Razer Ornata Chroma! Before you say okay, whatever check it out. You all know I am seasoned with this hobby and have most of the top boards. Model m,f, Realforce, HHkb, Deck(old), Korean customs Etc. So I know good.
The Ornata is a Kaith switch of course. This alone is coveted by many. Notably being smoother with less wobble than MX. There is in fact no "slider" as many think. Instead there is a thick silicone dome. The silicone does not pop like rubber. It has a different feeling and this is a very clicky board. Probably no good in an office. Silicone is much more expensive than rubber for the record but depends if you like the feel. Well, I think this made for a very unique combination and feel. Somewhere between MX blue and Topre. Just much clickier if you like that. Of course this wil not be my daily driver but I will use it. It is interesting and I for one really like the feel. It is very noisy. Much more than blues. I am not sure how the legends are applied but if they wear off it does not matter since it is backlit. ABS of course will get all shiny but many people will give their eye for shiny GMK. No, it is not in that class. Plus the caps are "mid height", that is a shortcoming but they are addressing a specific audience.
Now the caveat. Razer is well known for making junk. Other brands are not too hot either to be fair but there is no excuse. I am betting if one used this daily, as with most Razer products part of it or all of it shall fail. I can't promise hat
but it is a calculated guess. I know a store manager so I got mine for $69. Even for the going $89 this is a dirt cheap mech board and it is something you will not find elsewhere. So, I figure for $89 if it lasts 6 months that is fine with me. Or buy extended warranty. In this case if one would use it daily I would highly recommend hat. I generally do not recommend extended warranties as they are a rip off. I understand the average 14 year old's allowance letting a board fail in six months or sooner is not acceptable. So then I would avoid Razer altogether. Although that is their target audience and they sell more mech boards than all other companies combined. Made in China and of course they cut corners. However for instance the Topre RGB made in China is $260 and not great quality either. If that says anything.
It all depends if you like the feel and are willing to risk blowing $89. Overlooking the junk case, key caps Etc. Plus with RGB you cannot really get true white on any of these backlit boards. Other than some old $5 rubber domes it is the lowest rung of the ladder in my collection but I still welcome it. You may feel differently and YMMV. I am not an idiot. I know my way around a keyboard as can be evidenced here. I just kind of like it's unique feel and how stinking loud it is. I would certainly not say it is a "quality" keyboard. At the price I do not care. The Topre RGB is a different story. There is no excuse for that either and they should be ashamed. It is aimed at gamers though as is the Razer and everything in that category seems to be mostly junk. So I do have to give Topre a break there. For $89 the Razer does not really need a "break".
Edit: apparently all the rubber dome bashing of it caused to change the design. Before it did in fact have two leafe springs under a rubber dome. One to click and one to make contact. Pretty janky. One off the shelf today actually had Razers kaith switches under the silicone membrane. Unfortunately I did not have a camera/phone with me. It felt and sounded very nice. I do not know anything about the previous design. It does not feel like Topre, MX blue or rubber dome, but something entirely it's own. Like it or not. I do maintain anything from Razer is bound to be junk. The case and key caps felt like rubbish. I do not know how it would look after the legends wear off wiich is pretty much guaranteed to occur in a month. I said it is a nice novelty I would use sometimes perhaps. It is by no means a high quality keyboard. That being said, is the Topre RGB a good deal at $260? No, it is not nearly as shoddy as the Razer but neither is it up to snuff of a $260 keyboard IMO and many agree. I am not comparing the two other than based on value. Neither is a good value IMO. Both made in China of course. I would expect the Razer to be a heck of a lot worse of the two but the Topre is not the top notch you would expect. As I mentioned I hate RGB Backlit as you cannot get true white. Furthermore real keyboards do not have backlighting or legends, again IMO. YMMV. If you want to try it just buy it at Walmart and return it if you don't like it. The box does have the arrow keys exposed that you can try. I would certainly not expect anything from Razer to last very long just so everyone is aware in case they are not.
Please don't flame me. I think I was pretty honest about its quality and that it's feel is subjective.
