There has been no major changes since the release of the first Deathadder in 2006 but there are many minor but very useful updates
1. A new Avago s3988 sensor which works up to 6400dpi and the highest ever for an optical mouse. It's basicly the same as the previous versions and the avago 3090 which some minor changes
2. Rubber grips on the side
3. About 8g lower weight
4. Green lightning(Finally Razer has gone back to its roots)
5. A new MCU, upgraded switches
6. A new scrollwheel
7. Callibration of the sensor to adjust to the mouse surface
Many people have been complaining about the synapse software since the release and some of the complaints are justified, but most have just been misinformation. Synapse 2.0 DOES work if you don't have an internet connection, but you have to register, create an account, save your initial settings and then you can keep staying offline if you want.
If you own a Razer mouse or previously have owned one there is not many changes so just skip this part. However there is a new option that I have never seen in any other optical mouse before. The option to calibrate the sensor to adjust to different Razer mousepads. It seems to work in way where the light increase or decrease depending on what mousepad you choose to adjust it to.
The software enables an unlimited amount of profiles of options since everything is stored the cloudserver.
Here's a list of the different things you can do with the software.
PROFILE
A Profile is a convenient way of saving all of the changes you have made on your device. A single Profile can store numerous settings such as button assignments and sensitivity adjustments.
CUSTOMIZE TAB
Where you can make button assigments
PERFORMANCE TAB
Where you can change dpi, polling rate, sensitivty or add software acceleration.
LIGHTING TAB
Where you can disable the lightning of the mouse. You can disable it for the logo and scrollwheel individually
CALIBRATION TAB
Here you can adjust the lift off distance of the sensor, with 10 different options for lift off distance. To make it easier there are pre-configured options for different Razer mousepads. I'd advice just to have calibration off unless you can't live with the high lift off distance since you can lower the perfect control speed if you put a too low lift off distance. You can also add your own profiles for non Razer mousepads
MACROS TAB
Where you can add macros
Razer have decided to remove onboard memory for the following reasons
"We invented onboard memory for gaming mice many years ago and called it Synapse to allow gamers to bring their profiles with them on the go. However, we realized that we ran into another issue where we had to keep increasing the amount of memory onboard to provide for more storage and this resulted in higher and higher prices for gamers. "
I find this funny since the Deathadder 2013 is actually more expensive than the previous Deathadders ever were so it seems like the only people who are saving money is themselves. That said, the software does work amazingly well and changing dpi is INSTANT unlike other mice with onboard memory, where you need to wait a few seconds for the dpi to change.
The software only use 33mb of memory which is very low
The shape and dimensions are exactly the same as before but it's about 8g lighter and that's a big improvement for me.
Size: 115 mm / 4.53" (Length) x 68 mm / 2.68" (Width) x 43 mm / 1.69" (Height)
Weight : 0.23lbs / 104g
The shape works VERY well for palmgrip and great for clawgrip but if you are using fingertip I would look elsewhere.
This is where the deathadder always have excelled and have always been seen as quite possibly the best performing mouse in terms of sensor performance. I am happy to say that the new 2013 edition still lives up to the deathadders reputation and performs exceptionally well at all dpi levels
There are VERY few optical mice that perform just as well on the lowest dpi settings as on the highest, and the Deathadder 2013 is one of them. I got some very similar results on all dpi levels in terms of perfect control speed as you can see here, and I don't think I have even maxed it out yet.
800dpi
1800dpi
4000dpi
6400dpi
There's no jitter or prediction
Here is the acceleration test which shows that there is little to no acceleration
The default lift off distance is high and is above 3cds(3.6mm+) but you have the option to lower that with the software provided
The buttons are as all Razer mice very easily to press and I think only my cm storm spawn have buttons that are easier to press. The left mouse button have some audible feedback but the right mouse button is almost completely silent. The scrollwheel feels slightly different than before and it feels and looks pretty much exactly the same as the one used in the steelseries sensei raw, it's just a bit larger.
The scrollwheel is quite smooth and easy to press and it feels exactly the same as in the steelseries sensei.
The side buttons have a much different feel to the previous versions of the Deathadder. They have a much nicer feedback in terms of feel and sound
Here's a comparison between the Deathadder 2013, the zowie am-gs, cm storm spawn, steelseries sensei raw and the ninox velocity in terms of feedback.
The build quality definately feels better than the impression I've gotten from previous Razer mice. The cord is on the thin side for a braided cord and it is very flexible for a braided cord. Its about the same thickness as the cords zowie is using in their mice, just slighty thicker.
The mouse is put together in 3 parts and seem easy to take apart if someone wanted to do that.
The mousefeet are the same as in previous versions so it will be easy to get replacement feet if needed.
The new coating is in my opinion an improvement over the first Deathadder and the Deathadder 3.5g. It's slighty textured and similar to the Steelseries xai which for me feels better and gives a better grip than a very smooth coating like what was used in the first Deathadder and the Deathadder 3.5g. The logo btw, looks AMAZINGLY sharp compared previous Razer mice
Last but not least the rubber side grips, which is the most important improvement. The rubber grips are made of pure rubber like seen on the Razer mamba or the Cm storm spawn which as previously stated provides a much better grip than just a pure glossy or rubber coated side. Thy are made in a honeycomb pattern which not only looks great but also helps with the grip.
The Deathadder 2013 is an improvement over the previous versions, in my opinion and I can definately recommend it! Though if you already own a Deathadder I see nothing that can justify getting he new version. However if you want a slightly lighter Deathadder, with a MUCH better grip and many more dpi options it is worth getting. The only drawback would be no onboard memory so that means you need to install the software everywhere you bring the mouse if you want to use your own personal settings. This is unfortunate for those who go to lan parties with no internet connection who will then need to do all the settings again(If using a different computer).
Other improvements would be the side buttons and the and the mouse cord.
For the future I would love to see onboard memory and two extra buttons for changing dpi which was shown in the early leaked Deathadder 2013 photos
