Razer Naga X Review: Surrounded By Strong Predators

Razer brings its classic MMO mouse into 2021, but the competition has changed.

Razer Naga X
(Image: © Tom's Hardware)

Tom's Hardware Verdict

The Razer Naga X offers a best-in-class sensor, 16 programmable buttons and a great shape. Razer needs to improve the ergonomics of its 12-button thumbpad though, and the Naga X misses what felt like standard features in the more expensive Naga Trinity and Naga Pro. For $20 more, the Naga Trinity is a better choice, and the lower-end competition has gotten better too.

Pros

  • +

    16 programmable buttons

  • +

    Configuration button mappings via Razer software

  • +

    Design feels great in larger hands

Cons

  • -

    Can only save a single profile in onboard memory

  • -

    Thumbpad buttons can be hard to differentiate

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You can never have enough buttons. Whether you're knee deep in the latest raid wing in World of Warcraft or Final Fantasy XIV or you need a host of buttons for productivity in Adobe Photoshop, more buttons is helpful. This is where the MMO mouse excels. 

Since 2009, Razer has offered the Naga line of MMO mice, each competing to be the best gaming mouse for MMO players. Each model has offered between 6 and 12 buttons, with updates over the years. Enter 2021, and we have the Razer Naga X with a 12-button thumbpad, RGB and the latest in Razer mouse technology. 

The Razer Naga X’s $80 price tag puts it in line with some of the competition, including the Corsair Scimitar Pro RGB. That price point is above some other MMO mice however, like Redragon M913 Impact Elite or the Logitech G600 MMO mouse, which has seen its MSRP drop to $40 since its 2012 release. 

Razer Naga X Specs 

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Sensor ModelRazer 5G Optical
Sensitivity100-18,000 DPI
Polling Rate125/500/1,000 Hz
Programmable Buttons16
LED Zones and Colors2x RGB 
Cable6 feet (1.8m), braided
ConnectivityUSB Type-A 
Measurements (LxWxH) 4.69 x 2.93 x 1.69 inches (119.13 x 74.50 x 42.93mm) 
Weight3.88 ounces (110g)

Razer Naga X Design and Comfort  

When I'd said the overall design of the Naga hasn't changed, that wasn't hyperbole. Like its predecessors, the Naga X has a gentle hump that's more situated towards the rear of the mouse. On the right side, there's a small resting spot for your ring finger. Overall, the general shape fits well into my larger hand, more so than a smaller design like from the Razer DeathAdder lineup. The Naga X is 4.69  x 2.93 inches x 1.69 inches, making it identical to the Razer Naga Trinity in dimensions and slightly less long, as well as less wide and slightly shorter than the Redragon M913 Impact Elite (4.82 x 3.62 x 1.65 inches). The Naga X is notably lighter than both the Naga Trinity and Redragon though (3.88 ounces versus 4.55 ounces and 4.23 ounces, respectively). 

Most of the buttons on the Naga X live on the left side of the mouse. They're in a familiar 12-button layout, with four rows of three buttons. Every button is slightly angled aimed at allowing you to differentiate which button is underneath your thumb. Each button has a decent click to it, though they're not as meaty as the bigger buttons on the Corsair Scimitar RGB Elite.

The Naga X’s left and right click buttons both use Razer’s 2nd generation optical mechanical mouse switches. They have a snappy click with requiring much actuation force. In between the mouse’s two primary buttons is a notched scroll wheel and a single button that lets you toggle through 5 CPI settings, which you can program in Razer’s software if desired. This is where some of the design changes are felt. Unlike the wireless Razer Naga Pro and Naga Trinity, this is a single button, rather than two buttons so you can move up and down your CPI settings. It's an odd omission, but not one that’s likely constantly felt. There's no side-to-side tilt in the mouse wheel either, which was also a feature on previous Nagas, including the Nagao Pro and Naga Trinity. 

There are two RGB lighting zones on the Naga X: on the scroll wheel and the 12-button thumbpad. Unlike many gaming mice, the logo by the palm does not have RGB. 

Finally, on the bottom of the Naga X are three rather wide PTFE feet for smooth sliding on your surface of choice. 

Razer Naga X Gaming Performance

The Naga X uses Razer’s 5G optical sensor, which is specced for up to 18,000 CPI, 50g of acceleration and a max velocity of 450 inches per second (IPS). These specs match the capabilities of the Naga Trinity’s sensor but increases the CPI by 2,000. The 5G sensor is a bit less powerful than what you’ll find in the pricier wireless Razer Naga Pro (Razer Focus+ sensor) but still proved reliable for MMO gaming and general use. The 5G is still packing powerful specs. For comparison, the Logitech G600’s sensor is specced for a max of 8,200 CPI, 30g and 160 IPS.

