Lachesis Muta Muta

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The Lachesis comes in the usual Razer door-box where you can see the mouse before you buy or open the box. Reading the side of the box you discover that the mouse is actually called ‘Lachesis Muta Muta’ which means “bringer of silent death” in Latin and is the name of the largest pit viper in the world. Razer have always used snakes for inspiration in their product names probably due to snakes eating mice or something along those lines.

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Out of the box, you can see that the mouse uses the same rubbery surface that graced the Death Adder and uses it for the top half while the rest of the mouse uses glossy black plastic. There are buttons a plenty on the Lachesis with two directly behind the scroll-wheel and then another two on either side, covered with the rubbery surface. The main two buttons for left and right click are formed out of a single piece of plastic that makes up the top of the mouse. This gives a look of seemless design which was first seen on the Death Adder and makes for comfortable usage.

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The box contains the usual literature that Razer bundle with their products, including the all-important certification of authenticity and a manual to let you know how to use the mouse. You also receive a driver CD that is more than likely going to be out of date by the time it reaches you thanks to driver updates, but it is nice to see that Razer still provide it for emergencies.

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You can get this mouse in both blue or white, which refers to the colour of the LED’s in the scroll wheel and the rear Razer logo. We were lucky enough to get both versions which allows us to show you both colours from our good friends over at Powerdrive Computers.

The mouse uses an ambidextrous design so both left-handed and right-handed gamers can give this mouse a play. This is a supposed upgrade from the Death Adder that is the only mouse that Razer offer that’s only designed for the right-handed user. While at first the symmetrical design appears to be a gift for the left-hander, it actually doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Left-handed people do not use their mouse on the other side of the keyboard, especially if they are gaming. While an office worker will see no down-side to changing the side that the mouse is on, a gamer isn’t allowed the same luxury. Due to the positioning of the space bar, you can’t switch hands without it being a major disadvantage. For the most part, left-handed users will keep the mouse on the right side; as a result an ambidextrous design is near pointless especially after asking some left-handed gamers.

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Looking on the underside, you can see the continuation of the glossy plastic. There are three white Teflon feet that make sure the mouse will glide on the surface you choose to use it on. The front two feet are quite small, while the rear foot is much larger and shaped around the curve of the mouse. There is the usual profile button – this time labelled – and it allows you to change the software profile without resorting to the on-screen driver menu. The optical sensor is obvious from its golden colour, and is labelled as such with a circular ring of information explaining that it hits 4000 DPI. Baring in mind that this is the highest DPI mouse I’ve seen, its not just another number.

The top of the mouse is more akin to the Krait rather than the more recent Death Adder although the buttons have ‘wings’ giving your fingers more support. The side buttons are placed in the perfect spot so that your thumb can easily access them, while the opposite side is harder to reach and seems to be included merely to allow a left-handed player the same privilege as a righty.

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The weight of the mouse is on par with the Death Adder and slightly heavier than the Krait but it doesn’t allow any customisation like other mice with their adjustable weight cartridges. Razer have never offered this facility and it hasn’t been to their detriment in the past so this decision is – from previous experience – not a bad one.

As this is a standard wired mouse, you get a fairly epic cable protruding from the top of the device measuring 7 foot. The cable is labelled as non-tangle, and is tipped with a gold plated USB plug which is just there for the sake of being gold, rather than offering any real benefit to the connection quality although they are more hard-wearing than their nickel plated counterparts.