Patriot Viper V560 Laser Gaming Mouse Review
Peter Donnell / 6 years ago
A Closer Look
The Viper mouse comes hard-wired with a good quality cable. It features a black and red braiding, as well as a gold-plated USB header, giving it a quality look and feel. Furthermore, the black and red cable matches up perfectly with the colour choices for the mouse its self.
The whole black and red thing has been a bit done to death for gaming. However, this still looks pretty tight, and while I would prefer a more neutral colour scheme for something with RGB lighting, that’s obviously subjective.
Down the left side, you’ll find some LED indicator lights for the DPI settings. Further back, you’ll see the usual navigation buttons, as well as a toggle switch for profiles. However, this whole mouse has nine programmable buttons. If you don’t like the button configuration, you can change it up. Personally, I rarely change my DPI these days, so moving it to the side toggle is excellent, then I can use the “DPI” buttons up top for my copy/paste macros. Of course, how you do it is up to you, but spending time in the software to tinker can help make this mouse better suited for you.
Ergonomics
The ergonomics on this mouse look pretty extreme, with a deep-dish curve on the left for your thumb, and a giant wing on the right. Furthermore, the mouse slopes heavily down on the right-hand side. While this does limit the mouse to right-hand use only, it promotes a more natural wrist angle, helping reduce the fatigue often associated with extended gaming.
The scroll wheel is nice and large, and the rubber grip and tactile bump make it very easy to control. For added functionality, it also has a left/right toggle if you nudge it with the side of your finger. Typically, that’s not a feature I would use, but more control never hurts, and I’m sure many of you will use that side nudge.
Ceramic
The Teflon mats we often see on mice are good, but these are next-level in my opinion. They’re made from polished ceramic pads, and they provide fantastic weight distribution and glide for the V560.
Speaking of weight, this mouse does feature a weight customisation system. It’s pretty clever too, as it’s hidden behind the right side panel, rather than on the base of the mouse.
The pop our tray means you can put the weights in the centre of the mouse, rather than in the base. This system does give the mouse a unique feel, making it feel heavier overall, rather than just making it feel bottom heavy as many weight tuning systems do; it’s hard to explain.
RGB
While the mouse does feature RGB lighting, it’s pretty understated. It’s more like the lighting on a 90’s street racer, giving it a nice bumper under-glow.
It looks great in the dark too, and it’s not as in your face as some mice.
Overall, the V560 can’t be faulted. I find the sensor is super slick for work and gaming, and while things do get a little chaotic at 12k DPI, it’s unlikely you’ll be pushing past 3-5K DPI for most purposes. It’s at those lower more practical DPI settings where the sensor is at its best, but 12K for extremely fast turning, map tracking and more, certainly won’t go unused by all.