Razer Copperhead
Performance:
Unfortunately, as Razer presently doesn't support its software under GNU/Linux, we were unable to try their exclusive software for configuring and optimizing your Copperhead and then storing these settings on the 32Kb onboard memory with Razer Synapse. There are a few active open-source projects for altering the DPI rate, etc... inside of Linux for Logitech's MX series optical mice, which could be ported to the Razer Copperhead with some alterations, but there are presently no programs available like Razer's Windows software that allows DPI and polling rate alterations as well as button assignments. After plugging in the Razer Copperhead's gold-plated USB connector into one of our computer systems and then rebooting, Kudzu (Red Hat's hardware detection program) had immediately detected the mouse. Using FedoraCore4, GNOME 2.10, and the Linux 2.6.13-1.532 kernel the mouse was detected as "Razer Razer Copperhead Laser Mouse" with genericwheelusb drivers through the Hardware Browser.
For our Razer Copperhead testing, we focused not only on gaming but also along with other real-world computing tasks. When it came to gaming, we used primarily id Software Quake 4 and America's Army v2.5 Direct Action. Where as Quake 4 is on one end of the spectrum when it comes to the fast-pace game-play while battling exotic enemies, America's Army takes the role when it comes to life-like gaming where we aren't running and jumping around with a nail gun but rather progressing cautiously with our team and covering objectives. In both of these games, the Razer Copperhead stand by it's statements and provided a very precise yet smooth mouse experience. The Teflon feet used by the Copperhead definitely assisted in a smooth environment when paired with the Xtrac Hybrid for testing. When it comes to the noise produced from the button clicks, it was fairly silent although not inaudible and was faintly louder than some travel mice we've reviewed in the past. Not only was the gaming experience phenomenal, but its Linux desktop and office usage was equally comforting for which we had used Mozilla Firefox, Blender 3D, AbiWord, and GCJ Java Eclipse. Overall, our experiences with the Razer Copperhead were phenomenal and among the best we've ever seen when it comes to optical mice.