Razer just unveiled its latest line of gaming mice with the shooter-friendly Cobra series. Available in a premium wireless Cobra Pro model and an affordably wired Cobra, these new mice seem to blend together the best of the Viper V2 Pro and the Viper Mini with a refined shape and cutting-edge features. At $129.99, the Cobra Pro doesn’t come cheap but offers a whole lot to love, especially for competitive gamers and RGB fans.
Specifications
Razer Cobra Pro - What Is It?
The Razer Cobra Pro feels like nothing short of an answer. Back in 2019, Razer launched the Viper Ultimate, a lightweight, symmetrical mouse that seemed to check all of the boxes. It was airy, comfortable, satisfyingly clicky, reliable, and looked great. The Viper, in no time flat, became one of the most popular gaming mice for competitive gamers.
It released multiple models, including the new Razer Viper V2 Pro. But as that mouse embraced its competitive roots, it lost some of its flair. RGB was left on the cutting room floor. The cool charging dock was no more. The side grips had to be applied yourself. It was a great mouse but leaned away from the pizazz of the Ultimate in favor of battery life and a lightweight design.
The Cobra Pro is Razer’s answer for gamers who like the design of the Viper but want the feature-richness of the Viper Ultimate and Basilisk V3 Pro. It’s still symmetrical and designed for claw and fingertip grips. It feels immediately familiar coming from the Viper V2 Pro, but it’s a shorter mouse. Closer to the Viper Mini in length, it doesn’t support hybrid palm grips the same as the Viper can and instead really promotes an accurate, nimble grip style.
Input-wise, it’s also very similar, though the Cobra Pro features an additional two programmable buttons bringing the total to ten. In addition, to left and right click, you have mouse wheel up, down,and click, two buttons just below (defaulted to DPI up and down), two thumb buttons on the left, and a profile select button on the bottom.
The bottom features large 100% PTFE feet for a smooth glide. There’s one big foot on the top and a large curved foot on the bottom, as well as a ring around the sensor. To the right is a connectivity switch that allows you to swap between BT, 2.4GHz, and wired (Off) modes.
But from that familiar base, the Cobra has received the kitchen sink treatment. It features immersive 360-degree RGB lighting around the base to create a flowing, eye-catching underglow. The mouse wheel and the palm rest on the logo are also backlit, giving you eleven customizable zones and each gets surprisingly bright. The bottom of the mouse also has a removable door that can be swapped with a wireless charging puck to use with the Razer Mouse Dock Pro, similar to the original Viper Ultimate. Visually, it’s a spiritual successor if ever there was one.
The mouse also supports three different connectivity modes and allows you to swap between them on the fly. For wireless gaming, you can use the included 2.4GHz dongle to use Razer’s low latency HyperSpeed wireless at 1,000Hz. For an even faster connection, it’s compatible with Razer’s HyperPolling Wireless Dongle, which unlocks 4,000Hz polling. It also supports Bluetooth connectivity for less demanding games, as well as wired connectivity using its Type-C port and soft, paracorded SpeedFlex cable. If you’re running short on juice, it can also be used while charging, so you won’t have to miss a beat while gaming.
The internals of the Cobra Pro are also top-of-the-line. It uses Razer’s Focus Pro 30K sensor for cutting-edge accuracy and tracking. While 30K is far higher than I find usable, it allows you to fully swap between high DPI/low sensitivity in games to balance responsiveness with exceptional precision. The sensor also features all of Razer’s tracking enhancements, like Smart Tracking to auto-calibrate on different surfaces and Motion Sync for enhanced tracking. This is one of the first mice I’ve tested this year that didn’t stutter on my felt desk pad. It just worked, without any calibration required. It also features a ridiculously high 750 IPS max speed and 70G of acceleration.
It also uses Razer’s latest optical mouse switches. Not only do they have satisfyingly tactile clicks, but they much more durable than typical mouse switches because there are no mechanical contacts to wear out over time. The dreaded “double click” issue that plagues mechanical mice should simply never be an issue here.
With all of this additional tech, weight was naturally going to be heavier. At 77 grams, it’s three grams heavier than the original Viper Ultimate and 19 grams heavier than the Viper V2 Pro. With its smaller size, its weight stands out more too. I’ve grown used to very lightweight mice, and while the Cobra Pro isn’t the lightest, it’s certainly still within the lightweight category.
Some of that weight is due to the large built-in battery. Razer quotes up to 100 hours on HyperSpeed Wireless and 170 hours on Bluetooth, but both of those figures are with backlighting off. If you opt for the HyperPolling dongle upgrade and play at 4,000Hz, that drops to only 33 hours. In the week or so I had it for testing, I had to recharge it once after about 25 hours with backlighting at 100% brightness over standard HyperSpeed wireless, so weekly recharges are still likely.
At $129.99, the Cobra Pro is on the expensive end but Razer is releasing a standard, scaled-back Cobra model for only $39.99. If you like the shape and don’t mind specs a touch closer to Earth, it looks to be a good option. It’s limited to rear and palm logo backlighting only, is wired, features eight buttons instead of ten, and drops to an 8,500 DPI sensor. Major changes, but you still get the same shape, optical mouse switches, a great SpeedFlex cable, and is much lighter at only 58g.
Razer Cobra Pro - Performance
With that background out of the way, I can report that the Cobra Pro plays fantastically. It glides like a dream on either soft or hard mouse pads and was just as responsive and accurate as you would hope for from a flagship gaming mouse.
I tend to use a hybrid palm/claw grip, but its small size forced me to stick with a claw. That proved to be a benefit in games as it also forced me to be more poised and responsive. This won’t be for everybody, but I really liked it. The added weight wasn’t a hindrance either. Ultra-lightweight mice can be great for airy, fluid movements, but the Cobra Pro’s 77 grams is lightweight enough to get out of the way and allow me to forget I’m moving a mouse instead of just reacting.
The clicks feel great. Razer’s optical switches are some of the best in the industry in sound and feel. Their optical sensing is so rapid that they outperform my ability to really take advantage of them, but if you’re a competitive player, you can be confident in that they’ll send your inputs just as fast as you can click. And to see the double-click issue firmly left in our rearview mirror should make all of us breathe a sigh of relief. Optical switches are the future, and these are a prime example of them done right.
I love the look of the mouse too. Criticize me if you like, but I love the look of a good RGB mouse — as long as the rest of it is up to snuff. Here, the feel and performance are top-tier, so I enjoy looking down and seeing that it also enhances my otherwise RGB setup. RGB isn’t a make or break feature, but it certainly looks cool here.
I also have to give kudos to Razer for adding the grip tapes right out of the box. So many mice make gamers put them on themselves. And I get it: it gives you the option of how you want your mouse to feel. But at the same time, it’s genuinely annoying to have to put them on if you do want that bit of extra grip, and the Cobra Pro saves you that.
Whether you’re playing with a wire or wirelessly with the 2.4GHz dongle, the Cobra Pro is exceptionally accurate and responsive. I wasn’t able to get to spin out or lose tracking, even when trying to. I also swapped between surfaces on the fly and it was able to adapt instantaneously. It’s genuinely an excellent gaming mouse.
Final Thoughts
The Razer Cobra Pro is an excellent addition to the company’s ever-growing line-up of gaming mice. Its small size and medium weight won’t be for everyone, and I still long for a full-size Viper Ultimate V2, but it presents us with a middle-ground that’s exceptional in its own right. The Cobra Pro is a winner and should absolutely make its way onto your Wish List.
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