Razer Diamondback Precision Gaming Mouse

[ZUnit]

Razer Diamondback Precision Gaming Mouse

Technical Specifications:

Optical engine powered by kärna precision

1600 dpi, twice that of conventional high performance sensors

High speed motion detection, up to 40inches per second and 15g acceleration

Frame rate over 6400 frames per second (5.8 megapixels per second)

16 bit data path, as compared to 8 bit and 12 bit data paths used by other conventional mice

Always On Mode ? the optical sensor never powers down - provides instantaneous response at all times during gameplay

Buttons ? 7 physical buttons optimized for gaming response and independently programmable

Ultra large non-slip mouse buttons, tactile response design

Non-slip side rails and new ergonomic ambidextrous design

Zero acoustic Teflon feet for smooth motion over any surface

Gold plated USB connector for maximum conductivity

Size: 5.04" length x 2.5" width x 1.54" height

1ms pooling rate so no more USB or PS/2 (anywat its USB ONLY )

Photo:
New photos
Buttons

Reviews:
Review 1
Review 2
Review 3
Interview
Official FAQ

Available: November 1

Benchmark

I wish there were more reviews comparing it to MX510.

 

[tphss]

And I wish they would finally design a mouse that's worth to buy.
A company specializing in gaming mouses, and that's their best mouse? the Diamonback still has a very similar design to the Razer I bought 2 years ago! (ball, not optical!).
All that tech specs don't mean nothing, and I doubt if me you or anyone else will note the difference between that and a MX500 or intelli explorer and this Diamondback.

 

[Insomniak]

Fugly as hell, and the features don't warrant the price. Give me a Logitech MX over that mess any day.

 

[ZUnit]

It owns all MX and MX1000, if features mean nothing for you tphss then u just complete newbie in gaming and pc's.
What design u speaking about they dont want make mouse for right handers only, they do improve design from version to version.
It dont have negative acceleration instead of MX500 and with 1600 CPI (compare to 800 CPI on all MX) u will notice difference for sure! There will be much difference for me if i buy it, since i use genue logitech optical mouse (non MX) now.

 

[Insomniak]

Originally posted by: ZUnit
It owns all MX and MX1000, if features mean nothing for you tphss then u just complete newbie in gaming and pc's.
What design u speaking about they dont want make mouse for right handers only, they do improve design from version to version.
It dont have negative acceleration instead of MX500 and with 1600 CPI (compare to 800 CPI on all MX) u will notice difference for sure! There will be much difference for me if i buy it, since i use genue logitech optical mouse (non MX) now.

Ever heard less is more? The specs on high end mice these days are so ridiculous. You're hand doesn't MOVE fast enough to warrant alot of these numbers - they're above the threshold of human ability.

Anything beyond the MX700/MX510 is excessive and a waste of dollars.

Yeah, I'm a complete newbie at PC gaming. Nevermind that I've been knee deep in the community since Knee Deep in the Dead. Now, for goodness sakes, go educate yourself a bit and come back later.

 

[ZUnit]

For sending me to educate better educate yourself a bit. What of spec seems rediculous to you? Maybe just because u got mx one now u lie to yourself to feel happy.

 

[tphss]

Ok ZUnit, call me whatever you want.
I just know I used it, I don't like it it's over priced and most defenatly Not worth it.
Give me a break, negative acceleration? How fast do you think I move the mouse?

Now, about the right handed or left handed:
It's a company that makes only mice. Then they should focus on it, and not try to improve a not well designed design.
Better off only right hand design perfect, then a mouse that fits both with a so-so design, again, it's my opinion, some will agree some won't.

And yeah, sure I will notice the 800 to 1600 difference in dpi...
For your knowledge, the MX500 has the speed of 40inches per second as well.

 

[Insomniak]

Originally posted by: ZUnit
For sending me to educate better educate yourself a bit. What of spec seems rediculous to you? Maybe just because u got mx one now u lie to yourself to feel happy.

