Optical Switches

Razer have moved to an optical switch design for the majority of premium mice and the Basilisk Ultimate is no exception. The housing of this switch is similar to that of mechanical predecessors which made it easier to retrofit into existing chassis, and it still makes use of a wafer spring within the mechanism. Actuation is performed by breaking a beam of light, eliminating specific electro-mechanical issues including debounce timings as well as reducing long-term wear.



Auxiliary buttons - thumb, wheel and DPI selectors - all utilise more conventional compact mechanical switches.

Hyperspeed Wireless

Wireless mice have long been held to be too slow and unreliable for gaming, but in recent years this view-point is slowly shifting as the manufacturers set their engineers towards adapting the technology to more than just the convenience of a cable-free platform. Razer’s proprietary implementation is known as ‘Hyperspeed’, and tackles three pillars of development simultaneously.

The first is the issue of latency - the time between a button being pressed and that being registered by the system OS. At the time of the Basilisk Ultimate’s launch Razer claim that Hyperspeed has at least 25% faster transmission speed than competing gaming mice, basically on par with wired USB, and while the gap might have narrowed they’re no less robust in their published claims.

Wireless gaming also demands perfect transmission integrity with no fractional drop-outs, which Razer certainly identifies as an arrow in their quiver. Smart channel scanning and hopping in the 2.4GHz band is a large part of this.

The final factor in Hyperspeed’s hype is battery life - it does you no good as a gamer if the mouse runs out of charge mere moments into any gaming session. Hyperspeed is billed as more energy efficient than its predecessor, with the mouse running for days on a single charge (though wireless efficiency is only a part of that).

Razer Hyperspeed has been integrated into the majority of their wireless peripheral lineup at this point, including Deathadder mice and BlackWidow keyboards. Some models can also operate by using a single wireless dongle for multiple devices, although only a sub-set are supported right now.

DPI Toggle/Sensitivity Clutch Thumb Button



One fascinating innovation for the Basilisk Ultimate is a small removable button just forward of the thumb rest. It’s clipped in magnetically, and when not in use a small rubber cover can fit over over the housing and protect internal components.

By default it’s intended as a sensor DPI toggle, taking it down a notch to aid when aiming down sights in FPS games. It’s also fully remappable, meaning it can be used as an additional rebind for MOBAs and MMOs and a macro trigger in a host of other games and productivity software. With its addition the mouse is even more of a half-point between a full-on FPS and MOBA-oriented product like the Naga Hex, which itself featured an array of six thumb buttons.

Scroll-wheel tension adjuster

Another unique innovation, this time located on the floor of the mouse, is a wheel that adjusts the resistance - and clickiness - of the scroll wheel. All the way down and the wheel spins almost completely freely; turned up it has a strong tension and heavy click for each notch along the wheel. The mouse wheel button is quite sensitive so this adjuster can have a big impact on your day-to-day use of the mouse.

Charging Dock/Cable

Any mouse with an integrated battery needs an easy and convenient recharging method, and the Basilisk Ultimate has two.

Optionally, you can buy a package that includes a USB charging dock, onto which the mouse can sit when not in use. Two metal contacts on the base of the mouse connect to two pins on the dock, and the wireless dongle can be connected to the dock to reduce the distance between mouse and receiver.



Alternatively, you can buy the mouse with a USB cable and small adapter for the wireless dongle. To charge the mouse you simply disconnect this dock and plug the cable directly into a micro-USB port in the front of the mouse, which will now switch to a wired mode and operate accordingly. To switch back, simply disconnect the mouse and re-attach the dock with receiver plugged in. Seamless stuff really.

Purchasing the dock makes a lot of sense if you’d prefer to run the mouse with continuously active RGB lighting, as the higher battery drain is more than mitigated by off-time spent charging. The wired option is perhaps best for those who find the lighting a secondary factor over battery longevity and don’t want to deal with the hassle of plugging it in every other evening. It’s also worth remembering that the dockless option is about $20 cheaper if price is a factor.

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There’s certainly enough there for this Basilisk to justify the Ultimate tag, even before seeing it in the flesh. But we’ll hold our conclusions for now; build quality and actual performance is much more important than on-paper features.