Das Keyboard Professional OR Razer Blackwidow Ultimate, which is better?

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MeanBruce

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Don’t both these keyboards have the same Cherry Blue mechanical keys, tactile feel and clackity sound? If so I would much rather have the Razer with the backlighting and programmable keys. On Amazon today the price difference in only $8.00. If anyone has an experience to share or knows of any strong differences in these two awesome keyboards, your input would be very much appreciated, thank you in advance!;) Bruce
 
I've used both keyboards and think they're very comparable in build quality and performance. Get the Razer. It offers the options you want and, in my opinion, is as good in every other category as the Das.
 
Das does not make backlit keyboards,but unless you're getting a mechanical purely for typing (and in a place with no bystanders), you might well be much happier with another cherry key type.

I very nearly bought a Das Silent until I decided that the premium for a backlit Ducky 9008 with browns was worth it. Cherry blues were never even on the list because of how loud they are.

A few of my friends use Black Widows, and I just cannot stand how loud cherry blues are. Also, I am less than impressed with Razer's build quality compared to any other mechanical keyboard I've played with. It's not bad, per se, but it doesn't bowl me over either.
 
Have a Das original, and tried the BW ultimate in a store. The keys feel pretty close. Only difference is the extra features and glossy finish on the BW. I'd go with the BW for the extra features, a Das without the unlabeled keys is just a plain black mechanical keyboard ;)
 
Thanks everyone for your priceless experience, ordered the Razor from Amazon just now will arrive Wednesday, the Das Keyboard was 8dollars more, but I just didnt feel it, unless the keystrokes were so far superior to the Razor. or some other detail. I am just hoping that both companies begin to produce numberpad separate and ergo designs maintaining the mechanical keys in both full sound recognition and silent operation. Thank you so much.
Bruce
 
There are a ton of options out there if you want Tenkeyless as well.

Three other excellent brands to look into in the future are Leopold, Filco, and Ducky. Can all be had with or without tenkey, with a variety of cherry switches, at a variety of price points, depending on what you need.

My backlit Ducky with browns was a bit pricier, but I felt it was worth it.
 
sparrow.z said:
i just know one thing, every game compeitions are use razer products.
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Could it possibly be that they supply a majority of peripherals to these competitions due to them sponsoring such events? I'd tend to say absolutely.

Regardless, OP, let us know your impressions on the Blackwidow. Its tough to go back to a regular bargain basement keyboard when you go mechanical but keep in mind, mechanical keyboard collections can and do cost a lot. :p
 
sparrow.z said:
i just know one thing, every game compeitions are use razer products.
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Not internationally. A lot of Asian pro gamers use Ducky and Filco products.

skizzled has it right... Razer likes to sponsor stuff and give their products away, which helps explain why they're seen so often.

That, and until recently there haven't been many high-profile companies selling mechanical gaming keyboards in the US. Other than Razer and Steelseries, most of the choices are boutique (e.g. Deck), fairly unknown (e.g. Das, WASD), or new to market (e.g. Corsair).

When there are only a couple credible options, and the path of least resistance is Razer, it's not surprising that they're the most frequently seen. Steelseries products are rarities in brick and mortar stores, only Logitech and Razer have much penetration there, and Logitech likes gimmicky keyboards rather than high-quality keyboards (they should really stick to mice).
 
Woulda gotten the das.
- Quality. Razer just doesn't make very quality products.
- NKRO. The blackwidow is not nkro, it's only 2kro for almost all of it.
- Support. Razer's support is really, really, really shitty.
 
Omophorus said:
Not internationally. A lot of Asian pro gamers use Ducky and Filco products.

skizzled has it right... Razer likes to sponsor stuff and give their products away, which helps explain why they're seen so often.

That, and until recently there haven't been many high-profile companies selling mechanical gaming keyboards in the US. Other than Razer and Steelseries, most of the choices are boutique (e.g. Deck), fairly unknown (e.g. Das, WASD), or new to market (e.g. Corsair).

When there are only a couple credible options, and the path of least resistance is Razer, it's not surprising that they're the most frequently seen. Steelseries products are rarities in brick and mortar stores, only Logitech and Razer have much penetration there, and Logitech likes gimmicky keyboards rather than high-quality keyboards (they should really stick to mice).
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if razer is not good, they would choose other products . as u say, logitech and das.
 
sparrow.z said:
if razer is not good, they would choose other products . as u say, logitech and das.
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I had the blackwidow ultimate. I threw it in the trash. Did not even bother reselling it.
I had the razer mamba, did not like it. I had the razer lachesis, did not like it. The only somewhat decent razer product is the deathadder, but I do not care for it. I don't like all the blue lights they put on their shit, either.

