Razer basilisk ultimate bluetooth. Razer Basilisk Ultimate gaming mouse reviewed

Razer Basilisk Ultimate gaming mouse reviewed.

It’s weird but I tend to value comfort and performance over everything else…but sometimes I’d fall for a cheap, no frills mouse than go for something premium.

The Razer Basilist Ultimate isn’t cheap that’s for sure, but does it still get a pass from me?

What is the Razer Basilisk Ultimate?

The Razer Basilisk Ultimate is the latest in the Razer’s Basilisk line of premium FPS gaming mice. The mouse’s meant for right handers (sorry lefties).

It features 11 customizable buttons (with optical switches for lightning fast response), 14 customizable Razer Chroma RGB lighting zones and up to 20,000 dpi (via its Razer Focus sensor) for when you really, REALLY need precision.

It’s Razer Synapse 3 compatible, though you can adjust multiple settings (scroll wheel sensitivity, profile changes and dpi settings) without using the program.

The Razer Basilisk Ultimate is also wireless (up to 100 hours of battery life without lighting), powered by Razer’s HyperSpeed wireless tech and comes with its own awesome dock. It can also be used while wired (charging) so there’s really no downtime for the mouse.

The mouse’s dimensions are 130mm (Length) x 60mm (Grip Width) x 42mm (Height), and it’s weighed at 107g.

The Razer Basilisk Ultimate goes for 269.90.

Performing made easy.

Before switching to the Razer Basilisk Ultimate, I was using the Roccat Kova (which is also an excellent mouse) but I can honestly say, the Razer Basilisk Ultimate impressed me right off the bat.

I love the textured side grips; they feel really good to touch and (after playing a TON of Overwatch) is sweat resistant too! Unless you experience heavy sweating on your hands, the mouse should serve you well.

It fits like a glove too. My finger rested comfortably in the grooves of the two main buttons, with my palm covering the body and my thumb on the thumb rest. The dpi buttons are right under mouse wheel, depressed just a tad so you don’t accidentally hit them when you don’t want to.

I love that Razer actually went this route; I’ve accidentally hit a ton of dpi mouse buttons on a ton of different mice by mistake simply because they were raised higher than I’d like.

The notched mouse wheel also gets some plus points from me.

The scrolling’s incredibly smooth and if you have any issue with the resistance, there’s a handy mini-wheel under the mouse that allows you to adjust it. I love ratcheting it up all the way, as I love the feel of a wheel going up or down a notch. Very tactile, very fun.

Unlike most mice, the wheel can also be tilted to the left or right side, which are recognized as button presses. It did take some getting used to (mainly due to me forgetting their existence) but once you remember they’re there, the only limit is finding what keys you want to bind them to.

Thumbs up!

On the left are three more buttons for your thumb.

My thumb had zero issues with the two longer buttons on the mouse’s left side though I did find myself wishing they were depressed a bit…or at the very least contoured.

There’s also another button/paddle that attaches on the Razer Basilisk Ultimate’s left too, which is meant for sniping (it automatically lowers your sensitivity).

It’s an awesome feature (which can also be found on other Basilisk mice too) and the paddle is just the right length for me to hit with the upper part of my thumb while also still being able to hit other buttons on the side.

The thumb rest’s also one of the best I’ve ever experienced. It’s curved just right, allowing the thumb to rest inside without being obtrusive when you’re actively playing.

Buttons are responsive for every single one on the mouse. Razer’s kitted them out with their optical mouse switches, which cuts down milliseconds of lag. I can’t say whether this is true or not; all I can say is there’s no noticeable input delay that I’ve felt between presses and the actions registering onscreen.

Another thing of note on the Razer Basilisk Ultimate; the 20,000 (not a typo) dpi sensor, with up to 650 inches per second (ips).

It might sound like just a bunch of numbers but what it boils down to is that the mouse can be incredibly responsive. If you’re a multi-screen user, you’ll LOVE this since you’re able to jump screens with barely a twitch of your wrist.

