Razer Imperator

Testing

Test Rig

Processor
Intel Core 2 Duo Q9450 @ 3.2GHZ
Motherboard
Asus P5QL Pro
RAM
Super Talent 6400 4GB @ 1200MHZ
Graphics Card
Sapphire 5770 1GB
HDD
Mach Xtreme 100GB SSD
OS
Windows 7 Ultimate x64

Methodology

Mice and other peripherals fall into an interesting category for testing as your opinion on them tends to be very personal, as the mouse or keyboard has to be right for you beyond having the specifications to do what you want with it. Therefore these reviews can be highly subjective so as always, please make sure to test a mouse for yourself before you buy it.

However with that said, our testing methods involve using the mouse over prolonged gaming and general usage periods to test it’s gaming ability, functionality and comfort.

The games used for testing were:

  • Mount and Blade Warband
  • Dawn of War II Chaos Rising

Results

General Usage

Since I am a claw handed gamer, I do like to grip the base of a mouse and control it with my fingers. This is in contrast with the other type of grip which is palm based and more wrist controlled. Now this mouse is aimed at both, but due to its thumb groove you do have to place that controlling digit in the specified location; which took me a little while to get used to. However, once I did, I found the Imperator incredibly easy to use. It’s high DPI means you’re barely moving across the mat, you can lower your windows pointer speed for greater accuracy and it moves around very smoothly.

Mount and Blade Warband

Warband is a great test for mice as it utilises first person shooter type (though in third person) ranged fighting with a targeting reticule, and hand to hand swinging. These both require two different things. The archery needs a steady, smooth operation in the mouse with high levels of accuracy; which I’m pleased to say the Imperator handled with no problems. There was however a slight learning curve as I got used to the way it felt compared to my usual mouse, the Roccat Kova.

For the hand to hand combat you can really benefit from high sensitivity as it requires repetitive, quick movements with a measure of accuracy. Again the Imperator stands up to the challenge.

Dawn of War II Chaos Rising

This is a game that requires high accuracy levels, but definately benefits from high sensitivity to help you move around the map; unsurprisingly at this point the Imperator did very well indeed. I also utilised the macros to produce units and to setup my original build order.

Comfort

Considering I’m more used to an abidextrous mouse and I prefer more solid rubber grips to the shiny plastic found on the Imperator, I wasn’t expecting to like this as much as I did. The plastic frame was surprisingly smooth and comfy to have resting in your palm and marks a change from Razer’s usual rubber body.

Cost

The Razer Imperator is a high end gaming mouse, so let’s not pretend that it’s going to come cheap. At £52 it’s quite typical of this type of mouse, but it may be a bit much for some. Really though, I can’t recommend this type of mouse enough; gaming mice make a big difference to your game.

1 response to “Razer Imperator”

  1. […] sides gets fingerprints really easy so you need to wipe it sometimes.SourcesRazerzoneCravingtechCnetXsreviewsvar […]

  2. Onisor Cristian avatar
    Onisor Cristian

    it freezes randomly and u have to unplug the usb cable and plug it back in in order to work. i’ve had it for a year and right now when my warranty expired for like 2 months my left click stopped working so i would say it’s a terrible investment

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