Page 2 - A Closer Look - Hardware and Software
At first glance, I found the Viper V560 to look very different from a traditional mouse. The Viper V560 has different curves, so it can fit nicely into your hand. If you are left handed, I am sorry for you, since you will not be able to use this mouse at all. Rather, the design is made just for right handed users. I found the mouse very comfortable, since my thumb fit nicely onto the left side with a rubberized grip. The rest of the mouse has a black matte finish to ensure a smooth feel, while not sacrificing any of the grip. It also makes the Viper V560 look really nice, since there are no ridges or inconsistencies in the texture of the mouse. The finish does not attract fingerprints much, but it will hold on to anything you snacked on before using it, such as chips. From the front of the product, it rises until just past the middle, and drops off to just a little lower than the front to make a palm grip comfortable. I really enjoyed this, because it felt great in my hand. As well, it is thicker to the right side of the mouse, so your thumb can nicely fit on the left indent of the Viper V560. On the right back of the Viper V560, we also find the Viper logo in red. All in all, the mouse looks great, and I am happy with its aesthetics.
The dimensions of the Patriot Viper V560 comes in at 220mm in length, 160mm in width, and 65mm in height. These dimensions are a bit bigger than your average mouse, since it is quite a bit longer, wider, and higher to make for a comfortable palm grip. The higher hump to the shell just past the middle ensures this. The length was also nice for myself, since I hate having the bottom of my hand move against my mousepad. Both the longer length and taller design translates into my wrist not dragging along the surface. If you happen to not like the first layout on the right of the mouse, you can change it to the other included grip. It was very easy to interchange them. The other included grip allows you to rest your ring and pinky finger more comfortably, with two valleys for each finger. Weight is an important factor, and the Viper V560 comes in at 191g. The weight of the mouse can also be adjusted to ensure you find the most comfortable way to use it. The included weights allow for up to an extra 29.4g on the scale. This might not sound like much, but I added four out of the six included weights, and after prolonged use, my hand got quite tired. Maybe it was because I have a very low sensitivity set, and I pick my mouse up regularly while gaming, haha.
From this angle, it is easy to see the rubberized grip for your thumb, and how indented the Patriot Viper V560 is, as well as all the cool buttons. First off are the left and right click buttons with a wide scroll wheel that can also be pushed left or right for more functions. By default, the tilt left and right on the scroll wheel are not bound to anything. The scroll wheel is made out of rubber, and has a little bump feel to it when scrolling, so it is not entirely frictionless when in use. The rubber grip of the scroll wheel ensures there are no accidental slips while using it. I enjoy having feedback in the scroll wheel instead of one without any. Moving on, this is rather hard to see on this picture, but on either side of the braided cable are two LED lights indicating which profile you are on. As an added measure, there is also one big LED at the back of the mouse, and another small circle in front of the DPI indicator, all to indicate the current active configuration.
Moving up closer to the hump of the Viper V560 are two more buttons. The one closer to the scroll wheel is by default used to adjust lift-off, which at first I was very confused with. Holding the button down, and thoroughly moving the mouse on the surface you are using it allows the sensor to collect information to be as precise as possible. Next up is the Mode button, which is used to change between the five customizable profiles. The Patriot mouse changes between five LED colors to indicate the profile you are currently in. The profiles can be changed on-the-fly using this button. However, neither the color of each profile, nor the pulsating effect of the lights can be changed by the end user.
For the buttons your thumb will use while in its comfortable indent, the first two are the top two, located just by the hump of the mouse. By default, they are programmed to be Forward and Back, which I have found most useful while browsing the internet for quick navigation of webpages. I found these two buttons a little stiff and hard to press while gaming. In front of these two buttons is the LED DPI indicator, which will always be lit up in white. There are four different DPI settings you can change between. To change the DPI, simply use the small DPI slider on the bottom, which is easy enough to interact with your thumb. Depending on how you have set up the DPI settings, the LED indicator will have between one to four bars lit up.
The bottom of the Viper V560 looks very different from typical mouse. The first thing that stood out to me was the placement of the laser sensor off to the right, which according to the manufacturer's page, is the Xtreme precision laser that goes up to 8200 DPI -- not that I think anyone would ever use such a high sensitivity in normal situations. Otherwise, there are five ceramic foot pads around the edges and, according to Patriot, it improves performance and speed on any surface you will use it on. The back also tells us about the model number, rating, where it is assembled, some warnings about the laser, and its testing certifications. The big red arrow button next to the laser is used to take off the interchangeable grips. Behind the grip is a slide-out tray, where you can change the weight of the mouse with the included weights, as discussed earlier on in this review.
As you can see in our screenshot above, the software is very simple. Patriot made it easy to find, download, and get it up and running very quickly. The first page is where all the key bindings happen, as well as profile switching. Clicking on one of the buttons allow you to bind it to any key on your keyboard, or some other extra functions Patriot included in the software. Pictured above is the default layout. Just above this are the five choices for the profiles; each of which have a corresponding color displayed on the LED lights of the V560. Unfortunately, you cannot change the colors, and they cannot be turned off. I found this surprising, since it should not be too complicated to have at least have an off button for the LED lights. This is made even more annoying, since the LEDs are stuck in breathe lighting mode.
Navigating the menus is easy using the top bar. Under the sensor tab, you are able to adjust the sensitivity of each profile in four different modes, which can be changed using the DPI slider at the bottom of the Patriot Viper V560. I really enjoyed this option, because sometimes I feel uncomfortable with my current DPI, and letting me change it quickly with a button on the mouse is extremely helpful. Using the sensor tab, you can change your sensitivity to anything from 0 up to 8200; personally my DPI hovers around the 700 to 900 range -- yes I pick up my mouse a lot while gaming. The macro editor tab allows you to create and bind any macros to the Patriot Viper V560. Last is the Settings tab, allowing you to change the USB polling rate. It also indicates some other basic information about the software version. Using the software was easy enough with no real issues, and I was quite satisfied overall.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. A Closer Look - Hardware and Software
3. Subjective Performance Tests
4. Conclusion
