Thursday, September 03, 2020
The Razer Naga has always been one of the most recognizable mice in Razer's lineup. Initially debuting as a mouse dedicated to MMO gamers with 12 action buttons on its left side, the mouse has since transformed into the adaptable Naga Trinity with three swappable side plates for conquering games of different genres. The formula has worked well, but Razer isn't done iterating on the Naga.
Enter the Razer Naga Pro, the latest member of the family and its new peak. The Naga Pro takes everything that made the Naga Trinity great, makes it wireless, and even changes up the design on one of the three side plates. But is it worth the $150 you'll have to scrounge up to buy one?
Let's dive in and check it out.
Enhancing an Icon
Razer Naga Pro
Bottom line: The Razer Naga Pro is a worthy entry in an iconic line of gaming mice. It's versatile, responsive, wireless, and a great choice for gamers of all stripes.
Pros
- Very responsive wireless
- Modular side plates
- Satisfying switches
- Solid build quality
- Fantastic battery life
Cons
- Fairly expensive
- Not the lightest mouse out there
Razer Naga Pro specs and features
I'll get it out of the way up front: this is the ultimate Naga experience. If you've used a Naga mouse in the past, whether for MMO gaming, FPS, or MOBAs, then the Naga Pro will feel very familiar. But even though it's familiar, Razer has refined the Naga Pro in ways that make it a truly enjoyable mouse to use.
Here's a quick rundown of the highlight specs for the Naga Pro:
| Razer DeathAdder Naga Pro wireless | |
|---|---|
| Optical sensor | Razer Focus+ 20,000 DPI |
| Programmable buttons | 19+1 |
| Connection method | Wired or wireless (Razer HyperSpeed or Bluetooth) |
| Battery life | Up to 100 hours (Razer HyperSpeed) Up to 150 hours (Bluetooth) |
| Swappable side plates | MMO/RTS MOBA/Battle Royale FPS |
| Switches | Razer Optical mouse switches Rated durability up to 70 million clicks |
| On-the-fly sensitivity adjustment | Yes (Five customizable DPI stages) |
| On-board memory | Yes (Five profiles) |
| RGB lighting support | Yes |
| Ambidextrous | No (Right-handed) |
| Textured grip | Yes |
| Weight | 117g |
| Price | $150 |
Right out of the box, the Naga Pro feels like a premium gaming mouse. There's a solid weight to it, the mouse wheel spins with chunky clicks, and pressing the side buttons feels substantial. It's the swappable side plates that will capture your attention, though.
In true Naga fashion, the side plate that comes attached to the Naga is the one designated for MMO and RTS games. It's a familiar grid of 12 buttons that gives you plenty of space to assign abilities. When you want to swap the plate out for one of the others, however, the process is quick and simple.
This is the ultimate Naga experience.
The plates are held in place against the Naga Pro with a pair of sturdy circular magnets. They hold their position when in use, but are easy to pry off via a lip on the bottom of the mouse. Once off, you'll expose the gold contacts that provide the interface between the buttons on each module and the mouse itself.
The MMO plate feels just as good as the 12-button setup always has with rubberized clicky buttons. Likewise, the two-button FPS panel is comfortable, feeling a lot like using the Razer DeathAdder's side buttons with a stable rubber grip placed underneath. When you move to the six-button MOBA/Battle Royale layout, however, you get a whole new design to check out.
The redesigned side plate feels like a solid middle-ground between the other two. The six buttons are wide and stick out prominently from the mouse body, making them super accessible. They're made with a rubber coating that feels like that of the MMO panel, and there's a rubber grip placed just below them to give you some extra stability when trying to make precise clicks.
I'm not a massive MOBA or Battle Royale player, but this setup seems like it would work out well for either. While the MMO panel would probably work, limiting the side buttons to six and making them stand out eliminates any confusion you might have when trying to hit the exact action. It's also fairly easy to press any one of the six buttons without having to reposition your thumb, but that's something that will vary from hand to hand.
During my time with the Naga Pro, I've mainly used it over Razer's HyperSpeed wireless 2.4G connection. Razer says it has dialed HyperSpeed in to be virtually indistinguishable from using a wired mouse, and it shows. I'm no professional gamer, but I didn't experience any noticeable lag whatsoever; you won't notice a difference between this and a wired mouse.
There's also something to be said about just how much battery life Razer was able to eke out here. The company quotes life at up to 100 hours of the HyperSpeed connection and 150 hours over Bluetooth. And for Bluetooth battery life, I've been using the Naga Pro for eight-plus hours most days this week, with HyperSpeed wireless, and it's still going strong.
Any drawbacks to the Razer Naga Pro?
For all of its versatility, the one area that the Naga Pro is likely to turn some people off is its weight. At 117 grams, it's certainly not anywhere close to the heaviest mouse out there. However, in a world where gamers are able to pick up mice that weigh nearly half of that, it's worth considering.
Staying within Razer's lineup, for example, you can pick up the Viper Mini, which weighs an absurdly light 61 grams. It's bigger brother, the Razer Viper isn't much heavier, coming in at 69 grams.
Ultimately, this comes down to personal preference. What you gain in weight with the Naga Pro, you make up for with versatility and a wireless experience. Whether shaving off roughly 50 grams is worth missing out on those features will be up to you.
There's also the price to consider. At $150, the Naga Pro is an investment; there's no denying that. If you're tied to Raer, you could step down to the Naga Trinity, cutting the cost by $50 while sacrificing wireless connectivity.
So should you buy the Razer Naga Pro?
If you're a longtime fan of the Naga series, then the Naga Pro is definitely worth picking up if have the spare cash. The combination of the Naga's versatility with exceptional wireless connectivity and great battery life is one that can't be beat.
For anyone who hasn't ever tried out a Naga, you'll want to take stock of how you plan to use a gaming mouse. If you're constantly genre-hopping from MOBA to FPS, maybe throwing in an MMO here and there, the different button setups can be a godsend once you're accustomed to using them. If you're averse to switching up your button layout, however, you might want to look elsewhere.
There's one other group who will want to give the Naga a go: MMO players. As a former hardcore (and still casual) World of Warcraft player, the original Naga instantly made itself my go-to mouse for taming my ridiculously large repertoire of abilities and growing action bars. Going wireless makes the Naga Pro the best MMO mouse out there.
The Naga Pro is now on sale for $150, from Razer.
Wires banished
Razer Naga Pro
A worthy upgrade
The Razer Naga Pro is an incredibly versatile gaming mouse. With three interchangeable side plates, you'll be hard pressed to find something it can't tackle.
0 comments:
Post a Comment