When you’re shopping for a new mouse for your Mac, the temptation is to get something flashy. I know because I bought Apple’s own Magic Mouse almost as soon as I saw its beautiful design and multitouch surface. It looks like a mini sports car driving alongside my MacBook Pro.
But when I sit down to work these days, my Magic Mouse remains in my desk drawer. While Apple’s mouse is clearly an advanced accessory, the low-profile design and multitouch interface tends to slow me down. Rather, the mouse I’m reaching for is much more basic—so much so, in fact, that I could buy four of them for the price of one Magic Mouse. My go-to mouse is the Razer DeathAdder Essential Gaming Mouse, which sells for $30 and is usually on sale for closer to $20.
Mind you, I’m not a gamer. Quite frankly, if I were, I’d probably pick an entirely different mouse. For my purposes, the Razer DeathAdder Essential Gaming Mouse has everything I need: a comfortable ergonomic design, smooth tracking, a scroll wheel, easy sensitivity adjustment (up to 6,400 dpi), and programmable buttons. The RGB lighting is pretty neat too.
Yes, it has a cord, but let’s be real: how far away from your computer does a mouse really need to be? The 7-foot cable is plenty long for long swipes and long desks and stays free from tangles. It’s so light I barely feel it under my palm, unlike the very persistent Magic Mouse, and it glides easily and smoothly. Most of the time, it doesn’t even feel like it’s tethered to anything—and the best part is I don’t need to flip it upside down to charge it.
I still keep a Magic Trackpad on my desk for gestures and scrolling (though the Death Adder has a scroll wheel), but most of my work is accomplished with the simple Razer DeathAdder Essential Gaming Mouse. Go grab one and you’ll see what a truly magical mouse feels like.
Author: Michael Simon, Executive Editor, Macworld
Michael Simon has been covering Apple for more than 20 years. He started covering rumors with Spymac when the iPod was the iWalk, and has owned nearly every iPhone Apple has ever made. He lives in Connecticut with his wife, son, and far too many gadgets.