Do you want a $100 mousepad? After all you don’t. Nobody does. Not even these with “pro esports” aspirations. And if that’s all you wanted out of this evaluate, you possibly can go forward and shut the tab now. However do you need a $100 mousepad, one which’s huge and premium and greater than a bit of extreme? If the reply is sure, and naturally, in case you have 100 bucks to blow, the Razer Atlas would possibly as properly be what you blow it on.
As I mentioned in my preliminary publish, the Atlas is a $100 piece of tempered glass. It’s bombastic, it’s ridiculous, it’s an train in gamer extra. However it does work. And in contrast to a few of Razer’s different choices (like the unique RGB mousepad), it truly provides some performance…assuming you’re the type of gamer who can justify a mousepad the scale of a sewer manhole cowl.
Skilled’s Ranking
Professionals
- Large
- Tremendous-fast monitoring
- Aggressive value
Cons
- Probably too huge?
- Requires cleansing usually
Our Verdict
Razer’s glass mousepad is huge and daring, but it surely’s extra practical for the obsessive PC gamer than earlier LED-laden designs. It’s additionally surprisingly aggressive on this very area of interest house.
Greatest Costs In the present day: Razer Atlas glass mousepad
$99.00
$99.99
And although it’s 100 American dollars, it’s not my place to guage anybody on their purchases. (Significantly, my extra business-like, “grown-up” desk mat is barely any extra restrained in purely financial phrases.) And in comparison with the very small discipline of competitors, the titanic price ticket of the Atlas is, if not affordable, not less than aggressive.
What’s completely different a few glass mouse pad?
In the event you’ve ever sat your laptop computer and journey mouse down on a resort glass desk, solely to search out the latter ineffective, you’re in all probability questioning what the deal is. Briefly, sure, the Atlas actually is fabricated from glass, and sure, it actually works as a mousepad. And never only for super-fancy gamer mice, or one thing with the superior, multi-surface laser monitoring of a $100 “work” mouse. I attempted it with a Logitech Pebble, about as primary as they arrive, and it labored fantastic.
Michael Crider/Foundry
What’s the key? Nicely, there’s glass and there’s glass. Along with the rubber backing that retains the heavy Atlas in place in your desk, there’s a slight coloration to the glass and a kind of frosting on the floor that retains it from being clear. This comes from a tiny .0002-millimeter etching sample designed particularly for optical sensors. So sure, briefly, it’ll work simply in addition to any fabric mousepad, for any mouse you’d care to throw at it.
Solely don’t truly throw a mouse at it. Because the insert within the packaging is fast to level out, it is glass. So regardless that it’s tempered, and needs to be not less than as sturdy because the window of a automobile, you continue to need to train a bit of warning. Razer says by no means to position the Atlas on surfaces the place it might stick out or protrude, don’t place it on an uneven floor the place any nook isn’t touching, don’t place unusually heavy issues on its floor (like, say, that 128-oz Yeti thermos?), and don’t stick something too sizzling or chilly on it.
Michael Crider/Foundry
That’s a bit of extra care than a traditional mousepad wants. And since it’s so stable, it’ll often must be cleaned with a moist fabric (no cleaning soap or cleansing brokers) to handle mud and pores and skin oils. I discovered myself cleansing it usually after an extended day of utilizing my desktop for work.
Oh, and this is likely to be type of apparent, however don’t strike the Atlas with something. Like a closed fist or a thrown controller. Overly demonstrative avid gamers would possibly need one thing that’s rather less high-maintenance.
You’re gonna want an even bigger desk
In mythology, Atlas is a Titan who holds up the sky and the heavens. It’s an applicable identify for this factor. 17.72 x 15.75 inches (450 x 400 mm) doesn’t sound too huge, till you’re holding almost 70 ounces of glass in your hand and clearing away that a lot house in your desk. Area the place, for the sake of the upkeep talked about above, you possibly can’t place something however your mouse.
The purpose of all this glass is that it takes hardly any effort in any respect to maneuver your mouse.
As somebody who prefers large mats that go underneath my keyboard and each fingers directly, I’m no stranger to huge mousepads, and my triple-monitor desk is very large. However even I used to be struggling to search out house for this factor on the Y axis of my desk, as a result of I’ve usually bought a drink or some paperwork up there. I type of suppose Razer would possibly need to contemplate a smaller model of the Atlas — the Atlantide, maybe? — for these with out limitless actual property.
Michael Crider/Foundry
After all, that will type of defeat the purpose. And the purpose of all this glass is that it takes hardly any effort in any respect to maneuver your mouse. My private Razer Naga Professional is a giant, beefy, wi-fi gaming mouse made even heavier with interchangeable facet buttons, however the factor virtually flies off the sting of the Atlas with a easy faucet. It takes some getting used to, particularly for those who’re accustomed to one thing with greater friction for extra precision.
Frankly, it’s much more motion than I would like in my common shooter or motion recreation. Since I don’t play MOBAs, I booted up Ye Olde Starcraft II to check out a few marketing campaign missions, and certainly, discovered that I by no means wanted to elevate the mouse off the mat as a way to reposition it, one thing I’ve grown unconsciously accustomed to as my monitor setup has grown expansive and costly.
Is the Razer Atlas definitely worth the cash?
As I touched on earlier, 100 bucks for a mousepad is quite a bit in anyone’s cash. However very very similar to the BlackShark V2 Professional, I used to be stunned to search out that Razer is definitely making an effort to be aggressive with its newest pricing, not less than among the many admittedly less-than-frugal class of high-end PC gaming gear.
There are different glass mousepads available on the market, likewise aimed on the esports crowd. Whereas I can’t communicate to the standard of the SkyPad or the Pulsar Tremendous Pad, it’s both comparable or higher in value, relying on what measurement you decide.
Michael Crider/Foundry
So yeah, whereas a tempered glass mousepad is likely to be a ridiculous extra for anybody who doesn’t receives a commission to play video video games, a Razer-branded tempered glass mousepad isn’t extreme to a better diploma than that alternative.
So for those who actually, actually need a Razer Atlas, go for it. Simply ensure you have the house, each in your desk and in your finances. The remainder of us could make do with much less vainglorious supplies…or possibly simply look ahead to a smaller model.
