Review: Razer BlackWidow Chroma – Elite Keyboard Hefty Price

Razer-Blackwidow-beautyBeside’s your monitor,  your keyboard is probably the most used peripheral. You should want the Rolls Royce of keyboards. Easy to use, comfortable, luxurious, and full of options. When you consider how much time we spend typing it’s easy to see why a great keyboard is a worth while investment. When choosing a keyboard many factors come into play. Think about it, you’ll be spending thousands of hours sitting behind the keyboard. It should feel and work flawlessly. Does the keyboard have extra features that you can use? Think about size, what’s the keyboard will take up desk space is it massive or compact, does it include a number pad? Above all else consider comfort, a keyboard should always be comfortable. Especially during extended use.

Enter the BlackWidow, Razer’s flagship mechanical keyboard which comes with one of two custom mechanical switches. For this review we’ve sat down and used the standard Razer green switches which have that nice click we’ve come to know from mechanical keyboards. Razer’s stealth line comes equipped with orange switches and they are nearly silent. The green switches can be compared to MX Cherry red switches which Razer has modeled them after. Razer also claims its green switches are more durable than standard mechanical switches.

Beautiful black matte finish.
Beautiful black matte finish.

With the BlackWidow you’ll spend a hefty amount but you’ll be paying for more than just the Razer name. This keyboard is built like a luxury item. This becomes evident the moment your fingers glide across the keyboards soft black perimeter. The entire keyboard has a matte finish which helps the keyboard remain finger print free – unless you eat Lays before use. Along the bottom runs a long palm rest with Razer’s signature logo back-lit shining behind a small glass. At 3.3 pounds the keyboard isn’t  but feels sturdy. It comes equipped with USB passthrough along with a USB port on it’s right side resting next to a mic and headphone jack. The keyboard is also has a durable  braided cable.

When it comes to the BlackWidow’s keys, you’re sure to fall in love. They have some of the best actuation I’ve ever felt on a mechanical keyboard. Most mechanical keyboards that are made for typing have blue switches. While they feel great as you never have to fully press down and can rapidly type.  But when it comes to gaming double taps become increasing difficult to do and you’ll experience some bottom out. The BlackWidow solves this by making you use some slight force to press the keys. Double taps happen organically without you having to think or concentrate on making it happen. You get that satisfying click each and every time.

Each key is back-lit and individually programmable allowing for some extreme customization. You can customize each LED to give your keyboard its own unique look. Keys can even be animated if you’re a bit more creative. Created presets can be uploaded to Razer’s very own chroma workshop were you can share all of your unique designs.

razer-blackwidow-chroma

Razer continues to improve it’s synapse software and it’s now even easier to set custom Macros. You can then save your setups online incase you ever replace your keyboard. So no more starting from scratch if you can help it. Luckily if you do have to re-create your profile and set up your keyboard it’s good to know the solid software is a breeze to use.

Configuration

 

Does the BlackWidow defend Razer’s tagline for gamers by gamers? The short answer is yes, but at $159.99 it damn well better. I’ve used about 25 different keyboards in the last two years and besides Ducky mechanical keyboards the Chroma is easily my favorite keyboard. My one complaint is the premium price tag for custom  back-lighting. But if you’re in the market for a new keyboard and really want a keyboard that’s easy to configure, durable, and just a beauty look no further.

Tech Specs

  • Razer™ Mechanical Switches with 50g actuation force
  • 60 million keystroke life span
  • Chroma backlighting with 16.8 million customizable color options
  • Razer Synapse enabled
  • 10 key roll-over anti-ghosting
  • Fully programmable keys with on-the-fly macro recording
  • 5 additional dedicated macro keys
  • Gaming mode option
  • Audio-out/mic-in jacks
  • USB pass-through
  • 1000Hz Ultrapolling
  • Braided fiber cable
  • Approximate size: 475mm/18.72” (Width) x 171mm/6.74” (Height) x 39mm/1.54” (Depth)
  • Approximate weight: 1500g/3.31lbs

The Marduk Rating:

Purchase

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