Blackwidow ultimate review

[H3CT1C]

I recently purchased the black widow ultimate as my first mechanical keyboard, and while i will admit that it may not be the best keyboard i do believe that most reviews are very biased either towards razer or against razer, i myself have never purchased another razer product so i'm pretty neutral and i decided to make my first post and heck why not make it a review.

First off ill list the pros:
- the keyboard is quite heavy which prevents it from moving around and the feel of the board feels solid, i'm not talking about internally but at least from holding the keyboard it feels like everything was put together nice and tight.
- keycaps have almost no wiggle
- the wire is quite thick and braided so no knotting nor will it easily break.
- F1-F8 server as media player buttons when hitting the fn key, took up no extra space and is convenient
- LED's can get pretty bright which is great.

cons:
- Each row of keys has a different sound, the number line will sound different than the keys at the bottom like z through m, and this is for every row
- glossiness is usually a known issue because of fingerprints (oddly enough, i purchased the dragon age edition because it was on sale for about $89 and then another 10 dollar mail in rebate and i don't know why i think it may be because there's a design and its not quite as glossy as the regular it either doesn't get fingerprints or there just not noticeable at all)
- Macro keys on the side throw off your hand placement that i had to remove the keycaps and thankfully this solved that problem, but it makes the board slightly larger than it would have to be.
- F keys are shifted to the side and may be confusing at first but i quickly adjusted to it
------------ Very important con, this board can be hit or miss which is an issue but a review should not be based on a defected board, my brother first ordered the board and the R key was not responding, i believe it was disabled in the software and he never checked it but regardless, some people receive a defected board and write an angry review. ---------------

My board fortunately had no hardware issues or keys touching but please do not write a review for any product when it has a defect, unless it happens with every 9 out of 10 boards then please say something about it but when you write about a defect you are ignoring the product itself and listing faults that are not supposed to be there, pretty much if the company recognizes it as an issue and will fix it for you, do not base a review off of it!!

NKRO IS OVERRATED

While i do believe that NKRO is something that pretty much every keyboard should have and especially if its mechanical, i only believe that because it more of a why not type of thing. I play lots of games (starcraft, counter strike 1.6 and source, dota series, battlefield 3 and diablo) and type a lot aswell and i have never had a problem with keys not registering, the only game i can think of that nkro would be good is in a game like dj max. Nobody i know has ever complained of ghosting keys and the only place that might even happen would be around gaming keys like the wasd area, so if somebody could actually provide me a reason why NKRO is actually needed and not preferred please list it. I personally do not need it and nor have i ever needed NKRO. An example that i can think of is like cars coming with spare tires, not everyone is gonna end up needing the spare tire but some people will, however even though not everyone will definitely need a spare every car should still come with it as a just in case. NKRO is not needed by everybody but its something that all keyboards should come with, thats my opinion atleast.

this i my only mechanical keyboard aside from typing on the Meka G1at compusa but that was only briefly, so i tried not to compare it to other keyboards as much as possible, if there is anything you believe is wrong please comment and i will comment back.


Overall i love the board and i would recommend it to someone if they want back lighting, i know about 6 people with it also and they all like it. once you get a board that is fully functioning i believe its fine and seems like a solid keyboard



pictures with descriptions





[ Attachment Invalid Or Does Not Exist ] 44132[/ATTACH]
as you can see the tabs look rather weak and one end of it is extremely thin, from the pictures atleast, the ones from wasd seem thicker but im not sure



[ Attachment Invalid Or Does Not Exist ] 44134[/ATTACH]
[ Attachment Invalid Or Does Not Exist ] 44133[/ATTACH]
the middle pad indeed touches the table, and im not pressing down or putting weight on the keyboard


[ Attachment Invalid Or Does Not Exist ] 44135[/ATTACH]
the front of the keyboard protrudes a bit further from the board so it may seem like the middle is higher but its not, if you look at the keys they are all leveled



[ Attachment Invalid Or Does Not Exist ] 44136[/ATTACH]
[ Attachment Invalid Or Does Not Exist ] 44137[/ATTACH]

the same spot on the cable bent and then stretched out again, easily went straight again



[ Attachment Invalid Or Does Not Exist ] 44138[/ATTACH]

led's on the macro keys


[ Attachment Invalid Or Does Not Exist ] 44139[/ATTACH]

full board with leds on (dont know if you would notice anyways but the gloss is slightly different and theres no fingerprints, im guessing its because theres design so it hides the prints and dust but im not sure)



http://imgur.com/a/5zpDb#6
full album, some extra photos

[thegunner100]

Welcome to GH! And thanks for the review.