How often do you move your mouse 40 inches in one second? That's over 3 feet - over a yard. Most of my mouse movements are well under 2 inches. Sure, negative acceleration is a problem if you're making large movements, i.e. 10 inches or more at a ridiculously rapid pace, but who does that? Most mousepads don't have that kind of real estate. I'd be surprised if it's a problem for the majority.


Furthermore, more precise tracking is great...if you're weeding out pixels. 1600 DPI? Yay. Yes, the mouse is more accurate, but is it that many more dollars accurate? And will that translate to better gaming for you? No. You can have the most accurate rifle in the world, but it doesn't matter if the person using it can't shoot.


Overall, I just don't feel the features warrant the price, and the mouse seems less ergonomic and more "cheap" than Logitech's MX series. If it hits the sweet spot for you, great, but for me it's an overpriced enthusiast product meant to squeeze disposable income out of people.

 

[Mark R]

Looks like it uses essentially the same sensor as the MX510 and MX1000 mice (just with a different lens) and a faster CPU (as if a mouse really needs a 16 bit CPU).

Overall though it looks good - however, I'm not sure I like this tendency towards higher and higher dpi - at higher dpi the mouse becomes more and more sensitive to tiny movements, and it gets harder and harder to make single pixel adjustments - a problem if you like sniping games.

 

[erikistired]

that mouse is sexy.

 

[PliotronX]

Originally posted by: Mark R
Looks like it uses essentially the same sensor as the MX510 and MX1000 mice (just with a different lens) and a faster CPU (as if a mouse really needs a 16 bit CPU).

Overall though it looks good - however, I'm not sure I like this tendency towards higher and higher dpi - at higher dpi the mouse becomes more and more sensitive to tiny movements, and it gets harder and harder to make single pixel adjustments - a problem if you like sniping games.

True, to get around the 125Hz limitation of USB set forth by Microsoft, the drivers of "gaming" mice currently on the market "emulate" a higher polling rate. With the polling rate of USB unlocked, it is shown that the MX510 is limited to 450Hz whereas the Diamondback will officially support 1KHz, the fastest that USB can do. This will make a bigger difference than any marketing feature for optical mice have brought to the table since the sensors were improved to alleviate negative acceleration.

I still reserve judgement for how good the DB turns out, as I was leery of the Viper and I turned out to be right to be leery. Insomniak is spewing a lot of crap though It's in human nature to defend one's choice in purchases though, so I understand (I own an MX510 BTW).

 

[ZUnit]

Many talk about price, but price for DiamondBack - 60$ and MX510 - 50$. 60-50=10$ for features it offers.
Of course it dont mean bury your MX510 and go buy DiamondBack. But if u upgrading from something more old there is good point to buy fastest one.

Actually 40 inches per second and 15g acceleration are specs of MX 510 also, i just make them bold to show thay they improve from Viper version. Main features over MX510 i wanted to point to is:
1600 DPI
1ms pooling rate
16 bit data path
and
Teflon feet

If you dont like design its ok, i like it. I think what logitech do its office mouse when DiamondBack is gamers mouse and designed to suit gamers hand. Look at Logitech or any other mouses design and tell me which of theyr L/R handed mouses in your opinion have better design and ergonomics than DiamondBack?

 

[VirtualLarry]

I'm still trying to figure out - is that DPI actual, calculated by the mouse sensor/hardware/firmware, or something that the software drivers generate (interpolate)? I don't know how many other people play this way, but for a "high sens" player, double the DPI will be awesome. I actually had a jarring setback when I went from my Logi OEM "dove bar" 2-button ball mouse to an optical, and found out that the optical had half the DPI. It completely destroyed my ability to use the Sniper Rifle in UT at long zoom ranges, because I would move the mouse whatever minimum I could, and it would skip several pixels at a time! I couldn't hit a target if it was in-between those locations. That is why a high-DPI is important. Greater accuracy is possible. But the problem is, with a higher mouse DPI, the "mickey" counters will overflow if not polled much faster to compensate, otherwise you end up with the (incorrectly-named) "negative acceration", which is really "counter overflow/wraparound". So a higher polling rate will be welcome as well. I'm really looking forward to this new mouse design, if the specs are true and accurate.

 

[zodder]

nerds

 

[ZUnit]

Another happy logitech customer?

