Razer Blackwidow Review

On October 08 2010 06:27 semantics wrote:
Pretty now shitty looking with grime all over it's gloss 2 months later.

On October 08 2010 06:31 semantics wrote:
:D yeah but most people don't take the time to wipe it off daily which will prevent the build up that becomes a pain to remove.

On October 08 2010 06:37 Skuller wrote:
Just out of curiousity, where'd you order it from? The site says that it goes on sale on the 13th.

On October 08 2010 07:03 jimminy_kriket wrote:
Are these available in stores yet?

On October 08 2010 07:36 Combine wrote:
I got mine yesterday. Was surprised when it said it was shipping. Agreeing on all points on your review, I can't ever go type on a normal keyboard again. These just feel so crisp and easy to type on/game on, compared to the squishyness of dome keyboards. You can feel the tactile bump really well, and I personally love the clickyness of the blue switches.

Also, getting a f key instead of a 9 key is odd. I have the actual 9 key, no weird F key in the place of it. Guess just a mix up in the building of it.

On October 08 2010 07:54 Itazy wrote:


Not sure, but you can try giving your local retailer a call :O




Yeah yo i guess you had yours preordered? This one happened to ship from Canada (kinda odd i guess they really ran outa supply fast) so took a while to get to me, i like that word crisp haha, it definitely feels crisp, and is so much easier to press than dome keys. I enjoy the clickyness also, but spamming can get loud lol

And definitely a mix up with the 9 key, its pretty funny i didn't even notice it until i started taking pictures

On October 08 2010 07:55 Combine wrote:

Yeah, I pre-ordered like a day before they sold out. I was like ah, what the hell the price is good and I've been wanting a mechanical keyboard. Buy it, go to bed. Wake up and see them sold out. I wasn't expecting it to get shipped yet, was waiting for the 13th, but a pleasant surprise to get it this fast. Mine also got shipped from Canada.

I was kind of worried about the printing on the keys, but they are such great quality, and I love the texture on the keys. Glad I didn't drop 50$ more just for some back lit keys and extra ports.

On October 08 2010 08:07 PackofHighly wrote:
I just got mine today. Was on the razer store oct. 1st noticed they were in stock and shipping (while the ultimate was still marked pre-order) so I ordered it and it arrived today.

Mine arrived the F7 key was pulled off, but just sitting loosely in its position. I put it back on, but it doesn't seem to fully re-attach because it pulls off easy with no tension, while the rest of the keys have tension to them when attached.

I called razer support and they were shocked I had a BW and said it hadn't even officially launched yet.

They want to RMA the whole keyboard over the F7 key which is pretty amazing I gotta say. I hate to send this board back but I think a replacement will be better in the long run.

As my first mechanical keyboard (not counting the one my father had that I can't remember using as a 1 year old lol) I am hooked for life. I'll never use a membrane keyboard again. The tactile response is a spectacular aid.

Definitely not worth the extra cost just for the back lighting, but the standard edition represents a great value among mechanical keyboards alone while adding gaming features.

On October 08 2010 08:14 Combine wrote:
But yeah, compared to the other mechanical keyboards that are around ~$110 (no backlighting either)the 80$ price tag was a no brainer. Guess razer are able to mass produce them easier, and able to make the price go down.

Just looked at the site, apparently the 80$ version is on back order now, and they're not shipping more till 10/29. Ouch.

On October 08 2010 08:33 viraltouch wrote:
would be nice if anyone who has used filco/daskey review this board i comparison...
been thinking about getting filco keyboard for awhile now...

On October 08 2010 08:49 crms wrote:
I think I'll be picking one of these up soon. Thanks for the review, looks like the exact style keyboard I prefer for a decent price. thx op!

On October 09 2010 02:10 DivinO wrote:
Looks beautiful. What's the difference between a mechanical and a normal keyboard?