"Each row of keys has a different sound, the number line will sound different than the keys at the bottom like z through m, and this is for every row"

So much for Razer "cherry picking" their switches :rofl:

[H3CT1C]

well the strange thing is i don't think its the switches, i think it has the do with the backplate or whatever either that or the height of the keys, but its not single keys its the whole row even the number pad, it doesn't really feel different, i think its just the sound thats why i dont think its the keys. the cherry picking party though im pretty sure we all smelled the bull**** from a mile away and i never really believed in that. something else i would like to add

the tabs on the space bar are a bit thinner than the ones you can buy on wasd not just the metal bar but the tabs they connect to.

[Human]

I recently purchased the black widow ultimate as my first mechanical keyboard, and while i will admit that it may not be the best keyboard i do believe that most reviews are very biased either towards razer or against razer, i myself have never purchased another razer product so i'm pretty neutral and i decided to make my first post and heck why not make it a review.

First off ill list the pros:
- the keyboard is quite heavy which prevents it from moving around and the feel of the board feels solid, i'm not talking about internally but at least from holding the keyboard it feels like everything was put together nice and tight.
- keycaps have almost no wiggle
- the wire is quite thick and braided so no knotting nor will it easily break.
- F1-F8 server as media player buttons when hitting the fn key, took up no extra space and is convenient
- LED's can get pretty bright which is great.

cons:
- Each row of keys has a different sound, the number line will sound different than the keys at the bottom like z through m, and this is for every row
- glossiness is usually a known issue because of fingerprints (oddly enough, i purchased the dragon age edition because it was on sale for about $89 and then another 10 dollar mail in rebate and i don't know why i think it may be because there's a design and its not quite as glossy as the regular it either doesn't get fingerprints or there just not noticeable at all)
- Macro keys on the side throw off your hand placement that i had to remove the keycaps and thankfully this solved that problem, but it makes the board slightly larger than it would have to be.
- F keys are shifted to the side and may be confusing at first but i quickly adjusted to it
------------ Very important con, this board can be hit or miss which is an issue but a review should not be based on a defected board, my brother first ordered the board and the R key was not responding, i believe it was disabled in the software and he never checked it but regardless, some people receive a defected board and write an angry review. ---------------

My board fortunately had no hardware issues or keys touching but please do not write a review for any product when it has a defect, unless it happens with every 9 out of 10 boards then please say something about it but when you write about a defect you are ignoring the product itself and listing faults that are not supposed to be there, pretty much if the company recognizes it as an issue and will fix it for you, do not base a review off of it!!

NKRO IS OVERRATED

While i do believe that NKRO is something that pretty much every keyboard should have and especially if its mechanical, i only believe that because it more of a why not type of thing. I play lots of games (starcraft, counter strike 1.6 and source, dota series, battlefield 3 and diablo) and type a lot aswell and i have never had a problem with keys not registering, the only game i can think of that nkro would be good is in a game like dj max. Nobody i know has ever complained of ghosting keys and the only place that might even happen would be around gaming keys like the wasd area, so if somebody could actually provide me a reason why NKRO is actually needed and not preferred please list it. I personally do not need it and nor have i ever needed NKRO

this i my only mechanical keyboard aside from typing on the Meka G1at compusa but that was only briefly, so i tried not to compare it to other keyboards as much as possible, if there is anything you believe is wrong please comment and i will comment back.

Heavy? 90% of plated mounted keyboard out there(even those TKL) are heavier than it. Also thanks to the poor built of it. The keyboard flex at the center and the feet at the center almost serving no purposes(floating).
No wiggle? You must be testing it wrong... Not only do the stem wiggle(normal for cherry board) but the whole switches wiggle quite vigorously, if needed I shall post the video of it in future.
Yar yar, and any sharp "bent" you made on the braided cable will be a permanent unrecoverable bent...
Ok, only if I will ever memorize all the location/shortcut of those media keys.
Cool, I need a bright LED so I can watch the LED on my kb while watching my LCD screen. Oh wait, I can't do that...

Not only each row having different sounds. Even some adjacent keys are having different sounds.

You doesn't need NKRO doesn't mean other 99.99% of population out there don't need it. It can be particularly useful/needed for some cases(mostly on games). Also, at least they should provide 6KRO(solved in their stealth version) instead of 2KRO.

Seriously, you should get your hand on other "proper" mechanical keyboard and you will realise how solidly built other keyboards are compared to BWU.

