Razer Basilisk Essential Gaming Mouse is jam packed with gaming "essentials" to truly get your game on!

The best bits from Razer's tried and tested Basilisk in a slightly more money-conscious package.

This no-frills Razer gaming mouse is ideal for those on a budget

Affordable price; Slick design; Multi-function paddle offers more versatility; Razer software enables a lot of customisation

Low sensitivity range; Bare-bones features

The Razer Basilisk X Hyperspeed mouse delivers top-notch wireless gaming performance with impressive battery life in a solid design with an even more solid price.

Two connection options; Long-lasting battery; Excellent performance

No wired backup; No DPI indicator

We spent a couple of weeks with the Razer DeathAdder Elite running everything from FPS, RPG, MMORPG and strategy games. Razer Synapse, a familiar tool in our box, helped to customize the side keys and let us program macros as needed.

16,000 DPI; 1000Hz UltraPolling; Braided Cloth Cord; 5G Sensor; Up to 450 IPS / 50 g acceleration; On The Fly DPI Adjustment; Precision

Synapse Updates Too Often (Requires Reboot); Not Big Hand Friendly; No On-board Memory For Fast Profile Switch; Price/Feature Deficit

Razer's hardware strikes a lot of the right notes and Basilisk is also one of the company's first mice to take advantage of the Synapse 3 software utility currently in beta. Although optional - the mouse can be used as a plug-and-play solutions - the software opens the door to a wide range of...

Comfortable and light form factor; Well implemented Clutch button; Hypershift could be useful; Excellent all-round performance; Customisable scroll wheel resistance

Fragmented Synapse software; No DPI indicator LED

With the Deathadder Elite, Razer comes in at a bit of a disadvantage because most of the Deathadders in the past have been good, so the expectation is that it continues being a good mouse. Because I know things like the shape are good, I spent more time looking at other details for issues.

While designated as a gaming mouse, the DeathAdder Elite is just as at home surfing the web and crunching spreadsheets as it is fragging it up on the latest FPS thanks to it’s comfortable yet simple design. It doesn’t sit too high and feels very natural in the hand.

The Razer Basilisk Ultimate is a great mouse, but a tough sell at the current price.

If you look simply at the specifications, the Razer Basilisk ($69.99) isn't much different than the company's flagship gaming mouse, the DeathAdder Elite. Not only are these mice the same price, but they also share many of the same hardware traits, among them identical sensitivity settings and polling rates. Unlike the e-sports-focused DeathAdder Elite, however, the Basilisk was made with die-hard first-person shooter players in mind. Its key features—a rubberized thumb rest, a removable DPI switcher, and customizable scroll-wheel resistance—are designed to reduce gameplay friction for long hours of play. Individually, these inclusions may seem minor, even negligible, to the average gamer. But together they add dimension to a category of peripherals that hasn't seen a whole lot of innovation in recent years, especially at the budget level. The Razer Basilisk combines first-rate comfort with a variety of features that are hard to beat in this price range. The Logitech G Pro Gaming...

Packing deep color customization, lots of sensitivity options, and a nifty thumb grip, the Razer Basilisk is a proficient gaming mouse at a promising price.

Comfy thumb grip; Customizable scroll-wheel resistance; Size-swappable DPI control; Aggressive price

No left-handed option; Software in beta