Razer Introduces New Ambidextrous Viper Mouse With 8000Hz Polling Rate

Razer has introduced the Viper 8KHz, a new version of the ambidextrous Viper gaming mouse that features Razer’s new HyperPolling chip. This is a fast USB microcontroller that enables a polling rate of 8000Hz, which is eight times more than normal according to Razer.

The polling rate indicates how often the mouse communicates its location to the computer. Normally, with a gaming mouse, this is a maximum of 1000Hz, says Razer. With Razer’s faster USB microcontroller, the Viper can handle 8KHz 8000Hz, which would equate to an input delay of 0.125 milliseconds. At 1000Hz, this delay is 1ms, the manufacturer says.

Razer says that a higher polling rate is especially useful on screens with a higher refresh rate, because a greater lag at the mouse with a faster screen refresh rate would be more noticeable. As a result, 1000Hz mice could cause microstutters at higher screen acceleration rates, such as screens with a 360Hz refresh rate. A mouse with a smaller input delay therefore provides better reactivity in games and smoother mouse movement, claims Razer.

The Viper 8KHz is the first Razer mouse to get this HyperPolling chip. The ambidextrous gaming mouse also gets the second generation of Razer’s optical mouse switches that should be able to withstand 70 million clicks and the Focus+ optical sensor with a maximum dpi of 20,000. In addition to the usual mouse buttons and scroll wheel, the mouse has two buttons on both sides of the mouse, weighs 71 grams and can store five profiles in the built-in memory. The Viper 8KHz supports Razer’s Chroma RGB lighting and Synapse 3, has a 1.8 meter cable, measures 73×57.6×37.8mm and costs 90 euros.