Gaming mouse Viper V2 Pro in test: weight before function

The Viper V2 Pro is the trimmed version of the Ultimate, but costs more. Sounds illogical, but it is only conditionally. Because the mouse is a weight miracle. It has slimmed down from 74 grams, which the Ultimate weighs, to 59 grams. It has lost the side grips, LEDs and the two right side buttons - so lefties are left out in the cold. Further weight-saving measures inside lead to a final weight of under 60 grams. Such light mice are especially advantageous for FPS games like "CS:GO".

The Viper V2 Pro is an ingenious FPS gaming mouse. However, Razer still has to improve the build quality.

Mouse

EUR114,80

Razer Viper V2 Pro

Wireless, Cable

160

Mouse

EUR117,76

Razer Viper V2 Pro

Wireless, Cable

160

A mouse for every grip

The Viper V2 Pro takes its shape from the Ultimate. It is therefore suitable for all three grip types, although it falls off too quickly in the back for the Claw Grip for me. Here's an illustration of the three common grip types with a different mouse.

At 59 grams - the black version is another gram lighter - the V2 Pro is three grams lighter than the Pro X Superlight from Logitech G. I can barely feel the difference. Both mice are damn light. Even lighter wouldn't be any better. As it is, they're still heavy enough for me to notice that there's something under my fingers.

As always, I test the workmanship by giving the Viper V2 Pro a good shake. It sounds: nothing. Everything on the mouse seems to be mounted bombproof. Afterwards, I press around on the case with my fingers and thumb. This way, I can find out if the mouse accidentally triggers due to pressure. The mouse does not pass this test. In addition to the CPI switch, which is on the underside, the rear side button also triggers. This doesn't affect the use of the mouse for the time being. You usually don't press it that hard while gaming. However, it could become an issue over time as the Viper V2 Pro gets older. After all, with age, the structural integrity of mice suffers and then that could become noticeable while gaming.

The case of the mouse is probably made of ABS plastic. The surface is slightly roughened. So I don't slip with my fingers. In case you need more grip, Razer includes rubberized grip surfaces. However, this increases the weight of the mouse again. Advantage of the white version: Fingerprints are hardly visible.

Good optical switches

Razer relies on the in-house optical switches of the third generation for the switches of the two main buttons. The advantage of optical switches compared to mechanical ones is that they do not have a debounce delay. That's those milliseconds that a mechanical switch needs to jump back to the initial position in order to trigger again. Optical switches are able to do this without delay.

With optical switches, I often miss the satisfying feeling when the button press is triggered. This is not the case with the V2 Pro. It feels and sounds equally satisfying as mechanical switches. No matter where on the main keys I press, the Viper V2 Pro always triggers at the same time and the same amount of force is required throughout. There is hardly any key travel before triggering - that's how it should be in a gaming mouse.

As with many mice, the two main keys of the V2 Pro have a slight play towards the left and right. However, in my case this is not a problem when gaming.

The side buttons are well positioned and, like the main buttons, pleasant to press. I don't like the scroll wheel as much. It doesn't click as precisely as I would have liked. In return, it can be pressed well, is pleasantly quiet and offers a decent grip.

The CPI switch is located on the underside. You can cycle through five CPI settings by pressing it. You can change these in the software and then save them to the mouse's integrated memory. If you press the button for a long time, it also functions as an on/off switch.

Can also be used well with a cable

The Viper V2 Pro seems to glide smoothly over my Deskmat. It does so with the four sliding feet made of PTFE, better known as Teflon. Two small ones are in the front, one around the sensor, and a long, semi-circular one in the back. All the feet are rounded for even less friction in the corners and the edges.

The Viper V2 Pro's battery is said to last up to 80 hours. That's enough for an extended gaming weekend, but other mice offer more here. I am aware that Razer kept the battery small to save weight. Still, that extra 20 hours of battery life would be worth two or three extra grams to me.

If the battery runs out, you can charge the V2 Pro with the included cable. You connect it via USB-C and it's pretty flexible. So you're good to go with wired if you need to.

Excellent sensor

In general, I have the impression that the V2 Pro's sensor responds very reliably. But I feel that way with (almost) all newer gaming mice. That's why I always measure the sensor.

