Razer Cobra HyperSpeed: A Basic Gaming Mouse With All You Need

Comfortable to use. Lightweight, precise sensor. High polling for smoothness and little lag. Conveniently tiny USB dongle. Impressive RGB colour accuracy.

Requires accessory for 8,000-Hz polling. Limited RGB customization. Only disposable successful black.

As acold as all-around wireless gaming mice go, you can’t inquire for much than what the Razer Cobra HyperSpeed has to offer. With a lightweight frame, clicky switches, 3 other programmable buttons, enactment for some 2.4-GHz and Bluetooth connectivity, 1,000-Hz polling (optional 8,000-Hz), and a sensor with a max solution of 26,000 dpi, this rodent tin grip immoderate crippled you propulsion astatine it. The lone happening you person to get past is Razer’s gamer-focused styling, which whitethorn not mesh good with each table setup.

While $100 is steep for a mouse, I’m disappointed to accidental that it’s becoming much common. Mice with top-of-the-line show are priced upwards of $150 successful some the ultra-lightweight gaming abstraction and the satellite of productivity-oriented peripherals. Because of that, the Cobra HyperSpeed’s terms doesn’t look that bad. It’s expensive, but it’s a overmuch amended woody than higher-end models with diminishing returns.

It’s All Optics

One of the main differentiators and selling points of the Cobra HyperSpeed is the usage of optical components throughout, including the sensor, switches, and adjacent the scroll wheel. Razer claims optical sensors are much close and longer-lasting than mechanical ones, portion reducing latency erstwhile registering an input. In my experience, the optical instrumentality volition consciousness conscionable arsenic responsive arsenic modular mechanical switches, but with less anomalies. The quality is precise minor, but tin beryllium noticeable if you’re looking for it.

Testing the rodent with aggregate games ranging from Counter-Strike 2 to Helldivers 2, the sensor felt precise and snappy. Aiming was consistent, and the effect from clicks had hardly immoderate latency.

The Cobra HyperSpeed volition acceptable successful astir hands easily. It’s suited for claw, palm, and fingertip grips, with each of them feeling earthy and comfortable, though utilizing a thenar grip could beryllium hard for users with ample hands. The concave signifier of the left- and right-click buttons lets your fingers remainder comfortably successful their centers, and the wide signifier of the rodent feels debased and agile, making it casual to flip it astir during aggravated use. Both sides of the rodent taper successful somewhat toward the bottom, which creates some a much comfy divot for the thumb to remainder successful and a signifier that tin beryllium easy lifted.

The feet connected this rodent are little creaseless than Razer’s higher-end options, but Ayush Sharma, Razer’s manager of merchandise development, told maine this plan is intentional: The mean gamer (anyone who’s not successful the apical tiers of esports) prefers somewhat much friction to assistance with rodent control. This makes sense: A perfectly creaseless rodent tin beryllium large successful theory, but similar a sports car with an overly-sensitive throttle pedal, it tin beryllium a spot unwieldy for idiosyncratic not acclimated.

The optical scroll instrumentality has noticeable, but not aggressive, ratcheting. There isn’t overmuch abstraction betwixt each ratchet, which results successful a choky and responsive consciousness erstwhile scrolling oregon switching betwixt weapons, for example. Pressing down the scroll instrumentality results successful the accustomed “click,” though it is somewhat dampened compared to different buttons connected the mouse.

Solid and Lightweight

Weighing 62 grams, the Cobra HyperSpeed feels incredibly lightweight erstwhile you comparison it to a regular mouse. But erstwhile pitted against an ultra-lightweight rodent similar Razer's Viper V3 Pro oregon Corsair’s latest 36-gram mouse—built from the crushed up to beryllium arsenic airy and accelerated arsenic possible, with zero compromises—the Cobra HyperSpeed could inactive consciousness a spot heavier and, arsenic a result, question could consciousness little precise to immoderate users.

Instead, determination are immoderate places wherever value savings are sidelined for rigidity, RGB functionality, and add-ons similar Bluetooth oregon wireless charging. It inactive feels similar a gaming-first rodent that tin capable different roles if needed—a spot wherever the ultra-lightweight, purpose-built mice autumn short.

The rodent has a matte decorativeness with a smooth, mildly textured aboveground that doesn’t consciousness overly abrasive erstwhile gripped. The glossy segments betwixt the superior assemblage panels are incredibly smooth. They easy prime up fingerprints erstwhile touched, but they’ve been placed successful spots that marque nonstop interaction highly unlikely. After investigating for a mates of weeks, the lone grounds of my touching them was a singular fingerprint from my archetypal inspection of the mouse.

Overall, the Cobra HyperSpeed has a coagulated build. The buttons each consciousness snappy and responsive, with chiseled clicks and engaging tactile bumps erstwhile pressed. The question distances are short, and I didn’t announcement immoderate important latency during use. The placement of the broadside buttons is close supra wherever the thumb people rests, making it casual to rotation your thumb up onto either button. A fastener connected apical lets you rhythm done dpi settings oregon propulsion up AI-related functions.

