Razer Zone - Lachesis High Precision Laser Mouse
Price: $79.99
www.RazerZone.com

Finding the right Video Card or Processor for your machine may seem like a gamer's number one concern, but many times instead of looking inside the system we should be spending more time looking at how we interact with it. Our two main devices have always been the Keyboard and Mouse, and finding the perfect ones for you can be a challenge. With the right mouse, you will notice a definite difference in your abilities on your computer and your comfort while using your computer.

Trying to make the perfect mouse has long been Razer's quest. Today we are taking a look at one of their newer models, the Razer Lachesis.

Design
Coming in very nice retail packaging, first impressions are very good.

Opening the front cover reveals the Lachesis.

The Lachesis slides out of the packaging in a plastic tray that opens to reveal the mouse.

Included is the mouse itself and a packet that includes instructions, a driver CD, and stickers.

In taking a closer look at the mouse, it is comprised of two different parts. The top part is a matte finish that is slightly gripy and a lighter shade of black. Comprising the bottom half is lightweight shinier black plastic. There are two buttons on each side as well.

The top is comprised of your standard right and left click buttons, a lighted scroll wheel with push to click function, two small buttons behind the scroll wheel, and a lighted Razer logo on the back palm rest. You may notice that there is no defined area for the right and left buttons between the rest of the palm rest, the whole top piece is one solid piece that can be click on the right and left at the front. This makes for a very nice look. The second image here shows the Lachesis lit up (the logo and scroll wheel light up, our sample was the Phantom White version).

The bottom has three fairly small teflon skates, the laser eye, and a profile selection button (note this picture still has the protective plastic on the bottom that should be removed prior to use)

Overall the design is very good. The Lachesis like many other Razer mice is symmetrical, meaning that it is the same on both sides and thus works great for right and left handed users (unlike some mice such as many Logitechs that are formed for only right hand use). The Lachesis is long feeling and lets your fingers sit out stretched during use. The mouse also sits very low without much arc in the palm rest and the palm rest is fairly small. Personally I feel this feels a bit like I am less in control, but others that tried it felt the exact opposite and really like the relaxed fit. This is very much personal preference and will depend on the user. All the buttons have very good tactile feedback and are very solid, I really liked the feel of the scroll wheel as well which is well defined and solid in use.

Technology
The Lachesis packs quite a few features in its small case. It is a laser mouse which means it provides much better tracking than even optical mice. It also supports up to 4000 DPI for super fast scrolling and mousing, great for many games. For super fast response, the Lachesis also features up to 1000hz polling via USB to make sure it catches every movement you make.

Profiles is a unique feature to Razer mice where the mouse can store your customized profiles (up to 5) right in the mouse. You can then select between these profiles using the button on the bottom of the mouse. Profiles contain things like DPI setting, Button Assignments, and Sensitivity settings so having multiple ones for different tasks is very nice indeed.

To configure the Lachesis and setup your profiles you use the Razer driver control panel. After installing the driver suite you will have this available by clicking on the Razer logo in your task bar. In the control panel you will see all the options for sensitivities, button assignments, profile creation, polling rate, DPI, and even turn the lights on and off on the Lachesis!

Assigning functions to buttons is as easy as clicking the dropdown for the button you want to change, selecting the function you want from the list, and clicking apply when done. The list of available functions is fairly complete and if you want to make your own Macros or Single Key functions, you can click on Advanced Functions and make your own. Your options are pretty limitless.

Once you have setup the mouse how you like, you can save all your settings to a profile by opening the Profile Selection tab at the bottom.

The software worked very well in using it and functions were applied quickly. For some things such as polling rate, the mouse had to reset itself which only took a few seconds. Overall I was very impressed with the control panel and I think that it works better than most other driver suites out there from other competitors such as Logitech. The sheer amount of customization is very nice as well for advanced users, although the software is well laid out and easy to use for beginners.

Usage
Now to see what the Lachesis is like in use. To test out the Lachesis we put it through testing in different real world scenarios such as image editing, gaming, and everyday office work. We also tested the Lachesis on our Razer Mantis Control and Razer Lachesis mouse pads alongside a Logitech G7 laser mouse.

In comparing the Lachesis on the two mouse pads, I can say that I liked the feel of the Lachesis much more on the solid surface Destructor pad. It seem more accurate and smoothly glided over the surface while still feeling very in control. On the Control pad, the Lachesis was a bit rougher than the Logitech G7 and I feel because of its lighter weight, did not feel as accurate or in control on the cloth surface.

To get an idea of the two mice one on one, we rated them in 3 categories out of 10, Control, Accuracy, and Speed.

The Lachesis we feel overall had the lead in the Control category. It was more refined while using it and was easier to be very specific when using it while editing photos for example. In the Accuracy category, both mice were even. The Lachesis was a bit better on the Destructor pad, but the Logitech was better on the more conventional cloth Control pad. Comparing speed, the Lachesis definitely had the lead with its 4000 DPI. When cranked all the way up, you can moved the mouse pointer insane distances on screen with just a small flick of the wrist.

To sum up, the Lachesis is a great mouse. It is extremely customizable and offers just about every feature you could think of for a mouse in this day and age. The tracking and control are very good and the driver software is very stable. The design while very good, may not be for everyone as everyone has their own preferences. Personally I found it to be a bit less comfortable than my Logitech G7, but others on the team liked the Lachesis better. Overall though, this mouse will not let you down whether you are a gamer, a image editor, or just a general PC user!

Pros:

• Multiple Profiles
• Profiles Saved to Mouse instead of PC
• 4 Side Buttons
• Excellent Scroll Wheel
• Excellent Driver Integration

Cons:

• Ergonomics not for everyone
• No side scrolling with the scroll wheel

Thanks to Razer for the Review Sample!