Tech Review - Razer BlackWidow Ultimate 2014 Mechanical Keyboard
Post by Eorl @ 11:26pm 14/10/14 | Comments
We take a look at Razer's latest mechanical keyboard and what it has to offer on the always-expanding keyboard market...
Razer’s BlackWidow Ultimate 2014 Mechanical Gaming Keyboard is something of a novelty, if for no other reason than Razer builds it with keyswitches of its own design, where the rest of the industry uses Cherry MX switches of one form or another. In a press release, Razer claims some cred for the switches, saying they were “tested extensively by the world’s most demanding eSports atheletes, who validated the new Razer Mechanical Switch in some of the most intense professional gaming tournaments.”
Razer actually designed two types of mechanical switches, the Razer Green and the Razer Orange. The Razer Green switches in the BlackWidow Ultimate feel very similar to Cherry MX Blues. They require the same actuation force - a fairly heavy 50cN according to the box - and they exhibit the same “clicky” tactile feedback. (cN, if you’re not familiar with the term, is an abbreviation for “centinewton,” a unit of measure for force.) The Razer Greens, however, have a much higher actuation point. It’s very close to the keycap’s resting point, and its resistance fades rapidly past the actuation point.
In fact, the high actuation point and initial resistance make the Razer Greens feel a bit like a clicky rubber-dome switch, something I'm personally not use to. With reference to Cherry Blues, you soon learn to strike every key without bottoming out – your fingers actually recognise the actuation point and pull back. This is where the Razer Greens’ actuation point comes into play, being so early and its resistance beyond that is so minimal, that it’s difficult not to bottom out on every stroke.
To be fair, Razer mentions up-front that this keyboard is designed specifically for gaming. In this instance, the bottoming out is perfectly fine for moments where you need to double- or triple-tap keys quickly, much in the way of Cherry Blacks. But instead of that switch’s linear resistance, you get the the clicky, tactile feedback of a Cherry Blue. A win-win in the minds of gamers.
As for the rest of its design, the BlackWidow Ultimate features Razer’s typical black-and-neon-green color scheme. Keys are individually backlit, with settings that range from “off” through to “soft green” and even an eye-searing “burn your eyes while playing at night” (these are my characterisations, of course, not Razer's). Superman would be proud to use this one on the Sun's surface.
As with all modern Razer gaming keyboards the Ultimate also plays home to five macro keys on the left, programmable through Razer's Synapse software. Such software has its ups and downs, but the main problem I have found compared to other macro-able mechanical keyboards is that Razer insists on their profiles being saved to the cloud, thus making it very problematic for moving around. Want to show your friend your new Ultimate keyboard at their place? You'll need Razer Synapse installed to have the profiles functioning correctly, and you'll need an account attached to a valid email.
The top row of function keys have secondary functions, activated by holding down a second key. There are the usual media-player control keys, a Game Mode key, a key for on-the-fly macro recording, one for adjusting backlight brightness, and one to put your computer into sleep mode. The keycap that activates these secondary functions is not backlit, but finding that is relatively easy thanks to the non-lit format.
One oddity: Rather than lighting up circular LEDs to inform you that something like Game Mode or Caps Lock is active, the BlackWidow Ultimate lights up icons. Caps Lock, for instance, gets a “C”, while Game Mode gets a “G” with a crosshair. Housing these icons beneath the plastic top, however, renders them blurry and difficult to see when viewed from behind the keyboard.
The keyboard’s cable sheath is braided, ending in a hard-rubber joint where it connects to the keyboard that will prove to be very difficult in tangling. On the other end are two USB plugs and 1/8-inch cables for a headphone and mic. The keyboard itself has audio and mic jacks on its top-right side, plus one USB port. Testing the USB port, both USB2 and USB3 were functional, with enough power being given to support a USB3 1TB portable HDD.
In the end, the BlackWidow isn't a bad keyboard, far from it in fact. For the more pro player it is definitely recommended to try out some of the other more dominant mechanical brands, but for those looking for entry level mechanical keyboards this is definitely one to check out. With its sturdy build, bright lights and accessible buttons, the Razer BlackWidow Ultimate is a perfect accessory to anyone's gaming needs, and priced reasonably so.
