A few months ago, we reviewed the Razer Viper. It was a new mouse with an old name, but with it came a lot of interesting features that sounded like gimmicks, but impressed us overall. Then now, we have the Razer Viper Ultimate. It’s very similar to the Viper, plus wireless capability.

Before we begin this review, I highly recommend you to look back at our Razer Viper (2019) review as we’ll be focusing on what’s new in this review of the Razer Viper Ultimate.

The Razer Viper Ultimate

There is zero difference in terms of geometry and aesthetics. They’re both made out of the same material with the same shape, but with a few differences under the hood. Firstly, the scroll wheel is a lot more resistant.

Razer Viper Ultimate

The new Razer Viper Ultimate now has a clickier scroll wheel that provides both audio and tactile feedback with each step of the wheel turned. Honestly, I like this scroll wheel a lot as I can feel and control how many steps to take for the scroll wheel.

Razer Viper Ultimate

Secondly, the sensor. The new Razer Viper Ultimate now comes with a sensor that can go up to 20,000 DPI whereby the Razer Viper (2019) can only go up to 16,000 DPI. The mouse feet are also of a different color and placement now, if you’re wondering.

As the original Razer Viper (2019) was focused on its lightweightedness, the new Razer Viper Ultimate impressed us even further. As it is a wireless mouse, Razer still needs to pack in a battery inside the mouse itself – but the entire Viper Ultimate weighs only at 74 grams. I have no idea how they did it, but this is seriously impressive.

Razer Viper Ultimate

Not all is fine and dandy as the Razer Viper Ultimate can only be wired up via its “proprietary” micro USB cable. The female micro USB port is placed deep in a narrow channel that severely limits the option for an aftermarket cable – and I find that to be just outright annoying. The same goes for the dock, by the way. And speaking of the dock…

That charging dock

This dock also plugs in the same way as the mouse itself – through its “proprietary” micro USB cable. I honestly will prefer plugging the cable onto dock itself since this dock acts as a charger for the Razer Viper Ultimate too. The dock will magnetically suck the Razer Viper Ultimate and hold it in contact with the metal prongs to charge the mouse.

Razer Viper Ultimate

The Razer Synapse software also controls both the dock’s and the mouse’s RGB lighting separately. For me, I personally just set the dock to display the battery level of the mouse. This is a great functional yet elegant implementation by Razer.

Razer Viper Ultimate

However, what’s not great is the wireless receiver dongle. For the Razer Viper Ultimate to work with your PC, you need to use that wireless receiver dongle. This is the most annoying thing about the Razer Viper Ultimate because I think Razer could’ve just made the dock itself to become the receiver! Add a toggle button to switch between the dongle and the dock and you’re done.

Razer Viper Ultimate
I can foresee myself losing the dongle and/or the cover soon.

Currently, if I want to use the Razer Viper Ultimate wirelessly between two computers, I have to constantly unplug and plug the tiny dongle on the dock and my second (or third) PC. Remember – this dongle is hidden behind a tiny door on the mouse itself. Fiddling with so many tiny things on a mouse isn’t such a great idea and will probably lose one of them as time goes on.

Battery life

While we do not know the exact battery capacity that is inside the Razer Viper Ultimate, we do know that it can last for a week under heavy use. Seriously, I sit in front of my PC all day, all week – and the battery life hardly drains 10% after a full day’s use. Granted, we set the RGB brightness of the mouse at its lowest brightness in color cycle mode. Which means we can still squeeze out more battery if we turn off RGB entirely.

Razer Viper Ultimate

Wrapping up the Razer Viper Ultimate review

Using the same shell as the Razer Viper (2019), making it wireless while making a few notable changes is what defines the Razer Viper Ultimate. It’s a great product overall – and I love the new scroll wheel. I think it’s a missed opportunity for the dock to not be a receiver. The dock could’ve been another receiver by itself and not requiring the dongle to plug into it – and that will absolutely improve the user experience through the roof.

As it stands now, the Razer Viper Ultimate is priced at RM569, which is a hefty price premium over the Razer Viper (2019) (review) for essentially, the wireless feature alone. The dock is a great implementation, but as mentioned earlier – it can definitely be improved.

Pros

  • Fantastic tactility and resistance on the scroll wheel rotation
  • Good wireless reception, no dropoff
  • Comes with removable SpeedFlex cable
  • Razer Synapse implementation with the dock is excellent
  • Still lightweight despite having a battery
  • Long-lasting battery life
  • Trophy-like stance while charging via the dock

Cons

  • The wireless receiver dongle is a nuisance to be constantly plugged/unplugged from one PC to another, as the dock could’ve been another wireless receiver
  • “Proprietary” micro USB header
  • Hefty price premium for wireless functionality

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