Razer DeathAdder V2 review: We like the upgrades, but what’s with the weighty name?

Razer first released its iconic DeathAdder mouse in 2006. Thirteen years later, there have been multiple revisions and even more special edition reskins. In 2020, we’re arguably on…let’s call it the Razer DeathAdder 7. Maybe 8? It depends on how you look at it.

And yet Razer would argue otherwise. For 2020, Razer’s chosen a name for its new DeathAdder so daring, we had to sit up and take notice: the Razer DeathAdder V2. Forget the past decade, this is the first deserving successor to the original DeathAdder—or at least, that’s what Razer would like us to believe.

How does it fare then? Is the DeathAdder V2 worth the name? Is it so revolutionary, it deserves this bit of pageantry? Well…It’s a DeathAdder. I’ll be honest, when I saw the DeathAdder V2 moniker, I thought we were in for a substantial redesign—and it’s not that. Pull the DeathAdder V2 out of the box and it looks much the same as any other model this past decade.

That’s weird, right? I find it weird, anyway. Model names are always a bit arbitrary—just look at the Xbox. But “V2” is quite a statement for a mouse as storied as the DeathAdder. It’s one of the most widely acclaimed designs ever. Surely Razer could’ve come up with some new synonym for “Elite” instead.

Which is not to imply that nothing’s changed. Razer’s tweaked the DeathAdder for 2020. They’re mostly the kind of incremental upgrades we’re all used to though.

The standout is probably the DeathAdder V2’s new “Speedflex” cable. At this point I’ve completely changed over to wireless mice for day-to-day use, thanks to Logitech’s PowerPlay charging tech. That said, if I were still using wired mice, this cabling is what I’d want on every single mouse I own.

I don’t even know how to describe it, except to say it’s softer than any cable I’ve ever seen. You know how usually you pull a mouse out of its box and the cable sort of retains the shape of the coil it shipped with? Not the DeathAdder V2.
It’s supple, both the fabric sheathe and the wiring inside. It doesn’t kink. It doesn’t tangle. It doesn’t catch on anything. It’s the best cabling solution I’ve tested short of, you know, not having a cable at all. The only issue I can think of is it might not work well with those desk-mounted cable retractors some people use—but with a cable this flexible, I don’t even know if you’d need one.

So that’s the first change, and it’s a good one. Not necessarily deserving of the “V2” name, but impressive nevertheless.
Razer also upgraded the mouse sensor, the definition of an incremental upgrade if I’ve ever heard one. The latest Razer sensor is dubbed Focus+, and this one goes to 20,000 DPI instead of the 16,000 DPI hit by Razer’s last sensor, the PMW3389.

Truth is, you won’t notice. Those numbers are both so extraordinarily high, I can’t imagine anyone touching the upper bounds in day-to-day use. Not even close. And as far as accuracy, anything made post-PMW3360 is pretty much spot-on perfect. The next battlefield is making a more efficient sensor for wireless mice, but given the DeathAdder V2 is wired? That isn’t relevant.