"Old" Razer Blackwidow keyboard

[yui]

Looking on the local used market i found that old monochrome (not RGB) razer blackwidow seem cheap for mechanical keyboard (40euros), is there a good reason for it? or are those decent keyboards just devalued thanks to their lack of rgb? it would not be a main keyboard but a backup, main being a M122.

[jamster]

Has Razer ever gone through a period of making good peripherals?

[Maledicted]

Has Razer ever gone through a period of making good peripherals?

I have never used any of their keyboards, but the moment I felt a friend's $80 MMO mouse ... and noticed immediately that it felt like a $2-5 Amazon/Newegg sale item, I didn't see much reason to explore any further.

I have seen plenty of even their optical switch boards on auction websites going for $50-60, or less. I think some of it may just be sheer volume and little demand on the used market. I imagine those specific boards also had the help of being pink though. Then, I suppose, RGB is a must-have L337 gamer aesthetic and people who generally like keyboards for what they are have negative stereotypes about "gaming" brands and/or want to be able to swap 100 different custom cap sets onto their boards, which they can't do with "gaming" keyboards.

From what I can tell, the used market for non-RGB "gaming" keyboards is pretty weak in general. They're the redheaded stepchild of mechanical keyboards. I routinely pick up nice Corsair K65 and K70 boards for $45-60, whereas the RGB variants always go for more, sometimes significantly more.

[suicidal_orange]

From what I've read if they're going to die (and many do) they do so pretty quickly, a well used one is probably not a bad buy.

[Maledicted]

From what I've read if they're going to die (and many do) they do so pretty quickly, a well used one is probably not a bad buy.

Good point, somebody else has already paid Razer to do the shakedown cruise for you. Now you get the result at a discount. Ironically, I also always feel better going into a purchase, especially if it is cheap, knowing that there's no longer any warranty to be beholden to ... so there's then no downside to ripping the thing apart and modifying it any way I like.

[Polymer]

Looking on the local used market i found that old monochrome (not RGB) razer blackwidow seem cheap for mechanical keyboard (40euros), is there a good reason for it? or are those decent keyboards just devalued thanks to their lack of rgb? it would not be a main keyboard but a backup, main being a M122.

If you go into it knowing you might just use it for spare parts, it isn't too bad...by spare parts I mean switches...but I wouldn't be happy with that backup or not...For a little more you can get cheap new keyboard that is probably considerably better..

[Maledicted]

Looking on the local used market i found that old monochrome (not RGB) razer blackwidow seem cheap for mechanical keyboard (40euros), is there a good reason for it? or are those decent keyboards just devalued thanks to their lack of rgb? it would not be a main keyboard but a backup, main being a M122.

If you go into it knowing you might just use it for spare parts, it isn't too bad...by spare parts I mean switches...but I wouldn't be happy with that backup or not...For a little more you can get cheap new keyboard that is probably considerably better..

Also a good point, at least considering the brand's reputation for build quality, and the fact that they've probably got MX switches or relatively unspectacular clones. I know I would probably choose a random cheap Amazon board with Outemu blues if the prices were about the same.

[Findecanor]

The old ones have gloss black or rubberised cases that are not very nice. The very first version had only a gaming-optimised matrix instead of 6KRO.
Also, ugly font, ugly logo, cheap keycaps and ... the taint of Razer.
The price also reflects that there are so many of them out there, and it was the first mech keyboard for many. The condition varies a lot.

You could have problems upgrading the kecaps. The modifiers are 1.5u and 1u, with a 6u space bar. I think some models have space bars with non-standard stabiliser mount positions.

Most of the the keyboard's early versions are on the Deskthority Wiki. The page is most probably lagging behind on being updated on recent developments.

[yui]

Thanks, with all of that insight i may not buy it, i was hopping that razer's had gotten their bad reputation from their most recent board and that the old mx blue board could have been decent but you all seem to agree that it is not the case, so that's 40 euros not wasted who said geekhack only made you spend money.

[Leslieann]

Before Cherry retooled and MX alternatives were common they could be worth buying for the switches if you wanted good Blues but that was mostly all they were good for. We have great alternatives and Cherry retooled making them rather pointless.


As for the rest of the board, it's an important board for mechanical keyboard history and I do think Razer put a lot of effort into it, it had some nice features. I think it helped kickstart the mechanical keyboard revolution and MX clones, but it was let down by a bad OEM and poor quality control. Keys rubbed, were ugly, and of bad quality and if you got a bad one, the paint on the plate would fall of and it would rust (badly). The ones that came after were better made (I would assume) but still ugly and I can't imagine those early closes were comparable to what we have today.

Today you can spend $40 or $50 and get something better delivered next day from Amazon, basically the only reason to buy one of these is if you collect keyboards.