One other minor matter of note; it’s great that the Razer Bailisk Ultimate has a mini storage compartment for the wireless dongle underneath it.

Even if you’re using it wired, the dongle is always within easy reach if you need it. Plus, you don’t need to remember where you keep it! It’s always with you in the mouse if you don’t use it!

Dongle trouble.

Unfortunately, since it’s using the wireless dongle for connectivity, the mouse doesn’t have any other wireless options. Bluetooth is sadly missing (perhaps it conflicts with Razer’s tech?) but it’s a decent trade-off to make.

I REALLY hate how the dongle is hard to grip though.

It’s made from a smooth casing, which makes it a pain when you want to remove it from whatever port it’s attached to.

In my testing, I had to attach it to my notebook USB port, a PlayStation 4 Pro USB port (the ones in front) and an Xbox One X USB port (the one in front). It was a pain trying to remove it every single time because the dongle is teeny and there’s not much surface area to grip once it’s inserted into a port! A textured or grooved casing (for your nails to hook on to) would’ve been much appreciated.

Now, as for the results of said tests…The Razer Basilisk Ultimate works on the Xbox One but not the PlayStation 4. The console doesn’t even detect the mouse (wired or wireless dongle).

The Xbox One does detect the mouse, but ONLY in games with mouse support (I tried in Gears 5). The dongle DOES work, so you can use it wireless if you want.

Bling me up.

For those who want to look good while playing great, the Razer Basilisk Ultimate’s got you covered there too.

There are grooves lined along the mouse that light up, making it look ultra snazzy. Unlike most mice I’ve tried, the lighting’s at 14 locations that (mostly) aren’t covered by your hand, so you can admire the pretty colors while you wait for your next match to load up.

Razer’s Synapse 3 app makes it pretty easy to tweak the mouse settings.

Whether you’re looking to configure buttons, dpi presents or even the lighting on the mouse, it’s all done through intuitive menus.

It’s also awesome that Synapse 3 allows you to log in as a guest (unlike some other hardware manufacturer’s config programs).

Yeah, your profiles won’t be saved to the Cloud but it’s a small price to pay if you just want to tweak stuff without signing up to Razer.

Ready to rumble.

While the Razer Basilisk Ultimate is supposed to last about 100 hours (without lighting), I found that mine lasted about 5 – 7 days, with about 10 hours usage per day. This is with lighting brightness turned all the way up, which I assume will drain the battery faster.

Recharging can be done 2 ways; via a micro USB cable that connects to a port on the mouse’s front, or through the charging dock included with the mouse.

If you’re opting for a cable (and have lost the one Razer included), you’ll want to find one with a slim profile. Some of my cables simply can’t fit into the recessed cavity where the port is.

Charging via the dock is quick and painless. You just place the mouse on top of it and the magnet will gently nudge it into the correct position to charge. The base is sturdy and the magnet prevents the mouse from slipping off accidentally.

It took me about 3 hours to get a full charge from 12% so it’s best to keep the mouse on the dock once you’re done for the day so that it’ll always be charged.

The bottom line.

I can’t express how much I love the Razer Basilisk Ultra.

Nearly every single aspect of it is well thought out, and its performance is nothing short of amazing. There are minor niggles here and there (the micro USB port and the wireless dongle for example) that shows that there can be improvements made to the design but they’re hardly deal breakers.

In fact, the one thing that might put off potential buyers is the asking price. 269.90 is a lot of cash to ask for a mouse, even one with all the bells and whistles the Basilisk Ultimate has.

If that doesn’t faze you, then go right ahead and get the mouse. It’s definitely one of the best (if not THE best) money can buy.

TLDR:

Expensive but more than worth it.

• Customization options
• Comfy
• Responsive
• Buttons well placed
• Chroma lighting is cool

Razer Basilisk Ultimate review: A beast among wireless gaming mice

Recently Razer launched an all-new wireless mouse, the Viper Ultimate, packed with technology that makes its performance virtually indistinguishable from that of a wired mouse.

