Razer supports OS X for several of their gamer-grade mice, namely: the Mamba, Naga, Imperator, Orochi, DeathAdder, and the left-handed version of the DeathAdder. I’ve been playing with the Orochi for the past two months. I’ll soon review the new 3500DPI version of the DeathAdder. I’ll also review its big brother, the Imperator. (Razer graciously provided all three for us to review.)
The Orochi is a tiny mouse. From the outset I figured that I’d like it more than the other two since, of the three, its size compares best to my Magic Mouse. Like Razer’s Mamba, the Orochi supports both wireless and wired play. It connects wirelessly to the Mac via Bluetooth 2.0. It sports a 3G Laser sensor. It has seven buttons, on-board memory, and Teflon feet. In wired mode it can poll up to 1000Hz and track up to 4000DPI. At first these numbers didn’t mean much to me, so I did a little reading. So before we start, I’ll regurgitate a bit of mouse technology as well as the advantages of Razer mice. The latter, of course, is according to my primary reading source, the Razer website.
Without elegance, here we go.
I. The Tech
DPI, or Dots Per Inch. Razer defines DPI as “the number of counts recorded by the sensor over 1 inch of physical movement of the mouse.”[1] Why is this important? Well, a greater DPI setting allows me to move a larger on-screen distance with less physical movement of my mouse. At 4000DPI I can conceivably move the same on-screen distance in one-quarter the physical movement as 1000DPI. Higher DPI yields higher sensitivity, so one’s setting should be based on preference more than anything else. I found that 2000DPI feels comfortable in most games and when browsing menus in OSX. I can pretty much move the mouse anywhere on the screen without having to lift the anchor that my wrist creates on the pad. Also, I don’t fall prey to the overcorrecting I do when running at 4000. Razer says that they do not and will never never use interpolated DPI, which is the artificial injection of extra DPI counts by software, or in some cases firmware.[2] Interpolated DPI tricks the computer into thinking that the mouse generates more counts than it really does as it moves across a physical surface. As Razer suggests, interpolated DPI ultimately decreases the functionality of the mouse as a gaming device because it decreases accuracy. On-screen movement may not actually reflect what you perform. Instead, you may have a smoothed, rounded version of how you actually moved.
Additionally, some Razer mice such as the Orochi and Mamba support on-the-fly sensitivity, which allows you to change DPI without minimizing the application and distracting yourself from the game at hand. I never found much use for it, but you could conceivably use high-sensitive controls while running-and-gunning and then switch to a slower, more manageable sensitivity when pausing for a long-distance shot. In the case of the Orochi, the hardware handles this function by having its maximum DPI (4000) as its default sensitivity. Every lower DPI setting tells the mouse to intermittently refrain a transmit count, calculated by the appropriate amount of pauses for the desired sensitivity. I think of this as the opposite application of interpolated DPI. Interpolated DPI interjects artificial counts to mimic a high sensitivity; the Orochi throttles a naturally high sensitivity by injecting pauses into its own count transmission.
Polling. The polling rate is how often the mouse sends information like axes movement or the press of a button. Most mice have a 125Hz polling rate, which translates into a signal every 8ms. The faster a mouse can transmit its data, the quicker the game can receive it. In wireless mode, the Orochi transmits at the standard 125Hz. In wired mode, though, the Orochi uses Ultrapolling, which runs at 1000Hz, and which sends a signal every 1ms, meaning that your tracking accuracy increases.[3] Although I couldn’t distinguish a difference in practice, I assume that a mouse transmitting faster data will allow a computer to parse its input faster. In, say, an FPS, this could result in the difference between who fires first shot.
