M15x + Razer Mamba = issues

Has anyone used the Razer Mamba with the M15x?

I installed the lastest drivers from Razer's website. I also downloaded the firmware updater from Razer's website. The first problem that I noticed was at the end of the firmware update process, it gave me an error. But once I disconnected and reconnected the mouse, it let me finish the process. Now the real issue that I'm having is every time I press button 5 (sensitivity up, default) a window pops up that says "Notify !" "BinaryGFX access detected. Choose Yes to enable or No to Cancel." From what I can tell BinaryGFX is a feature to cut power consumption by using the onboard video instead of using the high performance graphics card. Does the new M15x even have this feature, I thought it was only on the older area 51. What's weird is Fn+F7 is the button press to bring up BinaryGFX, but when I press that I get nothing. Even though it triggers BinaryGFX, it still increases sensitivity, so it seems to me like somehow the these mouse buttons on the are just combo button presses, that Alienware already has allocated to trigger something else.

Also when I press button 6 on the mouse (sensitivity down, default) it triggers the Alienware command center. I haven't tried this in game yet, but even basic windows/websurfing is a PITA with this mouse right now.

Any suggestions?

Edit: Everything else on the mouse seems to be working correctly, though.

 

That's the same case with M17x + Mamba.
and it's not really an issue for me since I never had the need to adjust sensitivity on the fly.
If everything else is working fine, just enjoy the amazing mouse!

 

all you have to do is disable the osd_main.exe or stop osd from starting up using ccleaner. then ur buttons will work fine. works for me.. but it might cause problems for the touch strip. i dont really use it so its better for me to have a working up and down sensitivity lvl than the touch strip

 

How do you adjust the volume while gaming if needed then?
Can it be done via Mamba?

 

I use the mamba too with no issues, I just plug it in and use it. I never update the driver. maybe uninstall your new driver. not sure if you can use it to adjust volume.

 

Thanks for the heads up, I got a Mamba arriving tomorrow. Glad I caught this thread in time.

 

yeah be very careful about updating the driver for the mamba, you can brick it very easily. I suggest don't update at all, just plug and play. All functions should work without any updates. I bricked 2 mambas doing the update, it would start updating and freeze and you will have a bricked mamba. Lucky I got mine at a local store, and the let me return it.

 

im not sure if u can change the buttons to increase and decrease volume but it doesnt really matter to me. u can try disabling osd and see if the volume control on the touchstrip works. i havent tried it but im guessing it will work but there will be no pop up on the screen showing the volume icon

 

Thanks for the comments. I'll be contacting Razer about this. There's no reason a high end gaming mouse that costs $130 shouldn't be compatible with a high end gaming laptop. Considering most customers of Alienware products are going to buy gaming mice, they should make it a top priority to make sure drivers and functionality allow the mouse to work as designed.

 

Mine must have come with the update cos straight out of the box with no drivers installed my Sensitivity Up button gives the error as described and Sensitivity Down changes output screen like pressing Fn+F6.

Does not really bother me since I never change sensitivity but hitting change screen mid game could be troublesome...

Edit: Have installed software and still got the same issues so I've remapped the buttons to ctrl and shift for use in games. No weirdness when I press them now.

 

Have you tried remapping the buttons?

I usually set the sensitivity up/down button to Ctrl + PgDn/PgUp which is the hotkey for scrolling through tabs for firefox

 

Yep I have a mamba and have the same issue. Let me know if Razer has any solution.

 

I think I'm just going to have to remap the buttons. I tried restoring back to pre mamba install, and just let windows identify it. It still has the same issue. So, now I'll have to revert back again, and re-install the software and so called "drivers". I like the mouse, but for this price, I doubt I will buy another Razer product. I'm still contemplating returning it to Best Buy and picking up the Logitech MX Revolution I saw there.

 

I think the mamba is fine rite out of the box. but i think its there update or something that causes this issue. i used the mamba just fine on all my laptop including M15x with no issue. Just don't install any drivers or updates, if you did try rollin back.

 

So I went to BB and bought a Razer mamba in hopes of being able to chill on the sofa and/or bed and play games. I guess I should have done some research beforehand because when I got it home and opened it up, I noticed the receiver and charger were one in the same! It kinda defeats the purpose of calling it a wireless solution if you have to be constantly tethered to a bulky charger. Is there an aftermarket mini usb receiver that can be used with this thing or has anyone come up with a way to take apart the charging unit and encase it in say a USB key shell?

