As just about every manufacturer has entered the peripheral game, it’s becoming more and more difficult to stand out while catering to all ends of the market. Patriot’s Viper line has already proven itself to contend with the best thanks to its feature-packed V570 flagship, but does the V560 have what it takes to edge its way into the mid-range market?
Compared to its big brother, the Patriot Viper V560 Mouse sports a relatively traditional design, swapping out the extra buttons for a minimalistic style akin to other mice on the market. Despite toning things down on the outside, however, Patriot has kept its build as premium as possible with Omron switches, a Sonix MCU, and an Avago ADNS9800 laser sensor, all while keeping the price at a low $39.99.
Specifications
- Connectivity Technology: Wired
- Tracking: Laser Sensor
- OS Support: Windows® 10
- Dimensions: (WxHxD) 80 x 47 x 128 mm
- Weight: 193 grams (up to 222.4g with weights)
- Resolution: 8,200 DPI
- Interface: USB
- Contents: 1 x Viper instruction manual, 7 x adjustable weights, 2 x Patriot Viper stickers
- Ceramic foot pads
- RGB LEDs
- 9 programmable macro keys
The Viper V560 is packaged in Patriot’s signature red and black theme, with the product proudly displayed in the upper centre, it’s title in the top right and Viper’s snake head logo in the bottom right. While some details are shown on the front cover, opening the window reveals most of what the mouse has to offer.
Within the box sits a product leaflet that doesn’t differ much from the information displayed on the product’s box, two stickers sporting the Viper logo and 7 weights to help adjust the Viper V560 to the user’s liking.
Only six of the seven 4.9 gram weights can be used at any given time, increasing the mouse from 193 grams to a total of 222.4 grams overall. The weights are placed into the mouse via a tray that is only accessible through unlocking a switch on the bottom.
A top-down view of the V560 shows its clean design, with the back and forward buttons hidden within a concave on the left side. To the top left of the mouse sits an LED indicator, showing the current DPI setting via white LEDs and profile, which is represented by the RGB dot. Of course, the Viper snake head logo is emblazoned in red in the lower right portion of the mouse.
While one of the two buttons below the scroll wheel is clearly labelled “mode” and acts as a way to shift between profiles on-the-fly, the other acts as an adjust lift button, but can be changed to any number of functions. The DPI button is strangely located as a switch at the base of the left hand side.
The right side of the mouse offers a sizeable pinky rest, interchangeable between two designs. The first is a smooth curve which is attached by default, whereas the second helps split the pinky and ring fingers between two different levels.
The left side of the mouse shows the LED indicator in more detail, alongside the DPI switch and the traditional back and forward buttons, which can be changed to suit almost any function from within the Viper software. The front of the mouse shows off two RGB LEDs that are linked to the profile indicator and a third LED at the back.
All of the relevant product information can be found on the underside, above the Avago ADNS9800 laser sensor. Patriot has continued its trend of ceramic pads to help the mouse glide smoothly along a variety of surfaces. Lastly, the red button acts as a switch to remove the interchangeable pink rest to the right of the mouse, giving access to the weights tray.
Despite its lower cost, Patriot hasn't skimped on the trimmings, opting for a braided red and black cable and gold plating on the USB connector.
The Viper V560 was tested for two weeks with my time split between gaming, editing photos and generally browsing the web.
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Starting with the software, Patriot has spread its options throughout four primary tabs: Buttons, Sensor, Macro Editor and Settings. This allows quick and easy access to many of the functions, such as the Buttons menu allowing the user to see all of the current set functions, as well as flicking through each profile.
Unfortunately, I still feel that the Macro Editor tab is somewhat redundant when all functions are accessible through clicking individual buttons via the Buttons tab, but the many options made available to users distracts from this.
Patriot has a tendency to separate its software with the intention of giving users a lightweight experience that doesn’t bog them down with too many unnecessary options. The problem with this, however, is that users of multiple Patriot peripherals find themselves downloading multiple pieces of software for each.
I did later find out that the “Viper V570 Software” works the same as the “Viper Mouse Software,” allowing me to use the V560 mouse with either. This meant that I'd not only cluttered my PC with duplicate software, but that each were seemingly hidden between various titles. I would have much rather have seen a unified software to avoid this confusion.
