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Lancehead gaming mouse review: Razer finally does wireless right

By Koh Wanzi - 10 Jul 2017
Launch SRP: S$229

Introduction & Wireless Performance

Meet Razer’s newest flagship mouse

Razer Lancehead

Razer has big new ambitions for its Lancehead gaming mouse, the latest rodent to roll off its factory line.

Most gamers snub wireless gaming mice because of the perceived disadvantages, such as higher latency and unreliable performance. However, Logitech’s G900 Chaos Spectrum proved that it’s possible to have a wireless mouse that works just as well, and is in fact indistinguishable from, its wired counterparts.

Ultimately, it’s all about having the right implementation, so we perked up when Razer announced the Lancehead and started talking up its wireless performance. The company promised the usual goodies – reliable operation that is unaffected by even a noisy wireless environment and lag-free usage.

Razer has spared no expense with the Lancehead. This is Razer’s new flagship (move over, Razer Mamba), and it improves on the Mamba in several ways, including with a more versatile, ambidextrous design, better handling, and of course, vastly improved wireless performance.

 

A wireless mouse that feels like a wired one

Razer Lancehead

On paper, the Lancehead certainly sounds impressive. It features a 16,000DPI 5G laser sensor, mechanical mouse switches, and support for Razer’s Chroma lighting.

It also works in both wired and wireless modes, so you’re free to choose between the two. In addition, its ambidextrous shape and side buttons located on both the left and right of the mouse mean that it is truly a mouse for both right-handers and lefties.    

Overall, Razer’s newest flagship is a versatile mouse that wants to satisfy a vast swath of gamers. However, it’s prohibitive S$229.90 price tag means that even if it makes everybody happy, most people won’t immediately hand the cash over.

That’s far out of the range of the mass market, where a very good gaming mouse can be had for a hundred dollars less. The Lancehead is an unabashedly premium product, in the same company as the S$249 Logitech G900 Chaos Spectrum.

The highlight of the Lancehead’s arsenal is something Razer calls Adaptive Frequency Technology (AFT). The mouse operates in the 2.4GHz band, but it scans the different frequencies hundreds of times a second and selects the one with the least interference.

Razer Lancehead dongle

This ability to frequency hop helps ensure better transmission stability, in theory, and is what enables to Lancehead to keep transmitting reliably even in a crowded environment with multiple wireless devices. However, Razer says the Lancehead only switches frequencies when it absolutely needs to, thus avoiding performance drops that can occur during this process.

This concept of frequency switching is similar to what Logitech did with the G900, so that explains how both mice manage to turn out strong performances in wireless mode.

In our week using the Lancehead in wireless mode, we didn’t notice any signal drops or delayed responses, and the mouse continued to track reliably whether we were in game or working. We experimented with the positioning of the dongle, first placing it in a front USB port on our PC and then plugging it into the rear I/O amidst a tangle of wires.

The mouse worked well in both cases, and there was never any need to plug the dongle into the adapter to link up with the braided cable. This setup helps you minimize the distance between the dongle and the mouse in especially challenging environments, and you can opt to do so anyway for a peace of mind.

Razer Lancehead dongle

More importantly, it was impossible to distinguish between wired and wireless mode, which is really what makes a great wireless mouse.

Finally, the Lancehead’s battery is supposedly good for 24 hours with the Chroma lighting on, and we were able to use it for a few hours every day for about a week before it needed charging. That’s pretty decent, but the battery life on the Logitech G900 Chaos Spectrum is still slightly better.

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8.5
  • Design 8.5
  • User-Friendliness 9
  • Features 9
  • Performance 8
  • Value 7.5
The Good
Excellent wireless performance
Good build quality
Ambidextrous design suitable for both left- and right-handers
Chroma lighting offers nearly limitless customization options
The Bad
Laser sensor not as good as optical one
Expensive
Not the best for palm grip
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