Razer Black Widow Ultimate Gaming Keyboard

ok, so i have decided to write a review on this keyboard after using it for 2-3 weeks. i thought i'd leave some time to get a real good feel for it. i play and type a lot and have been through numerous keyboards and mice (g-15 / g-19 / steel series etc).

First of all, you notice that the keyboard is pretty heavy, this is down to the materials used, there is a lot of metal in the housing so that adds to it. The cable is solidly braided and really fastened in the keyboard, bolted down in the inside - you could use the keyboard to ab-sail yourself out of the window should you need to escape during a fire emergency :P. Ok, when would you need that you think? i tell you that, you just never know when you yank on the cord or similar, this still does not budge. all in all, it speaks for the investment in solidity as we will see further when using the keys. The razer black widow Ultimate requires 2 usb connectors (one is a pass-through), and includes 2 optional audio pass-through connectors as well. Similar to the steelseries SHIFT, the black widow's cables are bundled together in a thick single cable which splits into its four (2 x USBs, 2 x audio) connectors.

the keys are mechanical, so they have switches beneath them, much like the first technology that was released with pc's - looks like we are going back to the roots here. the click gives tactile feedback and is very sturdy. some mechanical keyboards dampen these clicks - the razer BW is not one of them, this is a matter of taste and if your priority is on quality and not noise then your choice is simple. i, personally love the clicks, they give me the ultimate feedback experience and at first i was a bit taken a-back not anymore, now i simply love it. the keys are also very individually spaced so you need to be a good typist to reach out for the keys, its not one for novices but rather seasoned users. It may not sound like a big deal to you, but the tactile response you get from the Black Widow feels fantastic. The Black Widow removes virtually all doubt as to whether a key was pressed. Combined with the fact that the keys only need to travel 2mm (~½ their full travel distance) to register, i can certainly say the Black Widow subjectively feels faster and responsive. I'm not sure it really improves our performance in games, but it certainly feels like it does.

drawbacks for some: there are a limited number of extra keys available but for that you can record macro on the fly; another is the price, which is a bit over what it should cost imo but then you get a gaming keyboard, second to none, standing alone on the pedestal of supremacy wielding an ultimate design incomparable with the likes of the g-series and or steel series.

I live very well with these drawbacks, a key question here is if i would buy it again? the answer is yes. i love this keyboard and would not return it for a 150 quid cash-back option...

I am a fan of razer products; mostly because of their quality and presence.

Features:

* Specially-designed mechanical keys with low-pressure actuation
* 5 additional macro keys, 5 back-light brightness settings (only with ultimate)
* Gaming mode and on-the-fly macro recording
* usb, microphone and headphone ports (only with ultimate)

Pros:

* Solid to type on
* very, very solid build, very, very solid quality materials used
* individual LED lighting - the best in the industry
* i love the style of alphabets - never boring, very different
* 'clicky' sound for those of you who like that kind of thing - i cant live without it anymore
* ports and media keys work no problem, no crackling, no fumbling; could have been on the left side though
* gaming mode for hardcore gamers
* sleek finish: like german cars: understated but ever present in style and dedication/attention to detail
(this keyboard was not developed over-night - you can feel it)
* best tactile feedback i have seen on a board, not comparable to 'toys' like the g-series

Cons:

* Macro lovers may want more
* if you share your room with a room mate - they'd hate you for sleepless nights
* may need a cleaning or two more than your standard board
* costs so much more for ports and lighting

if you're on a budget, and like quiet, mushy keys go buy something else. if you have the money to spare and you're an enthusiast who loves your equipment and you're a sucker for technology - GRAB IT NOW!!!!

I was of half a mind to leave a review about this keyboard however my ire has subsided and tada! Let the reviewing commence XD

When I first went looking for this keyboard I found it to be ever so slightly cheaper on the Razer website which I was most surprised at. I thought (in hindsight stupidly) that I might as well go straight to the horses mouth so to speak as it would be easier to cut out the middleman if there were any issues with this rather expensive and overpriced keyboard. So I bought it and waited with baited breath for it to arrive by snail mail.