On October 09 2010 02:10 DivinO wrote:
Looks beautiful. What's the difference between a mechanical and a normal keyboard?

On October 09 2010 02:18 Adeeler wrote:
Anyone with this do you know if you can easily switch the blue switches for browns? i.e. say you wanted to only switch certain keys with browns i.e. the left side of your keyboard could you do with without any real hassle?

On October 09 2010 01:39 G_Wen wrote:
It'd be interesting to see how well the keyboard holds up after a few months of use. I'm glad you enjoy it. I know this was mentioned in the review but I feel it needs to be stressed that the keys are really, really loud compared to membrane or the cherry browns.

I'm not sure why Razer would choose to go with the blues over the browns since blues can have a problem with not registering a double tap due to the release point being above the operating point:

While the browns don't have this issue:


Not too big of a deal since starcraft doesn't demand as much rapid double tapping as Unreal or stepmania ect...

Still grats on the keyboard, looking forward to a follow up.

On October 09 2010 02:18 Adeeler wrote:
Anyone with this do you know if you can easily switch the blue switches for browns? i.e. say you wanted to only switch certain keys with browns i.e. the left side of your keyboard could you do with without any real hassle?

On October 09 2010 02:43 RotterdaM wrote:
been using it for a while now, I like it

On October 09 2010 05:25 Kvz wrote:
i received an email saying the razer blackwidow ultimate was going to be delayed until nov. 28th. im sad now . anyone know if the steelseries 6gv2 is any good?

On October 09 2010 07:35 unfo wrote:
Does this keyboard have any sort of drain holes to let liquids that flow out at the bottom? The main source of keyboard deaths for me is me accidently dumping my drinks over them.. I was thinking about getting one of these, but I'd hate to ruin it with drink spillage.

On October 08 2010 08:33 viraltouch wrote:
would be nice if anyone who has used filco/daskey review this board i comparison...
been thinking about getting filco keyboard for awhile now...

On October 09 2010 07:35 unfo wrote:
Does this keyboard have any sort of drain holes to let liquids that flow out at the bottom? The main source of keyboard deaths for me is me accidently dumping my drinks over them.. I was thinking about getting one of these, but I'd hate to ruin it with drink spillage.

On October 09 2010 12:09 Raiznhell wrote:
just wondering but what makes this keyboard better than a basic dell keyboard from 6 years ago? XD

On October 09 2010 05:31 lethal111 wrote:


I have the Steelseries 6Gv2, and to be quite frankly, I like it, my first mechanical keyboard and its good.

On October 10 2010 06:06 Djzapz wrote:
Anyone knows if retailers are going to carry this?

On October 09 2010 12:50 CaptainFwiffo wrote:

Think of them as cars. Something like a Filco would be a nice luxury car, like a BMW or Mercedes - pricey, high performance, with an understated look and excellent fit and finish. A Black Widow would be something like a Camero - not quite so expensive, but still has some sporty performance and looks. A Topre is a Lotus - exotic and very expensive.

Your basic Dell keyboard is a Hoveround®.

On October 11 2010 02:52 city42 wrote:

That's a silly analogy because expensive cars are not made any better than your average Honda (in fact most have worse reliability). I assume people spend this much money on a keyboard because they have proven reliability and durability. It certainly can't be for performance, since my $6 keyboard has never inhibited me through thousands of BW ladder games over the years.

On October 11 2010 03:32 Gcubed wrote:


Its seems you have the term performance and reliability mixed up. A Ferrari will have 10 times the build quality of a Honda, and 10 times the performance. With that said a Honda can be be just as reliable because its not being cranked for maximum performance. That's why you hear stories of expensive fast cars being unreliable. What you don't hear about is all the idiots that blow up their Honda's trying to make them Ferrari's. So anyway you look at it a Ferrari is a much higher quality product.

