Blackwidow Mechanical Keyboard $53 FS Newegg

Woe said:
How's the build quality/reliability of these?
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Not good. Lots of reviews suggesting that keys will stop working after a few weeks/months.

Also, Razor's Synapse software is required, and it requires an account with Razer and an always-on internet connection. Basically, it's DRM for your keyboard... which is a fucking joke.

The price is low for a mechanical keyboard, but it still doesn't seem worth it when you're buying a premium product. Buy nice or buy twice...
 
I agree I personally wouldn't touch this keyboard, but it was a low price, so I thought I would post it even though the most people loathe razor products.
 
I have one of these and i love it. Had it for over a year and never had a problem. Also i never had to download any software or create an account to use this.
 
Viper87227 said:
Not good. Lots of reviews suggesting that keys will stop working after a few weeks/months.

Also, Razor's Synapse software is required, and it requires an account with Razer and an always-on internet connection. Basically, it's DRM for your keyboard... which is a fucking joke.

The price is low for a mechanical keyboard, but it still doesn't seem worth it when you're buying a premium product. Buy nice or buy twice...
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The software is not required. I never used it on the one I had. That leaves the macro keys disabled but I don't use them anyway. The problem with the Razer Black Widow is the keycap quality is shit and the stabilizers are thin and cheap.
 
Poor, poor, poor quality control. 'Support' from Razer ranges from 'joke' to 'nonexistant'.

Stay far away from this 'deal' - spend your money on something else like Ducky, Filco, DAS, or hell even Newegg's own Rosewill line of mechanical keyboards.
 
I own a Razer BWU and a Ducky Shine. I have had no problems with my BWU and my Ducky is currently boxed up to go back because of failing LEDs. The only reason I got the Ducky was because the Cherry Blues were abit too loud for me. Browns on the Ducky. My wife refuses to give my BWU back, so right now I'm on a 4 year old Razer Lycosa, that also still works.

So take everything said above with a grain of salt, because it really is cool to bash on Razer here at [H]ardforum.
 
Jorona said:
I own a Razer BWU and a Ducky Shine. I have had no problems with my BWU and my Ducky is currently boxed up to go back because of failing LEDs. The only reason I got the Ducky was because the Cherry Blues were abit too loud for me. Browns on the Ducky. My wife refuses to give my BWU back, so right now I'm on a 4 year old Razer Lycosa, that also still works.

So take everything said above with a grain of salt, because it really is cool to bash on Razer here at [H]ardforum.
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Since the razer synapse introduction there is a good reason to bash Razer. Why do I always have to be connected to the internet in order to change the DPI / sens on my fucking deathadder?
 
Had my BlackWidow Ultimate coming up on 2 years and love it. The new Synapse software is fine. Don't really care that I have to be connected to the Internet cause I always am. Even if you're not, you don't have to use it.
 
I see a lot of Razor hate lately and maybe it's justified but: buddy has owned a Black Widow with blues for about a year now. I haven't heard a single complaint and he's not very tech savvy (had just said he liked my mechanical so I got him one for his birthday last year).

Oh and I've seen the "Synapse required" comment thrown around elsewhere but I'm not sure that's true. If you don't want Synapse, just make sure to download the "Legacy" driver on their driver page.

Example: http://www.razersupport.com/index.p...&parentcategoryid=114&pcid=81&nav=0,77,191,81

Notice that the last update to the driver was last modified today, so I don't get their "Legacy" comment. At any rate, if you want to ignore Synapse, that's still definitely an option (just download your drivers now and store them in a safe place in case Razor goes all Synapse one day. :D)

Good deal, by the way.
 
DeadSkull said:
Since the razer synapse introduction there is a good reason to bash Razer. Why do I always have to be connected to the internet in order to change the DPI / sens on my fucking deathadder?
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*shrugs* I dunno why you can't do alittle research and find that you can do it with a regular driver rather then synapse. It doesn't pertain to this situation either, because you don't need it on keyboards period. So it's a completely moot point.
 
Jorona said:
So take everything said above with a grain of salt, because it really is cool to bash on Razer here at [H]ardforum.
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Yup. It's a fucking conpiracy. We've all got it in for Razer just for the thrill of it. You caught us.