Now comes the second act, an update to the company’s flagship gaming mouse, the Basilisk. On the outside, it looks like it always did, just without a cable, but underneath it’s packing the same hardware that makes the Viper Ultimate an absolute beast.

Bottom line: The Basilisk Ultimate is a fantastic wireless mouse, but it comes at a price.

For

• All new 20,000 DPI optical sensor
• Ergonomic design
• Onboard profiles for custom settings
• Indistinguishable performance from the wired version
• Adjustable scroll resistance

The ultimate wireless mouse

We’ve heaped praise on Razer’s most recent new gaming mice in the Viper family. Still, while those are tailored to the most competitive gamers, the Basilisk is something with broader appeal.

For one, its ergonomic design makes it much more pleasant to use for those long days in front of the computer working, rather than gaming. The physical design hasn’t changed since the original Basilisk we reviewed way back, which is a good thing, because for this type of mouse it nails it.

That means grippy parts on both sides, a huge contoured area for your thumb, and the innovative optional paddle to switch DPI on the fly when you’re aiming in a shooter, that’s back too. What is new is the optical switches that Razer has now brought to mice, for instant actuation.

The sensor on the Basilisk Ultimate is the same as that found on the Viper Ultimate; the all-new hardware Razer calls Focus. The sensor has 20,000 DPI, higher than any other Razer gaming mouse, but it’s what else Focus does that’s important.

For starters, this has the highest tracking speed and resolution accuracy yet. The Smart features are perhaps what’s most interesting, though. Smart tracking is a neat feature, particularly for those that move around with their mouse, allowing the Basilisk Ultimate to calibrate itself to whatever surface you’re using it on. Yet another feature that no longer requires Synapse to be installed on every PC you use the mouse with.

You also get customizable landing and lift-off distances to suit your own gaming style, and motion sync sounds a little bit like Freesync or G-Sync but for a mouse. It keeps the mouse and PC in perfect sync, with the PC always receiving the latest mouse position. It’s not a metric you’ll physically be able to quantify, but as Razer puts it, it could be the difference between a headshot and missing entirely. That alone could sell the Basilisk Ultimate since it’s targeted at the FPS players.

From a performance perspective, the Basilisk Ultimate feels essentially identical to the Viper Ultimate, that is, exceptional. I loaded up the same profile on both mice, and aside from the physical differences, you can’t tell them apart. And since the Viper family is the best of the best, the Basilisk Ultimate is worth taking note of.

I’ve spent a good number of hours in a variety of shooters with the Basilisk Ultimate, and it feels superb. It’s razor-sharp, accurate, and incredibly responsive.

A few critiques

For as good as it is, the Basilisk Ultimate does have some flaws that you may or may not care about. The first is the weight, and while it’s not super heavy, it is noticeably weightier than the likes of the Viper Ultimate. If you enjoy using a light mouse, this probably won’t be the one for you, indeed switching between this and the Viper has made this old man even more appreciative of the lightweight choice.

Equally, it can also be linked to the games you play. If you’re playing a slower-paced, tactical shooter, then you may not feel any detriment, and it, as always, comes down to taste. But I know which of Razer’s wireless mice I’ll continue to use in games like Destiny 2 and Borderlands 3.

The Basilisk Ultimate is undoubtedly worthy of its spot atop Razer’s gaming mouse pyramid. Where the Viper is sleek, compact, and designed for competitive gaming of all kinds, the Basilisk is more ergonomic, which makes it better to use in daily computing life as well as in gaming.

The Razer Basilisk Ultimate is a beast.

If you’re using a regular, wired Basilisk, this is a good upgrade. You get wired-level performance without the trailing cable, and that alone could seal the deal.

It is expensive, though, with the cheapest version without the dock coming in at 150. But get the one with the dock. Otherwise, you’ll be plugging in the cable quite often. That’s a lot to spend on a mouse, even one this good, but if you’re in the market for an exceptional product, you won’t be disappointed.