I went back to BB and bought a Logitech performance mx that comes with a mini usb receiver and so far it's working great, not quite as nice as the mamba but pretty close.

 

LOL, man you might be my brother from another mother. I started another thread about my Mamba issues. Well this weekend I returned it to Best Buy and bought a............wait for it...........performance fx. I was disappointed by the Mamba's "wireless" setup and even more upset by the fact that I'd have to remap a few keys on the mouse for it to work properly with my system whether I used the software or not. In its factory config, several buttons trigger prompts, or programs that make basic use of the mouse frustrating. However it seems that these prompts were stuff that will probably only be found on Alienware systems (i.e. BinaryGFX)The driver install, didn't seem to make a difference either. The software that they want you to use is also buggy. Basically this mouse is way to expensive to have the issues it has. Like Joker, I was thinking this mouse would be a bluetooth setup similar to the Orochi. Or a smaller receiver like the Performance MX. I'll have to say this though, the look and particularly the feel of the Mamba is 2nd to none. It feels sturdy, nicely weighted (it could be a smidge heavier), and you can't beat the rubberized surface. The Performance MX is nice, the receiver is really small, it has a comfortable shape and size to it, but the main surface is too plasticky, and no where near as nice to the touch as the Mamba. It also has a driver install disk, which I haven't installed, but I believe its necessary for DPI adjustment and using the screen zoom feature. I ordered an Orochi (and a Lycosa) today, and I plan on returning the Performance MX. I really want a true wireless mouse and bluetooth seems like the best option, so I'll let you know how that goes when it gets here this week. I'm hoping the Orochi covers all bases for me, but I'm skeptical of its small size. After running with the Mamba for a few days, thats the feel I'm looking for, so I might choose a larger wired mouse to acompany the Orochi, like the G9x or the TactX.

 

Let me know how the orochi works out for you, I was really tempted to order that as well but just like you mentioned, the small size was a bit off putting since I have big hands. So far with the gaming I've done using the performance mx, it's held up admirably on all surfaces so I might end up keeping it.

 

Rolled back and no luck. It still had the same probs. I ended up returning it, but I have an Orochi on order. Hopefully it doesn't have the same button issues, but I have a feeling it will . Even if it does, I'll probably just map the keys. The reason I was avoiding mapping the keys was because I was hoping I didn't have to install software and drivers. The less crap I can put on my comp, the better. I hate having tons of crap on my comp just taking up space and resources, which is why my wife isn't allowed on my M15x. Who needs the Terminator when my wife and daughter could've taken down Skynet by websurfing from on one of their comps.

 

sorry guys i don't agree, i love my mamba to death. i'm so in love with 5600 dpi ahah ^^

 

You just need to install the software once, make changed and uninstall it after. The key mapping and settings are saved in the mouse's synapse memory.

I used to do my changes and firmware updates on a different machine.

 

I prefer the Logitech Performance MX mouse, although I remapped the zoom button to a mute button. The mouse works great though, although I've never tried the Mamba. I just like the App switcher button with Win 7

 

I hear that the orochi is pretty small, so if you have big hands that can be a problem. its so strange that i have no issues at all with the mamba. i also hear the orichi seem to turn itself on standby mode when not in used for like 10 sec., that could be an issue too. so beware of these issues.

 

Well the Orochi has arrived. Everything is working wonderfully, but its just too damn small. It looks larger in pictures. It looks nice, feels nice, and the bluetooth is awesome. I plugged it in through USB after I paired it through bluetooth and everything works great. After trying out all of these mice, I truly believe that if they could offer the Mamba with bluetooth, it would be worth the steep price. Also, the Orochi doesn't have the rubberized grip of the Mamba. The top of the mouse is more textured than the top of the MX Revolution, but not rubberized. The sides are shiny plastic, in contrary to the rubber thumbgrip of the MX. It also uses AA batteries not rechargables like the Mamba and MX. I'm leaning towards keeping the Orochi for travel purposes, since I do quite a bit, and something else for the home. If only I could figure out what it is that I want for the home. The MX has the best answer for a non bluetooth wireless device. It is small and is capable of recieving multiple inputs, like a wireless keyboard. One problem with this setup though is there is no wired mode. Its stupid that you have to leave the wireless receiver in a separate USB port while charging through another USB port. So if batteries are running low your mouse will take up 2 usb ports. However the receiver is about the size of a nickel, and 80% of that is the male end of the USB port that is plugged in. It is also lacking on the fly dpi switching. The Mamba has the best best feel and gaming performance. But its wireless receiver combos as the charging dock and is humongous.

