouse and did not want to spring the extra fourty dollars for an MX1000.

Bad move.

The mouse was terrible for gaming -- mainly I play WoW, Oblivion, and Dawn of War, as well as a touch of Half-Life and Halo. Disgusted with wireless mice almost immediately, I purchased the Razer Copperhead (Tempest Blue) and the Razer Exact pad after reading multiple reviews comparing it, the MX518, and the G5 gaming mouse, and going to my local Best Buy to "field test" (get a feel for) all of the mice. After extensive field testing, I decided that the Razer was the one for me.

Now onto the mouse itself:

-First Impression-
Right out of the box, this bad boy came equipped to do battle. After installing the firmware that came with the mouse, readying the Exact mousepad, and plugging this in, I found myself mousing at an incredibly improved speed. Not to mention my accuracy was almost dead on. I required a few small adjustments (toning the dpi down to 1600 instead of 2000, etc.) in order to keep myself from overshooting due to the sensitivity of the mouse.

-Appearance-
The blue LEDs that surround the mouse look excellent in lit rooms and absolutely stunning in dark rooms. The tri-snake emblem on the top of the mouse pulses slowly and rhythmically. I cannot speak for the other colors, but the blue truly made my desktop a more exciting thing to look at.

-Comfort-
The mouse took a little getting used to, I will fully admit. Its long, tapered buttons suited my large hands perfectly. However, the mouse is not overly bulky. It has a fairly low profile and has more of a delicate touch feel to it when mousing, as opposed to rough push feel of many mice. Moving your cursor is a simple task, with a gentle little flick of the wrist...it feels far more like you're guiding this mouse, instead of forcing it, if that makes sense.

-Software-
Easy to use, easy to figure out, this software has it all. From minute adjustments to how sensitive your scroll wheel is to how fast you need to double-click the mouse in order for it to be recognized as a double-click, the mouse is infinitely customizable.

-Hardware-
Solid and strong feeling, the mouse sticks to your hand nicely. Though it does feel a touch light and delicate, I'm a firm believer that it could take a hit and walk away from it (though why you would want to hit a 60-80 dollar mouse, I have no clue...) The low profile will also take many mouse users a little while to get used to, as every mouse I'd had before had a very high profile. Coupled with the gel wrist rest that can come with the Razer Exactpad though, you quickly forget how low profile it is.

The buttons on the top, as mentioned before, are incredibly convenient. The buttons on the side are not so much however. Being a right-hander, I found the mouse buttons on the lefthand side incredibly easy to reach and use. The righthand mouse buttons however, are nigh-impossible to use. My only guess is that one would use them for the stock setting (to switch dpi on the fly), and probably more likely that they are set there for symmetrical mouse usage by lefties.

The teflon feet that come stock on the bottom of this mouse make it slide over the mousepad like air. Though a bit light to me, you can customize this mouse to make it heavier by purchasing a Razer modification kit from Razer's homepage (costing between 10 and 15 dollars typically). However, using this repair kit voids your warranty.

Conclusion (Pros):
- Visually Appealing
- Incredible Accuracy
- Software makes customizing mouse a very unique experience
- Comfortable Feel
- Low Profile helps cut down on wrist strain
- Top End Construction
- Teflon Feet a huge plus

Conclusion (Cons):
- Price is a deterrent
- Mouse buttons on at least one side will feel all but useless
- Adjusting to a gaming mouse of this quality takes TIME

--- Overall ---

I could not be happier with the combination of mouse and mousepad I now have. A worthy buy? Absolutely. I rate it 5/5 stars...it's just that good.

Edit: September 3, 2007: Over a year (pushing a year and a half!) later and I am still using the same mouse. Unfortunately I have only upgraded my video card (currently a 512mb 7900GT KO), so the processor and pc3200 ram are beginning to drag on newer games. I still play Battlefield 2142, F.E.A.R., etc, on full or nearly full resolution with no problem, however.

The mouse is continuing to function, even after having been dropped several times and the abuse of a 17 year old little brother who stays at my place to dogsit while I am out of town at work.

