raid warning

The Razer Lachesis is Razer’s top-of-the-line wired gaming mouse (not counting the convertible mamba), and is available for a MSRP of 79.99 in either a blue or white glow.

I have wanted to try this mouse out for awhile mostly do to its ridiculous amount of button options and Razer’s reputation for a high build quality. The mouse comes packaged in  Razer’s always over the top packaging, including the mouse, driver disc, manual, and quick start guide.

The mouse feels just like you would expect from Razer. It feels solid in your hand and is well weighted for quick movement, which is a plus if your into PVP. It has a gold-plated USB connector for a solid connection which may or may not help transmit the 16-bit wide data path. The mouse has a matte finish which resists dirt and stains from your Doritos stained fingers and provides a textured surface to hold on to when trying to reach the mouse’s 9 buttons.

Installation was a piece of cake. Plug and play picks the mouse up right away and software install took all of 2 minutes. My particular mouse needed the firmware and drivers updated which was also a snap. The process was laid out in the software, and worked on the first try, which is not the case with a lot of firmware updates. The mouse is compatible with both PC and Mac, however the software is only PC compatible at the moment. A quick google search yielded some work arounds so it is still possible to use this on a Mac with the extra buttons.

The software is a bit graphics heavy, but offers all the features you need to setup macros for each button. You can set each button up to simply activate a hotkey, or a serious of button clicks. This is especially nice for healers, as being able to have all your healing spells bound to buttons makes quick healing a snap. I did have some issues with my single button macros causing the button it was bound to to stick until the computer is restarted. As of now, I was unable to find a fix for this, but it has only happened a few times.

The mouse comes with two buttons on either side of the mouse, two below the scroll wheel, your standard two left and right buttons, as well as a clickable scroll wheel. The thumb side buttons  are very nicely placed and are easy to press. Unfortunately the same can no be said for the other buttons. The two top buttons would randomly not register while I was healing Ulduar, regardless of how hard or soft I pressed them. The right two buttons are just difficult enough to press that you would accidentally click others in order to gain the leverage needed to use them. The scroll wheel does have a nice firm scroll action which also makes clicking it without scrolling fairly easy.

The mouse software has adjustable profiles allowing you to set up different button layouts for different specs as well as change the polling rate and dpi of the laser. The mouse is capable of up to 4000 dpi and 1000hz polling rate. Depending on your screen size and play style you may want to adjust this down. I found the full polling rate to be too twitchy for healing, especially on 25-mans where the opportunity for misclicking is high. If you also use this for fps or arenas, however, I’m sure the higher polling rate will come in handy. I have found that the laser tends to be super sensitive, and the slightest hair on the laser will throw the mouse for a loop. If you do not clean your computer desk a lot or have animals like I do, it can happen at the most inconvienient times.

Overall I like the Lachesis. While I have my gripes, its still the best solution I have found for mouseover-style healing. It has a lot of customization options, tons of buttons, and a solid build quality that withstands even my biggest fits of nerd rage. Overall, I would have to give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.

The Skinny:

Pros:

• Tons of Customization
• A Large Array Of Buttons
• Tremendous Build Quality

Cons:

• Some buttons are hard to press
• Macros can glitch out your keyboard
• Oversensitive laser may be a problem for some

The Plantronics 995 wireless headset is the first wireless headset said to be made ‘for gamers and chat users alike.’  I figured I’d try it out, so I went to the local Best Buy and purchased it.

Getting started with the headset is a breeze.  Take it out of its packaging, plug it in to a usb port, and let it charge.  First charge on the headset should be about 3.5 hours, but I let it charge overnight.  Charging status is clearly indicated on the left ear pad with either a blue or red light.  Blue means charged, red means needs charge.  Simple.

First thing I noticed out of the box was the size of the headset.  Compared to other wireless headsets it is quite big.  The pads rest on the ears and have multiple controls on them.  This feature is really nice for anyone using the headset for music listening.  Play/pause, skip track, and volume controls are all on the left earpad.  Very convenient.  The weight of the headset is good, however it does pinch a little bit on the ears.  I don’t know if it is because I wear glasses , but it can become uncomfortable after a few hours of gaming/chatting.   My ears also get very hot while wearing the headset.

I’ll be honest; the main reason I purchased the headset was for the wireless feature.  Time after time I have ruined headsets by running over the cords with my chair.  For this purpose, the headset excels.  The freedom of no cords is very nice for raiding, taking a break in between pulls, or simply leaning back in the chair.  The range of the headset is pretty nice as well.  During a raid break I was able to make a sandwich and fix a drink downstairs; all while remaining on ventrilo.  The stats say it gets up to a 40 ft. range.  I would say that is pretty accurate.

Battery life on the headset is pretty good for the casual user.  The tech specs say up to 8 hours on a single charge.  In my experience I was able to get around 3-6 hours of playtime per charge.  This is good for some, but for my gaming usage it is inadequate.  I recommend having a back-up headset, or a mini-usb (at least 6 ft) cable available to charge the headset if the battery fails.

The quality of the sound is pretty good for a wireless headset.  The speakers are good and the microphone is excellent.  People on ventrilo commented that I sound a lot clearer on this headset than previous ones.  I never use push-to-talk, much to the annoyance of everyone.  The sensitivity of the mic is excellent, picking up my first word to the last.  A cool feature on the headset is the way the mic mutes.  To close the mic, simply put the mic all the way up and it mutes.  Very cool.

Overall, the headset does exactly what it says.  It allows you to play games and listen to music while communicating with other people.  On a scale of 1 to 5, I would score this unit a 3.5.

The skinny:

Pros:

• Wireless freedom
• Excellent mic
• Controls on the headset for media control

Cons:

• Battery life isn’t good for marathon gaming sessions
• Headset can pinch glass-wearers’ heads and make ears hot
• Short charging cable