If you done a throughout check on the KB, there probably lots more flaws you can find on it(provided you are not a razer fanboi who easily blinded by the bling bling snake logo).

[H3CT1C]

I am pressing on the center of the keyboard and it is not flexing at all, the feet at the center im not really sure what u mean, the one at the bottom center?

http://www.geek.com/articles/games/review-filco-majestouch-keyboard-2010045/ tkl weight= 2.6 p
http://reviews.cnet.com/keyboards/filco-camo-majestouch-2/4505-3134_7-35137461.html full size weight= 2 pounds 10 ounces
One is the tkl and the other is fullsize, the razer website says the bwu weighs about 3.31 filco is usually the recommended keyboard here so that would be considered heavy,

As i said i used the meka g1 and those keys wobbled more, but i dont know if that is a good keyboard to compare to. however with the way these keys are they feel very stable, if you need keycaps as stable as the rock of gibraltar then thats a different issue, the keycaps dont wiggle like ur tryign to make them out

I dont move my keyboard so i dont really pay full attention to the keybaord but i just moved it and i guess if you pull it super sharply that may happen but for me thers no "unrecoverable bends"

Your last two points are completely based on preference and i wont really go over that because of it

"I personally do not need it and nor have i ever needed NKRO" i explicitly state that i don't feel the need for it, u fully understand there's games that may need it i even listed dj max. But sometimes NKRO is treated as the end all specification and i don't think it should be like that because some people never take advantage of it.

Your comment had little factual evidence and was completely filled with biased opinions that are displayed clearly in your last two points, another point i would like to make is that you state "proper" mechanical keyboard by that i assume u mean a leopold or filco and that's the issue, people paint the blackwidow to have a terrible picture and it isn't but its rather that the filco and leopold are excellent keyboards, compare it to cars honda isnt a bad company but it cant be compared to mercedez. For the price i believe the blackwidow is a great keyboard, especialyl the regular one, not the ultimate the reason  igot this one was because of the sale.

however another con i would like to point out that i forgot was that for the font, the E 3 w and m key all have the same letter just different orientation so that may bother some people

[Human]

I am pressing on the center of the keyboard and it is not flexing at all, the feet at the center im not really sure what u mean, the one at the bottom center?

http://www.geek.com/articles/games/review-filco-majestouch-keyboard-2010045/ tkl weight= 2.6 p
http://reviews.cnet.com/keyboards/filco-camo-majestouch-2/4505-3134_7-35137461.html full size weight= 2 pounds 10 ounces
One is the tkl and the other is fullsize, the razer website says the bwu weighs about 3.31 filco is usually the recommended keyboard here so that would be considered heavy,

As i said i used the meka g1 and those keys wobbled more, but i dont know if that is a good keyboard to compare to. however with the way these keys are they feel very stable, if you need keycaps as stable as the rock of gibraltar then thats a different issue, the keycaps dont wiggle like ur tryign to make them out

I dont move my keyboard so i dont really pay full attention to the keybaord but i just moved it and i guess if you pull it super sharply that may happen but for me thers no "unrecoverable bends"

Your last two points are completely based on preference and i wont really go over that because of it

"I personally do not need it and nor have i ever needed NKRO" i explicitly state that i don't feel the need for it, u fully understand there's games that may need it i even listed dj max. But sometimes NKRO is treated as the end all specification and i don't think it should be like that because some people never take advantage of it.

Your comment had little factual evidence and was completely filled with biased opinions that are displayed clearly in your last two points, another point i would like to make is that you state "proper" mechanical keyboard by that i assume u mean a leopold or filco and that's the issue, people paint the blackwidow to have a terrible picture and it isn't but its rather that the filco and leopold are excellent keyboards, compare it to cars honda isnt a bad company but it cant be compared to mercedez. For the price i believe the blackwidow is a great keyboard, especialyl the regular one, not the ultimate the reason  igot this one was because of the sale.

however another con i would like to point out that i forgot was that for the font, the E 3 w and m key all have the same letter just different orientation so that may bother some people

If you need the proof/evidence of flaws, you can go dig around. There should be plenty of it(around a year ago, not sure now still can be found). If needed, I shall post mine when I am free(it is 2am night at my place now, so not possible for me to do it now).

For the flexing part, I mean the keyboard by default flex like "n" shape(upwards), which made the center of keyboard off ground.

Also, may be you can try to remove the keycaps(do it at your own risk as Razer say do so equal to void warranty and the keycaps' stem are easily broken) and try to shake/move the switches itself.