THE ONLY COMPLAINT I now have is that the teflon feet on the bottom of the mouse are beginning to wear out...I think I need to order more and replace them, as the ice-smooth sliding movement of the mouse has been roughed up quite a bit by the loss of the relatively frictionless feet. Other than that? No problems whatsoever. The driver still work fine, and the mouse is as crisp and responsive as ever!

UPDATE: 11/19/2008 - Still using the same mouse and it is still responsive as ever. I am no longer playing any MMORPG games, but I still play Battlefield 2142, I have been playing Crysis lately, and I am anticipating Dawn of War 2.

The mouse is still working beautifully and holding up very well! This mouse has sealed my positive opinion of Razer. Notice I have had it over two years!

I really like this mouse. In addition to the great looks, it is the most responsive mouse that I've ever used. A slight flick of the wrist and you are able to get where you need to go. That means there is a bit of a learning curve to using the mouse but it's not steep.

The only slight drawback for me is the two buttons on the right side of the mouse are nearly impossible to use. They are preset to change the dpi up and down but as of yet, I haven't found a need to do that. I have the mouse set up for the fastest settings and left it that way. You can reprogram all of the mouse buttons but because of the difficulty I personally have in reaching these buttons, I figure I'm just going to use the thumb buttons on the left.

The mouse has the ability not only to use updated drivers but also updated firmware because of the onboard memory.

If the two right side buttons were easier for me to get to, I'd give this mouse 5 stars.

I've had this mouse for a while and it's perfect! My two favorite things about it are: 1. How sensitive it is. I move the mouse half an inch and its all the way across the screen. But it's not that it's like, super fast, and you cant control it, I can move it halfway across the screen without even thinking, and it will be right on what i was aiming for. The bad part of this is when i go on my friends computers, and i have to drag their mouse across the pad twice to move it across the screen(but thats their fault, not the copperhead's)! 2.I play World of warcraft, and you can auto run by pressing the / key next to Num Lock, that way you dont have to hold w, up arrow key, or hold both mouse buttons. However, the / isnt exactly in a convient place, so i diddnt use it very often. But, with the copperhead, i press the left side closer to me button, and i will auto run! i diddnt even program it to do that or whatever, i accidently pressed it while i was playing. oh, and more on point number 1, just so you get an idea of how sensitive it is, i just turned it upsidedown, and moved my thumb across the sensor(the width of my thumb, not the length)just once, and the mouse went across the screen. And im only 12 years old, so the with of my thumb isnt exactly that big.

This mouse is the best I have ever owned. No problems, all performance. It's no nonsense style and no frills attitude give me exaclty what I want. It's streamlined like a porsche. I don't have any use for the buttons on the side. The center logo glows. It's very cool. Buy this one with the Saitek blue led keyboard to match it. Trust me, I get lots of oos and aahs from my setup.

i just got my copperhead this morning (tempest blue if it matters) with the exactmat and i love it, for the most part. the drivers are a little confusing and took some time to setup properly so here are some tips and my setup if you are interested:

(i changed all the windows mouse settings to the middle so i can control it solely with the razer tool)

First of all change the DPI up and DPI down buttons to something else (mine are just off) they just mess with profiles which is what you should really be using to adjust settings. Second DO NOT adjust windows pointer speed in the advanced tab, like the dpi up and down this will just confuse you and is not helpfull...istead adjust sensitivity to your liking, but not yet.

before i get to the profiles let me explain DPI, Polling rate and sensitivity to all of you who don't know your megabytes from your megabits...

DPI & Sensitivity: AKA Dots per inch... the higher the DPI the faster the cursur/crosshair will move. How is this different from sensitivity? you may be thinking to yourself. well... a higher DPI will speed up the mouse without losing any accuracy and a higher sensitivity will accelerate the mouse while losing some accuracy so you should adjust the dpi to near the desired speed and then fine tune with the sensitivity

Polling rate: This is the rate at which the laser takes a picture of the mouspad so 125hz=125 times per second... you probably wont notice the difference unless you are an experienced first person shooter who can tell the difference between a 2ms(500hz) and a 1ms(1000hz) responce time but it is there. there is no reason to search the web on a 1000mhz polling rate so dont. personally i have played counterstrike for a couple of years and i cant tell the difference between 500 and a thousand hz but i trust its there so i use it.

