By Oo Gin Lee

RAZER has always been synonymous with high-end performance gaming mice so I was quite excited to test its first entry-level gaming mouse - the Razer Salmosa.

Like other Razer rodents, this one takes after the name of a snake - in this case a Korean pit viper. Frankly, a name which sounds like samosa - a deep-fried snack - doesn't cut it in terms of cool.

Fortunately, this mouse performs better than it looks or sounds. Many of the high-end gaming mice these days are large devices which let you rest your entire palm and fingers on top. I personally have always preferred the smaller ones which let you place two fingers on top with the fourth finger gripping the right side of the mouse.

The Salmosa is one such mouse. Despite the entry-level price (Razer mice usually cost over $100), it performed admirably with its 1,800dpi sensitivity.

I tried the Salmosa on Warhammer Online for a week and had no problems manoeuvring my bright wizard to escape from the marauding enemies while counter-attacking with my own fireballs.

However, pro-gamers who want plenty of programmable buttons and the option to add mini-weights to get the right feel won't find any of that here. Personally, I find all those extra buttons a real hindrance as I never use them.

I also tested the Salmosa with the new Razer Goliathus gaming mat which is supposed to improve the speed and control of your mice.

The Goliathus is made of a soft material which you can curl up into a neat cylinder for easy transportation to a LAN party, for instance.

It comes in two flavours - the speed and control editions. I tried both with the Salmosa and really liked the speed edition because it really did increase the tracking speed, without compromising much on accuracy.

My only gripe is that the Goliathus is like a vacuum cleaner - it attracts a lot of dust and particles get stuck to it after a while, so you have to wipe it regularly.

FINAL SAY

The Salmosa is light on the pocket but dependable in its essential function as a gaming mouse. The Goliathus mat definitely improves the speed of your mouse but is a dust magnet.

This article was first published in Digital Life, The Straits Times on Oct 8, 2008.