Image: Foundry
When you’re shopping for a new mouse for your Mac, the temptation is to get something flashy. Apple’s own Magic Mouse, for instance, has a low profile that looks like a mini sports car driving alongside a Space Black MacBook Pro and brings unique features thanks to its multi-touch surface.
But when I sit down to work, my Magic Mouse remains in my desk drawer. Rather, the mouse I’m reaching for is much more basic—so much so, in fact, that I could buy four of them for the price of one Magic Mouse. My go-to mouse is the Razer DeathAdder Essential Gaming Mouse, which sells for $30 and is usually on sale for closer to $20.
Mind you, I’m not a gamer. Quite frankly, if I were, I’d probably pick an entirely different mouse. For my purposes, the Razer DeathAdder Essential Gaming Mouse has everything I need: a comfortable ergonomic design, smooth tracking, a scroll wheel, easy sensitivity adjustment (up to 6,400 dpi), and programmable buttons. The RGB lighting is pretty neat too.
Yes, it has a cord, but let’s be real: how far away from your computer does a mouse really need to be? The 7-foot cable is plenty long for long swipes and long desks and stays free from tangles. It’s so light I barely feel it under my palm, unlike the very persistent Magic Mouse, and it glides easily and smoothly. Most of the time, it doesn’t even feel like it has a cord—and the best part is I don’t need to flip it upside down to charge it.
I still keep a Magic Trackpad on my desk for gestures and scrolling (though the Death Adder has a scroll wheel), but most of my work is accomplished with the simple Razer DeathAdder Essential Gaming Mouse.
Author: Michael Simon, Executive Editor, Macworld
Michael Simon has been covering Apple for more than 20 years. He started covering rumors with Spymac when the iPod was the iWalk, and has owned nearly every iPhone Apple has ever made. He lives in Connecticut with his wife, son, and far too many gadgets.