Here is what i have my profiles set to right now(all are set to a sensitivity of 7):

1: 500Hz/800 DPI- browsing internet/casual use

2: 1000Hz/2000 DPI- Gaming(counter strike game sensitivity 2.8)

3: 1000Hz/400 DPI- very accurate slow cursur for photoshop freehand

4: unused will be World of Warcraft profile

5: unused

i used the thumb buttons for forward and back in Firefox

Design: i like how it feels in my had but the grip on the pinky side and also am thinking about cutting it off other than that i love it

Exactmat: i like the reversable sides but it is a little small and the the wristpad annoyys me...would have gone with mantis if i could re-buy

(L. percy is my moms name sw!tchb|ade is my counterstrike tag)

I was a nice looking mouse and had good reviews. I bought it in the hope that the drivers would not conflict with other programs on my computer as do some drivers and it is hyped to work plugged into any machine without installing special drivers. This is true. But it is necessary to install them to adjust the default settings on the mouse.

Neat blue racing stripes. It took a little getting used to holding it with thumb and ring figer tips instead of my palm like some other mice. Very responsive. I even bought the special Mantis matts for it. It was very satisfactory playing MMOs on my Falcon MachV. The buttons were somewhat difficult to use on the right side of the mouse and the double-click adjustment never seemed to work well (either too fast or too slow) and had to be adjusted to slow to work most of the time (at least for me). This was annoying but I was getting used to it.

The problems started when I wanted some support. The mouse worked well until I tried to update the drivers and firmware. I followed the directions but after installing the updated drivers in XP and updateing the firmware on the mouse it stopped working on my computer. The configurator program would not any longer recognize the mouse and the cursor would not move. Lights up but no cursor movement. Somehow my copy of XP was altered while updating the mouse software and this mouse will no longer work on my machine. This mouse lights up and is recognized and the cursor works on our other computers. Just not mine.

Support was first via computer generated "read our knowledge base and uninstall/reinstall" as one would expect. After a week of emails back and forth I get a number and actually talk to a person who supposidly writes everything down and passes your case to "tier 2." All of the emails up to this point obviously generated by computer in English as a second language vocabulary. This was followed by an email advising me to reinstall Windows XP. Dig this:

-----Hi,

Thank you for reverting back. You have mention to our phone support agent that the mouse works fine on another machine. You select automatic install when prompted for your Freescale driver and Windows installed a copy which is now causing your Configurator not to recognize the mouse.
All solutions which we have recommended to you do not work on your machine.
We normally would not recommend that you install a fresh copy of Windows on your machine but at this juncture, we would highly recommend that you do so and install the mouse drivers again.------

Apparently it's not their problem, notice how it's Windows that screwed up. Incidently, no solutions ever offered but "please to reinstall" or 'please to try another USB port." No joy. The lady who I actually talked to only took information but provided no tech support.

Sorry but I'm a busy practicing surgeon who uses the computer for both business and pleasure. I've no intention of reinstalling windows on this machine in order to use a $70 hunk of plastic.

Microsoft support is actually better in my experience and this doesn't say much for Razer support.

I'm going back to logitech. I don't know that their support is better but at least I haven't had any real problems with the logitech mice in the past. I ordered a G5 and the Razer went in a drawer. Good luck if you buy it. The mouse itself was just Ok. Not just nice.

Oh, and I guess I'm missing why it is the blue one costs more then the green or the red one? They all have built in memories. I thought they were the same mechanically and electronically.

G. Richardson MD

Just a few months after ownership, this mouse started randomly double clicking when single clicks were intended. Adjusted double click speed to the slowest but no change. Searching the problem found many users with the same complaints--even with mice that were returned under warranty. Unfortunately, Razer needs proof of purchase for claims...even though the serial number would probably confirm the mouse was made in the past 2 years. For a high end mouse, this is not acceptable. I think I will just stick to a MS mouse--those things are workhorses.