Back on topic. Buyers of expensive gaming products aren't shopping first, and fore mostly for reliability. Their shopping for a product which will give them the competitive edge. That's not to say reliability and durability aren't important; performance, reliability, and durability are all necessary for a quality product. That being said the majority of people buy a mechanical keyboard for the performance, and feel; the durability, and reliability are just an added bonus.

On October 11 2010 04:02 city42 wrote:

Huh? A Ferrari does not have 10 times the build quality of a Honda. I don't even know where to begin if you think that's the case. The original S2000 was pushed to 120 hp/liter normally aspirated (highest in the world at the time it was manufactured) and suffered no loss of reliability in the powertrain compared to the less sporty models. Almost no Ferrari owners use it as their daily driver (mainly because of fuel economy and complete lack of ergonomic consideration), so the questionable build quality has fewer opportunities to be exposed. Most of the price of a Ferrari is the markup for the badge and high class image. The Nissan GT-R, for example, is on par performance-wise with any non-Enzo Ferrari (which costs $650k) while costing well under $100k and receiving rave reviews about its build quality.

Also, stop throwing random apostrophes at me.

edit: That's the last I will go off topic here, I just felt the need to dispel the nonsense put forth in that post.

On October 11 2010 06:37 Gcubed wrote:


Okay maybe like 15 times better. Listen, I'm no Honda fan boy like you that'll google his way through an forum debate, but an unbiased person would realize the fact of the matter, Ferrari is hands down a higher quality product than an Honda. You cant even argue against that, Honda themselves won't even argue against that. The S2k is an amazing car, my friend has a 2003, Ive driven it, I've drove in it and I've seen the many problems he's had with it (one of which was a faulty e-brake cable, causing the car to roll down the hill into a wall). Admitting none were from the engine, which is honestly a legendary engine. I'm assuming you've never seen the production of a Ferrari so I won't even continue but if you still think your right try finding people who have hands on experience with both cars, and then ask them. I'm sure you'll be able to put up a lot of facts.

I like how you point out why people don't drive Ferrari's daily when you clearly have no idea what your talking about. Why would gas prices concern a person driving a 200k car? And you say I'M posting nonsense

On October 11 2010 04:04 TheAngelofDeath wrote:
Thanks for the review. I might end up buying this now simply because of your review. Thanks man! :D

On October 11 2010 08:26 Skuller wrote: or whether the original user has the problems with the double tap of one key that is rumored to exist on blue switches.

On October 11 2010 09:38 Khul Sadukar wrote:
oh man I was waiting for this! Typical razer nvr sends me a notice when these things are on sale, only when a new product is a few mths from release.
Guess i'll order mine on backlog.

Tx for review!

Hope the lack of wrist rest won't be an issue.

On October 19 2010 17:01 Alpina wrote:
Hey, any of you using this keyboard didn't find it too loud?

I want to buy it and I like the clicky sound but we live 2 in one room, and I wondering maybe it will be exremely anoying for other people, ir is it just fine?

On October 21 2010 11:20 Chairman Ray wrote:
I'm not a big fan of blue switches, but how is the quality of that keyboard compared to the other razer keyboards? Razer has a really bad reputation for their crappy keyboards, but if this one is on par with steelseries and filco, I might try it out.

On October 21 2010 11:58 Monoxide wrote:
Are blue switches cheaper to produce compared to brown or black switches? If so, that might be one of the reason Razer decided on the blues? If not, then the probably opted for the blues because of the noise, signifying to their customers(most are non keyboard experts) that there is indeed a difference between this new mech keyboard and their previous ones. If Razer's blue switches are the same as Filco's blue switches, then Filco isn't going to sell anymore keyboards...(assuming that the Razer one is equally as fundamentally sound.)

On October 21 2010 13:01 Itazy wrote:


Sorry can't help you since this is the only Razer keyboard i own





Razer isn't producing its own switches and neither is Filco. They get them from Cherry. I'm almost sure that they didn't choose blues for their price. Blue switches are basically the same exact parts as browns just with a added mechanism to create a click. Filco will probably do less business with gamers, but the core keyboard enthusiast's are still going to invest in Filco, as it is the most trusted, and looked upon keyboard on the market.