Out of the logitech mice i've owned (a shitload), I found most of them to be pretty good. G500, mx518, G5, Mx revolution, the performance mx, g9, g700. I currently use the g700, and it's much better than any razer mouse I've owned. I'm not a big fan of logitech's keyboards, however. I had the g15 and g19, did not like it much. I did like their dinovo edge keyboard.

Razer's products tend to have worse build quality and materials than logitech's products, and they break over time.

I'd get the Das keyboard over the ultimate. The ultimate looks like a kid's toy in person.
 
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whatever you do dont get the razer, i had one and it broke within a month for absolutley no reason it just stopped working out of nowhere
 
This being my first mechanical keyboard, I am sure I will be impressed with the keystrokes, so the cherry browns are silent? I work at a large desk writing all day with only a single female assistant in my office, so the noise won’t bother anyone, in fact I think I am going to kinda like it. I just wish Razer, Ducky, and Das would break out and make some mechanical ergo boards along with a separate numberpad on the side either detachable or using its own USB connect, for more mousing space. I am sure it will happen in time, until then the Razer Ultimate will suit me fine, I doubt I will use the silly blue strobe function, but everything else will come in handy working in dim light and coming from a Microsoft Sidewinder X6, it’s a huge step up!;) Thanks everyone!
 
sparrow.z said:
if razer is not good, they would choose other products . as u say, logitech and das.
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I'd like you to meet my friend the logical fallacy. You two will get along great.

You assume that the average consumer does any research to speak of, or even fully appreciates what their options are. If you go into a brick and mortar store, you pretty much get two choices for "gamer" gear - Logitech and Razer. When John Q. Average-Consumer goes in and pokes at the review samples, decides the Razer feels nicer than the G19, and that he doesn't care that much about the LCD screen anyway, he'll buy what's easy.

The BlackWidow is a great improvement over a rubber dome keyboard. It's just a joke compared to other mechanical keyboards around the same price point, which have fewer channels to market and far less advertising behind them. Companies like WASD, Das, or Deck get enough business to keep running, but they pull in a tiny fraction of the revenue that Razer does, because they can't afford to negotiate for shelf space in brick & mortar stores, and can't afford the advertising dollars (including event sponsorship) that would bring wider awareness to the brand.

The average consumer never even digs to see what else is out there, and doesn't even know what they're missing.

Razer is entirely dependent on brand equity, rather than any actual excellence in design or manufacturing. Sort of like why the Toyota Camry is the best selling car in the universe despite being boring and middle-of-the-road (and not even remotely near class-leading).

MeanBruce said:
This being my first mechanical keyboard, I am sure I will be impressed with the keystrokes, so the cherry browns are silent? I work at a large desk writing all day with only a single female assistant in my office, so the noise won’t bother anyone, in fact I think I am going to kinda like it. I just wish Razer, Ducky, and Das would break out and make some mechanical ergo boards along with a separate numberpad on the side either detachable or using its own USB connect, for more mousing space. I am sure it will happen in time, until then the Razer Ultimate will suit me fine, I doubt I will use the silly blue strobe function, but everything else will come in handy working in dim light and coming from a Microsoft Sidewinder X6, it’s a huge step up!;) Thanks everyone!
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The key action itself is quiet, but there can still be a noticeable tapping noise if you bottom out the keys (which you will, at least at first). It takes a while to get used to typing on a mechanical.

Even then, it's not quite as quiet as a rubber dome keyboard. That said, the browns are not obnoxiously loud, unlike blues. I like the typing feel of blues but even without no one else around I'd drive myself stark raving mad from the loud clicks and clacks while typing.

And yeah, more variety in the mechanical space would be great, but the number of buyers is fairly small. Most people just don't care enough to pony up for a decent keyboard when they can get something with keys and a USB port at Wally World for under $10.
 
I agree that, at its price point, there are much better keyboards than the BW. People get blackwidow for stupid reasons, such as light up keys. I don't think too many people will disagree. It's really tough to disagree. I'm not sure why das is so popular either.


Razer death adder still is one of the best mice out there. Ive treated mine like crap. Lots of travel, lots of accidents. So I give them props for that.
 
the thing with backlit keyboards are that unless you actually do 2 finger typing. It doesn't really help out at all. I got the standard das keyboard brown s with the keys and i should've gotten the blank keys for the extra badass feature, but i was thoughtful for others. I think i might just get blank white keys as the main alpha bet and leave the the others as is.
 
