Razer Viper V4 Pro

Design

• Super light frame
• Dense plastics used for solid build quality
• Minimal button arrangement

The fit and finish of the Viper V4 Pro isn’t dissimilar in some ways to the equivalent DeathAdder model, with some high-quality plastics used that make this mouse feel robust and dense in hand – a pleasant touch given how cheap some superlight mice can feel.

Being a Viper, this is a different shape to the more ergonomic DeathAdder, with this mouse line traditionally being Razer’s more competitive-focused, ambidextrous choice, a la Logitech G Pro X Superlight 2 and its derivatives. This makes it more suitable for fingertip and claw grippers, in theory, although I’ve had no trouble with my usual palm grip with this mouse – it’s a very comfortable one.

The 50g mass makes this especially light, and easily one of the lightest you’ll find in its canon of high-power choices. It makes it an entire 11g lighter than the Superstrike, which I think is noticeable enough, especially for the pro players this rodent is aimed at. If you go for the black variant, it also shaves another gram off to make it 49g.

As with the DeathAdder V4 Pro, the Viper V4 Pro has seen an internal redesign compared to its predecessor, which is why the weight has been cut down a smidgen with things such as stiffer side walls and the use of sustainable materials that technically also make this mouse’s shell 90% made of PCR.

The button arrangement here makes sense, with the two main ones and an optical scroll wheel on top (itself transplanted from the DeathAdder V4 Pro), plus two side buttons on the left, and one for DPI switching and power on the underside

The underside is also home to some large PTFE skates, which help this mouse glide especially well, and mean its tracking is rather smooth. On the front, you’ll find a USB-C port for wired use and charging.

Performance

• Beefy 50,000 DPI sensor
• Immensely responsive in games
• Much improved battery life over rivals

Razer has gone all-out on the internals of the Viper V4 Pro in an attempt to compete with Logitech’s Superstrike, packing everything and the kitchen sink into this rodent.

For instance, we’ve got a brand new Focus Pro 50K (Gen 3) sensor with up to 50,000 DPI’s worth of sensitivity that’s remarkably accurate and zippy in my testing, and feels like one of the best sensors I’ve ever used in my testing in Counter-Strike 2. 

Granted, 50,000 DPI feels especially jittery in most scenarios, but for very quick wrist flicks and rotations, I can see why it’s useful. I tended to stick more in the 1600 to 3200 DPI range for typical CS2 play and office use, respectively, and the Viper V4 Pro still felt zippy.

Combine this with both an optical scroll wheel that they say is more reliable and precise than the predecessor and a new flavour of HyperSpeed wireless connectivity with proper 8000Hz polling and an even lower latency connection, and you’ve got a seriously responsive mouse for FPS gaming.

The true 8000Hz wireless polling adds the Viper V4 Pro to a growing, but still quite exclusive, club of wireless gaming mice that offer this feature. It can aid general responsiveness of inputs and movement as the mouse reports its position a lot more frequently than a ‘standard’ gaming mouse would with a 1000Hz rate, translating to lower latency, and even more fluid movements. For mere mortals, it can be hard to tell the difference, but it is certainly useful for pro-grade players.

In addition, there’s an upgrade to the optical switches inside, with this Razer benefiting from the new Gen 4 switches that have been designed from the ground up to be more responsive and have a slightly lighter actuation than before for snappier inputs. They’re wonderfully clicky and a little on the louder side, but they were immensely responsive in conjunction with everything else the Viper V4 Pro offers.

Razer has also made strong gains with this rodent’s endurance, touting up to 180 hours of runtime with 1000Hz polling selected, putting it at 30 hours more than the DeathAdder V4 Pro and twice the 90 hours that the Superstrike offers. Bump up to the full 8000Hz polling, and the runtime drops down to 45 hours. It may be lower, but it is a huge improvement over the 20 or so hours from rivals. 

Software and Lighting

• Extensive software configuration in Synapse 4
• No RGB lighting to speak of

Usually, the software section is where I’d add a bit of a caveat for the resource-intensive Synapse software that Razer employs, although with the Viper V4 Pro, things have changed a bit

This rodent supports Razer’s shiny new Synapse 4, which feels a lot lighter and more responsive than previous versions. It provides convenient means for things such as remapping buttons and adjusting the DPI on up to five levels and polling rate up to 8000Hz, plus more advanced features such as surface calibration, angle offset and a new dynamic sensitivity mode that’s essentially a form of mouse acceleration. 

There is also the option of Synapse Web, which provides a web-based UI that runs in a browser, and pares back some features, but is another choice if you can’t install software on a PC, but still want some customisation – handy for eSports tournaments that are traditionally played on locked-down PCs.

As is common for ultralight gaming mice, you won’t find any flashy RGB lighting with this Viper V4 Pro either, in the name of conserving battery and looking mean.

Should you buy it?