Peripheral brand Razer has been going on a crazy bling-bling spree this year, giving their popular models the colour treatment. Here’s another one for those looking for a new gaming keyboard – the Razer Blackwidow Chroma.
Black is still cool
The Blackwidow Chroma comes in a mostly black box with points about its features. Inside is the keyboard with its long cable and two USB plugs used to power it, but no wrist rest. The entire thing is black with a design and key layout that is very neat. However, I was annoyed that Razer put the function key next to the right-Alt key, as it made it very difficult to make use of the multimedia buttons.
Satisfying Clacking
The Blackwidow Chroma gets Razer’s new type of mechanical switch, which has a tactile feel close to that of Cherry MX Blue switches. It’s a very good keyboard for typing work or gaming, but the keys are a bit on the stiff side. Those who prefer tap-typing might not find it to their liking, though I feel that it just boils down to personal style and preference; I had no issues with it.
Synapses firing
When it comes to Razer’s gaming keyboard, you will have to use the Razer Synapse software. With it you can configure the backlighting, set shortcuts and macros, or even record your keystrokes. Trying to record macros turned out to be an annoying affair, as it wasn’t very flexible. After pressing “Record”, in between keystrokes the delay recorded is either a fixed preset or you could time the delay yourself. A default preset doesn’t work if varied delay between different keys is needed, while timing it yourself can be tricky to get right.
Your Mileage May Vary
No doubt, the Razer Blackwidow Chroma performs excellently and the chromatic backlighting adds a degree of fun to it, especially for those who game in the dark. However, there’s one huge obstacle for the average Malaysian when it comes to this keyboard – price! At RM719, only the most ardent of Razer fans would plonk down the cash for it.
Byline: by matthew yap
Price RM719
Specs
Value 7
Performance 10
Features 10
Design 10
Usability 8
Total
Verdict Great in almost every way, except for the price and macro recording.