On October 21 2010 14:14 Monoxide wrote:



Well, you're looking at razer's $80 vs filco's $109 for the same keys(assuming they are). Is there a reason razer can sell them for so much cheaper; assuming that razer likes maximum profit? Also, razer has macro keys which is a nice addition for gamers and certainly doesn't take away from the keyboard. Can it still be justified to get a filco?

On October 21 2010 14:14 Monoxide wrote:


Well, you're looking at razer's $80 vs filco's $109 for the same keys(assuming they are). Is there a reason razer can sell them for so much cheaper; assuming that razer likes maximum profit? Also, razer has macro keys which is a nice addition for gamers and certainly doesn't take away from the keyboard. Can it still be justified to get a filco?

On October 21 2010 18:54 vek wrote:


I've owned a Razer keyboard previously (Lycosa Mirror, $93) and if that is anything to go by the Black Widow is made by the same cheap feeling plastic. Sure the key switches are mechanical now but that is not all that makes a great keyboard...

I now own a Filco 104 with Cherry MX Browns and the thing is just built like a truck, it feels like a solid piece of machinery. The entire keyboard is backed by a solid metal plate so it doesn't flex or slide around your desk. Filco keyboards just ooze quality from any angle you take, they don't rely on poorly painted keys with backlights. They don't rely on glossy plastic - which was the worst thing about the Lycosa and I can't believe it's back. Razer gear is just cheap and nasty, it is all marketing and gimmicks.

If I sound like I am hating on Razer then you're spot on. I'm still pissed off at wasting $250+ AUD on:

- A crappy keyboard where the touch screen died 2 months after I bought it which meant I could not turn the backlight off and had to unplug it at night (quality and convenience++)

- An awful mouse that jumped everywhere because the firmware had a bug which apparently still hasn't been fixed, I don't really care because I donated it to a charity bin ages ago.

- A mousepad where the top layer of fabric wore out and started shitting black clumps of rubber all over my desk that cost FORTY THREE DOLLARS. I've had 25 cent made in china mouse pads last longer and work better.

"By gamers for gamers" is an absolute joke, Razer is cheap plastic trash rebadged and marketed to hell and back, there is nothing more to it. The worst part is I fell for the retarded marketing. At least I've learned my lesson but I still feel like an idiot even now.

Not all gamer targeted products are awful, the steelseries mousepad I currently have is excellent. I haven't tried their other products though and to be honest I probably won't now.

On October 22 2010 04:06 Monoxide wrote:
Is filco blues and the rk 900 basically the same board?

On November 06 2010 02:59 universalwill wrote:
I just got notification that mine has shipped today, so anyone who ordered in october should probably be getting today's shipment.

but damn i'm excited to get this thing. i've always wanted a good mechanical keyboard, and this seems like the first one with a better build quality that i can afford. i know some people seem to distrust razer, but i've had really good luck with razer products. the only razer product that has performed less than optimally for me was my deathadder after i dropped it down a flight of stairs. i got a salmosa after that because i was feeling cheap, but i ended up liking it more than the deathadder.

i agree that some of their stuff is pointless and overpriced, and i've heard of certain razer products being just being trash (mostly their headphones), but i've had good luck with them so far and i don't think they deserve all the hate they get.

On October 08 2010 06:28 Itazy wrote:


Not if you take 30 seconds a day to clean it off.

On October 22 2010 02:15 CaptainFwiffo wrote:
7) They might prefer a different layout, e.g. two-row enter key on the Steelseries, or a European or Asian layout.

On November 06 2010 18:36 Ryndika wrote:

There is no european version with Ö and Ä ?