Whew... at least I don't have to hide it anymore...
 
mekkanic said:
Coolermaster quickfires are a good alternative :X
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Definitely are but I like the looks of the BWU a lot more. That glossy finish can collect smudges and be annoying but I clean my monitor about once a week and just run a wipe over the keyboard while I'm at it and it's no big deal. Can't go wrong with either of them tho IMO.
 
Hmm interesting. I had my Razor wireless mouse for over a year now, and absolutely no problems with it, so I can't complain about them.

Are they aware of all the hate here on [H], and if so, why don't they fix their customer service issues? Their products are very expensive, and no excuse not to have enough people to answer their customer service calls.
 
Blue Falcon said:
Yup. It's a fucking conpiracy. We've all got it in for Razer just for the thrill of it. You caught us.

Whew... at least I don't have to hide it anymore...
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Never said it was a conspiracy. I'm just saying that its rampant here for some reason.
 
Jorona said:
Never said it was a conspiracy. I'm just saying that its rampant here for some reason.
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Maybe it's because several of us have purchased Razer products over the years and many of us were dissatisfied for a reason? :confused:
 
Dan_D said:
Maybe it's because several of us have purchased Razer products over the years and many of us were dissatisfied for a reason? :confused:
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That may well be, but you seriously can't even utter the word Razer around here without a half dozen people chiming in about what a piece of shit they are. A lot of us have used Razer products for years and never had a problem, so obviously not everything they make is shit as a lot of people on here make it out to be.
 
B2BigAl said:
That may well be, but you seriously can't even utter the word Razer around here without a half dozen people chiming in about what a piece of shit they are. A lot of us have used Razer products for years and never had a problem, so obviously not everything they make is shit as a lot of people on here make it out to be.
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So because you (and 'a lot' of others) have never had a problem that completely invalidates the bad experiences that MANY of us have had with Razer's products?

Here's an idea, and please forgive me if it seems too hard to believe: If the mere utterance of the word Razer causes several people to give their opinion about the poor quality of this company's products maybe, just maybe it's because the company does indeed produce products with inferior reliability and a notable lack of quality control. Call me crazy...

As someone who has been unfortunate enough to own several Razer products and has been largely disgusted with them I will continue to do my best to steer potential customers away from them - here at the [H] and anywhere else.
 
Viper87227 said:
Not good. Lots of reviews suggesting that keys will stop working after a few weeks/months.

Also, Razor's Synapse software is required, and it requires an account with Razer and an always-on internet connection. Basically, it's DRM for your keyboard... which is a fucking joke.

The price is low for a mechanical keyboard, but it still doesn't seem worth it when you're buying a premium product. Buy nice or buy twice...
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Razor Synapse? never heard of it and I've been using mine for nearly 2 years. Yes there are definitely better keyboards out there , but the reason I'm still using it is due to the headphone /mic input and the USB port which the $200 keyboards do not have. I'm definitely not trying to endorse Razer, I had my fair share of f*cking headaches with some of their mice (boomslang)


EDIT:
NM looks like there are now some mechanical keyboards with USB and headphone / mic inputs
 
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B2BigAl said:
That may well be, but you seriously can't even utter the word Razer around here without a half dozen people chiming in about what a piece of shit they are. A lot of us have used Razer products for years and never had a problem, so obviously not everything they make is shit as a lot of people on here make it out to be.
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Blue Falcon said:
So because you (and 'a lot' of others) have never had a problem that completely invalidates the bad experiences that MANY of us have had with Razer's products?

Here's an idea, and please forgive me if it seems too hard to believe: If the mere utterance of the word Razer causes several people to give their opinion about the poor quality of this company's products maybe, just maybe it's because the company does indeed produce products with inferior reliability and a notable lack of quality control. Call me crazy...