Ultimately, the Viper V560 is a repackaged Sentey Revolution Pro mouse through and through. Since I have no experience with the original device, my thoughts are regarding my time with the V560 on its own merit.
The Viper V560’s RGB lighting is less customisable than its big brother, instead tying the colours into profiles. All zones are unified, meaning that no one zone can change colour without them all following suit.
Considering the price point of the mouse, it is difficult to complain about as it offers 64 colours that are all relatively vibrant. That being said, the lighting zones are small and almost unnoticeable while the device is in use.
The V560 was less comfortable than I’d originally hoped for, with the pinky rest proving a little too drastic in curvature for my palm grip style. The option to interchange to the sectioned side grip was handy in helping with this problem, but did not avoid the discomfort entirely.
Each button on the V560 feels incredibly sturdy, with the back and forward buttons particularly satisfying to push. The scroll wheel houses two extra buttons by tilting it either right or left, which happened to prove useful on a number of occasions. The DPI switch can be a little awkward to reach when in stressful situations, but would more often than not be adjusted outside of game anyway.
Patriot has impressed me once again with its ceramic foot pads on the underside of the mouse, allowing for the device to easily glide along the mouse pad with little to no resistance. This will be more apparent on hard surfaces than cloth, resulting in a slightly lower DPI to compensate for the extra arm movement. I’d even go as far as to say that these help reduce the wear and tear of mouse pads over time, but this would require a much longer testing period.
The Avago ADNS9800 sensor was a delight to use, proving that there is still a place for laser sensors over optical in the gaming world. The upper cap of 8,200 DPI is still above and beyond what I would use day-to-day, with my average sitting between 1,250 DPI, which is actually the Viper V560’s default. When in-game, cloth mouse pads wouldn’t require any change from the standard, but I found myself dropping to 950 DPI when continuing to use a harder surface. It is highly recommended that users disable acceleration to counter the initial over-sensitivity, anyway, as laser sensors tend to never miss a beat.
All in all, the Patriot Viper V560 is a solid mid-range mouse that manages to pack quality hardware in a stylish package, but its compromises and price point might be the breaking point for some.
The RGB is rather bright, but often goes entirely unnoticed with its smaller LED surface and odd placements. Patriot’s Viper Mouse software is oddly confusing from the point of its download stage, which is unlikely to a problem to the majority of buyers interested in a new mouse, but will be a pain for those interested in multiple devices from Patriot’s expanding line-up.
After adjusting to the ceramic foot pads, these became my favourite feature of Patriot’s range of mice and I can’t recommend the design enough to those that regularly work with lower DPI in games or are constantly at their PC.
I found the V560 uncomfortable for quite a period of time due to the interchangeable pinky grip not gelling well with my grip style. I can’t imagine anyone with the claw grip would be particularly bothered by the same thing and this did ease little by little over time, however it’s never taken me so long to get used to a mouse before.
For its price range, I feel that the V560 does have a place, offering strong features like RGB lighting, Omron switches, macro buttons and an Avago ADNS9800 laser sensor under the $40 barrier. Sadly, it does have some tough competition in the mid-range area that it will prove tough to beat, alongside the Sentey Revolution Pro which is almost the exact same mouse for a cheaper price.
Luckily, the Viper V560 is often seen falling below its $39.99 price range on Patriot's official website, retailing in third party stores such as Amazon for $29.99 in the US. Novatech has UK fans covered with the V560 priced at £32.99
Pros
- Ceramic foot pads.
- Vibrant RGB lighting, albeit slightly badly placed.
- Many programmable buttons.
- Multiple profiles.
Cons
- Pinky rest can be hard to get used to.
- Software can be fiddly.
- DPI switch can be awkward to reach.
- May clash with some colour schemes
KitGuru Says: While the V560 packs enough features to keep its edge against stiff competition, I feel it suits the lower price often seen elsewhere than its RRP of $39.99 similar to that of the model that inspired it. Still, if you can find this mouse at $29.99 or less then you'd be snapping up a great deal.
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