Packaging:
Razer make premium products, so I'm not surprised that you get what you pay for when it comes to packaging. Razer products come in boxes you don't want to throw away.
First impression without use:
I have never owned a gaming mouse. Prior to purchasing the DeathAdder Chroma, I was using a Dell mouse that came with a desktop we bought in 2008-2009. That mouse was used during some great gaming. I clocked 900 hours of The Elder Scrolls V: Skryim on that mouse, and re-honed my quickscoping in Call of Duty: Black Ops.
The Razer DeathAdder Chroma feels fantastic to grip out of the box. It looks as awesome as it feels, too. A computer mouse shouldn't feel like you could drop it without potentially damaging the mouse, and the DeathAdder - while being heavier than other Razer mice - does feel light, and that's because it's supposed to.
Impression upon usage:
I had to order my Goliathus Speed mat separately (cash flow issues), so when I first used my DeathAdder Chroma, I set it on a small stack of writing paper, and then a horrible form-over-function designer mouse pad that had all sorts of indentations, cracks, etc. on it. I honestly cannot give an accurate view at this stage without playing with both the DeathAdder Chroma and the Goliathus Speed, but at this stage I have no doubts about the DeathAdder Chroma's capabilities. I can impart some wisdom, however: upon using the DeathAdder Chroma on the aforementioned surfaces, the mouse tended to encounter tracking issues. This is understandable since the inside of an exercise book isn't an ideal surface, nor is an old, plastic mouse pad. So, if you want to fully utilise your Razer mouse, then make sure you use a good mouse mat with it, be it a Razer or a SteelSeries or whatever.
Software - Synapse:
Being able to change the colour of the scroll and logo LED's is cool. Yes, it is purely aesthetic and won't make you a drop-shotting, 1080 no-scoping MLG, but it's a very regal feature for a very regal mouse.
The Synapse software is obviously handy for one very good reason: you can tweak the hell out of your mouse to your preferences. The only downside is if you aren't really sure how you want your mouse to behave. Perhaps a tutorial element could be injected into the Synapse program
Other:
The intructions, the congratulatory card, and the rewards of the faithful card surprisingly made me feel welcome as a new Razer product owner! Min-Liang Tan seems to care about gaming just as much as anyone else. At this stage in the review people might be calling me a shill, but call it ass-kissing or call it customer service, Razer put the effort in, which is something I personally appreciate.
If I'm able to, I will report back here in the near future to share my experiences after more extensive use of the Razer DeathAdder Chroma gaming mouse.
Happy gaming,
P