As someone who has been unfortunate enough to own several Razer products and has been largely disgusted with them I will continue to do my best to steer potential customers away from them - here at the [H] and anywhere else.
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Most statements on both sides are annecdotes at best. What I can do is give you additional data on my experiences. Still annecdotes and not scientific, but some may still find it valuable. I work from home and do two jobs. I play a lot of games as well. But you can see my post history, and the review articles I write. There is a lot of typing in that. I've been averaging a review every week or so as well. This doesn't count posts on other forums or game modding, plus gaming that I do as well. I'm on my computer 12-16 hours a day easily. I would say I type a shit load more than most of the populus does. Your average keyboard lasts about 6 months before looking worn in my hands and after a year the membrane feels worn out, key caps have faded or missing letters, and overall the keyboard just looks like worn out crap. Key presses are inconsistent in feel. Keys creak etc. This is the primary reason I have gone back to mechanical keyboards. I only ever abandoned them in the first place because I wanted a black keyboard as the bulk of the mechanicals were beige and were PS/2 or AT only.

My Das Keyboard Professional and Das Keyboards held up well. The QuickFire Rapid seems to be doing OK. The Razer keyboard I had experienced detection issues and from a quality perspective, the keys didn't feel as good as those on my two year old Das Keyboard Professional. Which feels like new aside from there being a shine to all of the keys. Lettering is still intact though I'm glad to say. I did have a Razer Black Widow which I tried when they were on sale. I hoped it would replace my Das as it would look newer and wouldn't have all that key shine that the Das does. I made it a couple of days before switching back to the Das. The key presses just didn't feel as good despite both having idenitcal switch types. I moved the keyboard to the test bench where I experienced tons of detection issues with the USB ports of several motherboards. I probably put up with that for about three months. So two or three reviews a month I was fighting to get the keyboard to work on various boards. With some boards and their UEFI's or BIOSes I had to bust out a different keyboard entirely as I couldn't make the Black Widow work.

I tried a second unit and it was the same shit. I was outside my return period on the first one so I simply gave it away. That guy is using it just fine but he has an ASUS motherboard. Those were the one brand that seemed to generally work with the Black Widow.

I've tried several Razer mice in the store. Tracking and software issues aside, their casings feel cheap compared to Logitech's offerings. So while I haven't owned that many Razer mice I've owned a crap ton of Logitechs and they've held up the best so far. So while my statements are annecdotes like the rest, you can at least understand where I'm coming from when I say that the Razer Black Widow not only didn't feel very good quality but it had detection issues to boot.
 
You guys keep bringing up the mice. We're not talking about the mice. We're talking about the keyboards. Hell, I can't even give advice on the mice as I've never owned one. My Logitech OG MX500 is on my HTPC, The wife has my old MX510, and I'm using a MX518. So yeah, Logitech over the last 6 years, and they all still work. Logitech mice FTW.

I can concur on the BIOS detection issues. I didn't think about that before, but that was one of the side reasons for getting the Ducky. However, this ended up just being my mobo, as the Ducky does the same damn thing. So I'd be more willing to attribute that to the mobo then the keyboard. Also, concerning the feeling of the keyboard, I think you're selling it abit short. Its certainly not the best, but its a damn sight better then any membrane board. Its no Model M, but its certainly not bad. To get more, you're going to need to spend more. Its that simple. At the OPs price, that thing is a great bang for your buck mechanical. You just can't argue that.

Let me just put it this way. My Lycosa and My BWU both have seen cans of soda, cups of Tea, and glasses of Milk. Both have been torn down and put in the dishwasher. Both still function today. The BWU is just over a year old, and the Lycosa is about to break 5 years old. Both work.

So thats where I'm coming from.
 
Jorona said:
You guys keep bringing up the mice. We're not talking about the mice. We're talking about the keyboards. Hell, I can't even give advice on the mice as I've never owned one. My Logitech OG MX500 is on my HTPC, The wife has my old MX510, and I'm using a MX518. So yeah, Logitech over the last 6 years, and they all still work. Logitech mice FTW.

I can concur on the BIOS detection issues. I didn't think about that before, but that was one of the side reasons for getting the Ducky. However, this ended up just being my mobo, as the Ducky does the same damn thing. So I'd be more willing to attribute that to the mobo then the keyboard. Also, concerning the feeling of the keyboard, I think you're selling it abit short. Its certainly not the best, but its a damn sight better then any membrane board. Its no Model M, but its certainly not bad. To get more, you're going to need to spend more. Its that simple. At the OPs price, that thing is a great bang for your buck mechanical. You just can't argue that.