It arrived and I must say it weighs a tonne XD so no slipping or sliding when your frantically hashing out your gamely prayers. When setting it up I hit a snag of not enough usb ports. It requires 2 ports as it has a usb port in it's right side along with a Mic jack and a Headphone jack each of course need connected to their relevant jacks on the back of your Tower. These however hang forlornly at the rear of my Tower as my speakers also perform these functions, I shall probably disconnect the speakers for no other reason than to have a moment of satisfaction at making the keyboard work for it's money.

Once the relevant drivers were installed (Mostly plug and play) and updated I began using it and a moment of nostalgia came over me as I once more heard the old click click click of a mechanical keyboard. I had totally forgotten that my first computer had a (unbeknownst to me) mechanical keyboard and that I had allowed myself to sleepwalk into the world of the membrane keyboard and my how I missed the mechanical. So I am a happy bunny. The keyboard uses blue cherrymx Series switches that create a verrry audible click when you depress the keys and after a while you don't notice it but you certainly miss it when you have to revert to a membrane keyboard at work/friends etc.

OKAY! here's the crux of the matter. The keyboards great and all that. I however hit a snag with it. I couldn't create a space when typing without having to focus on the space bar everytime I typed. What I mean is everytime I hit the spacebar It wouldn't register the action and all my documents would end up as onelongword. I perseveared with it for a day or so as I thought it must be to do with it being a brand new product and it'll be stiff or something.
em no. I carried out a quick google search and found it to be a flaw with the plastic moulds in certain batches of the keyboard. So basically they sold me a badly designed product (heat of the moment ranting). What got me angrier was that they void the warranty for removing keys on your keyboard! I mean really. They used to give out key pullers with their products -_- So having paid a regal sum for a keyboard I received less of a quality product than I would have expected. To return this keyboard to Razer would require the use of a courier they said (non returnable) and the cheapest I could find was in the region of 30 pounds sterling! as it was to be delivered to the Netherlands. So it may be cheaper on the Razer website but that extra 5/10 pounds on Amazon is worth it for the excellent returns policy Amazon has in place.

I was somewhat annoyed to say the least. So I decided to fix it myself instead of losing £30 for a problem of their own design. I removed the right alt key and took 1mm off of the key cap side with sandpaper (no joke) and some black marker later hey presto I have a fully functioning keyboard that allows spaces lol.

So if your still with me after that screed of text. This keyboard is great but I would seriously consider going for another product as it is not worth the money when there are other cheaper products out there of a similar ilk and it's the Razer name your paying for. I'll grant that the spacebar debacle has coloured my thinking but in truth I expected something greater from Razer and it has fallen sadly short of where I expected it to be in my expectations. Oh yeah and you'll be forever cleaning the shiny plasic lol, it shows up every finger print lol.

What more can you say all this is is just another mechanical keyboard, However it feels very different to other keyboards i have had.

To make room for the macro keys this keyboard seems to have all been shifted over to the right, Confusing to start with but once you have had an hour using it, you don't notice that it is shifted over.

Force to push down the buttons if defiantly noticeably less when comparing it to over mechanical keyboards in my house. the sound of the keys pushing down, well it is a mechanical keyboard and all the ones i have used to do that (IBM model 1391406 springs to mind)

Illumination of keys: despite what razer says on their website there are only really 3 levels of illumination, a off setting and a fade in and out setting (which is really really annoying and should only be on shop floor models)However other than that the keys illuminate very well. (being able to customize colours for individual keys would be a great plus, however you can't)

Problems: its very heavy keyboard probability because of its metal frame. One of my keys came a sticky key (as in it would not spring back up) for me this was my left CTRL key and while looking for a solution i found that it was a fairly conman problem but has an easy fix (remove key and file down the bottom left corner of it a mm or so) so that is really my only complaint about it.

Over all a good product however the issue with the CRTL key and how coman it seems to be stops this from getting 5 star. in short, very good product, good solid click sound, well lit and most importantly comfortable to use.

Recommend to use? YES so long as you know how to take keys off so that if this issue happens to you then you can fix it and bring the keyboard to perfection.