If I had to choose one, I would go with the overpriced Mamba. Even with its faults, its the best wired/wireless mouse option that we currently have. If you have small hands, or don't mind an extremely undersized mouse, the Orochi is in a leauge of its own.

 

Orochi would be a deal breaker for me since I have large hands. The mamba is going back tomorrow, I can't deal with that large charging dock. Hopefully Razer makes a BT version of the mamba, even if the latency goes up to say 5ms I'd be happy with that. For now Logitech performance mx wins and it's what I'll be keeping.

 

I also prefer Logitech, i have the performance anywhere mouse and also the G500 gaming mouse both great and amazing. Forget Razer they are really bad with their drivers and they were hacked sometime ago too, their speakers also suck, the company is just bad lol. Best buy has the G500 on sale for only 39 dollars! That's really cheap. Go for it and never look back!

 

Dont get the Orochi... Horrible mouse for the price...



This is my review on the Orochi


The Razer Orochi sucks. The engineers of Razer dropped the ball on that one. I just got mine from Newegg and I send it back after just one day of usage.
1) The mouse is supposed to be a gaming mouse, then make it a gaming mouse. Just because you give it a few programmable buttons doesn't make it a gaming mouse. I knew prior of buying it that BT mouse lag a bit, but this one is ridiculous. The thing go into sleep mode just after 3 seconds of idle time. Mine was also lagging a bit while wired.
2) Most gamers like Medium to Large size mouse, I know I do. I am currently using a Logitech Nano and the Orochi is pretty much the same size which is bad for gaming. The mouse has seven programmable buttons but I couldn't push any of the side buttons (two on each side) without taking my hand off of the mouse. What good is that when you are playing games?
3) The weight of the Orochi is also an issue. My nano is twice as heavy as the Orochi. I like a heavy mouse because it helps me to control the movement more precise.
4) The software needs some improvement. Yes it looks pretty but it has some bugs. I attempted to program the mouse several times and I kept getting this , the mouse is disconnected, click on cancel type of message . After that the program just closed and I had to open it again several times just to turn on the light on the mouse. I am done with that nonsense.
I think Razer needs to go back to the drawing board and make a nice full size mouse wire/wireless (Not BT) with a mini USB receiver. Bluetooth and gaming doesn't go together. Another great mouse that I researched was the Microsoft sidewinder X8. The sidewinder has one big issue. You have to keep the receiver/usb cable attached to the computer. The receiver on the sidewinder or as I like to call it , the hockey puck is big and not good if you want to be mobile. I believe the Razer Mamba has the same problem. The charging or docking station is the receiver. This is not good for laptops.
With Today's technology I find it hard to believe that they can't make a wireless mouse (Not BT) with a mini usb receiver and be able to plug it in when you need to play a game. You can make it so the mini USB receiver will disable upon connecting the mouse with the wire. You will lose two USB connection to this mouse but I am sure that most gamers would welcome that to increase the dpi to the 4000 or 5000 level, I know I would. The Orochi is ok, but is definitely not a gaming mouse . I found it unacceptable for the hefty price of $70.00 dollars. Maybe they can cut down on the fancy packaging and make it a bit cheaper. Right now I have my eyes on the Logitech Performance Mouse MX. You know what they say. You get what you pay for. I chose the Orochi over the Logitech over $20.00 dollars and all the great reviews of the Orochi. I don't understand how a mouse that small, that lags and has such a hefty price can get so many good reviews. Hopefully the MX is just what my Alienware M17x Needs.

I also ordered the Logitech G13 USB Advanced Gameboard. I cant wait to get my hands on that baby.