My friend has gone through 2 death adders due to mouse feet wearing down

On November 07 2010 15:46 Tonykunn wrote:
@creamcorn

im not sure what pictures your looking at but it does have f1 and f2 keys

On October 22 2010 02:15 CaptainFwiffo wrote:
Aside from Razer's apparent QC issues, there are plenty of other features (or anti-features) of other mechanical keyboards (e.g. Filco, Steelseries, etc.) that might override the Black Widow's price advantage:

On November 07 2010 21:42 iPlaY.NettleS wrote:

If you want a cheap mechanical just get a Model M off ebay for <$30
Maybe it's nothing to do with price maybe they just prefer this board over filco? i know thats hard for some people to understand around here.

On November 08 2010 09:54 simme123 wrote:
To be honest I see no reason to get these high end keyboards the old ones are just as good imo and the antighosting or whatever it's called isn't really needed for rts.

On November 07 2010 23:28 N4zroth wrote:
I think about getting this keyboard, but there's one thing I want to know: Are the characters on the keys just printed / glued upon or are they nicely lasered?
Thanks :-)

On November 08 2010 09:48 Joementum wrote:
I bet you most people won't get the Model M just because of looks. I'll be one of the people that admits that they want a mechanical keyboard, but don't want it to look outdated (purely my opinion). I bought a BlackWidow because it was the cheapest option for a mechanical keyboard that looked good. Maybe next time I'll get a Filco, but right now, $40 more for a keyboard wasn't gona happen.

On November 08 2010 16:19 iPlaY.NettleS wrote:

It's function over form.
Like the blackwidow has that shiny surface that looks great , until you get fingerprints all over it the first time you use it.Then you have to clean it after every time you use it so it still looks good? lol no thanks not for me.

On November 08 2010 16:14 iPlaY.NettleS wrote:
ahh lasered , filcos are only glued (pad printed)
For the price they charge for the filco it should be laser etched at the least if not inked

On November 08 2010 17:58 Uninstall wrote:
it also have the windows key i'll take the tenkeyless filco over it any day though. the razer is just unnecessarily huge.

On November 08 2010 20:15 vek wrote:
Source:
http://geekhack.org/showwiki.php?title=Das S Lasered Keys Versus Filco Pad Printed - FIGHT

Laser etching does win the sandblaster abrasion test but really... Both tests are extreme conditions that your keyboard will/should never be subjected to. Both the laser etched and filco protective coated keys will last a very long time.
]

On November 08 2010 23:50 CaptainFwiffo wrote:
The problem is that there aren't that many materials that fit the manufacturing requirements of keyboards (in terms of cost, weight, ability to be molded, not too much expansion/shrinkage, won't change physical properties over time) and are so wear resistant that they won't eventually become shiny.

Backlit keyboards are often worse (particularly those with rubberized coatings); the black coating can be thin or not very wear-resistant, so you can wear right through it quickly, so your keys just have light blobs in the middle of them instead of nice lettering.

However, keycaps can be replaced if you find they are too worn after a few years of use.

On November 09 2010 02:32 Kinky wrote:
I saw that video a while ago and there's no possible way that guy didn't abuse the crap out of his keyboard. I mean look at the space bar, it looks like someone purposely scratched off the coating.

On November 11 2010 06:08 Kambing wrote:
The one gripe I have right now is that it turns out that I use my pinky finger as my guide when I cross the keyboard with my left-hand. Namely, to return to home position, I normally latch my finger on caps lock. Unfortunately, the macro keys on the left-hand side of the keyboard that I have little intention of ever using are there, so my pinky natural falls on them when returning my hand to home position. The result is that I am consistently off-by-one on my keys when a starcraft 2 game picks up.

On November 11 2010 06:28 Zingerac wrote:

How hard would it be to just pop the macro keys out?

On November 11 2010 06:33 Rayven wrote:
Not sure if it's been asked, but it's too much effort to read through 7 pages.

I've read that it has no N key rollover (registers multiple key presses). Is this true? And if so, surely that makes it an awful keyboard for gaming?

