There's a sale on my favourite wired mouse, because you're a sensible person who doesn't need to go wireless

Black Friday deal for the Razer Deathadder V2
(Image credit: Razer)

We're constantly recommending Razer's Deathadder mice in their various forms, and for good reason: they're comfortable, they work, they have RGB if that's what you need to get through the day. The Deathadder series is such a natural fit for my hand that, when my old Deathadder Elite developed a persistent issue with static electricity causing it to register regular clicks as double clicks—an issue that was temporarily solved by blowing under the left mouse button like it was an old Nintendo cartridge—I just bought another instead.

In the Black Friday gaming mouse deals, you can snag the Deathadder V2 at close to its cheapest ever price at Amazon, in both the US and the UK.

Razer Deathadder V2 | 20,000 DPI | Wired | Right-handed | $39.99 $32.99 (save $7)
was $40 now $33 at Amazon US

Razer Deathadder V2 | 20,000 DPI | Wired | Right-handed | $39.99 $32.99 (save $7)
One of the best gaming mice around, with a max 20,000 DPI (who would even go that high?) and an incredible ergonomic fit. Smooth and responsive to use: it just works. This isn't the cheapest price it's ever been available—it was briefly $30 last month—but it's close. Ignore Amazon's "50% off" claim, though. It's regularly available for just under $40.

Please note that I am specifically calling out the V2 here, and not the V2 Pro (also on sale) because wireless mice are pointless and silly. This is—according to many in PC Gamer—a hot take. But it's also correct.

Let me explain my reasons:

  1. My PC is attached to a desk that I am sitting at. I do not need my mouse, which is also at that desk, to be mobile. What am I going to do, take it to another room that doesn't have the computer in it?
  2. "Sorry we just wiped, my mouse just ran out of electricity." These are the words of a fool. I will never say them. 

The counter-argument, to summarise the wireless fans on the team, is that "cables suck". What sort of reasoning is that? That's aesthetics. Vanity. It's not like the wire has ever got in my way while using the mouse—the Deathadder's fabric sleeve is flexible enough that you don't feel it during use, but rigid enough that it stays out of the way. It just does its job of connecting the device to the PC, and saving you the cost of having to shell out extra for convenience of regularly having to charge it.

One warning about Razer's peripherals: while they're good, their proprietary RGB software—Synapse—is at best functional, and at worse an absolute nightmare. On the plus side, it syncs the Deathadder V2 and my Huntsman V2 keyboard nicely, and the preset RGB profiles that a few games use are a neat touch. On the other hand, I bought a Razer Firefly V2 mouse mat in a fit of Black Friday excess last year, and connecting it to Synapse… broke my PC. On start-up, my taskbar would just freeze, unusable until I used Ctrl+Alt+Del to log out of my Windows profile and back in again. It happened frequently enough, with no obvious fix, that I ended up just unplugging the mat from my PC. Now it sits, unlit.

In summary: Yes to a comfortable wired mouse that, so far, hasn't suffered the same quality issues as its older model. No to wireless mice, and unnecessary RGB software.

Phil Savage
Editor-in-Chief

Phil has been writing for PC Gamer for nearly a decade, starting out as a freelance writer covering everything from free games to MMOs. He eventually joined full-time as a news writer, before moving to the magazine to review immersive sims, RPGs and Hitman games. Now he leads PC Gamer's UK team, but still sometimes finds the time to write about his ongoing obsessions with Destiny 2, GTA Online and Apex Legends. When he's not levelling up battle passes, he's checking out the latest tactics game or dipping back into Guild Wars 2. He's largely responsible for the whole Tub Geralt thing, but still isn't sorry.

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