Optical versus laser mice. This one usually slips my mind, and while I’m ashamed to admit it, I’ve included it for the sake of those who may be in my shoes (or as I like to rationalize, for the sake of thoroughness). The difference between laser and optical mice is in their tracking engines. An optical mouse uses an LED to beam light downward. This light reflects off your mousepad or desk surface and is tracked by the mouse. A laser mouse, on the other hand, uses a laser for this function. Even though the latter is a denotative subset of the former, laser mice generally have higher DPI than it’s optical predecessor. Optical mice track from 400 to 800DPI; laser mice often track more than 2000.[4]
II. The Philosophy
Razer devotes a lot of space on its website to design philosophy, which I found appealing to my curiosity and rather rewarding to read. Razer promotes a philosophy of individual design. No one mouse is suitable for all gamers. In fact, some mice should even be paired with certain mouse pads for specific effect, which is sort of like pairing good beer to steak. For example, I consider myself the type of gamer who likes a definitive, tactile feedback to his mouse glide. I don’t like a completely icy glide because I theorize that a little resistance allows the muscle memory in my hand and arm to detect the distance I have moved, which I hope sort of circumvents the whole hand-arm-brain-eye cognitive circuit. For me, Razer suggests the Sphex pad. This is good because it’s low-profile and because I need a low-profile pad for my rather high sitting desk. But before I read all of this, I had fallen in love with the monochromatic look of Razer’s Destructor pad. I bought it about a month before receiving the Orochi. Now, the Destructor glides smoothly. And the Orochi has Teflon feet, which promotes a slick, fast glide. Having paired these two, I sort of feel that I’ve stunted myself by having doggedly stuck to a gritty, friction-based schema all this long. So, good-bye ancient, cloth-covered Duke Nukem 3D mousepad. I retire you to a drawer of knickknacks and lost clothing buttons. Hello, Destructor and the sexy glide that you give when Teflon kisses your surface.
Razer says that in choosing a mouse you should consider your comfort, hand grip, and preference to things like glide and button location. All Razer mice purport some level of ergonomics, although you see less of this in the ambidextrous models like the Orochi. With hand grip, Razer broadly categorizes gamers into two type, one which has a subset where I fall. First there’s the Palm Grip. This grip uses the largest and most numerous points of contact under the user’s hand. On the plus side, the Palm Grip allows the palm, the pinkie, and the thumb to stabilize the mouse. It’s the most common grip. It’s more readily employed on hand-specific, ergonomic mice such as the right- or left-handed versions of the DeathAdder. It’s also the grip that induces the least amount of hand fatigue during long game sessions. On the downside, though, a strict Palm Grip minimizes your actuation points. Since you move the mouse at the wrist and forearm more than at the fingertips, you lose a slight amount of precision, which often begs you to lower your sensitivity, and which in turn asks you to make broad, sweeping movements with the mouse.[5]
The second main category is the Claw Grip. The Fingertip Grip is a subset of the Claw, and it is my preferred style. The Claw and Fingertip usually allow for higher sensitivity settings since the mouse is controlled by the fingertips and is stabilized by the pinkie or ring finger and the thumb. In addition, the Claw and Fingertip can allow for slightly quicker button response. Since the Palm encourages you to rest the length of your finger across each button, you must move that finger farther to activate the click. A fingertip, on the other hand, simply moves a short distance, which is usually straight down. With less distance to travel, there’s can be a quicker and more accurate touch to the button.
The Fingertip differs from the Claw in that the Claw rests the mouse into the cup of your palm while the Fingertip pushes the mouse forward so that space exists between your palm and the device. Thus, the Fingertip has the least points of contact with the mouse. As downside to the aforementioned perks, the Fingertip and Claw can generate more hand fatigue. They can also feel a little unnatural, particularly if you are inclined to the Palm.
I’ve always held a mouse with the Fingertip Grip, though I was unaware it had a designation. I’ve always felt rather comfortable in my reaction time and accuracy, but I suffer from cramps during marathon game sessions. Perhaps like a handshake, one’s mouse grip is a natural preference for how he engages things external. I see no reason to worry between your grip and the next. Razer simply uses this observation to recommend a mouse that feels correct and that responds well to your hand’s natural disposition.
III. The Testing
For consistency I will test these three mice on the same surface: my Destructor mousepad. I will also play through the same genres of games. It’s not a competition between the three, so don’t expect a toe-to-toe comparison. But my process is kind of like the scientific method, although ordered and thorough to my transit sense of accuracy, not documented standards.
To test the Orochi I played through Portal, Half-Life 2, and several hours of Age of Empires 3. I’ve also been playing a pretty decent amount of Football Manager 2010, which is really a menu-driven game, so I’ll consider that time as an extension of my OS experience. I’m using Razer’s 2.00 Orochi drivers for the Mac. I’m also using the updated 1.06 firmware, which I patched from 1.03 via a Windows machines since there’s no Mac interface to do this yet.