 

[ZUnit]

What u mean by actual it is hardware capable of , u think its some dirty trick and actual dpi is lower? I am sure its not but, i ask for online support and here what they told me:
"the 1600 dpi is true optics..............the software is an enhancement.........."
Dunno about UT but most games have different sensetivity for sniper riffle, so when u swith to zoom it sets your sensetivity to lower value, of course unless u use some zooming hack.
The specs is from official site http://www.razerzone.com/diamondback.html ?
Its your teory about overflow or u can prove it? Anyway mouse works at 1ms pooling if u read specs.

New pics: http://razer.tigga.org/gallery/album09

 

[Insomniak]

Originally posted by: PliotronX
Insomniak is spewing a lot of crap though It's in human nature to defend one's choice in purchases though, so I understand (I own an MX510 BTW).

Bull butter. I happily realize and recognize that the specs on Diamondback are above Logitech's MX mice on paper. What I'm not convinced of are two things:


1) That these extra specs will actually translate into real world benefits that people notice (this means no placebo effects - someone coming here and saying "I noticed a huge difference [because I don't want to believe I wasted the dollars going to this from an MX1000 et al]" doesn't cut it.) and can actually use.

2) Even if #1 is true, is it really worth an additional $50-$60 (or however much this thing is going to run) over the mouse you already have? I can almost guarantee anyone with a Logitech MX mouse isn't going to see $50 worth of improvement by moving up to this over what they already have. Maybe someone useing a Dell OEM optical will, but they deserve their suffering...



In short, I question whether or not it's worth the dollars, not its quality as a mouse. It appears to be well built (altho it doesn't look very "solid"), and you can't argue with the numbers. I find it ugly, but that's just personal taste. I can't justify it as a purchase to myself though, simply because I already have something 95% as good. It's not worth the money to me, and I imagine most people are going to feel the same.

 

[ZUnit]

If you already buy MX one dont upgrade nobody will judge you or smth, but dont say what others do or not do because u cant read mind.

 

[Mem]

Looks ok and specs are good but in real world I don`t think it`ll be a big improvement over the current gaming models,teflon feet are great to have but they do wear out after awhile and you need replace them with something like BFG Tech slick pads,point being any mouse can have teflon feet but be prepared to replace them after awhile due to wear and tear.

Gold plated USB connector on this mouse is all hype that offers no real advantage.


Its corded so cordless gamers will not bother with it,yes there are cordless gamers around,1600DPi looks interesting but I`m gaming well on my old 400dpi mouse (I`ve ordered a MX1000 btw which has not arrived yet and have my own teflon feet(BFG Tech slick pads ).

It looks like a good buy for left handers.

I would not say its superior to the MX1000 or MX510 just yet,laser technology for tracking used in the MX1000 is superior to any current optical technology on the market,don`t believe me then look at this
review of MX1000 and the laser/optical test .
Btw I read those reviews and I know Razer put a lot of effort into the diamondback mouse,and some of the USB hardware improvements they used looks promising.What`s the betting their next mouse will be a laser version .

 

[VirtualLarry]

Originally posted by: Mem
I would not say its superior to the MX1000 or MX510 just yet,laser technology for tracking used in the MX1000 is superior to any current optical technology on the market,don`t believe me then look at this
review of MX1000 and the laser/optical test.
Btw I read those reviews and I know Razer put a lot of effort into the diamondback mouse,and some of the USB hardware improvements they used looks promising.What`s the betting their next mouse will be a laser version

Actually, spec-wise, the "laser" sensor used in the MX1000, is no better than the ones used in the MX510/700, and worse that the Razor, if DPI numbers and polling rates are anything to go by.

I would much rather have higher DPI than higher surface-contrast sensitivity, which is what the laser sensor claims to give you. Not a big deal, or even an improvement at all, unless you tend to use "shiny", low-contrast mousepad surfaces.

 

[raildogg]

the MX510 is the best mouse.

dont even put the mx1000 in the same league as mx510

 

[ZUnit]

Actually specs of MX510 and MX1000 are same except MX1000 uses laser in exchange for LED. and its cordless (which is not best for hardcore FPS gamers, cordless mouses i mean).

