Razer’s new Viper 8K promises the fastest performance of any gaming mouse

Razer’s Viper 8K is a refresh of the true, ambitious Viper of 2019. It’s mostly identical and is now available at the same price of $ 79, but it has some major upgrades for rival players hoping technology can help them to get the lead over their opponents.

First, Razer now includes the Focus Plus 20,000DPI sensor used in many of its other 2020 mice, along with the latest generation of optical switches that have a more tangible click feel, according to the company (although it does not stand out as noticeable for me when I tested the mouse). The biggest news is that, according to Razer, the newly revised Viper can achieve the fastest polling rate of any mouse currently available: up to 8,000Hz – much higher than the operating standard of 1,000Hz.

The voice rate measures how often per second the mouse tells your computer where it is on the screen. The more frequent the voices, the smoother your mouse detection can be. In the case of Razer’s new Viper 8K, an 8,000Hz paging rate can deliver as much as 8,000 pings per second on your computer, while reducing the ping response time from one millisecond to just one-eighth of one millisecond. On paper, it looks really impressive.

Image: Razer

But why, would anyone need such a voting point? Razer says this is an upgrade that you will not necessarily feel or notice right away, because this improvement only cuts a fraction of a millisecond off the response time – something I would bet most people would not be able to describe. However, according to Razer, it can help to make your movement and purpose more responsive, and gamers who play fast-paced games, such as first-person shooters, are likely to benefit from using this mouse – even if they do not see it happening. .

Honestly, I did not see a clear difference in the game during the test Ghostrunner, a first-person title that relies on quick reflexes. (I failed very, but honestly, this is nothing new.) I then tried to test the claim of Razer’s 8,000Hz voices with some sites following the benchmark. Tools made by Mouse Insider and Zowie recorded an average rate of 4,700Hz for this mouse. There was a peak of 5,000Hz a few times, so it looks like it could go higher if it is physically possible for me to move my hand faster.

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Your computer hardware can also play a factor. Razer has requested that presses that are going to test the mouse have access to computers with at least an Intel Core i5-8600K or AMD Ryzen 5 3600 processor, an Nvidia GTX 1080 or AMD Radeon RX 5700 or better graphics processor and a high refresh rate monitor at 144Hz or higher. Fortunately, you do not actually need a high-quality computer to use this mouse. With the Razer Synapse software, you can reset the stamp number to 125, 500, 1,000, 2,000 or 4,000Hz. However, since the main purpose of the Viper 8K is to make your experience smoother with its high-pitched voices, you will make better use of the benefits of this mouse if you have at least a middle system with a high refresh rate monitor and powerful hardware.

I expect other fringe companies to start similar mice with loud voices, but if you feel that your current needs are being met, you probably should not get too excited about this feature yet. But if you need a new mouse, this is not a bad choice. I like using this mouse just like the original Viper. And the fast tuning technology costs you nothing extra to achieve, as the Viper 8K is the same price as its predecessor.