Razer Mantis Speed/Control
To perform our Razer Mantis testing, we pulled out the Razer Copperhead and performed an array of testing under Linux. Throughout our entire testing process, we used the Copperhead with Fedora Core 4 (2.6.14-1.653) and GNOME v2.10. The games used in testing were the Linux-native America's Army, Unreal Tournament 2004, Sauerbraten, and Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory. For additional tests, we also used the mouse and mouse pad combination with Mozilla Firefox, Mozilla Thunderbird, general file browsing with Nautilus, The GIMP image editing, and programming inside of nedit. Throughout all of these operations, both of the mouse pads were winners when it comes to its designated task of being a precision mousing surface. In Unreal Tournament 2004 and the fast-paced games, we had preferred the Razer Mantis Speed due to the smoother surface; however, in the more precise programs we had preferred the control variant due to having greater accuracy. Of course, when it comes to testing the mouse surface it can often be subjective depending upon personal preference. Compared against the Xtrac Hybrid, the Razer Mantis Speed offered an even smoother experience. We had used both of these pads for almost a week and were quite impressed with our findings.
Overall, we were very much pleased with how both the Razer Mantis Speed and Razer Mantis Control mouse pads had operated. When using the 2000DPI Razer Copperhead, we were able to fly through Unreal Tournament 2004 with incredible headshots using the speed version while in The GIMP we had superb accuracy. With both of these pads being for gamers, and designed by gamers, Razer did not cut it short on quality as they used Everglide's Fibertek as well as other cloth innovations to ensure the pad will not move and will stay strong as a precision surface optimized for gaming. Even though the Razer Mantis is not quite as large as the Steelpad QcK+, gamers bringing the mouse pad to LAN parties may find their table real estate to be limited. Although it is not as easy to switch between smooth and control environments with the Mantis, as it was with the eXactMat, either the Speed or Control variant should be able to satisfy the needs of both gamers and professionals depending upon what tasks are utilized most. Yet again, this is another precision mousing surface for gamers, and may be the one you have long been looking for in a cloth product. At the time of publication, the Razer Mantis (speed and control variants) can be found for approximately $25 USD per unit.
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