But make no mistake. The Razer Basilisk Ultimate is a beast.

Unmatched performance slightly let down by a lack of customisation.

Our Verdict

The Razer Basilisk X Hyperspeed lacks customisation, but it’s a lightning-quick mouse that sits comfortably in your hand, even during extended sessions.

For

• Long battery life
• Razer wireless tech gives near-zero latency
• Comfortable to hold for long sessions
• Relatively affordable

Against

• Right and left clicks feel loose
• No customizable lighting
• Only two programmable side buttons

Our experienced team dedicates many hours to every review, to really get to the heart of what matters most to you. Find out more about how we evaluate games and hardware.

The Basilisk X Hyperspeed is Razer’s latest stab at the affordable wireless mouse market. Its big selling point is that it boasts the same wireless tech found in the Viper Ultimate and the Basilisk Ultimate—but while those mice cost 150-plus, the Basilisk X Hyperspeed is just 60.

Razer claims the technology is 25 percent faster than any other wireless tech. In practice, as I said in my Viper Ultimate Review, that translates to ultra-speedy performance and near-zero latency. No matter what I threw at the Basilisk X Hyperspeed, from shooters to strategy sims, it felt lightning quick, and I never detected delays between my clicks and what happened on screen. But does its reduced price come with important compromises?

The sensor on the mouse’s base shows no signs of corner-cutting: its specs match those in the more expensive Razer Deathadder Elite, arguably the best gaming mouse on the market. You can ramp it up to 16,000 dots per inch (DPI)—the same as the pricier Logitech G502 Lightspeed, our favourite wireless gaming mouse—and Razer claims 99.4 percent sensor accuracy. That’s not quite as good as the Viper Ultimate (20,000 DPI, 99.6% accuracy), but it’s still impressive, and it can track up to 450 inches per second: for comparison, the G502 Lightspeed is only rated up to 400. In-game, I never noticed any hitches.

As well as connecting to your PC via a dongle, you can also hook it up via Bluetooth. That means you can connect to almost any desktop or laptop easily, and it worked quickly across every PC I tried. I’m not convinced the Bluetooth support is vital, because you can remove a section of the mouse’s body to slide in the dongle, which makes it easy to transport. Plus, Bluetooth performance won’t match the standard wireless connection. But I appreciate the flexibility.

I can’t complain about the battery life, either. On just a single AA battery, Razer claims it will last 285 hours. Even if you use it eight hours a day, that means it will last well over a month. I didn’t have long enough to verify that, but during a week I barely made a dent in it, according to the battery indicator in Razer’s Synapse software. To save extra juice, you can change how quickly it falls asleep when left idle, and it always woke up as soon as I moved it.

Top marks for tech, then, and the Basilisk X Hyperspeed doesn’t look too shabby either. The deep, swooping thumb rest and the pointy ends of the left and right click are a tad extravagant, but I like its mean, sharp angles, and the plain black finish—with the occasional streak of gloss—stops it becoming obnoxious.

It feels comfortable in the hand. The grippy thumb rest never rubbed during long sessions, and the coating on the rest of the mouse stops it slipping in your palm. My outer two fingers rested naturally on the outside bulge of the mouse, itself covered with the same surface as the thumb rest, which meant I never had to think about where my hand was sitting (a problem I had with the symmetrical, ambidextrous Viper Ultimate).

The scroll wheel is tuned perfectly: it’s never stiff, but you can still feel the individual clicks as you turn it, so you always know if you’ve applied enough pressure. The mouse buttons—two primary, plus two programmable on the side—feel reassuringly sturdy when you press them. One of my few gripes with the Viper Ultimate was that the buttons felt thin and flimsy: these buttons are thicker, and they even sound less tinny.