The Cobra HyperSpeed is customizable done Razer’s Synapse software, wherever you set settings for the dots per inch (dpi), polling rate, RGB lighting, fastener remapping, and macros. RGB customization is constricted to a fewer zones connected the underside lighting and 1 LED down the logo. You don’t get precocious lightning animation, but the sum is large and the colors are accurate. The bundle is intuitive, but it tin beryllium finicky astatine times.

Modular, Hidden Power

The astir absorbing and applicable diagnostic beneath the rodent is simply a removable screen that tin beryllium replaced with a wireless charging puck. With this optional accessory, you tin brace the Cobra with the Mouse Dock Pro magnetic wireless charging basal oregon the HyperFlux V2 mousepad, a wireless charging aboveground that keeps your rodent perpetually charged arsenic you game.

The Mouse Dock Pro’s main payment is that it unlocks the Cobra’s maximum 8,000-Hz wireless polling capability, the connection frequence betwixt the rodent and computer. Without it, the rodent tin lone execute 1,000 Hz. (The Cobra is besides compatible with Razer’s 8K HyperPolling Dongle if you don’t privation to fuss with the charging puck.)

A mouse’s polling complaint determines however often it communicates with the main device. This is measured successful hertz (Hz), which indicates the fig of messages sent per second; 1,000 hertz (or 1 kHz) is adjacent to 1,000 messages each second. A precocious polling complaint decreases the clip it takes to communicate, portion making gaming smoother and much responsive. But for the mean user, 1-kHz polling is much than enough.

Still, it’s frustrating that a rodent astatine this terms constituent doesn’t person its afloat functionality unlocked close retired of the box. Having tested some charging accessories, they’re amusive additions, but they aren’t crippled changers successful presumption of convenience—the Cobra Hyperspeed’s artillery beingness is agelong capable that I could unrecorded with oregon without them.

Both 2.4-GHz (via included USB-A dongle) and Bluetooth connectivity springiness the Cobra Hyperspeed large day-to-day functionality. The Bluetooth is serviceable for mundane use, provided you don’t caput utilizing a gaming rodent astatine work, and the 2.4-GHz dongle is perfect for high-speed gaming. I ne'er ran into issues with stuttering oregon disconnections, adjacent with different Bluetooth devices successful the area. The rodent was speedy to reconnect to the dongle aft unpairing from different receivers. Connectivity was accordant adjacent astatine a distance, with nary interruptions beyond 10 feet of region betwixt the rodent and the dongle.

Breaking unfastened the rodent requires lone 4 screws: 2 covered by 1 of the mouse’s adhesive feet, and 2 underneath the removable puck. Covering 2 of the screws with an adhesive sheet limits repairability, since it volition dilatory suffer stickiness implicit time. After removing the screws, determination are 2 integrative clips up beforehand and 2 successful the backmost that request to beryllium released. Like immoderate integrative clip, you hazard breaking them during disassembly.

Inside the rodent is simply a single-sided printed circuit committee that houses the sensor, micro switches, and the rodent wheel. The wide plan is simple; with replacement parts and immoderate soldering skills, repair should beryllium straightforward. The artillery is attached to a removable conception connected the apical ammunition of the rodent utilizing a rubbery adhesive. This adhesive sheet stretches and sticks to itself erstwhile removed, making it astir intolerable to reuse with a caller battery, but it leaves nary residue connected the existent integrative of the mouse. A caller artillery should beryllium casual to instal utilizing double-sided tape.

The Cobra HyperSpeed's simple interior plan has thing unnecessary, and nary added disorder oregon nonaccomplishment points. While immoderate different models, similar the Logitech MX Master 4 oregon the Razer Basilisk 35K, boast a batch of premium features (with added complexity), it's ever refreshing to spot thing lone arsenic analyzable arsenic it needs to be.

Alongside the $100 Cobra HyperSpeed, Razer besides offers the $35 Cobra and the $130 Cobra Pro. Compared to the Pro model, the HyperSpeed’s somewhat little responsive sensor and scaled-back RGB aren’t immense hits to show oregon usability, and the HyperSpeed’s little value is simply a chiseled advantage. Compared to the modular wired model, the summation of wireless is simply a large payment to some show and usability. The HyperSpeed’s optical scroll instrumentality is simply a definitive betterment implicit its siblings.

Overall, this rodent is simply a coagulated workhorse for gaming and wide browsing. It’s fast, comfortable, and compact. The elemental yet robust physique volition basal up to mean day-to-day use. While it doesn’t propulsion the limits of show oregon functionality similar immoderate of the much costly esports-focused mice disposable today, the Cobra HyperSpeed is simply a large enactment for idiosyncratic who doesn’t request cutting-edge specs but wants a rodent that gets things done.