Btw i found nice "benchmark" for mouse on http://www.asciitable.com/ right of the page 2 games

 

[Mem]

Actually specs of MX510 and MX1000 are same except MX1000 uses laser in exchange for LED. and its cordless (which is not best for hardcore FPS gamers, cordless mouses i mean).

What I meant was laser technology has a lot more to offer for the future,IMHO I feel optical technology has reached its peak,sure you can improve specs on DPI and speed but it still uses the not so efficient way of reading/scanning with the LED compared to a laser which is more efficient & also uses less power(another plus point ,especially over cordless optical).

As to hardcore gamer,how do you define a hardcore gamer?...I game everyday and have used both cordless and corded mice in my time,sure cordless use to be crap few years back but a lot has change since then,if you need a Diamondback mouse to be a good hardcore gamer then there`s something wrong with your gaming or you must have a very crappy mouse.

Also on the USB 8ms polling rate,personally I think the ping latency with online gaming servers is more of a factor in gaming then the polling rate,since ping latency can vary quite a lot even on good servers(as any online gamer knows),however give credit where credit is due, Razer have tried to reduce the USB lag with the Diamondback,personally I`ve never had a problem with USB lag,server lag well that`s a different story .

It`ll be interesting to see how Logitech`s laser corded version of the MX1000 mouse (when it`s released)will do.

Two negative things I did read about on both mice ,one is there`s a known driver issue problem with the Razer diamondback and nforce boards which`ll be corrected with a future driver update,also the unique 4 way scrolling of the MX1000 is not working in horizontal mode with current drivers(any MX1000 owners care to confirm this?).

Bottom line is MX510/1000 and Razer Diamondback are all more then good enough for gaming.
Btw two things that do help during gaming are a good mouse pad and teflon feet(and don`t forget to clean them now and then,I won`t go into wear and tear),I see too many people buy a good gaming mouse and forget about these two items.

Only other thing I`m not sure about, is the placement of the buttons on the Diamondback mouse,like all things its down to personal preference and feel,however I`m all for competition .

 

[ZUnit]

Originally posted by: Mem
IMHO I feel optical technology has reached its peak,sure you can improve specs on DPI and speed but it still uses the not so efficient way of reading/scanning with the LED compared to a laser which is more efficient

In real world not marketing and stuff is there way to get image of mouse and see if its really as shown on MX1000 box? Or they just use some fake to cover theyr large investitions in laser technology? Unless there is a way to check image I never belive that laser is somehow better.
IMO laser just give you advanatage to use mouse on more surfaces.
If optics with LED makes image of surface maybe not that accurate as laser, but you see all surface characteristics LED can give you then sensor take another image with same quality and compare it to previous one and see the difference between them then it calculate how much your mouse moved.
And I dotn really see how laser can affect preformance of the mouse because its works just same way but with more quality pictures, therefore only advantage is more surfaces mouse can work on.
There may be disadvantage here - that imagess with more quality take more time for sensor to process them.

Originally posted by: Mem
As to hardcore gamer,how do you define a hardcore gamer?

IMO
He play at least 3 hours per day 7 days week.
He plays FPS (First Person Soothers).
He don?t give crap about graphics in game he play for score not for graphics.
Is this enough for start?

Originally posted by: Mem
if you need a Diamondback mouse to be a good hardcore gamer then there`s something wrong with your gaming or you must have a very crappy mouse.

I need it because I upgrade mouse and I feel that I diserve best mouse for gaming. Why should I buy for example MX510 (gaming mouse) if I can get best mouse on market with just +10$ of MX510 price.

Originally posted by: Mem
Also on the USB 8ms polling rate,personally I think the ping latency with online gaming servers is more of a factor in gaming then the polling rate,since ping latency can vary quite a lot even on good servers(as any online gamer knows)

I don?t really think 8ms can save you in fps games, I like 1 ms pooling because it gets mouse coordinates every ms, and this improver precision.

Originally posted by: Mem
It`ll be interesting to see how Logitech`s laser corded version of the MX1000 mouse (when it`s released)will do.

