Razer Blackwidow Ultimate
This past week I purchased a Razer Blackwidow Ultimate. So far its turned out to be a pretty bad-ass keyboard and much better than my old Logitech G15. That is a bold statement from me since my past two keyboards for my gaming rig have been Logitech G15s; I’ve owned both a 1st generation and a, frankly crappier, 2nd generation. However, a few years ago I started to move back to mechanical keyboards… something that I hadn’t used since the mid-nineties.
My first major foray into the world of 21st-Century mechanical keyboards was the Das Keyboard. I purchased this for typing purposes and holy moly its been the best keyboard I’ve ever owned. My only gripe with the Das Keyboard that I have are that it doesn’t have media keys, but since I mostly do my typing and personal programming projects on my Macintosh that hasn’t really been much of an issue.
I started doing mild gaming on my Das Keyboard when my gaming rig was out of operation due to some CPU cooler troubles. I use the Das Keyboard on my Mac so I was able to play Quake and Starcraft but not much else. I quickly fell in love with it.
Then, two weeks ago when I was in Microcenter purchasing a new mousepad and headset, I saw the Razer Blackwidow Ultimate and that it was a mechanical gaming keyboard. Not only that, but it was a gaming keyboard with the high quality and low actuation Cherry MX Blue switches. I almost bought it right then and there, but I said “Nah, I really don’t need that” and moved on.
That lasted 7 days and I was back in Microcenter buying it, and I am so glad I did.
The Blackwidow so far has been one of the better keyboards I’ve ever owned. Its a treat to type on and its absolutely incredible for gaming. I actually like typing on it a little better than on my Das Keyboard. I see why so many people love the CherryMX switches now. The typing feels a bit lighter than the Das Keyboard but it still has that tactile feedback as well as the nice click which is exactly what I want for gaming. Additionally it is backlit, has media keys, and has a “Gaming Mode” to disable the Windows key like the Logitech G15.
That said, its not perfect, and there are some things that I’ve noticed after using it for a few days which are gripes. Nothing I can’t get over… but issues none the less:
- Only one Windows key. I don’t always use only the left side Windows key; often I use the right side key as well, so this will take some adjusting for me.
- It has a function key… All of the media keys, the backlight key, the sleep key all are FN modified keys. This might actually be good in the long run, since my second generation G15’s media keys wore out pretty bad over time, but its annoying none the less since its not the easiest to advance a track now when I’m playing Starcraft.
- Only 5 dedicated macro keys. I really wish that it had more, but unlike the Logitech G15 you can technically make any key a macro key. Still, its frustrating since I use the macro keys for everything from starting frequently used programs to rebinding the F6+ keys in SC2 so they’re closer to my left hand.
- No LCD display. That LCD has always been surprisingly useful. That said, I have a G13 which is always plugged in and that also has a LCD so this shouldn’t be a huge issue.
Besides those four points, the keyboard is really solid. This is the first Razer keyboard that I’ve tried and liked which I think is a big deal. I do hope that Logitech can get their acts together and maybe make a G15 (or G19) with mechanical keys, or even just a G13 with mechanical keys, but the Blackwidow is definitely an excellent keyboard and I don’t think I’ll be replacing it for a few years.
So, if you like mechanical keyboards and want to get a mechanical gaming keyboard, I think the Blackwidow is probably your best bet at the moment, and I strongly recommend it.