On November 11 2010 06:33 Rayven wrote:
Not sure if it's been asked, but it's too much effort to read through 7 pages.

I've read that it has no N key rollover (registers multiple key presses). Is this true? And if so, surely that makes it an awful keyboard for gaming?

On November 11 2010 06:33 universalwill wrote:
yeah i too had that initial problem with my hands always returning to the caps lock key instead of A, and my pinky was going to M5 when i meant for it to go to control, but i've been typing on this keyboard almost nonstop for the past 6 hours, and i'm not doing it anymore. it's just one of those small things that will take a day or two to get used to.

On November 12 2010 08:04 Crensh wrote:
I'm also a big fan of Unreal Tournament games so the increased difficulty to double tap 'WASD' keys to jump when compared to Cherry MX Black switches will be a bit of a problem, but for the price this thing is at its a good deal.

These things are going fast, have been unable to find one in several weeks.

On November 12 2010 09:29 Kambing wrote:


I actually found double tapping on my blackwidow (blue switches) to be easier than double tapping on my 6gv2 (black switches). In general, I found blacks to be more fatiguing on my fingers than blues. This is probably because without feedback, I tended to bottom out on blacks on almost every stroke whereas I was able to minimally apply pressure with the blues because of the bump and click. I never had any of the "double tap" problems that people talk about with my blackwidow.

On November 12 2010 09:59 Char711 wrote:

Because of the "double tap" and the type of fatigue you're talking about, people generally say that brown switches are the best, especially for RTS. Blacks are usually used for FPS gamers. Browns are widely held to have the best of all worlds.

Of course, preferences. Browns are what I'm getting when I buy my Filco, though.

On November 12 2010 10:16 Kambing wrote:


Yeah, after my blackwidow, I'm convinced that blues or browns are the way to go. Coincidentally, they're also infinitely more pleasurable to type on which is icing on the cake for me since I spend all my time at my computer anyways.

On November 14 2010 08:50 Kinky wrote:
Are you sure? It says In Stock when I check it on Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/Razer-BlackWidow-Mechanical-Gaming-Keyboard/dp/B003ZJ1VD8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1289692209&sr=8-1

Unless you mean the ultimate version, which is still delayed till the end of the month.

On November 14 2010 11:13 Djzapz wrote:

Right but I have to order through Amazon.ca which doesn't have it =(

Here: http://www.amazon.ca/Razer-BlackWidow-Mechanical-Gaming-Keyboard/dp/B003ZJ1VD8/ref=pd_cp_sw_1

On November 14 2010 15:11 Kinky wrote:

Ahh, I see. They should have it in stock within the next week, since all the suppliers are slowly getting in their shipments this weekend it seems.

On November 14 2010 19:30 JoLanTru wrote:
I have the G110, Love it. (It's the keyboard he's comparing it with.)

On November 15 2010 06:40 Kinky wrote:

If you're talking about the guy in the Amazon review, he clearly doesn't understand what a mechanical keyboard is. It sounds like a huge troll.

On November 15 2010 07:02 semantics wrote:

Most reviews esp non article reviews on sites are not done by people who are fair or understand what they have. Hell even the good review on the keyboard shows bias in the opposite direction, the keyboard doesn't use MX blues...

For fps gaming i rather use a G110 then a mech keyboard that and mmos i rather have a membrane keyboard, i don't need tactile feedback when it comes to prolonged pushing down a keys.

On November 15 2010 12:55 Djzapz wrote:
Amazon.ca displays available in 1 to 2 months now hopefully that's wrong...

Me so sad.

On November 16 2010 01:40 Kinky wrote:

That's what it said on Amazon.com a week ago Keep hoping!

On December 02 2010 19:59 NeVeR wrote:
Hmm, seems like a rip-off to me. I'll stick with my good ol' SEM DT-35.