A. Physical Appeal
The most attractive aspect of the Orochi is the texture of its six buttons, the wheel and its button, and the back of the mouse. I’m a texture kind of guy. I love certain foods because of their physical appeal as well as their flavor. When I grip the Orochi my brain fires off pleasure responses. Its texture isn’t tacky, but it grips my fingers to its buttons. My thumb and pinkie rest on a side of smooth plastic that flares out at the base, encouraging these stabilizing fingers to naturally push in toward the mouse. The wheel spins with a tight, definitively-notched rotation. The buttons click with consistent pressure, regardless of where my fingers seem to lie. In fact, the left and right mouse buttons sort of cup my index and ring fingers into grooves, which preserve a certain level of mouse control that I feel necessary for such a small device. In the long run, I think this dissuades hand fatigue as well. When I use my Mighty or Magic Mice for extended sessions, their smooth, androgynous faces allow my fingers to shift when tired. I really don’t feel this same inconsistency with the Orochi.
While not exclusively masculine, the Orochi looks aggressive. I’d argue that it’s as attractive as any other wireless device on my desk.
B. Response
For the most part, Portal is a paced game that doesn’t require the same sustained level of mouse control as does Half-Life 2. Sure, it has some tricky puzzles, but those are short bursts of hand-eye agility, needing confident controls and a little luck to best. In terms of agility, the Orochi responds well to my portal jumping. Since I’ve acclimated to a comfortable 2000DPI, I can shoot portals around the level with a slight nudge in my hand. As mentioned earlier, I anchor my wrist on the mouse pad and use my fingers to actuate the axes of movement, sliding my anchor when I need broad FPS movements akin to 180 degrees. I do lift-offs occasionally. Lift-offs are where I reposition the mouse by raising it off the pad and returning it to a more comfortable place, usually for on-screen FPS movements greater than 180 degrees. All Razer mice have a low lift-off threshold, which means I don’t have to lift the mouse very high for it to stop tracking. But, honestly, I find myself doing less lift-offs now that I’ve increased my DPI.
I spent most of my marathon sessions using the Orochi during my revisit of Half-Life 2. It’s been so long since I’ve played that game that I’ve forgotten wide swaths of the encounters; it’s been rather fun. I developed some hand fatigue after the first few hours. My hand cramped a little at the sides, probably due to the overly tight grip between my thumb and pinkie. In response, I developed what I’ll call the three-fingered salute so that I could minimize fatigue and maintain control of my hand as it tired.
In the three-fingered salute I put my index, middle, and ring fingers forward in a straight line. I rest the tips of these fingers on their respective parts of the mouse, barely touching the actual device. I grip the mouse with my thumb and pinkie fingers, which allow me to push the mouse forward, pull it back, and pan it sideways by actuating these movement points. My palm still anchors the mouse pad. But my grip now relies on short bursts of movement that are corrected by gradual shifts of my entire hand. After an acclimation period of about two days, the Orochi didn’t really fatigue my hand. After a week, the three-fingered salute felt second-nature, and I didn’t have to remind my hand of its position.
The Orochi paired with the Destructor pad makes my mouse glide feel like mercury rolling across glass — it’s really that smooth. As I mentioned, I found myself lifting-off less because this combination allowed me a higher sensitivity. And, honestly, I think my reaction time is the better for it. The Orochi feels hefty and weighted when its batteries are installed. It’s solid and present, allowing its texture and its weight to make me responsible with the device, though not readily cognizant of it during play. There are few things worse than frantically rolling a cheap, hollow mouse during an intense game. I become so aware of such things that I’m conscious of the illusion of gaming. Basically, I loose the magic. I never suffered similar fate after acclimating to the Orochi.
For all intents and purposes I consider the Orochi a three-button mouse. Blasphemy? Well, OS X recognizes the Orochi’s seven buttons and wheel. In fact, Orochi drivers integrate well into OS X’s System Preferences, allowing me to customize how the OS handles these buttons, the macros assigned to these buttons, sensitivity and acceleration, profile switching based on application, and cosmetic details such as the battery life indicator and the blued wheel light. But when playing Portal and Half-Life 2, I never used the two left-side buttons to instantly change DPI. In fact, I forgot this feature each time I played. When using the two right-side buttons, I found that my accuracy decreased to such an extreme that I simply reassigned their controls to the keyboard.
