Razer is in many ways the godfather of the MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online) gaming mouse with the Naga, the first mouse offering no less than 12 handy buttons under the thumb, plus an extra five to keep your other fingers busy. This latest version, the Naga Epic, takes the original mouse forwards with a user-modifiable casing and a detachable cable. The two buttons that used to be on the left-hand edge of the Naga have also been moved to just under the scroll wheel.
Design
Finished in matte plastic on the top and glossy plastic on the sides, this mouse may be easy on the eyes but an all-matte finish would have made it more practical to handle. While we were testing the Naga Epic, we found that the glossy edges soon ended up covered in fingerprints, especially on the right-hand edge from our ring and little fingers. You may therefore need to give your Naga Epic a bit of a wipe now and again. That said, matte plastic can sometimes accentuate smudges and fingerprint and it's much trickier to clean. Anyway, cleanliness aside, the matter plastic does at least give better grip than the shiny edges.
The Naga Epic is a comfortable mouse to handle—although it's for right-handers only—and the finish does have the advantage of not making your palms sweat too much. That's always a good thing!
One great thing about this mouse's design is that it comes with three interchangeable side panels, so you can pick which one fits your hand the best. But whichever one you choose, this 12 cm long mouse is still too short to support your wrist, which is instead left to rest on the desk. Otherwise, this Naga gaming mouse offers smooth, fluid glide and its feet don't leave any marks behind on the desk.
And now for the pièce de résistance—the buttons. On top of the usual right and left buttons and the scroll wheel, the Naga Epic has two extra buttons on top of the mouse and 12 buttons on a thumb-pad on the side. The scroll wheel is notched and can't be set to free-wheel. Similarly, it offers vertical but not horizontal scrolling, whereas the wheel in Logitech's G600 can be used for both.
But the Naga Epic trumps the Logitech G600 with its detachable cable—the Razer gaming mouse can therefore be used wirelessly or with a cable. The braided USB cable (approx. two metres) connects either to the mouse's charging/wireless receiver dock or directly to the mouse.
That means you can carry on gaming even if you've forgotten to recharge the Naga Epic—just unplug the dock, connect the cable to the mouse and you're good to go!
The buttons can be entirely user-customised via the driver supplied by Razer. This is relatively easy to get started with and allows you to set several control configurations (profiles) that you can then switch between freely. Profiles can even be linked to a specific program and activated automatically. The Naga Epic is therefore not only practical for gamers, but could also be handy for graphic design, photo editing or general office computing.
Indeed, the 12 buttons on the thumb-pad are a real boon for anyone using loads of shortcuts or functions, as you'll be able to access them all directly from the mouse. However, there is one slight drawback. Out of the total 12 buttons, only six to nine of them are actually easy and comfortable to use without having to bend your thumb back into an unusual position (although that ultimately depends on how you hold the Naga).
You'll probably find that it takes a little while to get the hang of using this mouse and all its buttons. That's especially true in games, when you don't always have time to think about what you're doing—let alone look down at the mouse. At first, we found we sometimes hit the wrong button or had to stop and look at what we were doing—but that's normal—after a while everything becomes instinctive.
Precision
With a maximum polling rate of 1000 Hz, the Naga Epic is suitable for regular computer users (web browsing, office computing, etc.) as well as those looking for more precision (gamers, graphic designers).
This mouse reports its position to the computer every millisecond. However, you'll need a computer that's powerful enough to handle the additional CPU use this inevitably requires (between 34% and 42% depending on the type of movement). When using a computer with limited processing power (like a netbook or a low-power-use CPU) you may want to switch down to 500 Hz (in the driver) to keep things running smoothly.
Design
Finished in matte plastic on the top and glossy plastic on the sides, this mouse may be easy on the eyes but an all-matte finish would have made it more practical to handle. While we were testing the Naga Epic, we found that the glossy edges soon ended up covered in fingerprints, especially on the right-hand edge from our ring and little fingers. You may therefore need to give your Naga Epic a bit of a wipe now and again. That said, matte plastic can sometimes accentuate smudges and fingerprint and it's much trickier to clean. Anyway, cleanliness aside, the matter plastic does at least give better grip than the shiny edges.
