Contents
Introduction, Unboxing
Design and Ergonimics
Gaming test, browsing test and software
Conclusion
Software
The Theron works out of the box, and you don’t really need the software to alter the DPI, Polling Rate or the LED light colours, since there are buttons for all. However, if you need to assign from a selection of 40 macros, the software comes into play. The software allows you to change just about any function of the mouse. The inbuilt 128KB memory in the Theron stores the macro.
Using the back and forward buttons will bring a pop-up, which I found to be intrusive. There is no way to switch this off in the Theron software. Changing the DPI and Polling Rate also brings up a pop-up mentioning the current value. I am fine with this, but not with the back/forward popups.
Using the Theron – Gaming, browsing and everyday use
The Theron is aimed at professional grade performance. Having used many similar mice (Habu, Deathadder, G5, MX518 etc.), does the Theron’s performance trump the competition? This is certainly the best built and the most neatly designed out of the lot. But does it perform where it matters?
I ran my gaming tests in a mixture of genres, namely Left 4 Dead 2 (FPS), StarCraft II (RTS), Dota 2 (MOBA), Total War: Rome 2 (Turn based/RTS), Final Fantasy XIV (MMORPG) and XCOM: Enemy Unknown (Tactical).
For Left 4 Dead 2, I assigned the macro for the right key to instant weapon switch. It took me a while getting used to the palm grip of the Theron, but now that I have got used to it, I find it difficult to use a mouse without a palm rest. Coming from the Logitech G5, I do feel slightly more in control with the Theron. Clearing swathes of zombies in L4D 2 was a pleasing experience. The position of the DPI switch buttons help a lot, as you do not need to remove your index finger out of position to click it. This allowed me switch to high DPI when battling a swamp and low DPI when killing zombies one-by-one almost instantly without pausing.
It was playing Dota 2 and Starcraft 2 that required extended burn-in time for my palms to get used to the Theron. But once again, after a point, you really do feel that the palm grip is much better, and this difference is noticed especially when playing RTS games. RTS games require sudden shifts, erratic clicking and an almost ‘perfect’ control and the Theron gave me that. Note, I had all the weights put in, the heavy feeling along with a high DPI setting makes for a good ‘quick control’ scheme. The Theron is a worthy mouse for RTS pros, no doubt.
Playing Final Fantasy and XCOM were good experiences too. This is where the macro key comes into play. For Final Fantasy, I set the back/forward button to my 2 contextual menus, and the right key was programmed to open up my journal. I always had to use the keyboard for accessing these, the need for this was totally eliminated by the Theron.
Using the Theron for daily work is quick, responsive and smooth, there is nothing to complain about over here. If a mouse performs good at gaming, you can bet it will be as good at browsing around the operating system. I tested the mouse with Windows 8 and OSX Leopard. It worked fine on both.