The Orochi is a fully-functioning, seven-button device in OS X and in every game that I played, but the side buttons just weren’t practical for me to use. I mean, they mechanically worked, but I was much happier to retain mouse stability and potential lift-off by not relocating my thumb and pinkie for button use. I’m used to a three-button limitation, so I glossed right through this snafu. To be honest, this is only a problem if you perceive it to be because the mouse’s accuracy and overall design outweighs this side button impracticality.
C. Play in Wireless Mode
Razer is pretty up-front about the differences between the wireless and wired modes of the Orochi. You can’t configure the Orochi in OS X during wireless mode. To configure, you’ll need to plug in the mouse and then launch the Orochi configuration panel under System Preferences. The good thing is that the configurations will carry over regardless of your mode of play. For example, I can still switch sensitivities and run macros in wireless mode, but I can’t edit these configurations without my little, braided USB mouse cable.
The depth of change unfortunately deepens a little from here. In wireless mode, the Orochi’s sensitivity is limited to 2000DPI, which is half of the mouse’s big-advert, marquee sensitivity. For me this is no problem since anything over 2000 is too quick for my tastes. Further, the Orochi does not support independent X- and Y-axis sensitivities in wireless mode. It also only operates at 125Hz in wireless mode, which is that of a normal mouse, but far less than its supported 1000Hz when wire is connected.[7] But the biggest fault I found with Orochi’s wireless mode resides in a slight hiccup that occurs after mouse idle. It seems to be a power-saving feature of sorts. When I stop using the mouse for a few seconds, my next movement is recorded rather erratically, and it’s something that has irritated me enough to make me plug in the cord. This is a huge problem if, say, you’re over-watching a zone in Counter-Strike and an enemy crosses your sniper’s reticle. I recorded a short video of this snafu so that you can see the problem. There’s no way to change it. Let the evidence of the moment speak for itself.
On the plus side, though, once you’ve configured the Orochi, changing between wired and wireless is as easy as unplugging the cable and flipping the slider on the mouse’s belly. It’s really no big deal. But since wireless is a marketed trait of this product, you should first ensure that you’re comfortable with this little hiccup. Also, make sure that you’re comfortable with small inconsistencies like a lacking on-screen sensitivity feedback in wireless mode even though you can still change sensitivity on the fly. Otherwise, you may be paying for a wireless device only to discover that it fits your needs if the cord is in tow.
D. Presentation Quality
I am honestly a sucker for good packaging. Even though it’s short and fleeting, opening a package can often be a treat in discovery. Here, Razer succeeds in aces. The Orochi comes with 2 AA batteries, a carrying case, a braided USB cable, some Razer stickers, and a handy paper guide for twits (or completionists like me) who like to read everything. I installed the mouse in the same and simple fashion as any other OS X-capable device. Sure, it would be nice to update the firmware without having to find a Windows machine (or without using Boot Camp, which Razer dissuades from doing), but that’s a minor quip in my book. I’m a pretty easy going guy, and it’s nice to have a solid-feeling mouse in my hand despite the tiny hurdle that keeps it from feeling like a fully-integrated OS X device.
IV. Final Thoughts
I like the Orochi. It’s aesthetically pleasing, accurate to use while in wired mode, and its configuration panels offer a breadth of customization that I normally gloss over. But before buying at the $79.99 MSRP, I’d make sure you’re okay with the caveats I listed under the wireless section. The Orochi is a fine, well-crafted mouse that’s engineered for the gamer. While I haven’t married myself to it, I have married myself to the idea of a Razer mouse. I’m very much looking forward to testing the other two.
Afterthought
I somehow failed to mention that the Orochi is advertised as a portable gaming mouse. With this, it’s aces.
Most of my testing occurred on my home office iMac. I travelled several times during my review period, and I took the Orochi along so I could game in hotel rooms. While I can’t attest to its size on a tray table (I never game on airplanes), I can say that having a consistent, dependable feel while on the road is surely a satisfying luxury.
For the curious: I always brought my wire.