100inch said:
I agree that, at its price point, there are much better keyboards than the BW. People get blackwidow for stupid reasons, such as light up keys. I don't think too many people will disagree. It's really tough to disagree. I'm not sure why das is so popular either.
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Das is probably popular due to being recommended on most of the mechanical keyboard guides out there, and being easier to find than some of the other options. The Duckys, Filcos, Leopolds, etc. of the world may often be better, but it's always more of an adventure to find them.

purple_haze said:
the thing with backlit keyboards are that unless you actually do 2 finger typing. It doesn't really help out at all. I got the standard das keyboard brown s with the keys and i should've gotten the blank keys for the extra badass feature, but i was thoughtful for others. I think i might just get blank white keys as the main alpha bet and leave the the others as is.
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Backlit isn't for typing, it's for having a bitchin' looking rig at LAN parties. I thought everyone knew this. :p
 
Do not get a razer blackwidow ultimate. Their quality control is crap on their KB's and they even misplace keys on them or some are even nonexistent. Check the reviews on amazon.com.
 
med1kl said:
Do not get a razer blackwidow ultimate. Their quality control is crap on their KB's and they even misplace keys on them or some are even nonexistent. Check the reviews on amazon.com.
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That's what held me back from purchasing one, way too many stories of stuck keys and bad quality control.
 
Count me lucky as one of the few BWU owners that has a working keyboard I guess ;)

I would like to eventually upgrade to a maybe black switches. Most likely going to go with Custom WASD keyboards as they seem like a quality company and are local to me I believe.
 
The blackwidow ultimate arrived, and I just love it. Used the macro keys for Outlook Word Calc.exe and it looks like you cannot open and individual document with the macro keys, but you can. You just have to know which folder the doc is in and then in the Blackwidow configurator hit the Launch Program button, it will only look for .exe files but manually write out the title of the doc and it will assign the macro key to it, fantastic!!! All my keys work fine and Q/C is very high, it does not have a calculator button so I assigned a macro for that. So that is my working profile. I will create some gaming profiles later on. So cool! The backlighting is smooth and evenly distributed, the lowest and the medium setting are best the high setting comes with too much glare for me, and the pulsing is well kinda silly. If I was 15 I would love it. Overall amazing keyboard, very happy I choose it over the Das.
 
I have a Das Keyboard Ultimate and a BlackWidow Ultimate. I really like both. I like the feel of the DKU a little better. Maybe a 9/10 which the BWU is a about a 8.5/10. The blank keys on the DKU is pretty bad ass but not for everyone (DK Pro has labeled keys). DKU has n-key roll over which is nice but I hardly miss it on the BWU. I think I'd buy the BWU if only buying one because I like the added macro keys, multimedia hot keys, headset jacks and back lighting.
 
N1GHTRA1N said:
I have a Das Keyboard Ultimate and a BlackWidow Ultimate. I really like both. I like the feel of the DKU a little better. Maybe a 9/10 which the BWU is a about a 8.5/10. The blank keys on the DKU is pretty bad ass but not for everyone (DK Pro has labeled keys). DKU has n-key roll over which is nice but I hardly miss it on the BWU. I think I'd buy the BWU if only buying one because I like the added macro keys, multimedia hot keys, headset jacks and back lighting.
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For anyone who plays FPS games (hell, any online game, really) regularly, 2KRO should be a deal killer. An easy example that would remove the BWU from contention for me is playing a multiplayer FPS and having to evade in 2 or 3 dimensions and hit the reload key at the same time. Having any of those keypresses fail could be the reason for eating a death, and that's just not acceptable.

I am with you on backlighting, though I know a lot of people don't really care. I don't like blue backlighting that much, though (red or white, please) so the BWU doesn't even really put itself forward in that arena either. I do kind of wish I'd waited to get a white-backlit Ducky, but I am happy enough with the red that I'm not kicking myself that hard.

Multimedia keys, also, are very nice to have. It's one of the reasons I decided to go with a 9008 instead of a Das (backlighting, multimedia keys, and smaller footprint were worth the ~$10-15 price premium to me). They are certainly more convenient than learning global hotkeys if you like to listen to music and play fullscreen games at the same time.

I've never yet seen multimedia jacks in a keyboard worth using. Most have hideous amounts of line noise, whilst the front-panel connectors on case keep getting better and better (my PC-9F has no perceptible noise, for instance). Plus, most gaming headsets have nice, long cords, so hooking them up to your tower instead of your keyboard isn't really a hardship.

Macro keys, eh, I guess it depends on what you play. I've had keyboards with macro functionality in the past, and with my games of choice (mostly FPSs, some RPGs, and I used to play FFXI, which had community-created plugins which utterly negated the need for macro keys) I never found myself using them or configuring them.