On December 03 2010 07:06 Jtn wrote:
I just bought mine 2 days ago and it is a complete DREAM to type on. Such a good upgrade from my Logitech G15. I think people who say the Blue switches are too loud are a bit over exaggerating. It's not loud at all unless you share the room with someone else. My only complaint about the actual keyboard itself is that the glossy part by the wrist area gets smudged easily, but nothing a quick wipe can't fix.

On December 09 2010 13:30 DueleR wrote:
I have both a blackwidow and a filco with cherry blues, and they feel very different.

the blackwidow keys are easier to depress. that is, the actuation force is definitely not the same between the two keyboards even though they're both supposed to be 50g, and overall the blackwidow's keys themselves feel cheaper/less solid than the filco.

also, although i've had good experiences with razer in the past (own two mice + a mousepad from them), the blackwidow shipped with like ~7 or 8 keys that had somehow fallen off during shipping. I was able to put most of them back on, except one of the macro keys was actually chipped/broken and wouldn't re-attach. too lazy to get it replaced though and I don't intend to use the macro key anyway. Just a heads up.

Anyway, after I got the blackwidow i used it for a few days and then switched back to my filco. At 80$, it's a solid value, but the filco just felt a lot more comfortable to me.

On December 09 2010 16:58 Barett wrote:
With No Anti-ghosting on this keyboard I dont see how people could recommend it so highly. Shure the price point is good, but Anti-Ghosting is very important for a keyboard.
I decided to buy the Rosewill Rk-9000 with cherry Blue switches, cause the Filco boards are not being shipped anymore.

On December 09 2010 13:58 FrankWalls wrote:


yeah the filco and das are pretty clearly the better built keyboards if you have the money. The BW is good for poor people like me :D

On December 09 2010 18:32 indiehjaerta wrote:
Can't understand how Razer can have such a problem delvering these, I've had mine ordered for almost half a month and now I hear rumours about January 2011 in Europe.

On December 09 2010 16:58 Barett wrote:
With No Anti-ghosting on this keyboard I dont see how people could recommend it so highly. Shure the price point is good, but Anti-Ghosting is very important for a keyboard.
I decided to buy the Rosewill Rk-9000 with cherry Blue switches, cause the Filco boards are not being shipped anymore.

On December 10 2010 05:18 rbkl wrote:
I hear that these are not NKRO, confirm?

On December 10 2010 05:24 Stoids wrote:

It is 2KRO

On December 10 2010 05:18 rbkl wrote:
I hear that these are not NKRO, confirm?

On December 14 2010 05:39 Enervate wrote:
Newegg actually has this keyboard for 56 bucks right now with coupon code RAZER1213. This is actually a pretty good deal for anyone looking for a cheap mechanical keyboard.

On December 14 2010 06:02 flying_moose wrote:


Promo also gives $26 off on the ultimate version, bringing it down to $103. Still too expensive for what backlit keys should cost though..

On December 10 2010 05:18 rbkl wrote:
I hear that these are not NKRO, confirm?

On December 14 2010 07:13 peekn wrote:



For anyone who plays and sort of rhythm game I wouldn't buy this keyboard, you can only press two arrow keys at once making some songs impossible to pass.

On December 14 2010 07:05 holynorth wrote:
My Ultimate edition should be here tomorrow. I'll edit this post tomorrow with a review.

On December 14 2010 11:15 Hokay wrote:
I just received my BW today and so far I'm not really impressed. This is my first mechnical keyboard and it feels great to type on, but I think Razer just totally fucked up on the layout of keys. It's more of a fps keyboard and awful for RTS games IMO. I'll give it time to adjust to the new layout but atm my muscle memory is screwed up and I'm hating every moment while playing SC2. My apm dropped and I'm losing more games trying to adjust.

Stuff I don't like:

- I'm making more mistakes in general with the hotkeys. I keep hitting ` instead of 1 for some reason and other stuff like upgrading hallucination instead of warpage which was a first today. It is annoying and I'm not sure why I'm doing this. Could it be BW key layouts and size (I think it's farther apart than most normal keyboards).