Given the MMO moniker of the mouse, it's best to go to the source. I loaded up World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy XIV to test the mouse out. By default, the 12 thumbpad buttons are all bound to corresponding number keys, with the 10 button being 0, and the 11 and 12 buttons being the minus and equal keys, respectively. This means the default setting has the standard MMO hotbar bound to the thumbpad.

During testing, I found that hitting 1-3 and 10-12 were pretty easy, as they occupy the outside edges of the thumbpad. The issue was in the 4-9 buttons. They're simply too close together, and the differentiation in angle isn't big enough to consistently hit the right button. The buttons are different heights, but the differences are so slight that it doesn’t matter. It's very easy to press the wrong buttons in the middle rows.

In contrast, the Logitech G600 has what Logitech calls a "dual-dish" design, helping differentiation with “two carefully positioned sets of six buttons.” The Corsair Scimitar Pro RGB offers far more space between the buttons and an alternating texture pattern for each row. Both options add more variation, and Razer should be more willing to imitate some good ideas.

My fix was to leave the 7-9 buttons unbound. If I have problems telling the difference between the second and third rows, it's better to just remove the third row. This gave me nine buttons to work with, which worked out pretty well overall. I was able to hit my standard rotation in both WoW and FFXIV with little issue. Of course, when buying a mouse with a 12-button thumbpad, the goal is to have 12 easily usable side buttons.

I also missed the up and down buttons for DPI switching. I work on two monitors, so I tend to find myself working with one DPI setting in documents, a higher setting for general use and then switching to an even-higher one to transition from monitor to monitor. The two DPI switch buttons made that transition easier; whereas, the single DPI cycling button adds an extra click or two to my workflow.

Razer Naga X Software

Across its entire line of products, the Razer Synapse software is still a winner. Outside of some stiff competition from Logitech's G Hub, the Razer software suite is one of the best around.

The main page for the Naga X within the Synapse software lets you change all of the button mappings for every button on the mouse, including scroll up, down and click. Even the main Left and Right clicks can be changed if you want. The Naga X also supports Razer HyperShift, allowing you to set a button that'll change all the bindings to a second profile, essentially doubling the buttons available.

You can create unlimited button profiles in Razer Synapse, though only a single profile can be saved to the onboard memory on the Naga X. Once again, the Naga X falls short of the Naga Pro and Trinity; both mice could store five onboard profiles. The Naga X’s profiles can be linked to specific games and launch automatically with them. I tended to default to one profile for general work—with buttons 1 and 3 being set to forward and back— and another for MMO gaming.

Synapse is where you set the CPI toggle’s 5 stored settings, which can range from 100 CPI to a large 18,000 CPI. There are also 3 polling rate options in Synapse:t 125, 500 and 1,000 Hz.

Lighting brightness and standard RGB effects can be set in Synapse, but if you want to do more, you'll need to use Razer's Chroma Studio add-on software.

Bottom Line

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

The Razer Naga X is a solid offering at its $80 MSRP. This is a classic design that gets you a workhorse MMO mouse you can push higher with Razer's excellent software. But the problem is the price has so many caveats.

The Razer Naga Trinity has an MSRP that’s only $20 more, and it often goes on sale for even cheaper than the Naga X’s $80 price tag. The Naga Trinity has features left out of the Naga X: more onboard profiles, the tilt click scroll wheel and dual CPI buttons. You'll also gain the interchangeable side plates for 2, 7 and 12-button configurations, which is far more flexible. The only thing you lose is the top-end max sensitivity: the Naga X tops out at 18,000, while the Trinity is 16,000. I'd make that sacrifice.

The Logitech G600 is long in the tooth and its max DPI is much lower, but its MSRP is down to $40 at this point. And for $30 less than the Naga X, you can pick up the Redragon M913 Impact Elite, which doesn't have the same build quality but can get the job done. I also like the design of the Corsair Scimitar Pro RGB Elite a little more than that of the Naga X, and it has the same price tag; the biggest problem with that mouse is being able to find one at retail anymore.

The Razer Naga X isn't a bad mouse by any stretch. It's just a matter of the competition around it excelling in various areas -- including competition from Razer itself. It's a competent, mostly comfortable mouse for MMO gaming, but there are better options out there.