Pros:
Please note: Our Razer BlackWidow 2014 Keyboard was provided to us by Razer for review purposes.
Razer actually designed two types of mechanical switches, the Razer Green and the Razer Orange. The Razer Green switches in the BlackWidow Ultimate feel very similar to Cherry MX Blues. They require the same actuation force - a fairly heavy 50cN according to the box - and they exhibit the same “clicky” tactile feedback. (cN, if you’re not familiar with the term, is an abbreviation for “centinewton,” a unit of measure for force.) The Razer Greens, however, have a much higher actuation point. It’s very close to the keycap’s resting point, and its resistance fades rapidly past the actuation point.
In fact, the high actuation point and initial resistance make the Razer Greens feel a bit like a clicky rubber-dome switch, something I'm personally not use to. With reference to Cherry Blues, you soon learn to strike every key without bottoming out – your fingers actually recognise the actuation point and pull back. This is where the Razer Greens’ actuation point comes into play, being so early and its resistance beyond that is so minimal, that it’s difficult not to bottom out on every stroke.
To be fair, Razer mentions up-front that this keyboard is designed specifically for gaming. In this instance, the bottoming out is perfectly fine for moments where you need to double- or triple-tap keys quickly, much in the way of Cherry Blacks. But instead of that switch’s linear resistance, you get the the clicky, tactile feedback of a Cherry Blue. A win-win in the minds of gamers.
As for the rest of its design, the BlackWidow Ultimate features Razer’s typical black-and-neon-green color scheme. Keys are individually backlit, with settings that range from “off” through to “soft green” and even an eye-searing “burn your eyes while playing at night” (these are my characterisations, of course, not Razer's). Superman would be proud to use this one on the Sun's surface.
As with all modern Razer gaming keyboards the Ultimate also plays home to five macro keys on the left, programmable through Razer's Synapse software. Such software has its ups and downs, but the main problem I have found compared to other macro-able mechanical keyboards is that Razer insists on their profiles being saved to the cloud, thus making it very problematic for moving around. Want to show your friend your new Ultimate keyboard at their place? You'll need Razer Synapse installed to have the profiles functioning correctly, and you'll need an account attached to a valid email.
The top row of function keys have secondary functions, activated by holding down a second key. There are the usual media-player control keys, a Game Mode key, a key for on-the-fly macro recording, one for adjusting backlight brightness, and one to put your computer into sleep mode. The keycap that activates these secondary functions is not backlit, but finding that is relatively easy thanks to the non-lit format.
One oddity: Rather than lighting up circular LEDs to inform you that something like Game Mode or Caps Lock is active, the BlackWidow Ultimate lights up icons. Caps Lock, for instance, gets a “C”, while Game Mode gets a “G” with a crosshair. Housing these icons beneath the plastic top, however, renders them blurry and difficult to see when viewed from behind the keyboard.
The keyboard’s cable sheath is braided, ending in a hard-rubber joint where it connects to the keyboard that will prove to be very difficult in tangling. On the other end are two USB plugs and 1/8-inch cables for a headphone and mic. The keyboard itself has audio and mic jacks on its top-right side, plus one USB port. Testing the USB port, both USB2 and USB3 were functional, with enough power being given to support a USB3 1TB portable HDD.
In the end, the BlackWidow isn't a bad keyboard, far from it in fact. For the more pro player it is definitely recommended to try out some of the other more dominant mechanical brands, but for those looking for entry level mechanical keyboards this is definitely one to check out. With its sturdy build, bright lights and accessible buttons, the Razer BlackWidow Ultimate is a perfect accessory to anyone's gaming needs, and priced reasonably so.
Pros:
Cons:Extremely sturdy build Audio/Mic and USB jacks are extremely handy Razer Green switches are perfect for touch-and-go gaming but...
not that great for anything other than gaming Green backlit can be extremely blinding at high settings, meaning gaming in the dark is not preferable Dealing with Razer Synapse can be a pain when setting up profiles/macros
Please note: Our Razer BlackWidow 2014 Keyboard was provided to us by Razer for review purposes.
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