Posted in: Game Hardware, Games, Razer, Review, Video Games | Tagged: gaming, Mouse Mat, Razer, Razer Atlas
We Review The Razer Atlas Tempered Glass Gaming Mouse Mat
We got a chance to play around with the Razer Atlus, the company's new gaming mouse mat, to see if glass is the best way to go.
A short time ago, Razer was kind enough to send us their latest gaming mouse pad, as we got to check out the Razer Atlus. The company revealed the new design a couple of months ago, as they created a design that was optimized for gaming mice as well as created to be a sustainable, cleanable, easy-to-manage accessory for your desk. Everything about this was designed to improve on their Strider hybrid mat, which was created to provide a fast surface, as well as the Gigantus soft mat, which was created for more comfort than control. We tossed our Strider to the side, cleaned up the desk a bit, and played several different games on the Atuls. Here's what we thought!
So for starters, when you're looking at a glass surface that's been tempered, the obvious thought in your head is, "How is this going to interact with the optical lens on the bottom of a mouse?" The creation and design of this were made to be a precision surface, as it has been optimized with 2μm texturing, micro-etched to work with any mouse so that the point is seen the same as it would be on any hard surface. We tried out a few different mice from different brands, and all of them worked well on the Razer Atlus with no delay or degradation of signal when moving it around. As a bonus, there was no difference between wired and wireless; they all worked fine. The top was also given a smooth surface that gives it a consistent glide, so you have low static and better friction. Basically, no matter what your DPI may be, it will respond accordingly without any issues. Plus, it stayed on my desk in the exact spot I put it in without me having to move it back into place, which I owe to the anti-slip rubber base they attached to it.
As you can see from the images above, the edges have been around, and it's been given its own Razer watermark to have prominent branding like all of its products. This design comes from the fact that it has been CNC-milled and tempered for maximum tensile strength. Admittedly, we were a little chicken to drop this thing from any higher than a few inches off the desk. But it withstood with zero cracks or scratches. In fact, that's one of the big boasting points is that it is scratch-free and dirt resistant. I can say, after having put it through several hours of Overwatch 2, Diablo IV, and Powerwash Simulator, this thing looks like it was fresh out of the box! Not even scuffing, which is amazing. However, dirt resistance is a bit of a stretch. It does collect dust, and while it doesn't embed itself like a fabric mat would, dust does collect over time on parts of the mat you don't touch. Not to mention under your mouse, which I found myself scraping off from time to time. So yeah, it didn't technically "stick" to the mat, but you will notice a buildup of dust particles on your skin if you don't clean it on a regular basis.
Overall, I am super satisfied with the Razer Atlus. From time to time, we get products for review, and they occasionally have a flaw or two that we point out because everyone boasts something that isn't quite true. But on occasion, we get items that live up to the hype, and this one definitely promised everything it could. I will say we didn't do the "ultimate test," which would have been throwing a rage fit and slamming our controller onto the glass to see if it would crack or dropping it from a few feet in the air onto the table. (Which we would have happily done if we were given a second unit to test.) We did, however, slam our mouse on it a lot in frustration, and nothing broke. So this is glass that's meant to last. And as for the dust, as long as you clean your desk on a regular basis and dist/wipe it off, you'll never know it was ever dusty. If you decide to buy it, it's currently going for $100 on their website.