Razer Taipan Weight Reduction

The Razer Taipan is a fairly light mouse, but for some people just not light enough. Having a light mouse can make jumping from target to target with the mouse much easier to control with a downside of making slow moments more jittery for people with unsteady hands. There is a fairly easy to remove weight inside the Razer Taipan which can be accessed by partially disassembling the mouse. After removing the weight my mouse weighs 86 grams, the weight itself only weights 8 grams but makes a very noticeable difference to me. Additional weight can be shed by cutting out the thick plastic light guide for the Razer logo. Doing this reduced the weight by another 10 grams for a final weight of 76 grams but also changes the balance of the mouse to be more front heavy.

Remove Exterior Screws

There are 3 screws on the underside of the mouse which need to be removed before you will be able to take the top button plate off of the mouse. Remove the sticker or punch through it to reveal the screw and then remove them.

Remove the Top Button Plate

The top button plate of the mouse comes off by prying up on the edge of the mouse where your palm would normally rest. Be careful not to damage the thin ribbon cable which connects the top plate to the base of the mouse.

Remove the Side/Top Button PCB

At this point you should be able to see the removable wight tucked underneath the PCB that the side and top programmable buttons are mounted on. This PCB must be removed in order to access the weight, simply remove the 4 screws and pull up on the PCB. Removing the ribbon cable is optional. Once the PCB is removed you may remove the weight by unscrewing the single screw holding it in place.

Separating the Button Plate Layers

The top button plate consists of 2 layers, separate the layers by prying them apart with a thin object to reveal the inside of the light guide.

Cutting Out the Light Guide

Cut around the edge of the light guide cone (I used a rotary tool) while making sure not to cut any of the screw threads out. Scrape off any built up melted plastic from the cutting and re-assemble the mouse.