Let me just put it this way. My Lycosa and My BWU both have seen cans of soda, cups of Tea, and glasses of Milk. Both have been torn down and put in the dishwasher. Both still function today. The BWU is just over a year old, and the Lycosa is about to break 5 years old. Both work.

So thats where I'm coming from.
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It wasn't a motherboard issue with the Black Widow. On my review bench I had at least three boards a months for three months or more. These problems occured with nearly every board I tested. That's probably at least 9 boards of varying brands and models.
 
I've owned and used one for two years. In fact I'm typing this post on it. It has been flawless but that's of course just an anecdote. It has however been my favorite keyboard to date, even better than the IBM keyboard on my 80286 back in the 80s. I would not hesitate to buy another.

I have not used the Synapse software and thus cannot comment on it.
 
Dan_D said:
It wasn't a motherboard issue with the Black Widow. On my review bench I had at least three boards a months for three months or more. These problems occured with nearly every board I tested. That's probably at least 9 boards of varying brands and models.
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Yeah I have to vouch for this. My Sabertooth wouldn't detect mine either but only after a restart. Worked fine after a shut down tho. When overclocking I'd have to use my Logitech G510 while stress testing because when it BSOD's and I tried to start it back up, it would skip right passed the BIOS screen.

A firmware update seems to have fixed the problem tho as it hasn't happened since.
 
MacLeod said:
Yeah I have to vouch for this. My Sabertooth wouldn't detect mine either but only after a restart. Worked fine after a shut down tho. When overclocking I'd have to use my Logitech G510 while stress testing because when it BSOD's and I tried to start it back up, it would skip right passed the BIOS screen.

A firmware update seems to have fixed the problem tho as it hasn't happened since.
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And the fact that they had to issue firmware to fix keyboard problems is telling. Such a simple device that Razer can't get right out of the box. I've never needed a firmware update for any keyboard. My Deck Ice Legend, Das Keyboard, CM Quickfire Rapid, and even my Logitec keyboards all worked on every system I ever tried them on without problems. Why can't Razer accomplish such a simple task.

It seems simple but Razer's decision making with their software is already being discussed in another thread. Basically there is something seriously wrong with the decision makers over there.
 
It may just be a gaming keyboard thing cause my G510 has issues too. When you come out of sleep mode the LCD screen is frozen and the macros don't work. That's a problem with LGS. Then there is the space bar double spacing from time to time. Judging by Logitech's forums these are common problems with all their G keyboards. Maybe it's just what you're gonna get when you want a keyboard with all the play pretties that gaming keyboards have.
 
LTR said:
I agree I personally wouldn't touch this keyboard, but it was a low price, so I thought I would post it even though the most people loathe razor products.
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You mean Razer keyboards. They're mice are awesome.
 
Ive had a Razer keyboard and a Razer mouse, and how many do I still own? 0. Biggest pieces of crap I've ever used.

And I am pretty sure the Razer Blackwidow uses cherry blues switches, which I can't see any serious gamer ever using for gaming. Cherry blacks or reds are the only ones id use for gaming. Maybe browns.


AND BTW, your motherboards arent detecting the boards/mice because you dont have Legacy USB drivers installed or enabled. And usually windows 7 will install them on first boot if you just give it a minute, reboot, and you should be good to go.
 
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sok0 said:
Ive had a Razer keyboard and a Razer mouse, and how many do I still own? 0. Biggest pieces of crap I've ever used.

And I am pretty sure the Razer Blackwidow uses cherry blues switches, which I can't see any serious gamer ever using for gaming. Cherry blacks or reds are the only ones id use for gaming. Maybe browns.


AND BTW, your motherboards arent detecting the boards/mice because you dont have Legacy USB drivers installed or enabled. And usually windows 7 will install them on first boot if you just give it a minute, reboot, and you should be good to go.
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You may not see it but some serious gamers do use Cherry MX blues. The sound doesn't bother everyone and the feel of them may be preferrable to some. I game a lot and two of my three mechanical keyboards use Cherry MX Blue switches. And the one that doesn't is on my girlfriend's machine. I don't use it. And none of my friends who come over and play games on my other rig have ever complained about the Cherry MX Blues while gaming. In fact they talk about how awesome the keyboard is compared to the pieces of shit they use.
 