For your price paid, there are better options out there(Rosewill and so on).

[H3CT1C]

this post is alot more sensible and less aggressive than your first post and thus makes more sense. well the feet at the center of the bottom of the keyboard on mine contacts my table but it is not the best contact, about the flex i thought u meant downwards, however i turned mine to face me and i couldnt see it, is it the body that flexes up or the keys? if its the body maybe because its the dragon age it doesnt?

i have removed the keycaps a couple times and they actually dont seem to be weak


http://geekhack.org/showwiki.php?title=Island:13224   --"Here we have a Filco key on the left and a Blackwidow key on the right. The Blackwidow key is only the tiniest bit thicker, but even that little bit makes a difference! The keys are able to absorb a bit more of the switch's vibrations, so the clicky noise isn't as loud or harsh. To make sure this wasn't just becuase of the age of the switch, I moved a few Filco keycaps over - and sure enough the noise became harsher."
 
  As i said multiple times i dont have a comparison board, but the post states there apparently thicker, so thats the best i can give you on that part. mine wiggle but only the tiniest bit, i used the rosewill when i went to a lan center someone let me type on it, but the keys honestly dont wiggle much but i havent tried a filco or leopold so i dont really know how to rate it. i personally wanted the backlighting especially since some games i play have odd hotkeys that even though i memorized a keyboard layout i sometimes HAVE to look down and since i only have an 18.5 inch monitor it doesnt really provide much light for me.


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823201044
Even with the sale its 99 and this board came out to like 79.99 after the mir so even though the rosewill may be better the price was pretty damn good for this board. if it wasnt for the sale i prob would have gone with a filco, but that would have been like an extra 50 or 60 even for a wasd board.

[Human]

I will stop further explanation till I complete with the compilation of flaws. Stay tuned for it.

[H3CT1C]

ight, i would like to know what flaws are in the board, im not trying to defend my purchase, i just believe it is underrated but i would like to see your post because i probably am wrong about some things. thanks for taking the time to do that btw

[H3CT1C]

will post some picture soon

[jellowiggler]

It's fine board to start with.

The Mekka G1 is much better construction wise.  But you have decide what is more important to you.  Back lighting or super solid construction.  Macro keys vs no macro keys.  Blue switches vs black.

Most of this is personal preference.  There are better constructed boards out there though.

I would still be on a BWU if you could get the Stealth version in Canada without spending an arm and a leg.  I had no problems with the board besides the glossy plastic and the 2kro.

[H3CT1C]

i didnt get to use the meka too much, but while it did feel nice, i preferred the blues switches and i usually have the lights off in my room so the led's are nice but by no means a necessity and everyone please take a look at pictures that i just uploaded just in case anyone is going straight to the posts...

[Mugen]

Personally, i owned one and i dont like it.
the fact that the layout is different annoys me. i used multiple keyboards and each time i used the BW it took me 30 minutes to stop hitting the wrong buttons every word i wrote.
I think the price is too high for the quality of the keyboard, to the point where i'd prefer to add a few more bucks and get a ducky shine if backlighting is so important for you.
The weight is not that heavy, most solid metal plate keyboards are heavier.
in terms of QA - dont get me started there, just aweful. people have been changing 5 keyboard before getting one that doesnt have a major problem (like keys hitting the side of the board and stuff like that).
Dunno, maybe just a bad experience for me,

[H3CT1C]

the layout was frustrating at first and the main reason for it was the macro keys, they threw off my typing ridiculously but when i took them off it made me get accustomed faster, but it was annoying. the price im gonna refer to my previous references so for me that was a non existent issue tbh. I wasnt really trying to say the board is really heavy but instead that it wont move around. the Q and A is correct though, some people have all sorts of issues and then others like me haven't had any issues as of yet. its kinda hit and miss with it, it either works the way it should or theres a crucial error. They really should inspect it before they ship it out

[Human]

I am back. It took me few hours for all the compilation, editing and composing works... Here is it(of course not inclusive):

1. Sticky(stuck) keys:
Most commonly reported to occur at "X", "C", "Alt" and "Spacebar". Caused by improper finish on the keycaps' edges and tight gaps between keycaps, which then lead to overlaping betweem keycaps(and dragging each others).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_-MTaFbQvc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOO6F0sxAnQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDlXpVp4g9Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6FC9AmKRsw

2. Stiff keys when being pressed off-center:
Mainly occur on large stabilised keys such as "Backspace" and especially "Left Shift".Reason unknown, probably something wrong with the keycaps. Changing the keycaps some how solved/reduced this problem.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gl3qgBoW3F4