  • Phaaze88
    :unsure:
    Do these mice still have lousy durability? I went through several Nagas during the several years I played WoW, before I finally got the hint to stop buying them.
    They quickly developed the double click, and there doesn't appear to be any way to fix it, except buy a new one.
    Reply
  • wzaa
    Phaaze88 said:
    :unsure:
    Do these mice still have lousy durability? I went through several Nagas during the several years I played WoW, before I finally got the hint to stop buying them.
    They quickly developed the double click, and there doesn't appear to be any way to fix it, except buy a new one.
    They all have the double click problem. It doesn't matter what brand you buy. Haven't tried the optical switches yet though.
    Reply
  • InvalidError
    Phaaze88 said:
    Do these mice still have lousy durability? I went through several Nagas during the several years I played WoW, before I finally got the hint to stop buying them. They quickly developed the double click, and there doesn't appear to be any way to fix it, except buy a new one.
    Nearly all mice have issues with switch bounce after a while. Tons of mice use SPDT switches which could be debounced with 100% reliability using an SR latch but none that I am aware of are bothering to do so. I have modded one of my mice with a CD4043 SR-latch to eliminate switch bounce once, might do so with my G600 when its L/R buttons start acting up too.
    Reply
  • Phaaze88
    Huh. That's some food for thought...


    It wouldn't be fair of me to say this Rival 600 has been holding up better then, since I stopped playing WoW before I started using it.
    Reply
  • Looneytune
    I would not buy the Corsair Scimitar Pro RGB personally. I have used the razer Naga for years and tried to go with the Corsair Scimitar Pro RGB as an upgrade. I gave it away to a friend for free who uses it as a back up now. the rubbery plastic peels off after a small amount of use and so does the paint on the buttons. The mouse is very heavy in comparison which is good or bad depending on what you are looking for I guess. The left click and right click were the worst part. When pushing down the left click the plastic tab would bend and touch the end of the mouse before registering a click resulting in plenty of miss clicks. After a month of use this seemed to diminish a bit but it requires a lot of force to click so clicking fast is off the table. I have since gone back to the Naga trinity. Seeing this mouse promoted gave me a sweet dose of PTSD.
    Reply
  • Looneytune
    Oh and I forgot the software for the corsair mouse ICUE is the worst piece of bloat next to Mcafee
    Reply
  • yvdrhaeg
    Doubleclick issues are still rampant in Razer mice (I have DeathAdder Elite's with this this problem), check out forums.There are interesting articles about how the Omron switches are actually used out of spec (with lower current than admissible), causing debouncing issues. Regardless of the reason, Razer knows (or should know) about it but doesn't do anything about it. They keep marketing xx milion clicks switches, but the truth is your expensive mouse is gonna start doubleclicking after a few months. I love the shape and feel of Razer mice, but they are not worth it unless you are ready to take a soldering iron to it and replace the Omron switches every year ...
    Reply
  • Errshaja
    Phaaze88 said:
    They quickly developed the double click, and there doesn't appear to be any way to fix it, except buy a new one.

    Yup. Buy new, actual quality microswitches like japanese Omron D2F-01F, Kailh GM 8.0 or Kailh GM 4.0 for about 1-2 USD/piece, and solder them in after you desoldered whatever crap Razer put in it on the assembly line. For 5 USD tops, you have a better mouse than it ever was, and it will stay that way for a considerably longer time. Years. : D

    The new opticals will probably last longer than the previous switches used by Razer, even by their nature, but if they fail, there are already replacement options on the market, albeit not too many as of yet (as you can't put mechanical switches to mice that use optical ones by default, so the technology needs more time to be more widely used to have more options on the aftermarket).


    The same bs goes rampant even at Logitech with their Omron D2FC-F-K(50M) switches. They feel pretty nice and all, but in terms of durability, they are absolutely low tier. My G PRO Wireless had clicking issues in 7 months. We are talking about an overengineered, 150 USD mouse with a literal "endoskeleton" (high-end hardware, layers of parts, 31+ screws, basically perfect build quality), and it's still not an uncommon spectacle, it's a known issue, while it still couldn't rock a japanese Alps encoder for the wheel. Again, we are talking about a ~1-1,2 USD part. And this price is for the end user for a piece, not the price for a huge company which buys these things in the hundred thousands/millions...

    If I had paid money for the Logi, I would have been seriously pissed, but wouldn't have hesitated to go ahead and change the switches out (and the encoder if I'm already at it) anyway, as I'm not gonna bother with warranty with this kind of problem; you wait for weeks, and in the best case scenario, they'll put the same <Mod Edit> in it again.
    Reply