Not long after the release of then-flagship Death Adder mouse, Razer announced they would be upgrading their older Diamondback design with the newer 3G infra-red sensor. This version of the Diamondback, called the ‘Diamondback 3G’, was designed to be a lower-cost alternative to the Death Adder, while also providing left-handed gamers a 3G choice (as the Death Adder is built for right-handed folk).
Gone is the transparent outer plastic shell of the unit, now replaced by the non-slip black plastic found on the Death Adder and Lachesis. The buttons are large and easy to depress making ‘accidental clicking’ possible, but the mouse is held with the clicking-fingers elevated slightly, so that isnt usually a problem during use. The side buttons are a bit crisper and harder to depress which is a benefit when having to pick the mouse up.
The 3G IR sensor is capable of 1800dpi and should be capable of 1000Hz polling rate, although the latter is never stated. While the Death Adder allowed users to not only chose between three levels of dpi, the Diamondback 3G only allows the choice of two: 800dpi and 1800dpi. When comparing the control panels of the Death Adder and Diamondback 3G, the lack of features is very noticible. It also feels as though the Diamondback 3G is locked at a lower polling rate than what it should be capable of, probably at 500Hz. This is supported by the fact that the unit’s polling rate is never mentioned in the docs, control panel, or the website when the ‘1000Hz UltraPolling’ is highly-touted on the Death Adder, Lycosa, Tarantula, and Lachesis descriptions.
Now this limitation is not a deal-breaker from what we saw by any means, however such a thing can tend to bog down public opinion of an otherwise great gaming mouse. The sensitivity and performance of the mouse during gaming (Bioshock and Age of Empires III) is smooth and consistent. Using the mouse in desktop apps such as Photoshop and even MS Word is also smooth and easy to handle. This is a definite plus, as many high-performance mice out there tend to be erratic and jumpy when used in applications like those.
Driver issues aside, the little brother to the Death Adder and Lachesis would make a great gift for casual gamers, gamers on a budget, or even the left-handed gamers out there. It provides very good performance while also not breaking the bank when compared to other gaming mice. I even wrote this review while using the mouse and am seriously considering picking a few up as stocking stuffers for some family members I am trying to get into gaming on their PCs.