3. Spacebar problemS:
a) the spacebar is upward curved [ Attachment Invalid Or Does Not Exist ] 44282[/ATTACH]
b) LOL spacebar stabiliser wire(compare with other brands and you may find whats weird with it) [ Attachment Invalid Or Does Not Exist ] 44281[/ATTACH]
c) short stabiliser [ Attachment Invalid Or Does Not Exist ] 44278[/ATTACH], sizes do matter. Though, Razer(or should say iOne) are not that dumb to leave it loose. They compensate/solved it by inserting a paper sticker into the stem to tighten it. Dig up yours and you will probably find it too.

4. Keys' oddities, inconsistencies and irregularities
a) Keys with different sounds and feels(somehow inavoidable for blue switch keyboards, but Razer's bad QC made it even worse). Some switches even producing no click sounds. (http://geekhack.org/showwiki.php?title=Island:13224&viewfull=1&page=5&do=comments#post300932)
b) Improperly mounted key switches, causing some keys to "sank" lower while some "float" higher. Namely "Enter", "N", "C", and "numpad-4" on my keyboard. (http://geekhack.org/showthread.php?15628-Help-me-Buy-Entry-Level-Blue-Switch&p=301264#post301264)
c) Some keycaps having improper coating finish. Some irregularities even with the coating types. Those oddly coated keys are more slippery than other keys. (http://geekhack.org/showthread.php?15628-Help-me-Buy-Entry-Level-Blue-Switch&p=301264&viewfull=1#post301264).
d) Slanted keys(keys - "F", "J" and "+="). Not sure if it is the switches or the keycaps that is slanted, but doesn't matter, the outcome is still the same.
e) Weakly/not securely fixed keyswitches, wobble greatly (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpQe94KXd2w).

5. Keyboard flexing upward at the middle. [ Attachment Invalid Or Does Not Exist ] 44274[/ATTACH]

6. Original keycaps sucks to be pressed. Becoming sticky/oily easily. The keystems are thin and fragile, beasily cracked, especially the R1 keys. [ Attachment Invalid Or Does Not Exist ] 44275[/ATTACH] [ Attachment Invalid Or Does Not Exist ] 44276[/ATTACH] [ Attachment Invalid Or Does Not Exist ] 44277[/ATTACH]
To solve it, I changed the original keycaps and now it feel much better to type on.
[ Attachment Invalid Or Does Not Exist ] 44279[/ATTACH] [ Attachment Invalid Or Does Not Exist ] 44280[/ATTACH]

7. High RMA rate.

The verdict is:
Razer BWU sucks, UNLESS you are lucky enough to get a perfect board or plan to modify/fix those problems yourself.

[H3CT1C]

1) Fortunately i did not have that issue, but i have seen it reported a couple times, enough for it to be considered a problem

2) I have seen videos of this issue on youtube aswell, same as the last problem, i never had that issue.

3)

    a. i took a picture of mine, and as you can see it still has it but its too small to notice on mine and mine has it a tiny bit off center which is kind of weird. [ Attachment Invalid Or Does Not Exist ] 44290[/ATTACH]

    b. This one made me lol, and i had seen this before when i took my spacebar off, not sure if the wire actually has that bend in it, but on other sites the wire has like a raised notch, to avoid bending over the cherry switch, this one just takes it like a champ (i dont mean that in a good way) in all honesty though when i saw this i thought i thought it was pretty stupid of them to use one like that,

    c. I actually wasnt aware of the stabilizer tabb being shorter in length as well( i looked in mine and it didnt have a sticker or paper in it, atleast on 1 side it didn't). in my initial post i mention that but i mean the end of it, where the wire sits, you will notice how on one end it is very thin while the black one you include in the picture doesnt seem as fragile on the end of it.

4) once again i didnt have any problems such as these however i would like to add that like 2 of my keycaps are ever so slightly off axis, like not completely perpendicular to the board, you wont notice it but i noticed it when i was putting back the keycaps when i had taken them off. Once again its an extremely small problem but a problem none the less. initially when you talked about the wiggle i thought u meant the keycaps themselves not the switch, unless you mean both

5) if you look in my first post, the picture i uploaded shows that mine is actually contacting my table.

6) I havent had the keyboard long enough to start getting issues like that, but atleast if it does happen i wont be completely caught off guard.

7) cant argue with that point, however i would probably rephrase that into ****ty quality control on razers part because consistency has always been an issue for Razer.

