Razer Viper 8K review: a fast ambidextrous mouse for esports

This Razer Viper 8K review is aimed at those looking for speed and accuracy from an ambidextrous mouse. Its crowning glory is the 8,000Hz polling rate, it’s about as fast as a mouse can get which is what makes it well suited for esports. 

Razer is no stranger to T3’s guide to the best gaming mouse, in fact, the multinational tech company often take the top spots across all types of gaming peripherals. 

In this Razer Viper 8K review, I’ll cover everything you need to know about it from its design and hardware to how it performed during gameplay.

You might also be interested to see the best gaming keyboards, the best gaming headsets and the best gaming monitors. 

 Razer Viper 8K review: price and availability  

You can buy the Razer Viper 8K right now starting from $60 in the US, £60 in the UK and AU$120 in Australia. Take a look at the widgets on this page for more pricing from across the web. It's also worth checking our Razer discount codes for further reductions.

Razer Viper 8K review: design and setup 

The Razer Viper 8K is an ambidextrous gaming mouse with a symmetrical design. The sides are almost completely straight with a raised back to rest your palm on. You won’t find indented grips or a thumb rest to make things more comfortable but despite that, this mouse still feels pleasant to use. 

Measuring 126.73 x 57.6 x 37.81mm and weighing 71g, it’s relatively small and light although not the smallest or the lightest you can buy. It’s shallow and ergonomic, but because of its size, it’ll be better suited to a claw grip or a small hand. 

You do get a really good grip on this mouse thanks to the rubber ridges on each side, it won’t go flying out of your hand even on a warm day. I was using the mouse for about a month and one downside was the amount of wear the grips suffered in that time, it was quite significant. 

There are 8 buttons in total with two identical controls on each side that are defaulted to forward and back, you can use it in exactly the same way no matter which hand you use. Because the buttons mirror each one another, both left-handed and right-handed people might find they accidentally click the buttons on the opposite side to their thumb when grabbing it during gameplay.

On the top of the mouse, there are two large click panels as well as the scroll wheel, and on the underside, you’ll find a button that will cycle through 5 preset DPI settings. The location of the DPI switch isn’t ideal, you won’t be adjusting the settings on the fly, but it’s still ga great feature to have. 

The Razer Viper 8K doesn’t look anything special, it has a plain black plastic design but it feels solid and durable. There are RGB lights underneath the logo where your palm sits that you can adjust from the desktop software, and it can be synchronised with your other compatible Razer kit as well. It’s not particularly bright but that won’t matter if you’re someone who doesn’t want their gaming rig to look over-the-top anyway. 

You connect the Razer Viper 8K to your computer using the USB Speedflex Cable. It’s braided and flexible although not as malleable or soft as you would hope for. On the plus side, that does mean it feels like it won’t fray easily. 

Setting up the mouse is as easy as plugging it in and installing the Razer Synapse software on your PC. 

Razer Viper 8K review: performance

The big selling point of the Razer Viper 8K is the 8,000Hz HyperPolling - most mice sit at around 1,000Hz. What that means is that this mouse will send information back to your computer 8,000 times per second which should mean less input loss. That’s why this mouse is well suited to esports, more casual gamers probably won’t notice the difference. 

Alongside that, it has a Razer Focus+ optical sensor with 50G of acceleration. It can go up to 20K DPI, it can be stepped up or down through 5 DPI stages. Ultimately what you get is a seriously speedy mouse with tracking fit for a pro. It glides across the mouse mat really smoothly as well, thanks to the 100% PTFE Mouse Feet. 

Using the 2nd-gen Razer optical switches instead of the usual mechanical switches, the Razer Viper 8K responds almost instantly to each click. They’re tactile, responsive and should last about 70 million clicks which is much more than the 50 million click lifecycle offered by the majority of gaming mice. 

To manage the mouse’s settings, the Razer Synapse desktop software is in-depth and easy to navigate. You can adjust the DPI sensitivity, change the polling rate, choose new button assignments, add new RGB lighting effects and modify the tracking distance. Everything is laid out simply and clearly across each tab.

 Razer Viper 8K review: verdict 

While the Razer Viper 8K is brilliant in many ways, the ambidextrous design isn’t perfect and could lead to accidental clicks on the side buttons. If you can get around that, the shallow design is comfortable and ergonomic, so you’ll easily be able to use it for long gaming sessions. 

When it comes to performance, this mouse is fantastic, with smooth skates and super speedy response times, even esports professionals will get on well with it. That’s all paired with the detailed Razer Synapse software which gives you plenty of control over the mouse’s settings. If you don’t mind more modest RGB lighting then the Razer Viper 8K is well worth adding to your shortlist!

Razer Viper 8K review: also consider 

 The best gaming mouse for most people is still the Razer Deathadder V2. It’s actually cheaper than this mouse, and while the polling rate only sits at 1,000Hz, it ticks just about every other box you could be looking for. 

If you don’t need an ambidextrous mouse, and you’re not so keen on having a wire hanging about either, then take a look at the Roccat Kone Pro Air. It’s just about the best wireless gaming mouse you can buy right now, and it’s jaw-droppingly good-looking as well. 

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