Dan_D said:
You may not see it but some serious gamers do use Cherry MX blues. The sound doesn't bother everyone and the feel of them may be preferrable to some. I game a lot and two of my three mechanical keyboards use Cherry MX Blue switches. And the one that doesn't is on my girlfriend's machine. I don't use it. And none of my friends who come over and play games on my other rig have ever complained about the Cherry MX Blues while gaming. In fact they talk about how awesome the keyboard is compared to the pieces of shit they use.
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I also have a Cherry-blue based board and really like it. It's the main keybaord for my main gaming rig. I also have a red I use at work because its quieter. I prefer the blue because of the extra click at home, and the tactile click that accompanies it.
 
sok0 said:
Ive had a Razer keyboard and a Razer mouse, and how many do I still own? 0. Biggest pieces of crap I've ever used.

And I am pretty sure the Razer Blackwidow uses cherry blues switches, which I can't see any serious gamer ever using for gaming. Cherry blacks or reds are the only ones id use for gaming. Maybe browns.


AND BTW, your motherboards arent detecting the boards/mice because you dont have Legacy USB drivers installed or enabled. And usually windows 7 will install them on first boot if you just give it a minute, reboot, and you should be good to go.
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The switch choice is your opinion. I don't share it. I can't stand non-tactile switches.

AND BTW, That has nothing to do with it. Especially since we're talking about going into the BIOS. You know, that thing before windows?

Modred189 said:
I also have a Cherry-blue based board and really like it. It's the main keybaord for my main gaming rig. I also have a red I use at work because its quieter. I prefer the blue because of the extra click at home, and the tactile click that accompanies it.
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You'd probably like browns alot.
 
The non detect issue wasn't a BIOS problem, it was a firmware or driver issue at least in my case cause it was a software update that fixed it.

I also prefer Blues and all I do on my rig is game. Maybe I'm not a "serious" enough gamer but I like them. I admit to not liking them at first due to the actuation point (or release point) being too high but I eventually got used to it and have no problems at all. Plus they are much better for typing.
 
Dan_D said:
I don't. He may or may not but for those of us who really like Cherry MX Blues, Browns just aren't the same. They just feel too different.
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Yup. I tried the browns after having the blues for a while, and am just not a fan. They're not bad, just too different. The reason I have the reds is that they are on my work keyboard and I don't want to piss off my neighbors with a clicky keyboard.
 
Good to see a few of you using (and preferring) Blues on your gaming rigs. When I participated in some of the mechanical keyboard threads the Cherry MX Black fans were just adamant that those switches were the ONLY way to go for gaming and that Blues were the worst. People that hadn't even used Blue switches were saying they were terrible for gaming simply because they were parroting someone's opinion from another thread or website.

It's not surprising that someone who prefers a linear switch might not like tactile switches because there are people like Jorona who only like tactile switches and can't stand linear ones.

I happen to like all of the Cherry switches I've tried. I cannot say the same for Alps...the ABS M1 I had was horrible to type on. So I own multiple keyboards with Blues/Reds/Browns and finally picked up a Monoprice with Blacks because it was on sale and I wanted to finally find out for myself if I liked them (I didn't think I would because of the stiffness). Well guess what, they aren't so bad after all. In fact I like them too, so I will probably keep that board as well. If you can only afford one mechanical keyboard then sure, pick your favorite type of switch and use that for everything. I happen to like the different characteristics and nuances of linear/tactile and the various degrees of feedback and force required to press them.
 
I'll take any Cherry switch based keyboard over membrane bullshit. But I prefer tactile keys to non-tactile ones. I've got a Deck Ice Legend which I moved to my girlfriend's machine once more Cherry MX Blue options became available. I enjoyed it while I had it. I just prefer MX Blues to the Blacks.
 
Blacks or Reds do have their advantages in gaming, there's something about the actuation points that allows for more accurate rapid presses and registration... but I personally don't care for them in any sense. To me it's like typing on the empty shell of a keyboard, if that makes any sense.

I've had no problems gaming with Blues, but then again I'm not the heavy gamer I was 15 years ago. :D

Browns? Browns just feel WRONG to me... they feel like blacks or reds that something got stuck in... someone here long ago said that browns feel like 'dirty blacks' and I think that description fits perfectly. :)
 
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