- Genius GX-Gaming DeathTaker
- Razer Naga Hex
Moving from OEM to retail manufacturer has been an ongoing process for Genius. Well known in Asia for making value-priced peripherals, their entrance to the US market has been their time to show off what they can make. With interesting products such as their Ring Presenter, they clearly aren’t trying to emulate the other brands in the USA. On the other hand, Razer is the now-famous gaming company started as the brainchild of a lawyer who loved games. Since the mid-2000’s, they have placed themselves into the top-tier of gaming peripherals even featuring a $2800 gaming laptop.
Both companies bring featured gaming mice to the table. Both have between 5600-5700 DPI laser optics, more macro capability than almost anyone needs, and subtle backlighting. Both are about the same price, too, with the list price being between $70-80.
Genius’ GX-Gaming DeathTaker features up to 55 macros, a range of 100-5700 DPI, and an adjustable weight system allowing up to 27 grams of additional weight. It is designed to be used with right-handed mouse users and is contoured to a more natural hand position. For me, the mouse felt a little bit wide. Also featured is a glowing LED inside the mouse which goes from off-on-off slowly. I’m still not entirely sure why.
The Razer Naga Hex on the other hand features a more ambidextrous design if you ignore the “thumb buttons” featured on the left side. In order to use these, you should be using your right hand thumb to click the buttons. There is a thumb rest between the buttons and a flip switch on the bottom of the mouse that allows you to customize the buttons to either be the numbers 1-6 on the top of the keyboard or 1-6 on the number pad (can be used as the left, right, and bottom arrows as well).
While I expected the Naga Hex to be great for my League of Legends gaming sessions, the benefit was less than the annoyance of lacking a forward and back button (you can map the buttons but that eliminates the benefits of them during gaming). For World of Warcraft, the 1-6 buttons might be more useful. The mouse did feel more solid than the Genius mouse however, and the software for controlling it is more finished looking. My one major issue with the Naga Hex is the lack of adjustable DPI on the fly. If you’re used to extreme movement speed all the time, you probably won’t mind. For me, it was excessive for Windows desktop use.
Overall, I consider the Naga Hex to be the better mouse. The build quality is better and the software is more polished. However, the street price is so much lower for the Genius that it more than makes up for the lesser quality feel, and of course the Genius is a great performer anyway.
Genius GX-Gaming DeathTaker Mouse – $48.41
Razer Naga Hex Gaming Mouse – $67.00