However, they do tend to move laterally at the slightest sideways pressure. By prodding them gently you can really make them tilt, which makes me question how long they’ll last. Also, whenever I picked the mouse up and moved it around, the scroll wheel area rattled. It wasn’t loose at all (unlike the mouse buttons, I couldn’t wiggle it side-to-side), so I couldn’t tell what was making the noise, but it made the mouse feel a bit cheap.

The lack of customisation might put some people off, too. It only has two programmable side buttons, which is less than, say, the Logitech G604 Lightspeed, another wireless mouse in the same price bracket. Personally, I don’t ever use more than two extra mouse buttons, but it’ll be a dealbreaker for some.

Samuel Horti is a long-time freelance writer for PC Gamer based in the UK, who loves RPGs and making long lists of games he’ll never have time to play. He’s now a full-time reporter covering health at the Bureau of Investigative Journalism. When he does have time for games you may find him on the floor, struggling under the weight of his Steam backlog.

The Razer Basilisk X HyperSpeed punches above its weight class.

Tom’s Hardware Verdict

The Basilisk X HyperSpeed proves specs don’t tell the full story by offering nigh identical performance to newerand more expensivemodels.

Pros

• Excellent wireless connectivity
• Ergonomic design
• Strong in-game performance

Cons

• – Doesn’t support any wired connections
• – Relies on last-gen Razer technology
• – AA battery, not rechargeable

Why you can trust Tom’s Hardware

Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.

Razer’s line of Basilisk mice have changed since it first introduced the Basilisk to win over first-person shooter gamers (FPS) in 2017. Today’s lineup features the Basilisk V2 (80 at the time of writing) and two attempts at the best wireless mouse, the Basilisk Ultimate (150) and Basilisk X HyperSpeed (60), the latter of which is the FOCUS of this review.

The Basilisk X HyperSpeed wireless mouse holds the entry-level spot in the Basilisk line-up, but its comfort and gaming prowess prove that in some cases lower specs can still yield a great value. Casual gamers will be fine with its gaming performance, but serious competitors will struggle to call this the best gaming mouse, due to last-gen technology and a lack of connectivity options.

Razer Basilisk X HyperSpeed Specs

Design and Comfort

The Basilisk X HyperSpeed is most defined by what it lacks: the Razer Speedflex cable found in the Basilisk V2, Basilisk Ultimate and DeathAdder V2. Instead, this is a wireless mouse that connects via a 2.4 GHz USB Type-A dongle powered by Razer’s HyperSpeed wireless technology that it claims has better performance than competitive products You can also connect via Bluetooth Low Energy.

That lack of wired support is likely to worry some folks, especially if they fear their Basilisk X HyperSpeed’s battery will die when they don’t have a backup. But that’s unlikelyRazer said that a single AA battery lasts up to 285 hours (HyperSpeed) or 450 hours (Bluetooth) of continuous use (more on that in the Battery Life section). People shouldn’t have to worry about switching out the battery often.

Unfortunately, the rest of the Basilisk x HyperSpeed’s design is a clear downgrade from the other current Basilisk mice. It only boasts six programmable buttons and features Razer mechanical mouse switches that rated for 50 million clicks, while the optical ones used in the other Basilisk mice have a 70 million click rating. The Basilisk x HyperSpeed also opts for the Razer 5G optical sensor, which supports up to 16,000 CPI, 450 inches per second (IPS) and 40G acceleration. The other current Basilisks use the Razer Focus optical sensor with up to 20,000 CPI, 650 IPS and 50G. Plus, there’s no RGB lighting.

Luckily, the Basilisk X HyperSpeed is comfortable to use for extended periods. It measures 5.11 x 2.36 x 1.65 inches (L x W x H) and weighs 2.9 ounces if you exclude the battery. Those are the same dimensions as the Basilisk V2. Since I preferred that model over the DeathAdder V2 (and other mice), it’s not surprising I liked using the Basilisk X HyperSpeed for long periods as well.

