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Inspired by the Batmobile and Lamborghini designs, and optimizing the balance between quality, durability and customization, the Razer Ouroboros is the product of three years of development. Many forms of interchangeable and movable parts were tested, and from seeking the feedback of pro-gamers and ergonomic scientists, Razer's designers have built the Ouroboros to be the company's most advanced gaming mouse to date.

How does it perform in different game genres and how customizable is it? Read on for our review of the Razer Ouroboros.

Upon receiving the unit, the packaging alone had us excited to plug in and play. The almost militaristic modular hardware design oozes cool, and Razer's signature green backlighting flowing through multiple areas of the unit immediately makes the Ouroboros one of the most eye-catching PC peripherals available. The scroll wheel and side buttons are lit, along with the battery charge indicator in the center. The indicator displays a charging animation to inform players that the battery is powering up.

The Razer Ouroboros ships with the mouse unit, four interchangeable side panels, a rechargeable AA battery, the receiver and a USB cord. The Ouroboros is built with Razer's Synapse 2.0 proprietary software in mind (more on this later), but to get playing, simply remove the plastic protector covering the dual optical sensors, plug in the receiver via USB and you're good to go. It's simple, it works, and it looks pretty.

With its modular design, the Ouroboros immediately draws comparisons to Mad Catz's R.A.T. series of gaming mice, specifically the latest R.A.T.9 entry, with one major difference: Razer's Ouroboros is perfectly symmetrical, meaning it's completely ambidextrous like the Razer's Lachesis and Abyssus gaming mice. Literally any gamer can use it and take advantage of the ergonomic design thanks to not only the ambidextrous design, but the three physical elements that are customizable.

No tools are required to interchange parts or make adjustments to the Ouroboros. Simply pick between one of two side panels for each side of the mouse and high-powered magnets lock them in. The components fit perfectly in place, are easy to interchange/remove and don't wobble about during use. The rear end of the mouse can also be adjusted in two ways. The back arch's angle can be altered with the spin of a wheel located underneath the unit while the entire palm rest can be pulled out or pushed in to fit any hand. It's simple and very intuitive.

We did find that in addition to there being no noticeable resting point for the ring finger, the rear corners of the mouse are rather wide. To compensate, we angled the back arch as low as possible and that works for most hand shapes we had try it. Compared to most other gaming mice, the corners do sit relatively high and don't curve down enough.

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The Specs

  • Customizable ergonomics to fit all hand sizes and grip-styles
  • 8200dpi 4G Dual Sensor System
  • Gaming-grade wireless technology with dock
  • Razer Synapse 2.0 enabled
  • 11 programmable Hyperesponse buttons
  • 1000Hz Ultrapolling / 1ms response time
  • Up to 200 inches per second / 50g acceleration
  • Approximate Size: 122 mm to 137 mm / 4.80" to 5.39" (Length) x 71 mm / 2.80" (Width) x 42 mm / 1.65" (Height)
  • Approximate Weight: 115 g / 0.25 lbs. (without battery) to 135 g / 0.29 lbs. (with battery)
  • Battery life: (Approx) 12 hrs (continuous gaming)

Each side of the mouse features a "clutch trigger" just below the two lit-up buttons. While customizable with the Synapse 2.0 software, these (and the two buttons behind the scroll wheel) default to controlling the DPI mid-session. Players can lock/unlock either side's clutch trigger with switches on the bottom of the mouse depending on their handedness, and by squeezing the clutch trigger during play, the DPI will reduce to 800 while they hold it to allow players that precision movement (e.g. that long-range sniper shot). The two buttons above let players cycle up and down between DPI settings. The clutch trigger often results in a cursor jump upon release so be weary of that upon use. The DPI support is so precise, we couldn't find any reasons to use the higher settings, even on the largest of screen monitors.

With the left, right and scroll clicks up front, two two buttons behind the wheel, the pair of clutch triggers and two thumb buttons on each side, the Razer Ouroboros has 11 (customizable) buttons in total. Combined with the customizable physical design, the ability to play wired or wireless and change settings on the fly, and the Ouroboros is one of the most versatile gaming mice on the market.

System Requirements

  • PC / Mac with USB port
  • Windows® 8/ Windows® 7 / Windows Vista® / Windows® XP (32-bit)/ Mac OS X (v10.6-10.7 and above)
  • Internet connection
  • 100MB of free hard disk space
  • Razer Synapse 2.0 registration (requiring a valid e-mail), software download, license acceptance, and internet connection needed to activate full features of product and for software updates. After activation, full features are available in optional offline mode.

The Ouroboros operates on a single rechargeable AA battery that is rated to last up to 12 hours worth of continuous play. For players not recharging in between sessions using the receiver's charging dock, players can plug the USB wire from the receiver directly into the mouse and continue playing as it charges. To its credit, the performance between wired and wireless is identical and no noticable loss in accuracy or motion when playing wireless. The other option however, requires removing the back arch palm rest and replacing the rechargeable battery with any other AA.

It only takes a few seconds, and it's refreshing knowing that standard AA batteries can work as a back up. One minor drawback is that it forces an interruption in gameplay whereas the Mad Catz R.A.T. gaming mice, for instance, come with slot-loading batteries that can be exchanged on the fly through an exterior port while the secondary recharges (although those are proprietary). The AA battery does add a noticeable bit of weight to the Ouroboros. For the Counter-Strike twitch shooter players, the amount of options do cater to any style and at times while playing Battlefield 3 and Far Cry 3 we simply removed the battery and played wired for that super lightweight mouse movement.

With a mousepad (we tested it with a SteelSeries and Roccat pads) or on a flat, clean surface, the Ouroboros moves around seemingly without friction. While Razer has lines of gaming mice designed specifically to cater towards ergonomics, ambidexterity or MMO play (The Naga series), the Ouroboros is their most versatile to date, successfully offering a product for all three of those categories. In addition to shooters we played quite a bit of casual Minecraft, a tactical sim shooter in MechWarrior Online along with the Neverwinter closed beta, an MMO.

Razer Synapse 2 Software

For serious gamers looking to take full advantage of the Ouroboros' capabilities, download Razer's free Synapsis 2.0 software (for PC or Mac) here. Register via email, validate, then login to begin customizing. Synapse 2.0 immediately recognizes all Razer products and displays them along the bottom of the client to easily select between them. Not even realizing, my BlackWidow mechanical keyboard I purchased two years ago was there.

Upon selecting the Ouroboros, users can view the mouse from the top or either side with all of the buttons numbered. By clicking any of the numbered buttons, users can change their functions and save setups to a profile. Tabs along the top of the client also alter performance (sensitivity and acceleration), change light brightness, calibrate the mouse for different surfaces (save your own calibration too!) and tweak battery level options and indicators. Macros can also be recorded here and all of the settings can be saved to different profiles.

With such a high DPI rate, we recommend players test different combinations of sensitivity and acceleration. We noticed that higher accelerations are needed to balance high DPI, but this results in a killer lag. One feature noticeably absent but by no means a deal breaker is the lack of color options available in the Roccat Savu or Mionix NAOS 8200. If you don't like Razer's signature green glow, turn off the lights.

Gamers who demand the highest performance possible, with the added cool factor, should keep an eye out for the Ouroboros.  With it, Razer takes all  of their experience in building competitive high performance gaming mice and embraces the more tech-focused, extreme hardware aesthetics of their keyboards. At $130, the Ouroboros is a top tier premium product, but we do expect the Razer community to accept it with open arms.

The Razer Ouroboros is available now. Find out more from the official site here.

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Follow Rob on Twitter @rob_keyes.