Good thing is that most of the problems have to do with keycaps and things that can be easily replaced such as stabilizer tabs and wires others cant but i dont have those on my board thus far. I would like to know though where you got your keycaps, tbh i havent really looked around for them but i havent really heard anyone talk about places to get translucent keycaps, or any keycap that allows light through it.

Theoretically if they got the board the way it was supposed to be it would be a better board than the way it is now but right now it feels like its hit or miss with what your gonna get, even though mine came out perfect i will admit that razer needs to step up and do something bout consistency and quality control

[Human]

1) Fortunately i did not have that issue, but i have seen it reported a couple times, enough for it to be considered a problem

2) I have seen videos of this issue on youtube aswell, same as the last problem, i never had that issue.

3)

    a. i took a picture of mine, and as you can see it still has it but its too small to notice on mine and mine has it a tiny bit off center which is kind of weird. (Attachment Link) 44290[/ATTACH]

    b. This one made me lol, and i had seen this before when i took my spacebar off, not sure if the wire actually has that bend in it, but on other sites the wire has like a raised notch, to avoid bending over the cherry switch, this one just takes it like a champ (i dont mean that in a good way) in all honesty though when i saw this i thought i thought it was pretty stupid of them to use one like that,

    c. I actually wasnt aware of the stabilizer tabb being shorter in length as well( i looked in mine and it didnt have a sticker or paper in it, atleast on 1 side it didn't). in my initial post i mention that but i mean the end of it, where the wire sits, you will notice how on one end it is very thin while the black one you include in the picture doesnt seem as fragile on the end of it.

4) once again i didnt have any problems such as these however i would like to add that like 2 of my keycaps are ever so slightly off axis, like not completely perpendicular to the board, you wont notice it but i noticed it when i was putting back the keycaps when i had taken them off. Once again its an extremely small problem but a problem none the less. initially when you talked about the wiggle i thought u meant the keycaps themselves not the switch, unless you mean both

5) if you look in my first post, the picture i uploaded shows that mine is actually contacting my table.

6) I havent had the keyboard long enough to start getting issues like that, but atleast if it does happen i wont be completely caught off guard.

7) cant argue with that point, however i would probably rephrase that into ****ty quality control on razers part because consistency has always been an issue for Razer.

Good thing is that most of the problems have to do with keycaps and things that can be easily replaced such as stabilizer tabs and wires others cant but i dont have those on my board thus far. I would like to know though where you got your keycaps, tbh i havent really looked around for them but i havent really heard anyone talk about places to get translucent keycaps, or any keycap that allows light through it.

Theoretically if they got the board the way it was supposed to be it would be a better board than the way it is now but right now it feels like its hit or miss with what your gonna get, even though mine came out perfect i will admit that razer needs to step up and do something bout consistency and quality control

White colored ABS should be translucent enough to let the light shine through. Also, KBC do made whole set black color transparent keycaps, though the bottom row can't fit in BW's weird layout.

[H3CT1C]

out of curiosity may i ask what other issues do you still face considering you changed the keycaps? besides the bend in the space bar sicne you couldnt switch that one out

[anselben]

Looks nice, thinking about getting my brother one of these. Really like the red light too. He is a razer fan so I don't think he'd have any problem with it, or the small flaws he might not even notice.

[H3CT1C]

i believe it is a good board, and i like it, but I would hate for him to get a bad board, because of the large number of people that have had issues i recommend you try and get it from a place that will allow you to return it directly to them, its less of a hassle than having to rma directly to razer. First thing you should do when he gets the board is test the keys, connect the cable but leave it tied together, test every single key including the f keys, make sure theres no lose keys or keys that are stuck together, check the led's for each key, make sure nothing is wrong with it. Once that's done have fun and enjoy but if there's any issues even one that you think might be minor check online about it and if its a little serious just get it changed asap.

[tp4tissue]

i believe it is a good board, and i like it, but I would hate for him to get a bad board, because of the large number of people that have had issues i recommend you try and get it from a place that will allow you to return it directly to them, its less of a hassle than having to rma directly to razer. First thing you should do when he gets the board is test the keys, connect the cable but leave it tied together, test every single key including the f keys, make sure theres no lose keys or keys that are stuck together, check the led's for each key, make sure nothing is wrong with it. Once that's done have fun and enjoy but if there's any issues even one that you think might be minor check online about it and if its a little serious just get it changed asap.

 yea man don't fvck ur brother in the a55

[H3CT1C]

thats not even advice. thats a way of life!!!!!!