The Basilisk X HyperSpeed and Basilisk V2 have similar layouts, but the former lacks one CPI switch, the tilt scroll wheel buttons and button underneath for controlling scroll wheel resistance. Otherwise, they’re nearly identical, both being right-handed mice targeting palm and claw grips with two side buttons and a thumb guard that feature Razer’s preferred black-on-black-on-black color scheme.

Gaming Performance

The Basilisk X HyperSpeed also felt similar to the Basilisk V2 when I played games. That is the dirty little secret when it comes to gaming mouse specs: most people won’t notice a significant difference between different models.

On paper, the Basilisk V2 should be superior because its Focus sensor can support up to 20,000 CPI to the Basilisk x HyperSpeed’s 16,000. In practice, however, the upper limits of a sensor’s CPI support don’t matter if you use a lower CPI setting. I set every mouse to 1,600 CPI for daily use, so long as the tracking is good at that setting I don’t particularly care how much higher the sensitivity can go. It’s hard to believe most gamers would push either of these sensors to their limits.

If you don’t have use for a bunch of side buttons, losing five programmable inputs between the Basilisk V2 and the Basilisk X HyperSpeed isn’t much of a disappointment. The same goes for Razer Hypershift, which effectively doubles the number of programmable buttons by switching between profiles. I’m perfectly content with the Basilisk X HyperSpeed’s available buttons.

The mouse performed well in the titular HyperSpeed 3.4 GHz wireless mode, and I didn’t notice any missing, delayed or otherwise incorrect inputs either. Some people will never be convinced that a wireless mouse can be as reliable as a wired one, but in my experience, the Basilisk X HyperSpeed performed as well as the Basilisk V2 in competitive shooters like CS:GO. Sure, I missed a few (dozen) flicks with the AWP, but that’s not its fault.

I found the Basilisk X HyperSpeed comfortable to use for prolonged gaming sessions. Bonus: I didn’t have to worry about any cable tangling.

Features and Software

In terms of the Basilisk X HyperSpeed’s features, you can switch between wireless modes with a, well, switch located on the bottom of the mouse. The CPI switch beneath the scroll wheel also makes it easy to cycle through the sensitivity levels you’ve set with the Razer Synapse 3 beta companion app.

The Windows software makes it easy to set up to five sensitivity levels, choose the Basilisk x HyperSpeed’s polling rate and assign functions to its six programmable buttons. There’s enough onboard storage to save the CPI levels and those assigned inputs too, in case you don’t feel like installing Razer Synapse on a PC you’re using on a temporary basis.

Unlike the rest of the Basilisk lineupand what seems like darn near every other Razer peripheralthe Basilisk X HyperSpeed doesn’t have any RGB lighting.

Battery Life

Razer claims the Basilisk X HyperSpeed can offer up to 285 hours when using the dongle connection (HyperSpeed) or 450 hours if using Bluetooth with a single AA battery. The mouse hasn’t died on me after roughly 30 hours of use.

Razer doesn’t make it easy to check the Basilisk X HyperSpeed’s remaining charge. There’s no indicator on the mouse itself, and Razer’s Synapse software only has an itty-bitty battery icon in the top-right corner of each settings pane. So far, that icon showed me that my review unit’s battery has barely drained after roughly 30 hours of use. I believe most people won’t have to swap out the battery particularly often.

Bottom Line

There’s no denying there are many differences between the Basilisk X HyperSpeed and the rest of the Basilisk lineup. It uses Razer’s last-gen technologies, is the only member of the lineup that doesn’t offer a wired connection and costs significantly less than its counterparts do. (At time of writing the Basilisk X HyperSpeed costs 60; the Basilisk V2 costs 80 and the Basilisk Ultimate is 150 or 170 with the charging dock).

But in my experience, the Basilisk X HyperSpeed didn’t feel lesser in any way to the Basilisk V2. People who rely on some of the Basilisk X HyperSpeed’s missing featuresa sensitivity higher than 16,000 CPI and more programmable buttonsshould opt for the Basilisk V2. The rest, however, will be just fine with the Basilisk X HyperSpeed and save 20 in the process.