It is fairly safe to say that Razer are best known for their wide range of gaming peripherals. Today, I have the Blackwidow Ultimate Mechanical Gaming Keyboard (2014) for review, and I can’t wait to get started!
The keyboard arrived in a well designed box, as always. On the front there is a small window that gives you the opportunity to give a few keys a press to see how they feel and to test the switches. Also on the front of the box is a nice view of the Blackwidow Ultimate itself, as well as some information relating to the keyboard and the new Razer mechanical switches. The back of the box gives a more in-depth description of the switches, including the differences between the previous blue switches and the new green ones, as well as the features of the keyboard.
Upon removing the keyboard from the box, things are kept pretty minimal. You have the keyboard, and some documentation for the keyboard – the quick start guide, warranty information, product registration details, and lastly, the Razer stickers that are included with each purchase. The keyboard itself has a nice matt back finish and the keys seem to be decently sized. Along the top row of keys, they double up as media keys, backlighting control keys, and gaming mode On & Off keys – these aren’t dedicated though, so the use of the Function button is required. Along the bottom of the keyboard is a nicely placed Razer logo that illuminates once plugged in, along with the backlighting that lights up the rest of the keyboard. Down the left side of the keyboard there are five programmable macro keys, and lastly, there is a decent sized braided cable that has two USB plugs at the end, as well as two 3.5mm jacks that you can plug into your PC. One of these USB plugs powers the keyboard, while the other powers the built-in USB port on the right side of the keyboard. More about this later though.
Above the number pad is where you will find the notification lights. These let you know if Gaming Mode is enabled, if Caps Lock is on, Number Lock, as well as letting you know when Macro Recording is active. I quite like this area of the keyboard because if you have all of the above options turned off, the top corner section of the keyboard just looks like the rest of the keyboard.
In order to program the macro keys, you need to download the Synapse 2.0 software from the Razer website. This seems to be something that needs doing with each Razer product, so if you have more than one device, luckily only the one download is required. Once you have it up and running, you can make changes to the Blackwidow layout, lighting intensity, profiles, etc. There are three tabs under the Keyboard header – Customize, Lighting, and Gaming Mode. Within the customize tab is where you make changes to the profiles, enabling you to assign keys to different functions, from keyboard keys to mouse button clicks. The lighting tab is self explanatory – you can adjust the lighting intensity and choose between the Pulsate mode, and the static brightness – levels include Bright, Normal, Dim, or Off. Lastly, the previously mentioned Gaming Mode tab is where you can disable troublesome keys such as the Windows key and the Alt + Tab key, giving you the option to use the keys freely whilst gaming. The final second and final header is the Macro header – as the name suggests, this is where you can create and program all of the macros that you require. Alternatively, you can use the dedicated macro switch on the keyboard to record macros when you want, rather than having to load up Synapse to do so. As always, any changes you make are saved to the cloud, allowing you to use the same settings from any computer with Synapse 2.0 installed.
The new switches in the 2014 Blackwidow Ultimate are green, rather than the previous blue Cherry switches. Razer appear to be very proud of these switches as they are made specifically for gaming, and they are NOT made by Cherry, like others are. The reset time after clicking the keys now is actually shorter than it is with the Cherry MX switches, enabling you to get more key presses in a shorter time. I’m sure there are gamers out there that would actually benefit from this, but, I am not one of them as I still press the keys just as hard as I did before. Old habits are hard to break.
The USB and 3.5mm ports on the right side of the keyboard allow you to plug your headset and mouse directly into the keyboard. I gave this a try and didn’t encounter any annoying buzzing or static noise with the headphones, and the mouse worked as it should also. All in all, this feature works really well. It could also be handy if you are someone who does not like wires sprawled out across the desk too much. With it being on the right side of the keyboard, it was conveniently placed for me to use, being right-handed. I’m not sure what left-handed people will think of it though as it would mean having wires going from right to left on the desk.
Overall, I am impressed with the Razer Blackwidow Ultimate Mechanical Gaming Keyboard. It is durable and definitely helps Razer live up to the reputation it has in place for being one of the best for gaming peripherals. I really like the green backlighting, and having the option to change the light intensity is something is very welcomed. The ease of creating macros and setting up the keyboard to suit you using the Synapse software should be very inviting, even to gaming keyboard novices. While I’m sure the new green switches will be appreciated by hardcore gamers, I couldn’t really benefit from them as I’m not into PC gaming as much as others – they did work really well though from what I could tell. I think the Blackwidow will be a favourite for gamers of all ages, regardless of their PC gaming preferences!
TootieTazzy 