What makes you think they ever going to release corded version of MX1000?
If they do release corded version it will just show that cordless technology they used in not good enough, so they never will.
So what improvement you want to see in corded version of MX1000 if you say cordless mouses this days is good enough for gaming?

Originally posted by: Mem
Two negative things I did read about on both mice ,one is there`s a known driver issue problem with the Razer diamondback and nforce boards which`ll be corrected with a future driver update

Whay issue in driver you speaking of? Releasr date of mouse is november 2004 any driver they have must be for viper or pre release version.
If there is real issue give link which can prove your words.

Originally posted by: Mem
also the unique 4 way scrolling of the MX1000 is not working in horizontal mode with current drivers(any MX1000 owners care to confirm this?).

Don?t think they going to fix that because even MX510 (logitech gaming mouse) still have button not working in games. Don?t seems they rush very much to make it work.

Originally posted by: Mem
Only other thing I`m not sure about, is the placement of the buttons on the Diamondback mouse,like all things its down to personal preference and feel,however I`m all for competition .

Can u offer better way of placing 7 buttons on L/R handed mouse, I think no?

 

[Mem]

Whay issue in driver you speaking of? Releasr date of mouse is november 2004 any driver they have must be for viper or pre release version.
If there is real issue give link which can prove your words.


From their site about current drivers,

Diamondback Driver

Driver version 4.0.0.2: please note known issue that this verion of the Diamondback driver is incompatible with the nForce chipset motherboard.

Driver downloads coming soon....

.

What makes you think they ever going to release corded version of MX1000?

You don`t think they are going to stop making new models do you?Look at their track record that`s not Logitech`s way.

MO
He play at least 3 hours per day 7 days week.
He plays FPS (First Person Soothers).
He don?t give crap about graphics in game he play for score not for graphics.
Is this enough for start?

I play more hours then that and all sorts of games both online and offline(have over 200 games in original boxes) but class myself as a "gamer" period ,btw when I play online its for fun and teamwork(depending on the game) and the score is not that important, rather have a low score and have fun then a high score and boring game,I`ve been on many servers(on winning side) where the game was one sided(well boring).I can also say I`ve been on the losing teams where we got nailed but it was still great fun.

I need it because I upgrade mouse and I feel that I diserve best mouse for gaming. Why should I buy for example MX510 (gaming mouse) if I can get best mouse on market with just +10$ of MX510 price.

I`m not telling you not to buy it,to be honest I don`t care one way or the other,read my post again I did say MX510/1000 and Diamondback are more then good enough for gaming and before that I was trying to say a good gamer doesn`t need a Diamondback mouse to be good in gaming,good mouse can`t improve a bad gamer( BTW that`s not directed at you, also I was not referring to you in my previous post but speaking in general).

don?t really think 8ms can save you in fps games, I like 1 ms pooling because it gets mouse coordinates every ms, and this improver precision.

Read this below,I do use XP, I`ve yet to be convinced using 16bit data in real world online gaming will improve performance,I think the jury is out on this one,I need proof in real gaming not spec numbers printed.

The 1ms lag feature won?t work in WinXP, and the majority of western gamers do run WinXP. The 16bit data packet completely resolves this issue. Those running Win2k will achieve the best performance.

Can u offer better way of placing 7 buttons on L/R handed mouse, I think no?

They have a full team of designers and engineers,besides I`m right handed,bottom line is no mouse including the Diamondback is perfect for everyone,some people will think the shape /layout is bad(like myself) ,others will think it`s fine.

If they do release corded version it will just show that cordless technology they used in not good enough, so they never will.
So what improvement you want to see in corded version of MX1000 if you say cordless mouses this days is good enough for gaming?

Actually I was more interested in the performance of a corded MX1000(when they get round to releasing a model) against the MX510,laser via optical since I still think laser technology can only get better,yes cordless gaming is now good enough but getting better all the time(like corded mice).

Btw this in not an argument at you or anyone else, but a mouse/gaming debate also ZUnit I should welcome you to AT,since you`ve been here just over a week,hope you`ve a good time here in the forums .