I have owned this mouse for less than a year, and I have already had occasion to contact tech support several times. The firmware update is ridiculously complicated, and if done incorrectly, may destroy the mouse. When Razer tech support gets around to responding to inquiries (days or weeks later) they recommend that you "try it on another computer." Now, I wish I had another computer lying around for use every time I have a hardware problem, but that's a bit unrealistic. Other than that, when the mouse is working, it is attractive, comfortable, and fast. I just wish it worked more often.

Originally bought this for gaming because of all the extra buttons
very awkward feel from most mice..
the extra buttons on the right side of the mouse are nearly impossible to hit without shifting your hand..
so it makes them pretty much useless while playing combat, or pvp type games that require quick reaction time
for the most part its a decent mouse if you stick with the standard 5 buttons
going back i would have bought something else

I bought this mouse back in March 2008 for the sole purpose of becoming more accurate with a laser mouse versus a standard optical mouse. I did some extensive reading and became of the opinion that wired mice vs. wireless mice are more accurate, responsive, and less affected by interference. I now have over a year and a half worth of experience to back that statement up. Having used the copperhead, a standard mouse, and a wireless Logitech mouse/keyboard combo to play Battlefield 2 I highly recommend going with a gaming mouse such as the copperhead. I will relate my experience in usage as seen through the eyes of a FPS, 95% Battlefield 2 and 5% Call of Duty 4.

Pros:

1. Large buttons - hard to miss with your fingers when running into those common intense battle times.
2. Button Location - ONLY on the left are those two buttons conveniently located. I cannot and have not been able to push the right side buttons
3. Accurate - as hell
4. Responsive - noticeably responsive vs. standard mice. The combination of accuracy and responsiveness has allowed me to become that much more accurate.
5, Light and easy to move on a hard surface and glides almost too much on a soft mouse pad.
6. Blue Lights - cool, but means nothing functionally.
7. Little Hand/Wrist Fatigue - and I'm talking almost constant movement for 3 hours average and up to 6-8 on my longer bouts of gaming.
8. Mouse covering - whatever it is it works, has not worn at all since I bought it. Most of the mouse is shiny normal black plastic, but the top is a matte black plastic and the two main mouse buttons are something I've never seen before, but is comfortable for sure

Cons:

1. Button Location - Right Side Buttons are in a next to impossible place to reach with your fingers in a normal position.
2. Button Programmability - Having an moderate amount of computer savvy I was unable to get Battlefield 2 to even use the right side buttons. Therefore I couldn't program them for anything, which is good because I couldn't even reach them. I would say I have normal to larger hands... ie. I can palm a basketball most of the time.
3. Shape of Mouse Sides - The cross-section of the mouse is this shape

'\___/'

Meaning the sides starting at the base slant out dramatically to the light strip and then rounds on the top like a normal mouse. This does allow me to easily pick up the mouse and move it very slightly when looking around quickly and for a great amount of distance. I don't like it because while in a normal hand position you are only touch the light strip with like 3 fingers. HOWEVER, this may be what makes this mouse so responsive and delicately accurate. I DON'T KNOW.
Mouse Pad Tastes - This mouse will not work well on a black cross hatched pattern or the black pads with grey/white squares on it. Just get a solid black mouse pad... you're be fine. People don't recommend it, but every once and a while I use a regular soft cloth mouse pad and whip butt.
Software Time lapse - sometimes when the computer is sleeping and I start it up the mouse won't work for like 2-3 minutes, but just calm down it's coming.
Overheating Cord??? - I'm not sure, I hope this is not the case, it could be my computer or even the program. Sometimes while playing mostly single player rounds the mouse stops working and will not move in any program or windows. I have moved it to another USB jack like the front of the computer and it runs fine, but sometimes that doesn't help and I have to restart and it's fine for a while. I did notice that it happened to my dads new laptop when he played it for the first time, so I'm thinking it is more of a computer overheating issue and not the mouse problem.

Overall:

I would recommend this mouse to anyone looking for better accuracy and responsiveness. I run it on 2000 dpi all the time and have done very well with it in Battlefield 2. For normal applications it is fine, but the Copperhead really stands out at game time. I am going to try a Logitech G5 or something else to amend this and hopefully give a better review... I just ordered it today.

Bottom Line: Buy it. It does have a learning curve but Well Worth it.