[tp4tissue]

out of curiosity may i ask what other issues do you still face considering you changed the keycaps? besides the bend in the space bar sicne you couldnt switch that one out

you can totally switch that out.. It's soft metal, but bend it right the first time, because if you bend it in opposite directions too many times, it'll break, the problem with high carbon.

[xquisit]

Welcome to GH! And thanks for the review.

"Each row of keys has a different sound, the number line will sound different than the keys at the bottom like z through m, and this is for every row"

So much for Razer "cherry picking" their switches :rofl:

Lol, gave me a good chuckle.

Does this mean the WASD feel different from the Arrow keys? Please, let me know (this was the first mechanical keyboard I tried that had blue switches).

[Human]

Lol, gave me a good chuckle.

Does this mean the WASD feel different from the Arrow keys? Please, let me know (this was the first mechanical keyboard I tried that had blue switches).

It mean due to QC problems and so on, each switch on it click and feel different. Some is clicky and noisy while some almost silent and no click. Probably caused by improper switch mounting or failed QC switches.

[xquisit]

It mean due to QC problems and so on, each switch on it click and feel different. Some is clicky and noisy while some almost silent and no click. Probably caused by improper switch mounting or failed QC switches.

Ah, that's interesting. I was only using WASD+ctr+alt+1+arrow keys on the BWU, and I suppose they all sound the same due to being blue switches and the F1-F12 + macros keys and might be different switches. Gotcha.

[Tycn]

Welcome to GH! And thanks for the review.

"Each row of keys has a different sound, the number line will sound different than the keys at the bottom like z through m, and this is for every row"

So much for Razer "cherry picking" their switches :rofl:

Obviously they cherry picked them to that end.

[Matias]

NKRO IS OVERRATED

While i do believe that NKRO is something that pretty much every keyboard should have and especially if its mechanical, i only believe that because it more of a why not type of thing. I play lots of games (starcraft, counter strike 1.6 and source, dota series, battlefield 3 and diablo) and type a lot aswell and i have never had a problem with keys not registering, the only game i can think of that nkro would be good is in a game like dj max. Nobody i know has ever complained of ghosting keys and the only place that might even happen would be around gaming keys like the wasd area, so if somebody could actually provide me a reason why NKRO is actually needed and not preferred please list it. I personally do not need it and nor have i ever needed NKRO. An example that i can think of is like cars coming with spare tires, not everyone is gonna end up needing the spare tire but some people will, however even though not everyone will definitely need a spare every car should still come with it as a just in case. NKRO is not needed by everybody but its something that all keyboards should come with, thats my opinion atleast.

I generally agree with this sentiment.

However, many mechanical keyboards are made by OEMs with matrix designs from 1980s/90s that are so bad that they'd have major ghost key problems if the NKRO were removed.  If the matrix is designed properly, NKRO is largely unnecessary.

[Vancha]

NKRO IS OVERRATED

While i do believe that NKRO is something that pretty much every keyboard should have and especially if its mechanical, i only believe that because it more of a why not type of thing. I play lots of games (starcraft, counter strike 1.6 and source, dota series, battlefield 3 and diablo) and type a lot aswell and i have never had a problem with keys not registering, the only game i can think of that nkro would be good is in a game like dj max. Nobody i know has ever complained of ghosting keys and the only place that might even happen would be around gaming keys like the wasd area, so if somebody could actually provide me a reason why NKRO is actually needed and not preferred please list it.

Soldier of Fortune 2: Holding crouch, backwards, lean left and wanted to strafe right, computer beeped in protest and I, sitting out in the open, received a bullet to the head.

Planetside: In an aircraft while turning right, I was holding strafe left, accelerate and wanted to use the afterburner (this basically moved you in a wide semicircle and left you facing towards the enemy), except I'd also been holding down the elevate button, so again my computer beeped in protest and I simply flew in a circle around my opponent which eventually lead to my death.

Dying from keyboard ghosting...It stays with you, man.

[Matias]

Soldier of Fortune 2: Holding crouch, backwards, lean left and wanted to strafe right, computer beeped in protest and I, sitting out in the open, received a bullet to the head.

Planetside: In an aircraft while turning right, I was holding strafe left, accelerate and wanted to use the afterburner (this basically moved you in a wide semicircle and left you facing towards the enemy), except I'd also been holding down the elevate button, so again my computer beeped in protest and I simply flew in a circle around my opponent which eventually lead to my death.

