Razer is one of the older gaming gear companies around, they've produced some high quality mice and mouse pads since their debut in 1998, today I take a look a wired gaming mouse which is basically a Razer DeathAdder with added customizable options. Dubbed the Imperator, the 2012 version on the test bench today.

The features are very close to those of the DeathAdder, except for the two highlighted in the feature list below, which are unique to the Imperator

•     6400dpi 4G Dual Sensor System
•     Rubberized contoured thumb grip for added control
•     Ergonomic right-handed design
•     Adjustable side buttons
•     Razer Synapse Onboard Memory
•     Up to 200 inches per second* /50g acceleration
•     Seven independently programmable Hyperesponse buttons
•     On-the-Fly Sensitivity adjustment
•     Zero-acoustic Ultraslick mouse feet
•     Approximate Size : 123 mm / 4.85” (Length) x 70 mm / 2.76” (Width) x 43 mm / 1.69” (Height)
•     Approximate Weight: 139 g / 0.31 lbs

The design of the Imperator screams ergonomics with curves going up and down the sides and top of the mouse. At the bottom you see a whole next to the sensor, inside is a small camera that is used to calibrate the Imperator for the surface you're running it on.

The shoulder buttons can be pushed back or forwards, so you can have them exactly where you want them to be for ideal comfort and easy access.

Inside the box you'll also find the usual suspects, as an installation and quick start manual, there's also a Razer sticker-sheet. The USB cable is braided for best wire-tangle-mess avoiding, it's also very long which is definitely a plus. Last but not least when powered on the Imperator lights up cool blue, showcasing the Razer logo and highlighting the scroll-wheel.

Software installation is a next->next->finish affair, launching the application triggers and import of the profiles stored on the mouse onboard memory, this is quite a slow process, once they are loaded up the application is however snappy!

All seven buttons can be customized using the Imperator configuration software, you can also change the way the scoll wheel functions if you're so inclined. The tweak performance tab goes further into detail, allowing for fine tuning of the DPI sensitivity as well as set up to 5 different step up stages and enable independent X-Y sensitivity. Acceleration can be enabled or disabled here for the whole system, making use of the extra precision of the higher DPI levels. Polling rate can be tweaked up to 1000Hz for best performance and last but not least: Surface Calibration. When it works, it works very well, with the Calibration enabled tracking accuracy did improve and all is well, although running with it, doesn't make the mouse useless, far from. On an older Razer Everglide Giganta mousepad, the Calibration did not fair as well. As soon as Surface Calibration was set, the mouse would stop tracking correctly, disabling it fixed it... still worthy to keep in mind and to test out on your mouse pad / desk surface.

You can manage different profiles, export them, copy them, assign them to specific applications and rename them to better identify their purpose. The enable on-screen display triggers an UI overlay pop-up whenever you change profile, under the tweak performance tab, the "enable On-The-Fly Sensitivity" triggers an UI overlay as seen below, but this is only visible outside of 3D games (OpenGL and Direct3D titles tested).  You can further customize the functions by storing macros to replace multiple keyboard/mouse combinations under the "manage macros" tab. The last screen was the least populated, lighting options are limited, ON/OFF.

As with the other mice, I tested Quake 3 Arena with high DPI, the Imperator boasts 6400DPI, so that's what I first used, however at this DPI level the tracking was not as smooth as expected, turning it down to <5000DPI provided a better experience.

Overall I was most pleased with the on the fly DPI tweaking using the scroll wheel, setting the sensitivity in 100 DPI steps. The ergonomic design also shown through, allowing for comfortable gaming sessions without the slightest discomfort. Razer did compromise slightly on usability when they made the shoulder buttons move-able, as they are smaller and thus a tiny bit harder to hit (or differentiate between the two). The Imperator does lack a feature the DeathAdder has on the software side:Razer Synapse 2.0. This might be a blessing in disguise as you don't need an internet connection to set up and use this mouse from Razer, where as the DeathAdder is, well, like a dead adder, without an internet connection when you try to install the configuration software for the first time. This issue has been addressed by Razer , so it shouldn't be an issue for people wanting to store their profiles in the cloud. For the Imperator user, no such software is included, although it wouldn't surprise me to see Imperator 2013 use the Synapse 2.0 software too. The Imperator was close to be amongst the favorites of the group test, but lack of weight options and picky calibration sensor keep it from a higher score.

AIRSHOT Rating: 8/10