References
- http://www2.razerzone.com/MouseGuide/technology/dots-per-inch/15.html
- http://www2.razerzone.com/MouseGuide/technology/interpolated-dpi/22.html
- http://www2.razerzone.com/MouseGuide/technology/ultrapolling/37.html
- http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-10166_7-6419059-1.html
- http://www2.razerzone.com/MouseGuide/html/palmgrip.php
- http://www2.razerzone.com/MouseGuide/html/clawgrip.php & http://www2.razerzone.com/MouseGuide/html/fingertipgrip.php
- http://store.razerzone.com/store/razerusa/en_US/pd/productID.169419000/parentCategoryID.35208800/categoryId.35210700
Good review with some nice detailed info about mouse tech included.
One question, you don’t mention it in the review, will it recharge batteries in the mouse when pluged into the USB cable? The batteries pictured look like standard AA non-rechargeables, so im guessing not.
I am using a 10 year old wireless optical with a broken mouse wheel simply for the fact it recharges whilst sat in the USB attached cradle. Replacements for it were expensive & shortlived affairs, which required the cradle to be plugged into both USB & a seperate power adapter to allow charging, which is madness in my book. Any low voltage PC peripheral that doesnt recharge via USB makes me angry!
John, the Orochi doesn’t recharge batteries in wired mode, which is kind of a shame. In fact, Razer recommends that you power off the mouse so that you preserve maximum battery life when using the USB cable. I’m too lazy for that, but despite my laziness, I tested the above on the factory-provided AAs without fault. That’s pretty efficient for me.
Thanks for the comment.
i have a problem about the Orochi…
my Orochi can’t move the cursor with wireless mode.
may you have any idea for handle this problem??
thx…..
Senjaya,
Make sure you have the most recent Mac drivers, which is 2.00.
http://www.razersupport.com/index.php?_m=downloads&_a=viewdownload&downloaditemid=444&nav=0,76
Second, make sure that you’ve configured the mouse while the wire is connected.
http://help.razersupport.com/us-en/resolution.asp?sid=112356101110099111022251&pid=400000416&pnm=Razer+Orochi&seid=400002095&pos=Macintosh+10.6&top=Functionality&rid=400001902
Third, make sure that the batteries are properly inserted and the switch is flipped on. The switch is located on the underside of the mouse. In fact, I keep my switch turned on and have not noticed an egregious drain on the battery. (That’s not a scientific deduction; that’s simply a casual observation.)
Best luck!
HOW TO UNPLUG THE RAZER OROCHI CABLE.
IT,S REALY HARD TO PULL IT OFF
CAN YOU SHOW ME SOME TIPS ABUOT IT
THX
Ace,
The cable on this Orochi is pretty easy to remove. I simply flip over the mouse, put my thumb on the traction grooves, put my index finger on top of the cable, hold firm, and remove. The Orochi doesn’t have a cable lock, so you need not worry about that.
Seems like this mouse is just a very inferior version of the Mamba, albiet about half the price.
Matt,
The Orochi isn’t necessarily inferior to the Mamba. It just serves a separate purpose: portability.
You’re right about the cost. The Mamba has an MSRP of $129.99. The Orochi is $79.99. Part of this difference is because the Mamba has an illuminated recharging stand (the Orochi has none), runs up to 5600DPI (the Orochi runs up to 4000DPI in wired mode and 2000DPI in wireless), and sports a 3.5G Laser sensor (the Orochi uses just 3G). That said, I still really like the Orochi as a gaming device. I’ll probably go back to it once I cobble together my Imperator review.
I bought a Mamba from my local Best Buy about a year ago, and I didn’t enjoy it as much as I do the Orochi. If memory serves me, the Mamba has a better OS X user interface than the Orochi and Imperator. (Frankly, the Imperator’s OS X interface is so barebones that it warrants no positive comment.)
The problem I had with *this* Mamba was that its shell construction felt a little flimsy, which caused the left mouse button to click imprecisely. This problem didn’t effect performance, but it annoyed me so much that I took it back. If I were to guess, this was probably an anomaly of the device, not a problem of the Mamba’s overall design.
Just awful support for Mac OS! And Razer don’t want to fix it.
Definitely don’t buy the Razer Orochi mouse for Mac.