INTRODUCTION

   The very first target group of gaming mice was FPS gamers since due to its nature the mouse offered significantly better performance/speed and accuracy compared to both the keyboard and gamepads/joypads. Because of that and also because almost a decade ago FPS games were flooding the market it took many years before manufacturers started even considering the development of gaming mice for other game types such as RTS and MMO's. Fortunately today the market is filled with countless gaming mice designed with special features for every gamer type out there from FPS and RTS gamers up to MMO gamers. The Naga Hex by Razer which has been with us for the past weeks was designed not only to cover the needs of regular FPS gamers but also the needs of the more demanding MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) gamers who require the best of all worlds including speed/accuracy, control and extra buttons.

   Razer is more than just the world's leading brand in gaming. We were founded in 1998 in San Diego, California by our CEO Min-Liang Tan and our President Robert "Razerguy" Krakoff in a tiny shared office with a couple other gamers. We have grown today to hundreds of employees worldwide with offices in nine cities, including San Francisco, Hamburg, Seoul, Shanghai and Singapore. Our vision from the very beginning was to be the world's greatest gaming brand and we've set out to achieve that by designing the best gaming products that any gamer has ever seen.

   As far as i can recall i got my very first gaming mouse over 6 years ago and it was in fact the best Razer used to produce back then (still have it somewhere). However although back then Razer was just about the only manufacturer that actually focused in producing high quality and innovative gaming peripherals today there are many (some however lack the high quality part) which is always a good thing for competition since you can now find good gaming mice for well under 50 bucks. The Razer Naga Hex however isn't just your average ordinary gaming mouse but rather a jack of all trades since not only does it feature a lightning fast 5600DPI laser sensor and 6 programmable mechanical thumb buttons (11 buttons in total) but it also has one of the best/weirdest designs I’ve ever seen and a very good size/weight ratio. So just how good is the brand new Naga Hex gaming mouse by Razer?

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

Razer follows the same theme box almost from the very beginning so at the front we see a large product image, the Razer logo and three bars listing its main features.

At the right side we find a few words about the Naga Hex from Razerguy (President), 6 small images showcasing the main product features and the category this product is part of.

Once again at the left side we see the main product features however this time explained in-depth and showcased with real pictures.

As expected the front of the box opens like a book to reveal the unit and the 2 different usage modes of the 6 mechanical thumb buttons.

A large product image used to point the main features along with a features list written in 10 languages is placed at the rear.

The bundle is quite rich and so aside the Naga Hex Gaming Mouse you will also get a master guide, quick start guide, two Razer stickers, a paper with a few words from Razerguy (President), a paper with a few words about the product and two extra rubber thumb rests.

THE NAGA HEX

Is it me or does the Naga Hex looks a lot like a snail? In any case both the weird design of the body and its high quality give the Naga Hex a very good grip although at first even i wasn't so sure.

The placement of the 6 mechanical thumb buttons is very convenient and thanks to the middle rubber thumbrest you don't have to worry about accidentally pressing them.

Razer has placed their logo at the rear top of the unit.

Both DPI buttons (increase/decrease) are placed right above the scroll wheel.

The far right side has a wide rubber area which can be used not only to rest your ring finger but also for better grip.

The scroll wheel feels great when used and it also features a grand total of 24 individual click positions.

The 7 feet long braided cable and the golden USB plug are also nice features.

I was really surprised to see that aside the usual 4 rubber feet on every corner the Naga Hex also featured a 5th one right under the wider ring finger rest area.

Right next to the 5600DPI laser sensor Razer has placed a mode switch for the 6 mechanical thumb buttons.

As you can see the illumination effects may not be something special but they look very nice (time to use the amBX lights with mouse reviews).

SYNAPSE 2.0

Since lately most gaming mice don't come with software CDs checking the official support page for all the latest updates is not something that can be avoided.

The only somewhat strange thing about the Synapse 2.0 software is that you need to create a valid account in order to use it.

Once you finish the installation the Synapse 2.0 software will begin to download and install every available update.

Aside all of the automated functions the control software for the Naga Hex is quite simple and so it allows you to remap all of the 11 buttons, change the mode for the thumb buttons, link specific game executables with specific profiles (quite useful), configure the sensitivity levels, adjust the speed of DPI/Polling/Acceleration, enable or disable the lighting effects on specific parts of the body and finally record your very own macro commands.

CONCLUSION

   With the Naga Hex Razer has introduced yet another well balanced gaming mouse with incredible speed and accuracy thanks to its 5600DPI laser sensor, great grip thanks to its ideal weight and design and finally plenty of buttons to go around so i guess that these features are more or less enough to consider any gaming mouse as perfect. However you all know that i don't really believe in perfection (not 100%) and so during the days i used the Naga Hex i always felt that something didn't feel quite right and that was no other than its two primary buttons which although have a life a very good life cycle of up to 10.000.000 clicks felt just way too soft when used and that let me down a bit since this was the only bad thing i encountered. Of course the fact that I’ve been using and testing gaming mice with harder primary buttons might be the reason behind my opinion and so it may just be me since a friend of mine didn't feel the same way (on the other hand he didn't like the design). Razer also packs Synapse 2.0 with the Naga Hex (and pretty much all their latest products) which is a quite impressive piece of software not only because it automatically detects, downloads and installs every available software and firmware update for your product without your intervention but it also stores your settings automatically and according to Razer they will also soon implement an in-game UI to store specific game settings.

   At this exact time the Razer Naga Hex retails for USD79.99 inside the USA (Amazon/Newegg) and at 69.90Euros inside the EU (Caseking) so i do expect some people to consider it as a bit expensive, however this gaming mouse is mostly targeted towards hardcore gamers who usually ignore the cost of anything that could give them the extra edge in online games. Overall the Razer Naga Hex is an impressive gaming mouse that should cover the needs of pretty much every gamer out there, hardcore or not thanks to its many features and automated update software (no more checking for updates every now and then, you now get them once they are out). As mentioned i didn't really like the feeling when using the two forward buttons and i would like to see more illumination colors supported but the first could just be me (personal preference) while the second makes sense in a way since the entire mouse is green. Because of everything mentioned we are happy to award the Razer Naga Hex with our Golden award.

PROS

- Build Quality (Mechanical Switches)
- Design (Grip)
- 6 Mechanical Thumb Buttons (250 Clicks Per Minute)
- Synapse 2.0 Software (Automatic Updates/Settings Storage)
- Illumination Control
- Braided Cable/ Gold USB Plug

CONS

- Price (For Some)
- Front Buttons Feel Too Soft