I've used friends' BWs and BWUs, and while they are definitely nicer than any rubber dome keyboard, compared to other mechanicals (especially this Ducky) I am just not that impressed.
 
I have a BWU and think its a pretty good keyboard. I like the backlighting because I do use the 2 finger typing method so it helps to see the keys in my dimly lit game room. I also think it looks cool. I dont think it makes me a loser to want a keyboard that looks cool.

The build quality of the keyboard itself is pretty good. I think its as solid as any Ive seen or used. Ive also had no issues from it at all despite my 2 year old getting in here when Im at work (despite my pleas to the wife to keep him out of here) and banging on it, spilling shit on it and even drawing on it with a Sharpie!

The downside is the software is for shit. I had all kinds of issues with the drivers as in keys locking up and so on. Took the first one back thinking it was a faulty unit but the 2nd one did the exact same things. Uninstalled the drivers and used Window's and its worked like a charm for 6 months. But without the software, you cant use the macro keys really because they all default as the F keys. No big deal for me as I hardly used them anyway.

Im not saying its the best mechanical keyboard out there but it isnt the worst although their software may be. If you want backlit keys, like gear that looks cool I dont see anything wrong with buying one. If youre a keyboard purist and like to drag your sack across high dollar keyboard made by the gods, then this one isnt for you.

Disclaimer: Im not a super huge mechanical fan. I do like them but there are a couple (not many) membrane keyboards out there that I do like better than a mechanical like this Logitech G510 that Im on now. I switch them back and forth often for a change of pace but usually wind up on this one more than the BWU.
 
Omophorus said:
For anyone who plays FPS games (hell, any online game, really) regularly, 2KRO should be a deal killer. An easy example that would remove the BWU from contention for me is playing a multiplayer FPS and having to evade in 2 or 3 dimensions and hit the reload key at the same time. Having any of those keypresses fail could be the reason for eating a death, and that's just not acceptable.
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It's WASD optimized so you can perform the scenario outlined. I've definitely hit 2-3 of the keys in that cluster and 2 other keys and it registered them all at once.
 
The blackwidow is literally the worst mechanical you can get. If you want media keys, consider Corsair, PLU, or KBC. If you want macros, consider installing autohotkey, or get a corsair.
 
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I have so many Corsair products the 650D chassis the AX850 PSU, Corsair memory and I do agree with you the new Corsair keyboards they do show some imagination as does the BWU. Honesty I just did not want something brushed aluminum in color on my desk. I have so many components that share the gloss black finish, of the BWU, Verilux LED Troika Desktop Lighting, Seagate external hard drives, that are all fingerprint friendly but just washing your hands with soap eliminates that, and a wipe now and then with a clean dry cloth. Eating a Wendys double while typing will junk up any keyboard. Overall I am happy with the decision, if the Corsairs had been black I might have considered them, but the three no name brands mentioned in this thread I looked them up they are as boring as my grandmother’s feet. So if you are one that possesses zero imagination and your work or mind generates the same I am sure those keyboards are wonderful for the job. The Corsairs and the BWE show a little innovation in design and functionality which I as a writer I enjoy working with. There is no wrong choice here, just different human interface devices for different, well humans, that’s what’s cool!!!:)
 
You guys are silly. Brushed aluminum looks MUCH better than glossy black plastic. It would go just fine with all your other black stuff. In fact, it'd add some pop to your desk and make it look less boring. But I do definitely think Corsair should have made it black brushed aluminum, only because it would please more people. But black and silver always go well together.
 
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Yay! Corsair should have offered both black and silver as their first outing into keyboards, glad I am not the only one. !!!;)
 
i would stay away from the black widow ultimate. ive heard a lot of bad things about the key caps wearing prematurely and some issues with the USB passthrough. the standard blackwidow on the other hand does not have any issues to speak of, the keys are laser etched and they feel nice (im typing on one now.) not a bad board for under $80 shipped. i would stay away from the corsair boards imo, they look cool but they are not fully mechanical (at least the k90 isnt) they have rubber domes on the f keys and the macro keys, big copout imo on a $120 keyboard. they saved like a whole dollar on each keyboard wholesale.
 
I have a Das Keyboard Ultimate in 2008 and it is still used today. I have a friend who owns Razer Black Widow Ultimate and he said that he discovered some issues such as "K" and "L" being unresponsive and left shift button isn't working at all after using only less than 6 months (In 2010). That being said, I offered him a Das Keyboard Professional to replace his, and he was pretty happy with it.

I prefer Das Keyboard because it is "pretend" original IBM Keyboard M with its modern technology.
 
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