The Focus Pro 30K optical sensor is in the Viper V2 Pro. It has 30,000 counts per inch (CPI). The CPI indicates how many pixels the cursor moves with a mouse movement of one inch. Such a high CPI is usually not really necessary. Even sensors with less CPI are sufficient. Personally, I never actually play with more than 1600 CPI. However, Razer states with the installed sensor that it also works on glass, which it does. Still, I have the impression that the sensor responds more reliably on my mouse mat.

I test how accurate the sensor actually is with MouseTester v1.5, which helps me determine the very small differences in precision.

CPI precision

To measure precision, I run the corresponding test in MouseTester v1.5 three times and calculate an average value. To do this, I move the mouse ten centimeters along a ruler and the program records the CPI. The closer the recorded CPI is to the set CPI, the better.

The built-in sensor is convincing all along the line. As a rule, I consider anything below five percent deviation to be very good. Here it is constantly 2.5 percent or less.

Polling Rate Consistency

The polling rate indicates how often the mouse sends information to the PC. The more frequent, the faster keystrokes and movements can be processed. With a polling rate of 1000 Hz, the update time is one millisecond. Or the other way around: the mouse sends information to the PC a thousand times per second. The dots on the following graphic show you how long it takes until the signal is updated. The closer to the set polling rate, the better.

Polling Rate Consistency Viper V2 Pro

The polling rate is consistent. Only in a few cases it takes longer than one millisecond until the signal is updated. In these cases, the deviation is one millisecond or less. Thus, the results correspond to the current standard of gaming mice.

Tracking Speed

The mouse must reproduce fast movements correctly. In the test, I move the mouse quickly at various CPI settings. MouseTester registers these movements and plays out a graph. The points on the diagram are the registered characters. The closer the points are to the line, the more accurately the mouse registers my movements. They should be as close to the curve as possible. Movements on the y-axis are red, those on the x-axis are blue.

Tracking Speed Viper V2 Pro

The deviations are small. They are in a range of maximum 0.5 meters per second. These are good values - comparable to most of today's gaming mice.

Acceleration

If I move the mouse quickly in one direction and then slowly back to its original position, the same CPI should be registered by the sensor. To test this, I move the mouse quickly diagonally from a point A in the upper right to a point B in the lower left, and then slowly drag it the exact same way back to the point of origin A. The movement is registered by MouseTester. MouseTester registers the movement. Ideally, all registered characters are on one line.

Acceleration Viper V2 Pro

The sensor of the V2 Pro also solves this task well. The two lines are almost congruent.

Jitter

If you move the mouse on a straight line, it should register the movement and not jitter. I move the Viper V2 as straight as possible diagonally and record the movement with MouseTester. The recorded movement should be diagonal like my movement.

Jitter Viper V2 Pro

Again, the sensor works accurately. If there were fluctuations/jitter, a step model would be recorded. There are no inaccuracies to be seen. Jitter hardly occurs today. Nevertheless, I perform the test, you never know.

Few features

You configure the Viper V2 Pro in the Razer Synapse software. This lets you reassign the keys and adjust the CPI and polling rate. You can also adjust the Lift of Distance and make power-saving settings. But that's about it for the settings.

With 122 megabytes, the software needs quite a lot of memory on my computer. Fortunately, the settings can be stored on the mouse's integrated memory. Thus, it works according to my wishes even without software.

Conclusion: Good FPS mouse, but expensive

The Viper V2 Pro is a very good FPS gaming mouse with an extremely reliable sensor and precise switches. Nowadays, however, most gaming mice have reliable switches and good sensors built in. More important are comfort - which includes things like fit and weight - and glide. The Razer mouse convinces here as well - at least for my medium-sized male hands and the Deskmat.

Razer still has to improve the workmanship of the case. It cannot be that the switches are accidentally triggered by too much pressure on the case.

In terms of price, the Viper V2 Pro is on the expensive side with 150 francs (as of 28.06.2022). However, the comparable G Pro X Superlight from Logitech was even more expensive at market launch. Little weight and few features are obviously more expensive than more weight and more features.