Over the years, many people have ripped me off for preferring a simple mouse with minimal buttons. Yet, my choice of mice remains the same. I am an undying fan of mice that need to do three things: Shoot, aim and scroll through my weapons. This makes the Razer Viper V3 Hyperspeed a fine choice of mouse, and to make it even more appealing, it’s completely wireless. See, I’m not a complete technological caveman.
First, let’s break down why the Razer Viper V3 Hyperspeed ticks many of my boxes. It’s a six-button, lightweight mouse that comes with Razers gaming-level wireless technology, Hyperspeed. It doesn’t feel too bad in my hand, and I don’t feel like I will accidentally hit another random button when frantically clicking away mid-game. It glides smoothly across the mousepad, but you can bottom the mouse out if you press it too hard, and even though it’s almost 30g heavier than my daily driver, the Logitech Superlight (88g with the battery) it doesn’t feel obscenely heavy in hand. In fact, it’s pretty a comfortable mid-weight for those who can’t quite decide if they prefer a lighter or heavier mouse.
The clicks feel pretty decent, but we already know this as the Razer Viper V3 Hyperspeed packs Razer Gen 2 Switches, which we already dealt with in the Razer Basilisk review. It’s strange that we don’t see the Gen 3 switch on this mouse, as other mice from Razer are sporting the later-edition switches, but I assume it was done to keep the Viper V3 within budget.
Combined with the Razer software, which lets you program the extra buttons, it’s the perfect mouse for gamers who enjoy a simple premium solution.
Here are the buts, though. It’s a bit flatter than what I’m used to, which makes it feel like I’m only just holding on to the mouse when I use my fingertip grip. I also dislike that I have to use a AA battery to power the mouse. I know that it will last almost 300 hours on a single battery, but I grew up in the 90s when finding batteries in the house was just impossible. It’s an innate fear that I have never gotten over, and anything operated on a standard, non-rechargeable battery gives me the ick. Because of this choice of power for the mouse, there is also no cable. When it’s dead, you must scrounge in the drawer or jump in your car and head to the shops to bring the mouse back to life.
There is also no RGB on the mouse, which I wouldn’t classify as a negative, it’s just worth mentioning for anyone who likes their hand to glow when all the lights in the room are off.
I know it all might sound like I’m nit-picking, which I guess I am, but a mouse with such a solid build quality, packed with all the Razer hardware you’d expect, like a 30K optical sensor and the ability to get an 8K polling rate (with an additional purchase), needs to be picked at. When a mouse is close to perfection, you’ve got to mention everything, even if it’s small.
Overall, you won’t go wrong if you pick up the Razer Viper V3 Hyperspeed. It’s very well priced, at around R1700, and works on both Macs and PCs. It will most certainly serve you well in the middle of a match-up against your most feared enemy, and there won’t be any cables to get in your way. It’s solid, decently weighted and has just enough buttons for most. It just happens to need a AA battery, which I can never find in my house.
