Razer Copperhead Drivers

[jitspoe]

I'm a minimalist when it comes to drivers/services/etc. The razer works right out of the box. I installed the drivers on one machine and played around with them a bit, then saved my settings. The settings are actually stored on the mouse itself, so I was able to plug it into another machine and the button assignments worked.

So the question is: Once I have my mouse configured, is there any point whatsoever to having the drivers installed? Do the drivers do anything to improve the resolution or polling time? It didn't appear that way, but I just want to be sure.

 

[alcoholbob]

I don't think the settings are saved on the mouse itself, it's just the drivers on the other machine were problably more compatible with the regular mouse buttons. You could install the drivers if you wanted to fine tune stuff like mouse acceleration I suppose. If the settings are perfect for you already then you should be fine, right?

 

[shortylickens]

Nope. I have owned everything since the Viper. The special software that comes with the mice is not needed. But its kind of cool to adjust X and Y speeds seperately.

 

[jitspoe]

Originally posted by: Astrallite
I don't think the settings are saved on the mouse itself, it's just the drivers on the other machine were problably more compatible with the regular mouse buttons. You could install the drivers if you wanted to fine tune stuff like mouse acceleration I suppose. If the settings are perfect for you already then you should be fine, right?

The settings are saved on the mouse. I even set one one of the buttons to type out "Hello" (you can make the mouse buttons execute macros), and it works on any machine I plug it into.

 

[bunnyfubbles]

Originally posted by: jitspoe

Originally posted by: Astrallite
I don't think the settings are saved on the mouse itself, it's just the drivers on the other machine were problably more compatible with the regular mouse buttons. You could install the drivers if you wanted to fine tune stuff like mouse acceleration I suppose. If the settings are perfect for you already then you should be fine, right?

The settings are saved on the mouse. I even set one one of the buttons to type out "Hello" (you can make the mouse buttons execute macros), and it works on any machine I plug it into.

You're right, the mouse has built in memory so settings are saved and will work on other computers even without Razer drivers. HOWEVER, the drivers are needed for things such as on-the-fly-sensitivity - which is actually one of the selling points. However it isn't that big of a deal, and if you really don't want it or even don't have it set up to use it then you're fine.

I'm also somewhat of a minimalist, however my gaming rig has gobs of power to spare and since its primarily used to game I don't mind having gaming peripherals "bogging" things down as long as its negligable (I won't put up with ATI's CCC, but luckily there are things such as ATI Tray Tools).

 

[jitspoe]

On the fly "sensitivity" is really pointless. The whole point of sensitivity is to improve your accuracy, and the on-the-fly DPI adjustment just adjusts the resolution of the mouse decreases your accuracy. Or rather, it just makes movement slower but doesn't improve your accuracy any. I'm pretty sure you can still adjust the DPI without the drivers, though.

 

[bunnyfubbles]

Originally posted by: jitspoe
On the fly "sensitivity" is really pointless. The whole point of sensitivity is to improve your accuracy, and the on-the-fly DPI adjustment just adjusts the resolution of the mouse decreases your accuracy. Or rather, it just makes movement slower but doesn't improve your accuracy any. I'm pretty sure you can still adjust the DPI without the drivers, though.

It isn't completely pointless. Many games feature sniper rifles where when you're zoomed in, your ability to track a fast moving target is hampered by your relative low sensativity. And there are other situations such as with vehicles - perhaps the sensativity you have set for controlling your normal character is fine for such a thing, but when controlling a vehicle is far too sluggish as there is less need to be precise.

 

[jitspoe]

Lowering the DPI would make the movement even slower, though, so why would you want to do that?

 

[bunnyfubbles]

Originally posted by: jitspoe
Lowering the DPI would make the movement even slower, though, so why would you want to do that?

maybe I didn't stress it enough, but it really does depend on the game as to whether or not you can take advantage of such features. I know people who have actually used 2 mouses with different settings on each to get the proper control they were after in different situations (these players were all mostly sniper oriented). These newer mouse designs targeted towards gamers seem to be able to fullfill such a unique niche of gamers and eliminate the need for extra hardware.

I've yet to master the settings, although I haven't really had time to play around and set mine up just yet so I'm just playing on settings I find comfortable for the moment. However, I have recognized occasions where I would want to change the way my mouse responds so I'm pretty certain there are advantages / dissadvantages to it all, I just have yet to figure it out for myself.