My boyfriend has had a Razer keyboard for a while now (several years) and after I recently built a new RGB PC, I wanted a matching keyboard.
I bought several keyboards off Amazon and none of them were very satisfying. I bought two Pictek ones - the mechanical and non-mechanical, and the CHONCHOW mechanical keyboard. I will compare this keyboard to those.
The Pictek ones are very mushy - even the mechanical keyboard doesn't actually feel mechanical, and is not very fun to type on. The RGB is also very very dim on the non-mechanical keyboard, so I returned these two. The CHONCHOW one is quite fun to type on, feels like a true mechanical keyboard, but the LEDs were not able to create a breathing RGB effect which I really wanted from my keyboard.
So I decided to bite the bullet and go ahead and get a Razer keyboard, even though it was double the price - and I'm very happy with it.
The first one that I bought was returned, as it had chattering issues (the t key would double-press and triple-press) and I've heard that this can be an issue - so just keep that in mind when you buy one of these keyboards. In the end I couldn't find a way to fix it so I just ordered a replacement one.
I've had the replacement one for a few weeks and it works great. The RGB is beautiful - the LEDs light the keys up all the way, except for F9 and F10, which have small icons underneath the F9 and F10 type. I love how bright the keyboard is as well.
The keycaps feel great, and the typing on it is fantastic. I can't really compare to Cherry MX Blue, since I've never had one, but as a first mechanical keyboard it feels very clicky and nice. Feels nice and weighty, and feels like high quality plastic.
I especially like the design of the type that they've used on the keyboard. It's very modern and why I chose this keyboard over Corsair or other brands... If I'm going to buy a keyboard for RGB effects, I want the type that the light shines through on the keyboard to look nice. The cable it comes with is braided, and the keyboard case it comes with feels nice and sturdy. None of the other keyboards I bought came with a case.
The customization is great. It doesn't allow you to do EVERYTHING (For example, you can't set brightness on specific keys or create your own animations frame-by-frame) but there's enough for almost anyone. You can even set different keys to use different animation settings (some can be wave, for example, and others can be spiral)... Great feature for me, I've set the F and J to be different colors from the rest so they stand out when I'm trying to get to them in the dark.
One thing that I miss on this keyboard is the volume settings. This is a small thing, but since there is no numpad, there's no extra keys for volume settings to go up or down - you need to use FN+F1/F2/F3 to increase/decrease volume. That's the only thing that I really miss from the CHONCHOW keyboard - since I don't use macros or anything.
Overall, a great keyboard - would recommend to most people - and I'll change this review if it breaks within a few months.
Edit: It's 3 years later and this keyboard still works, except it does have some double typing. What makes me so sad is that the font is discontinued, so you won't be able to get this font anymore. To me it's really beautiful and is the reason that I was attracted to razer keyboards in the first place. Luckily I have my bf's and my keycaps to hopefully last me for a long time. And who knows, maybe I'll find a new favorite font someday..
| Brand | Razer |
|---|---|
| Item model number | RZ03-01430100-R3U1 |
| Hardware Platform | PC |
| Item Weight | 1.1 pounds |
| Product Dimensions | 6.3 x 14.41 x 1.61 inches |
| Item Dimensions LxWxH | 6.3 x 14.41 x 1.61 inches |
| Color | RGB |
| Manufacturer | Razer |
| ASIN | B00YZ4E3YG |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
| Date First Available | June 5, 2015 |