Dying from keyboard ghosting...It stays with you, man.

Which keys were you holding down?

[Squelos]

My BW keycaps were complete crap. Bought some cheap keycaps from WASD keyboards, and while they are just basic ABS keycaps, they dont wiggle nearly as much as the old keycaps ...

Razer really cheaped out on the keycaps and on the stabs.  Other from that, I think its a great board. Great deal for the price.

[H3CT1C]

To the guy commenting bout the sound they dont feel different, and its not the switches its caused by like the back plate, and its not extremely noticeable but if your paying attention you can hear the difference.

[Phil21]

Honestly, the BW seems to be about the best deal you can get currently.  The board is surprisingly solid when compared to it's peers.  If you can ignore looks and keycaps it seems more solid than my Das S. (definitely wins the flex test).  I bought an "el-cheapo" (actually $10 more than my BlackWidow!) Adesso, and the BW is absolutely superior in all respects aside from possibly the keycaps.

And yep, the keycaps suck.  Not only the "wiggle" but also they are just downright fugly.

For $80 though, it's not a bad value in my opinion.  Not to mention that if you REALLY need a replacement board on a Friday night at 8pm - you can probably find one at your local Best Buy/Microcenter/etc.  For those of you with actual lives, this may not be an important consideration however.

If you can get over the looks, it's a solid board at a very good price - especially on sale.  I'd probably pick it over the Das, when compared with price being a consideration - they are incredibly similar feeling in my opinion (swap keycaps and try if you don't believe me).  Are there better boards for a similar price if you hunt for them and get lucky?  Yep.  But, nothing as readily available.

That said, I recently went Filco TKL and probably will never look back.

All in all, I would call it a solid mass-market entry level Cherry MX Blue keyboard.  It compares favorably to the $50 more expensive Das S, with looks really being the only major showstopper.  Hard to bring a BlackWidow into the office without taking some ridicule from peers...

[appenzellois]

Hey Human,

Nice shot replacing the caps with white WASD !

I was looking for some way to move my BWU to swiss french layout (now it german, cause ma layout doesn't exist at Razer) and your solution could just be the easy way.
With blue caps it would't go out very well I think (?)

Anyone tried changing the caps with Signature ones?
As they are doubleshot, the light should pass thru the letters, isn't it? Even better for the BWU.
(ok, I know my problem will be the same as I realy doubt to find some Signatures' in swiss layout at a reasonnable price)

[WhiteFireDragon]

OP, have you noticed that the cherry blue keys on the black widow feels a tad lighter than cherry blue switches on other boards? Every BW keyboard that I've tried, I noticed this. At first I though it was because those certain BW boards were just really broken in, but then even the brand new ones at the store had this same effect. I'm thinking it's gotta do something with the type of caps that razer uses.

And perhaps this thread would fit the reviews subforum better.

[Occi]

Honestly, the BW seems to be about the best deal you can get currently.  The board is surprisingly solid when compared to it's peers.  If you can ignore looks and keycaps it seems more solid than my Das S. (definitely wins the flex test).

That said, I recently went Filco TKL and probably will never look back.

How would you compare the build quality between the Das and Filco? Most reviews I've read is in the favor of the Filco. How about BW vs Filco?

[Solanin]

I would like to confirm the understanding about different sw sound of black widow. The fking thing has its switches sound all over the place. I de-soldered all the sw and found out that the sound of each sw vary. And btw, BW double click after roundly 4 months of usage. I know 10 people have bw, 8 has double click sw. I fixed so much double clicking sw on bw that I think I can disassemble the thing with my eyes close.

[canon.tk]

I generally agree with this sentiment.

However, many mechanical keyboards are made by OEMs with matrix designs from 1980s/90s that are so bad that they'd have major ghost key problems if the NKRO were removed.  If the matrix is designed properly, NKRO is largely unnecessary.

NKRO is hardly overrated.  Keys not registering while playing games is the reason I discovered the world of mechanical keyboards.

[natas206]

It's not that bad of a keyboard. I think most people buy these because of the looks and the backlit keys, which imo, the keyboard looks very nice.

However obviously they do seem to have some quality control issues and there are various things that could be improved, but overall I think it's a solid keyobard.

I got one just to try and I agree with the original poster that it's a good keyboard. Personally I don't like cherry blue's - just too loud for my taste. I use an Advantage LF (cherry reds) and that's the keyboard I will always prefer because of the ergo design and because it's fully programmable without the use of software, but that's another topic.

[Internetlad]

shouldn't this thread be in "reviews"