 

Got a Mamba from Dell on Monday. Spent all day yesterday trying to get it to work after setting it up per instructions. It would not track on any horizontal plane, just vertical. There should be no reason for a mouse that is this expensive to not work properly right out of the box (after set up ). Called Dell today (wednesday) and got a return authorization and back it goes. I tried it on my new M15X with windows 7 and another Dell with XP. No Joy.....Also no more Razer products.

 

I'd recommend Razer's mousepads as they are very good.

However most of the other products they make are rubbish.

 

I got a G13 and can't recommend it highly enough, great keyboard.

I also have a Mamba and have a Microsoft X8 arriving Monday so I can compare the two. I use a Logitech VX Nano for travel but may favorite mouse so far is the Logitech MX1100 which I use on my desktop.

 

FYI......Logitech Performance MX took #1 in CNET's Top 5 Products of 2009

 

I can vouch for that, it's a sweet mouse.

 

hey guys i notice you talking about bricking the mamba earlier in this thread. this actually happened to me earlier today and i came up with a simple littly fix that takes 5 minutes!

step 1: make sure mamba is turned off and unplugged from the usb cable
step 2: hold down the pairing button on the bottom of the mamba while plugging in the usb cable
step 3: go into the device manager in the windows menu. one of the devices should show a little exclamation point indicating that it is not installed properly
step 4: right click that device and select "properties"
step 5: in the window that pops up switch to the "hardware" menu and click "properties" and then "update driver"
step 6: in the pop up window select the option to locate drivers on your computer (second option)
step 7: browse your computer and find the root folder for razer where all drivers are installed. make sure that "select all subfolders is checked"
step 8: click "ok" it will begin to search the folder for the proper driver. it will find it on its own. if windows says it cant verify publisher install anyways.
once this is complete run the firmware updater for mamba and follow all on screen instructions. make sure the mouse is unplugged and off when starting the firmware updater.

i think thats everything i did! let me know if anything isnt working. you may or may not need to disable driver signature enforcement to make this work. to do this press F8 during start up.

 

I understand that you probably like your Mamba and that's your business but I think that it's ridiculous to go through all that just to get it working. I just returned the Orochi and it was just 69.00 + tax at Newegg. With today's technology you should be able to plug it in, install the software and start using it right away. If you have to go to that much trouble then the item is no good. I went through the same hell with my XPS M1730. I had it for 18 months before it die on me. During the 18 months I wasted countless hours trying to make it do what Dell claimed it did. The M1730 looked good but it had many issues. My games never played right and ran ok after many tweaks. Dell replaced it with a brand new Alienware M17x. The specs of my XPS were pretty close to the Alienware and never did what this laptop can do. The Alienware is a dream and can handle anything I throw at it. The same goes for the Razer mouse. They should work right out of the box. How is it that a cheap $30 dollar Logitech nano works flawlessly right out of the box but a very expensive Razer Mamba or Orochi have so many issues forcing the customer to waste countless hours searching the internet for solutions in order to use it.

 

actually i always just used the original drivers that load when you plug the mouse in. i just ran a firmware update and accidentally closed out of it during the boot process and it wiped my mouse lol but i got it working again in 5 minutes! haha all in all im very happy with the mouse it works very well with what its able to do!

 

yea mamba works fine, if you just plug and play. most of the issues is cause by the stupid update. so if you just bought a mamba do not update!!!

 

The Orochi is a mobile gaming mouse; it is optimized for portability as much as it is for performance. In wired mode, it has 1,000Hz polling and 1ms response time, the same as all of Razer's (and other gaming mouse manufacturers') wired mice. Bluetooth mode is not meant for gaming, as it has a response of 14ms.

Once again, portability. The Orochi is a laptop-oriented mouse, and most people looking for a laptop mouse don't want to have to carry around a full-size mouse like the DeathAdder or MX518. And I think you must be holding it wrong, because I have pretty big hands (read: gorilla paws with sausage fingers), and I can comfortably press all of the buttons from one position, without relocating my hand. Try using more of a claw-style than palm-style grip.

This comes down to personal preference. I prefer my mice as light as possible, which is part of why I chose my DeathAdder. There is no single right or wrong way with mouse weight.

Maybe yours was bugged, but neither my nor my girlfriend's Orochi had any issues with connecting to the software, or crashes.

Bluetooth was never meant for gaming; that's why it includes a 3 foot detachable cord. They made it Bluetooth to maximize portability, since most laptops have internal Bluetooth.

