The Patriot Viper V550 Gaming Mouse is touted in Viper’s intermediate lineup as an ambidextrous mouse. The V550 sports a Pixart 3325 optical sensor that can achieve up to 5,000 DPI. It also flashes two RGB strips at the bottom of each side, and features four programmable side buttons as well as an on-the-fly DPI wheel. For $40 on Amazon at the time of writing, it is one of the least expensive gaming mice on the market. Can it stand up to other tried-and-tested giants in the mice field? Without further delay, let’s take a closer look in this Patriot Viper V550 gaming mouse review.
Key Features
- Ergonomic, ambidextrous design
- Fully customizable
- Multi-zone full-spectrum RGB
- Nine buttons, eight programmable
Specifications
- Sensor: Pixart 3325 optical sensor
- DPI: 5,000 DPI, adjustable up to 10,000 through software
- RGB: Yes, multi-zone and full-spectrum
- Buttons: 9 buttons, 8 programmable
- Switches: Omron, 10 million clicks
- Cable: Braided, 1.8m USB cable
- Mouse feet: PTFE
- Polling rate: 1000 Hz
Viper V550 Gaming Mouse Review
Mouse Shape and Construction
The Viper V550 is described as an ambidextrous mouse that’ll work for anyone. The mouse shape itself is rather comfortable but could use improvement. Unlike many ambidextrous mice (such as the Zowie FK-series and the Glorious Model O) that go for a less deep comfort grip for the thumb, the V550 has a deep comfort grip on both sides. As a right-handed person, this makes my pinky feel very awkward whenever I’m trying to rest my hand. I would have preferred if they had gone for a safer shape with less deep grips. The fact that that the V550 has four side buttons makes it easy to remap every key that you’ll need in an MMO to a side button. As soon as you get the mouse, I recommend you change the keybind on one side of the mouse to something else, as I often found myself accidentally pressing buttons on the other side. At a $40 price point, this was a very good attempt at an ambidextrous mouse.
The V550 isn’t a heavy mouse, which makes it easy to use over extended periods while using it for productivity, or making flick-shots in FPS games a breeze. The mouse clicks were very crisp, and I never found myself misclicking the right or left mouse buttons. The DPI switch button was somewhat weirdly placed, and its lack of firmness often made me misclick it and miss a shot due to the shift in DPI.
Aesthetically, the V550 is a good looking mouse. The RGB Viper logo, mouse wheel RGB, and side glow will be sure to accent any setup that you have.
Gaming Performance
As previously mentioned, the V550 uses the Pixart 3325 sensor which can achieve up to 5,000 DPI mechanically, and 10,000 DPI through software. The Pixart 3325 is a very good sensor, and I never found it to miss any flick shots or track unreliably. The size of the side buttons was very good as well and was easy to reach during games. As mentioned above, the fact that there are two side buttons on each side makes it easy to misclick one; however, you can either unbind this in the Viper software or map it to a different keybind. All of the buttons felt good and were never misclicked, except for one of the side buttons.
The PTFE mouse feet didn’t feel like pure PTFE for some reason, which led to less smooth gliding. I will say that these feet glide better than most mice and won’t need any aftermarket modifications.
One thing I didn’t like was the cord, as it felt stiff and often caught on objects on my desk. I would definitely recommend a mouse bungee for the V550.
Conclusion
• Attractive price point at $40
• Ambidextrous design
• PTFE feet allow for smooth movement
• Semi-lightweight design
• The cord is stiff and catches on desk
• Side grooves are a tad too deep
• Side buttons often misclicked
Overall, the V550 is a good attempt at an ambidextrous mouse with its 8 programmable buttons and multi-zone RGB, though it falls a bit short in terms of its design. The side grooves were just too deep for me. The mouse was also too small for me; thus, it didn’t fit well to my hands too well. Though if your hands are smaller, the V550 should work and fit just fine for you.
The Viper V550 RGB ambidextrous gaming mouse is available for purchase on Amazon for under $40 (see link below) as well as on the Patriot Store at a list price of just under $50. All-in-all, this is a decently-designed RGB gaming mouse which earned a 3.5 out of 5-star rating.
What do you think of this Patriot Viper V550 gaming mouse review? Do you agree or disagree with our verdict? Let us know in the comment section below or via social media. We’re eager to hear your thoughts.
Don’t hesitate to head over to Patriot’s Viper Gaming page to see their newest products. To learn more about service and support, click here for their Support page. The Viper V550 mouse comes with a 2-year warranty.
FTC Disclosure: Patriot Memory/Viper Gaming provided Beantown LLC with one (1) Viper V550 gaming mouse sample for review purposes. This writer’s opinion is 100% his own and not a paid product ambassador.
All photographs are the copyrighted property of Patriot Memory LLC and Beantown LLC © 2019.