I got this mouse a couple of weeks ago as a birthday present, and I wanted to love it. I really did. It’s a sexy mouse. And I thought the adjustable side buttons were pretty neat. Unfortunately, this mouse just completely fails on so many levels.

First of all… no installation CD. The package said it should have a CD, but there wasn’t one. The instructions don’t even mention the CD, they say to download the drivers off the website.

Fine. So I installed the newest drivers.

The worst thing about this mouse is that the pointer jumps. Bad. Trying to do any sort of detailed work on it is time consuming and frustrating. Just trying to click the right spot in a game, to cast a spell is hard enough. But when you try to do work on a by-the-pixel basis, just throw in the hat, it isn’t going to happen. I’ve played with the settings, made it more sensitive, made it less sensitive, use acceleration, don’t use it, use a higher polling rate, use a lower one…. nothing helps. Do you know how frustrating it is to try to click the minimize button on a window, only to have the mouse jump to the x, to close it? There have been more than a few curse words used about this mouse since I got it.

Also, the design of the mouse is not as great as I had hoped. It’s too small to completely rest your hand on… but so big that you can’t comfortably hold it. It’s too light to just use the palm of your hand to move it around, but heavy enough to make your hand cramp up after a few hours of using it. Strangely enough, it is simultaneously too big, and too small.

I used to use a Logitech MX310. It was too small for my mannishly large hands, but at least I could click on the pixel I needed to click on with absolute precision.

The Razer logo that slowly flashes off and on, on the back of the mouse is cool looking… kind of a breathing effect. But when your hand is on it, you don’t see it, and when your hand isn’t on it, it becomes annoying after a while, and ended up being turned off.

I liked that the light on the mouse was blue, instead of red, like my old mouse. It matches the other lights on my computer, and isn’t so bright at night, that it distracts me. But that is a very small consolation for the lack of precision you get with this mouse.

I’m so sad that this mouse performs so poorly… it’s so sexy. It looks like an ugly mouse is in my future, but I will gladly exchange looks for performance…. as most women will agree.

Edit: I was using an optical mousepad, that had a purple and black honeycomb design. Once I stopped using the mousepad, and just put the mouse on the desk, it stopped the crazy jumping around. Which is weird, because I’ve always had optical mice, and always used that same pad, with absolutely no problems. Anyway… I will probably keep the mouse, and just hope I get used to it.
Rating: 2 / 5

I got this mouse as a replacement for my Mac DeathAdder which worked great gaming in OSX and in Windows with equal functionality.

Out of the box setup went smoothly and I downloaded the newest (and only) driver from the website. Unfortunately the Mac driver has limited functionality offering settings only for sensitivity, acceleration and lighting. There is no support for profile configuration, macros, custom button/key binding, scrolling speed, click speed, profiles or any advanced features that the DeathAdder drive had and I would expect to be carried forward on a mouse that costs $80 which claims to support OSX.

I switched over to Windows 7 to try to fully test the mouse out. Again I went online and downloaded the latest (and only) driver for Windows and noticed there was a firmware update available as well. I downloaded and installed both and was impressed by the features and performance of the mouse and software.

I switched back to OSX again but found that the driver would no longer communicate with the mouse at all. The mouse is functional but any communication with the driver is completely dead. I’ve tried reinstalling both drivers from the website as well as the firmware but nothing has changed. I can’t even find the original firmware anywhere for download.

Now I have to wait several days for Razer support to contact me back, but I’m not expecting anything more than being told to revert to the original firmware (which they will hopefully give me). Even then, the complete lack of support or attention to Mac gamers to whom they are marketing this mouse is at best disappointing compared to the Mac DeathAdder which I was very happy with. Equally as frustrating is how Razer happened to neglect mentioning their lack of Mac support for the features advertised on the promotional and and packaging material (I only found a one line mention buried in online support documentation). Its borderline fraud.

UPDATE:

Three days later the total response from Razor has been an email with the original firmware. Still no support of advertised features for Mac. This might end up as a return yet.
Rating: 1 / 5

I have used Razer products for a while now, so when I decided it was time to upgrade from my Razer DeathAdder to this, I was not worried at all. This, along with the DeathAdder are right-handed ergonomic, which is the only kind of mouse I can use. It also feels similar to the Logitech G5. The Imperator is a bit small than the DeathAdder, which for most people is probably a good thing. I have big hands, but it doesn’t seem too small to become unconfortable. I moved the adjustable side buttons a couple of times, but at the back seemed best for me. Most of the 5600 DPI you will never touch under ordinary usage, but it is there if you are gamer who loves playing with small movements. The software is similar to all of the other programmable Razer mice, with macros and on-the-fly sensitivity, but nothing I haven’t seen before.

Overall, the Imperator feels great, runs smooth, and is perfect for those who prefer the form-fitting feel. I highly recommend this mouse for any PC gamer, and if you are on a smaller budget, I recommend you pick up a Death Adder.
Rating: 5 / 5