I’ve been using Razer products for almost 10 years now and I wanted to post some thoughts about my experience followed up with a question about future products.
The first Razer product I ever bought was the Razer Naga 2014. I bought it back in 2015 (almost 10 years from the date of this message). I’ve had it this entire time and it’s never broken. All the buttons work flawlessly. And the older Razer Synapse software is lightning fast, responsive, and never has issues.
I originally used it for World of Warcraft, but soon after that I started using it for my work (game dev). I was able to map the 12 side keys to all the software I use (Maya, Unity, Unreal, code IDEs, etc). These are my thoughts on the designs I’ve tried over the years.
Naga 2014 (The best model by a long shot)
Button #5
In the 3D software I use, the middle mouse button’s click is used to navigate the viewport, but I’ve found the amount of force required to activate the middle mouse click over and over all day becomes exhausting for my finger. Feels like I’ll get Carpal Tunnel that way. The mouse wheel can also be pushed left & right, as well as scrolled...so, when I have to reliably click ONLY downwards for it to activate properly, I sometimes accidentally scroll it or push it to the left or right. This takes additional effort that’s quite frustrating.
So, I decided to remap the middle mouse click to Button #5...and it’s been a game-changer. Button #5 is perfectly close to the scroll wheel, so it takes minimal finger movement to go from scrolling the wheel to clicking Button #5. And it’s click-activation requires minimal force, so I can click it thousands of times a day without ever developing pain or exhaustion from the movement and force. I’ve used it this way for 10 years. Incredibly helpful.
Side Note - I never use button #4...but button #5 is supremely useful.
Side Panel
The side panel is fixed (non-detachable). In my experience this is EXTREMELY important for the long-term use and reliability of the side buttons continuing to function normally.
Epic Chroma
Pros
- It has generally the same design as the 2014 model.
- Button #5 is the same
- Fixed (non-detachable) side panel
- The scroll wheel takes less force to scroll than the 2014. This is an improvement! The lighter the better in my opinion.
Cons
- It’s heavier, which does take it’s toll when using the mouse for 12+ hours a day.
- I found the wireless aspect was less reliable than wired as the wireless started to fail after a year or two of use.
Naga Pro
Pros
- Fixed (non-detachable) side panel
Cons
- Button #5 is MUCH further back from the scroll wheel and requires WAY more force to activate. This is a huge downside for someone like me who uses Button #5 thousands of times every day. It require me to move my middle finger much further away from the middle scroll wheel, and takes more force to activate it, which is exhausting and causes pain after awhile.
- The scroll wheel requires more force to scroll.
Naga Trinity
Pros
- Button #5
Cons
- Detachable side panels. These are EXTREMELY unreliable. Every model of Naga that I’ve tried with detached side panels has broken after a relatively short time (2-4 years). Some of the buttons will just stop functioning no matter what solutions I try. And I’ve tried them all. As someone that uses these MMO mice for the 12-button side panel, I literally NEVER change the side panel. I don’t need that functionality. I just need those 12 buttons to work.
Summary
I LOVE the model of the Naga 2014. Everything about it just WORKS for my use case. I thank my lucky stars that it’s still working, because my latest model (the Naga Trinity) is busted...the buttons on the side panel no longer function properly.
I notice the only model of Naga that’s similar to the 2014 and currently available is the left-handed Naga. It’s basically the exact same model but for the left hand. There is not one model currently available that works for me; none have the Button #5 that’s so helpful….except for this left-handed Naga that I can’t use. And the most advanced Naga currently available has detachable side panels, which have been very unreliable in my experience.
Question
Is there any chance you’ll make the 2014-style model for the right hand again? Or an updated one that has these key features:
- Button #5 that’s very close to the scroll wheel & easy to click (light activation force).
- Fixed (non-detachable) side panel