Hands-on with the Imperator, Razer's sexy gaming mouse

4:20 PM on 12.21.2009   |   Brad Nicholson

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I like peripherals that work. Other factors like expectations, sturdiness, and utility have a place in evaluation, but I’m most pleased with something that performs. It doesn’t need to dazzle the eye. It doesn’t need to be high-cost or low-maintenance.

It just needs to work like an ancient stopwatch, its gears reliably tumbling and interlocking in a steady rhythm, producing a satisfying thrum of clicks and clacks.

Razer’s “Imperator” mouse glides with the same stock, reliable precision.

Because I don’t have much experience in the luxury mouse market, I spoke with Razer’s president Robert Krakoff to give me a better idea of what the Imperator is all about, and where his company gets its ideas.

Released this November (and given to me by Razer), the Imperator provides the same sort of reliability and precision that I expect from a mouse. It has also turned my attention to the needs of serious PC gamers, no doubt reveling in the technical specifications that the advertising boasts and the mouse offers.

It’s 5600 DPI. It has a 3.5G sensor. It hits up to 200 inches per second and has 1000HZ ultrapolling coupled with a 1ms response rate, so the tech specs state. I can’t privately verify any of this, but I do know that this thing zooms across the pad -- almost too much if you fiddle with the speed settings in the optional program.

I asked Krakoff why his company created a mouse that can hit the speeds of the Imperator, specifically in regards to its DPI and laser sensor. He gave me a little lesson in both, saying in the end that its speed is a result of twichy gamers’ needs.

“In fact there are multiple metrics that go into the optimization of the gaming mouse of today and DPI is only one of them,” Krakoff said. “Performance of the overall engine depends on inches per second movement, frames per second, polling rate and bandwidth.

“DPI is the most well known to many gamers and Razer is probably responsible for creating this DPI ‘race to space’ since we introduced the first high-DPI mouse in 1999. There are still a number of high-sensitivity, ‘twitch’ gamers out there who want the highest DPI possible and for them the ultra-high DPI enhances precision, accuracy and overall control. “

Comfort and control compliment the speed of the mouse: it has two adjustable side buttons, controlled by a mechanism entrenched in a small gap to avoid unintentional activation. It also has rubbery grips to keep fingers from slipping in lord knows what. The scroll wheel in particular is coated in the non-slip surface and highlighted by a brilliant blue LED.

Despite the multitude of buttons and belly of tech, the mouse remains slick-looking. Small, light and colored matte black, the only two features that betray its otherwise unassuming appearance are the LEDs and long, ropey USB cord.

It feels normal. There’s no pain or pressure on the hands after prolonged use. Fingers never feel strain, either. The button spacing is almost perfect, while the response of each meaty plastic extension seems fine. I’m partial to the satisfying click they give off as well.

The mouse works in Windows XP and above and so does its software. But on my Windows 7 Boot Camp partition, the software crashes. It’s quite possible that I’m missing something because of the partition. On other XP machines, it works like a dream.

There’s no need for Boot Camp if you’re a Macintosh owner, though. Razer supports the platform, a fact that I thought was unique. Turns out Razer has been supporting the platform for over a decade.

“The Mac community was loud and clear beginning in the late 90’s that they were important and wanted to be considered as avid gamers too,” Krakoff told me. “Razer has been supporting the Mac for a number of years. Nearly every Razer product has some level of Mac compatibility, with or without drivers.“

It works just as well on the Macintosh, but Cake Mania isn’t much of a game to give this a spin on. Neither is Torchlight or Risen, which are the games I’ve been using with the mouse the most. For what it’s worth, it functions well with all three.

With twitch games like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and, to a lesser extent, Team Fortress 2, I’ve found that the mouse markedly enhances the experience. The speed allows for quick targeting while its innards are precision incarnate.

But I’m not a hardcore guy. I don’t let leaderboard or ELO ranks bother me, nor do I have the competitive edge of the guys who find the Imperator appealing. I’m not the intended audience -- but that audience actually has a hand in the creative design of Razer’s products as a whole.

When I asked Krakoff where Razer gets its ideas, he explained to me that Razer prowls message boards and asks its users what they want to see next. They even hire interns with a lust for peripheral power in order to develop their next line of products.

“At Razer we encourage and reward innovation. First off we make it a habit to hire gamers in every office and throughout the company. We have a very aggressive internship program,” Krakoff told me.

“For us the product development process begins internally. We also have a large group of friends, fans and fan sites, like Razer Blueprints.

“We ride the message boards and encourage our users to submit their wants and needs to us. We also have a very strong community commitment where we support and sponsor gamers and teams – and many of these top professional players are a part of our development and validation process.”

The Imperator is a rad tool. I’m using it on a daily basis. Sturdy, yet comfortable and not-too-dazzly, I can’t imagine not continuing to poke and prod my way through several PC and Mac games to come. Well, unless Razer whips out a new one at the Consumer Electronics Show  -- the next event on Razer’s show docket.

“Next is [CES] in Las Vegas in just a couple of weeks. Razer has a major booth there and we will be presenting our new products to both the world press and our distributors and retailers,” Krakoff told me when I asked to tell me what’s next.

“For this CES we have some exciting announcements and new products that will blow people away as we reveal the next chapter in Razer’s development. Of course, you will have to be there or read about it first-hand on January 6th.

“Is that enough of a tease for you?” he asked me.

Definitely. But while I wait for an unveil, I'll spend my time shooting some things in face.

The Razer Imperator is $79.99 and can be purchased through Razer’s official Web store.