Razer DeathAdder receives Elite upgrade to mechanical switches and 16,000 DPI sensor

Gaming mice come in many shapes and sizes with varying features and amenities, but as far as we're concerned, the overall best rodent is Razer's DeathAdder Chroma, or at least it used to be. Razer today introduced a new version of the popular mouse, the DeathAdder Elite, and we're anxious to put one through its paces once we get our mitts on one.

In the meantime, we can tell you a little bit about the mouse, which sounds like it has a legitimate shot at dethroning its predecessor as our best gaming mouse. The new DeathAdder Elite sports an also-new Razer 5G optical sensor that's capable of tracking up to 16,000 dots per inch (DPI) at 450 inches per second (IPS). In addition, Razer says the Deathadder Elite has the highest measured resolution accuracy (RA) ever recorded in a gaming mouse at 99.4 percent. That's a deadly combination of speed, sensitivity, and accuracy.

Razer once again partnered with Omron, this time to arm the DeathAdder Elite with "Razer Mechanical Mouse Switches." We're not sure what makes these custom switches different than Omron's other mouse switches, though Razer says it had a hand in their design and production.

The new switches have been optimized for faster response times. They're also highly durable—they can withstand up to 50 million clicks, Razer claims. An improved tactile scroll wheel and the addition of DPI buttons further separate the DeathAdder Elite from its predecessor.

"The world’s best gaming mouse just got even better," says Min-Liang Tan, Razer co-founder and CEO. "We’ve improved just about everything on the Razer DeathAdder Elite."

Razer's taking pre-orders for the DeathAdder Elite now for $70 (€80). It will be available starting at Best Buy on October 2 and worldwide sometime that same month.

Paul has been playing PC games and raking his knuckles on computer hardware since the Commodore 64. He does not have any tattoos, but thinks it would be cool to get one that reads LOAD"*",8,1. In his off time, he rides motorcycles and wrestles alligators (only one of those is true).