The Naga Epic is a comfortable mouse to handle—although it's for right-handers only—and the finish does have the advantage of not making your palms sweat too much. That's always a good thing!
One great thing about this mouse's design is that it comes with three interchangeable side panels, so you can pick which one fits your hand the best. But whichever one you choose, this 12 cm long mouse is still too short to support your wrist, which is instead left to rest on the desk. Otherwise, this Naga gaming mouse offers smooth, fluid glide and its feet don't leave any marks behind on the desk.
And now for the pièce de résistance—the buttons. On top of the usual right and left buttons and the scroll wheel, the Naga Epic has two extra buttons on top of the mouse and 12 buttons on a thumb-pad on the side. The scroll wheel is notched and can't be set to free-wheel. Similarly, it offers vertical but not horizontal scrolling, whereas the wheel in Logitech's G600 can be used for both.
But the Naga Epic trumps the Logitech G600 with its detachable cable—the Razer gaming mouse can therefore be used wirelessly or with a cable. The braided USB cable (approx. two metres) connects either to the mouse's charging/wireless receiver dock or directly to the mouse.
That means you can carry on gaming even if you've forgotten to recharge the Naga Epic—just unplug the dock, connect the cable to the mouse and you're good to go!
The buttons can be entirely user-customised via the driver supplied by Razer. This is relatively easy to get started with and allows you to set several control configurations (profiles) that you can then switch between freely. Profiles can even be linked to a specific program and activated automatically. The Naga Epic is therefore not only practical for gamers, but could also be handy for graphic design, photo editing or general office computing.
Indeed, the 12 buttons on the thumb-pad are a real boon for anyone using loads of shortcuts or functions, as you'll be able to access them all directly from the mouse. However, there is one slight drawback. Out of the total 12 buttons, only six to nine of them are actually easy and comfortable to use without having to bend your thumb back into an unusual position (although that ultimately depends on how you hold the Naga).
You'll probably find that it takes a little while to get the hang of using this mouse and all its buttons. That's especially true in games, when you don't always have time to think about what you're doing—let alone look down at the mouse. At first, we found we sometimes hit the wrong button or had to stop and look at what we were doing—but that's normal—after a while everything becomes instinctive.
Precision
With a maximum polling rate of 1000 Hz, the Naga Epic is suitable for regular computer users (web browsing, office computing, etc.) as well as those looking for more precision (gamers, graphic designers).
A gaming mouse needs a sensor that can track movements of at least 3 metres per second.
That's no problem at all for the Naga Epic!
This mouse reports its position to the computer every millisecond. However, you'll need a computer that's powerful enough to handle the additional CPU use this inevitably requires (between 34% and 42% depending on the type of movement). When using a computer with limited processing power (like a netbook or a low-power-use CPU) you may want to switch down to 500 Hz (in the driver) to keep things running smoothly.
Pros
- Design, handling
- Excellent glide
- Comprehensive driver
- Precision sensor
- DPI can be adjusted on the fly
- Settings profiles backed up to an online account (no need to reconfigure when you change PC)
- Unlimited number of profiles
- Two-metre cable
- Charging dock (no need to keep buying batteries)
- Can be used with a cable or wirelessly
Cons
- Heavy CPU use in 1000 Hz mode
- Only nine out of the 12 thumb buttons are really all that practical to use
- For right-handers only
- Expensive
Conclusion
As well as being a fast, precise mouse, the Razer Naga Epic is comfortable to use (so long as you're right-handed), offers good glide and has loads of buttons on its thumb-pad. It also comes with a comprehensive driver. If you don't need a wireless model, the Logitech G600 or the standard Naga offer similar features but with a friendlier price tag.
OUR SCORE
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