-Capslock key could use an indent to help prevent accidental pushes. I hit caps instead of A when attack moving sometimes. My other keyboard didn't have an indent yet I don't make that mistake with it. It's weird on the BW and could probably benefit from an indent.

- For some reason hitting the ESC button quickly to cancel buildings feel weird. Sometimes I hit that big empty zone between esc and F1 . Atm it feels awkward.

- The f1 keys shifted to the right is really stupid. I could imagine warcraft 3 players hating this keyboard since they use F1-F3 for heroes a lot. It feels weird and farther apart to hit quickly. F1 keys farther from the left hand side of the board is bad. If it ain't broken don't fix it.

- This is my first keyboard with macros and I must say I hate them. They just get in the way of where I usually rest my hands. Instead of quickly hitting ctrl I have to be cautious not to hit the macro key. I wish I could cut that part of the keyboard off. I thought it wouldn't be a problem but it is. Never again will I consider a keyboard with macros on the left side.

I have 60 days to return this and just might get the rosewill keyboard, a simple yet efficient design. I only bought the BW because it was cheaper. I'm also wondering about brown switches now. Even though the switches on this keyboard is an improvement over my old keyboard, blue switches just seem meh even, though I never tried any other color switches..

On December 14 2010 14:28 klonoakun wrote:
Marquise, when did you order yours? i ordered at the razer store.....

On December 05 2010 08:10 Schamus wrote:
Yeah I just received my keyboard, but unfortunately it does not recognize the multimedia buttons for Winamp.

Other than that, Kinky summed it up nicely; the keys are loud, but I love that actually; the macro buttons throw me off and I end up hitting the capslock a lot; unlike all other Razer keyboards (which I've only tried in passing) this feels a lot less "cheap".

I highly prefer it to my old keyboard, a lite-on POS.

On December 14 2010 14:28 klonoakun wrote:
Marquise, when did you order yours? i ordered at the razer store.....

On December 14 2010 18:27 Skuller wrote:
The buttons work as default media buttons. That means that a little extra work might be required to get them to work with your media player. (I use itunes, and I had to download an extra file to get the media buttons to work with itunes).

As for button placement, I've been playing a lot of computer games over the past couple of years. You get used to the button placement very easily. I don't know what it is about this keyboard, but I'm able to span almost the entire keyboard with one hand, which I was not able to do before. I can do ctrl-9 very easily with pinky and index finger. (And I think I have normal sized hands, I can't palm a basketball).

The Number Key Rollover has not been an issue with hours of testing in TF2, SC2, and other games. 2KRO sounds bad, but its got KRO where it counts which are the keys that are most used for gaming. I don't anticipate to be pressing "y" "o" and "n" at the same time in a gaming environment anytime soon.

I have a love hate relationship with the macros. I feel like I would love them if I found more uses for them, but until then, I hate them. I am using one button to switch between speakers and headphones.

In short, I love this keyboard. The build quality is great. For people interested in this keyboard, make sure that you get the opinions of those who already have it. A lot of posts in this thread are for people speculating.

On December 15 2010 05:37 FragKrag wrote:
The media keys on my MacBook Pro does not alter the volume of iTunes, it only alters the volume of the entire system, and I assume the Black Widow's media keys would work the same..?

On December 20 2010 07:17 klonoakun wrote:
getting mine tomorrow, im gonna macro the shift and p thats for sure

On December 20 2010 08:30 CuttyFlam wrote:


Watch out with that, could cost you your account, people have been banned from bnet before cause they used macro keys. Just sayin..

On December 14 2010 05:39 Enervate wrote:
Newegg actually has this keyboard for 56 bucks right now with coupon code RAZER1213. This is actually a pretty good deal for anyone looking for a cheap mechanical keyboard.