Hello darkness my old friend. The DeathAdder Elite feels familiar to my clicks and glides and with the same familiarity I've had for the past 5 years of gaming. I'll be first to admit that I am no stranger to Razer's DeathAdder line as they've done something most companies aren't able to do, and that's using the same mouse design and layout they've had for more than 10 years.
The 2012 DeathAdder next to the new DeathAdder Elite
A 2014 DeathAdder against the new DeathAdder Elite
Specs and Features
The DeathAdder is a shockingly simple mouse in an age where complex mice seem to saturate the gaming market. It is a right handed mouse although there is a lower dpi variant for lefties. However outside of the same design they've had, Razer followed their RGB lighting line and gave the Elite an ability to customize the color of the Razer logo. The sides of the mice have been textured as well to give a better grip for users along with mechanical keys. The DeathAdder also has two new additional buttons added just underneath the mouse wheel that can be programmed to your own settings. The mouse also comes with a braided cable for longer lasting durability.
What I Like
Razer knows this mice has worked well, this design has been a favorite due to its extremely comfortable ergonomic design. The DeathAdder's left and right click mouse buttons are also grooved in, so my fingers don't just fit there, it's almost as like they're being cradled as I shoot my opponent's face off. Being a user of the 2012 DeathAdder, the Elite upgrades this design by adding textures the mouse wheel and the sides for a premium feeling. The Razer mechanical mouse switches also have a solid click on each press that should last you for years of abuse.
I'm also a big fan of the additional buttons under the mouse wheel, it's a subtle addition, but it opens up more possibilities to switch between profiles or dpi's on the fly without bogging mouse down with an overabundance of buttons.
What I Didn't Like
While RGB coloring is now a standard among PC gamers, I didn't feel like the color option did much in the DeathAdder's case primarily because the logo is hidden under the palm the whole time so you don't really appreciate the color much. What would've been cool is if Razer incorporated some type of edge lighting similar to their FireFly mousepad so the colors showed through a bit more.
Lastly, there's no onboard memory on the mouse, meaning the way your profiles are stored are through Razer's infamous Synapse software. Which more or less can be a drag because of the need to login and setup a Razer just to set up the mouse.
Conclusion
It's hard to knock a mouse down that's gone through very little iterations since its introduction in 2006. I can't reiterate enough, there is a reason why the DeathAdder hasn't changed, it's because its design works.
Users of any previous DeathAdder mice should feel right at home with the Elite simply because it's more or less the same mouse. But that's what's great about it, the Elite did the most minor of tweaks and gave the supreme feeling of the DeathAdder have a premium feeling. If you haven't used a DeathAdder before I'd highly recommend it.