They went with BT instead of a mini USB receiver specifically to avoid taking up an extra USB port. The Orochi is already 4,000 DPI, and that's plenty.

It is a gaming mouse. You just seem to be forgetting that it's also a mobile laptop mouse. To make it portable, it's necessary to compromise on some things, like size. And it's not laggy in wired mode, only in Bluetooth, because that's a problem with the Bluetooth protocol itself, and it was never meant for gaming in BT mode. And if you intend to game, the MX isn't going to be much better; it will have 8ms response, not much better than the Orochi's 14ms in Bluetooth mode, and significantly worse than the Orochi's 1ms wired mode.

I am curious to see how that is; I don't think anyone here at NBR has one yet. I am using its direct competition, the Belkin/Razer N52TE. It's quite nice.

 

I use a G13 and have a Belkin N52 as well, hard to say which I like better cos they are both very good tho I guess I do use the G13 more. With the Belkin I sometimes run out of keys but I can reach all keys without moving my hand. The G13 has more keys and rarely run short but I have to move my hand to reach the ones on the extremities.

 

I see. Yeah, I love the N52TE's design. And it has just enough keys for me; I play mostly shooters, so I don't need a ridiculous amount of binds. Between the N52TE and my DeathAdder's 5 buttons, I've got my bases covered.

 

I agreed. I saw others like it, but they can't come close. This thing is sweet. Logitech did a nice job..... The screen reminds me of my old XPS M1730...

 

The N52TE was my second choice. Looks nice and it has lots of good reviews, but I couldn't resist the Logitech screen....

 

In case anyone is interested I've been trying the Microsoft X8 and it just doesn't cut it. Not as comfy as Logitech or Razer and I don't like the scroll wheel, too stiff with not much grip. The deal breaker is that in games I like having jump as a thumb button. I do like the position of the thumb buttons on the X8 but when mapping keys in games the top thumb button was not recognized. With the mouse software I tried mapping the top thumb to space (a common jump button) however the key mapper lets you map any key except for space. Instead I made a macro to press space and this method kinda worked but it activates on key release not key press which is too annoying. On the plus side it's bluetrack optical technology uses a really bright blue LED so if you want a mouse that doubles as a torch your wait is over...

 

it bothers high end users like me that use 1600dpi for strategy games like supreme commander where i was top 100 i played alot better on a low dps , 5400dpi for fps'sand 2000 for desktop use. personal pref but some people cant do without it

the dpi is very important

that aside thats very poor of razer designing the mouse like that, personally i stopped buying razer after my 2nd barricuda headset died.

 

Are you using the Mamba Configurator to remap keys? I don't see anything in the Razer software to remap the keys. If you are using another method, can you give me some pointers?

 

I use Mamba Configurator v1.06, it should have 5 tabs with the first being Assign Buttons.

 

I've been able to do that, but swapping those around did nothing. I can change which mouse button triggers sensitivity up, but I need the next level, which is how do I change the key combo that triggers sensitivity up. I don't know if I'm explaining this right, but I was hoping there was a way to change what actual "key combo" is enabled when pressing that assigned action. Somehow "sensitivity up" on the mamba will trigger a fn+(random keystroke). "sensitivity down" will sometimes toggle stealth mode off. If I'm in the configurator, nothing is inadvertently toggled. What's weird is there's about 5 sensitivity presets. Only when I hit one of those presets does it toggle BinaryGFX. Just a second ago I got it to to toggle the dimmer

 

Are you still having problem with the mouse? The problem is with AlienwareCommnand Center. If you disable it, you'll be able to configure the mouse but you still can't use it =) unless you disable Command Center all the time.

 

I have a mamba and I used to get those binary problems when I would try to up the DPI by hitting the button on the side. I even updated the firmware on the mamba which seemed to do nothing. But once the BIOS update for the M15x came out I've had no issues at all with it, plus I can now sync my iPhone without any problems too. If you don't have the BIOS A05 yet I strongly suggest you get it.

 

you still have command center on your computer?

 

Ordered mine from amazon, hopefully it gets here quick(iraq), and I dont use command center so I'm not worried about GFX switching.

 

Ha ha, I can confirm A05 fixes it. I've not used the Mamba since updating so I just tried it now and the sensitivity buttons do only what they should