Patriot V560 Laser Gaming Mouse Review

Most of us know Patriot for their gamer series memory kits. Well, maybe we should be talking more about their peripherals. In 2015 the big wigs at Patriot Memory LLC decided it was time to venture into the peripherals market and developed the V760 keyboard, V360 headset, and the V560 gaming mouse. When Patriot asked if Overclockers.com would be interested in reviewing the V560 and V760 naturally we obliged. You’ll have to wait for the V760 keyboard in a later review because today we look at the V560 laser gaming mouse.

Specifications and Features

Packaging and First Look

Before we dig into this review, let’s first look at the packaging. Patriot does a fantastic job of presenting the V560 in a black and red themed box. The packaging is there for more than just aesthetics, though. First and foremost is securing the product for safe shipping. The second is to allow the customer to see what the particular product is capable of. Patriot has accomplished both in these regards. Now lets look closer at the box and see what the V560 has to offer.

Box Front

The front shows a good image of the Viper V560 gaming mouse and highlights some key features. Listed are the improved 12,000 DPI laser sensor, customizable RGB color profiles, and an adjustable weight system.

Box Open

With the front panel opened the mouse is visible through the protective clear plastic. On the back side of the front panel more features are presented. The V560 also has an included interchangeable side grip, ceramic foot pads, the previously mentioned laser sensor, adjustable weight system, and customizable profiles.

Box Right & Left Side

The right side simply shows an image of the left side of the mouse and the product name and model. On the left is a slightly more detailed description of the three features displayed on the front.

Box Back

Flipping the box to the back side we get a nice diagram of the V560 along with additional features this mouse has to offer. Here we can see the two interchangeable side grips, adjustable weight drawer (up to 29.4g), customizable LED, five ceramic foot pads, 12,000 DPI laser sensor (improved sticker missing), nine programmable buttons, DPI switch, and the DPI LED indicator.

Box Bottom

The bottom lists social media contacts, Corporate and Sales contact information, warranty period, serial number, various compliances as well as a laser warning.

Contents

Once inside we will find the mouse, an extra side panel, a bullet weight case, quick start guide, product advertisement, and two Viper logo stickers.

A Closer Look

Top

Located at the top we have the obvious left and right mouse buttons along with a scrolling wheel, programmable top button, and a MODE button. The left and right mouse buttons are pretty typical and what you would expect to see from a quality gaming mouse. The wheel functions as an up, down, left, and right scrolling wheel as well as a middle mouse button. The Mode button cycles between the five customizable profiles.

Front & Rear

Naturally the front is where the cable enters the mouse. On either side of the cable we see two LED’s. These will illuminate in one of 64 available colors as well as pulse. At the rear there is another longer light that will stay in sequence with the front lights. There is also a red Viper logo proudly displayed.

Left Side

On the left side there is quite a bit going on. At the front there is a Mode LED that indicates the color and mode the Viper is in. Just behind the Mode LED is the DPI Indicator. Based on the DPI switch location it will illuminate up to four lights. At the middle and top of the left side are the Forward and Back buttons. These function as such even without the included software. They are also programmable using the Viper software. Just under these buttons is a deep pocket for your thumb to nest. There is a rubber coating with ribs for a positive grip. Under the thumb pocket and further back still is the DPI switch. The switch sits in a centered position and can be clicked forward or backward to increase or decrease the DPI setting.

Right Side

The right side appears to be devoid of any features, but not so fast. If you skip ahead and peek underneath you’ll see a red button with an arrow on it. This button releases the right side panel. There is an alternate right side panel with a different shape included if you chose to change things up. Looking behind the side panel there is a clear rectangular box labeled “WEIGHT” and a small black button to release the weight box. The box has six pockets for holding the included bullet style weights.

Bottom

Flipping the mouse over you will notice the red side panel release button we just discussed as well as the five button style ceramic glides. These glides are very slick and it slides over your mousing surface incredibly easy. You will also notice the three lights that gives the V560 its bling factor. There are two at the front and one longer light at the rear. Offset to the right of center is the optical laser. Finally there is the product labeling and FCC certifications.

Cable and USB Plug

Lastly we will look at the cable and plug. The cable is wrapped in a tight red and black fabric braid. It seems durable and displayed no fraying for the month that it was carried to and from my office. There is an included hook and loop style cable tie that is very handy when transporting or just to keep the desk tidy when in a permanent location. There is a magnetic shield located near the gold plated USB plug to help minimize the effects of any nearby power sources or ancient tube type monitors.

Downloadable Software

The Partiot website offers a free downloadable software to support the V560 mouse. It can be downloaded here. After a short installation period the Viper software allowed for full customization with five programmable profiles. We will take a brief look at just how simple this can be accomplished.

Buttons

Opening up the Viper program takes you to the first tab simply labeled “Buttons”. Located directly under the main menu tabs are the five profile tabs. Just as you would expect, each tab can be customized completely for different users or just for an alternate color palate. In use the mode button at the top of the mouse will scroll through these five profiles. Hovering your cursor over the selected profile tab will open a drop down color palate containing the 64 available colors. Also worth mention is each profile tab will change to the color it is specified to while hovering over it. This is very useful for quickly finding the profile you’re looking for.

Directly under the profile tabs are the seven available programmable buttons as well as the scroll up and scroll down features with only the left click and DPI selector having dedicated functions. Selecting any of the programmable buttons will bring up a second page. There are five tabs located at the top for assigning the button with either a mouse function, keyboard function, an advanced function, creating a macro, and finally determining the key cycle.

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Sensor

The second tab in the main menu is the “Sensor” tab. This is where one can adjust the DPI sensors for the X/Y movement. These can be adjusted together or individually for a completely customized feel.

Macro Editor

The third option in the main menu is the “Macro Editor”. Selecting this tab will open a secondary window for creating or editing existing macros to be used for different button functions. On the far right of this window are the icons to insert delays, insert mouse commands, insert keyboard commands, insert scroll commands, and insert mouse movements. Naturally there is a record button as well as a stop button that will become available after the record button has been selected. Just below those are the icons to import macros, export macros, save the current macro, clear the command list, or discard a command.

Settings

The fourth and final tab in the menu is the “Settings” tab. When this tab is selected the user has the ability to change the USB polling rate as well as toggling on or off the angle snapping, DPI/profile OSD, and mouse acceleration.

Performance

The V560 glides effortlessly over every mousing surface. The click feedback from the right, left, and wheel buttons are clean and responsive. The travel of the switches feels precise and will allow for a seamless transition from other quality mice you likely have used. The audible “click” is quieter than some of the other models on the market. Including the left and right scrolling on the wheel is a pleasant addition for those of us who use very wide documents such as spreadsheets or digital blueprints, also gamers who like to keymap the left and right scroll for weapon selection or to lean around corners.

The Forward and Back buttons are located at the perfect height and centered properly. The click is slightly stiffer than the other buttons and more audible, also the travel seems to be slightly more than what is necessary. Still this is just a preference and should only take a short while to get used to.

The DPI setting switch is located far enough back it won’t get changed inadvertently. The default setting was at the second of four positions. It was found to be a bit too sensitive and when switched to the first position was not sensitive enough. This was corrected easily enough through the sensor tab of the downloadable software. Simply decreasing the second DPI’s X and Y sensitivity was all perfect for a more natural feel.

The MODE button is located at the top center and positioned in a way that is difficult to reach with the middle finger. At first you might think this is a poor design, but in practice it is perfect. Making it slightly difficult to reach means you won’t change the mode unless you truly mean to.

The extra side panel seems an unnecessary feature. The fact that Patriot gives the consumer another option is always a plus, even if one of the sides will be discarded after the initial set-up. There are an adequate amount of weights for all but the strongest of users. The included weight case is a nice bonus and will keep the extra bullet weights together for future use.

The LED lighting is not so overpowering as to distract the user but certainly provides enough light to be noticed. It would be nice if the DPI indicator glowed the same color as the rest of the LED’s but the white is not bad either.

The rubberized coating did not show any signs of wear over the month of use but will likely show signs within the first year. We have seen this before and it’s just the nature of this coating. Still, it’s very comfortable and easy to hold. It should also be mentioned, even after eight hour sessions, hand cramping was never an issue. This is a great testament to the comfort of this mouse.

Conclusion

Patriot has really put a lot of thought and research into the design of this mouse. It is very comfortable and has almost every feature an elitist or hardcore gamer could ask for. It functioned perfectly for the period it was under review and will continue to be used daily. The software was not too complicated and offered more options than most users will ever use. It would be nice if the software was able to control the mouse and keyboard together like some of their competitors do. As it is the user must install two different programs if they are to run both the V560 mouse and the V760 keyboard. This is only a minor set back and really a non-issue once the user gets things set the way they like it.

As far as price point Newegg has the V560 gaming mouse retailed for $74.93 and on sale for $40.61, but the Patriot site shows a retail price of $39.99. I’ve yet to see it listed at Newegg for more than $41. This places the Patriot Viper V560 gaming mouse at a much better value than most of it’s competitors and a great mouse for the price. You will be hard pressed to find a better mouse for this price and I would recommend it to anyone in this budget.

–Blaylock