The Admiral reviews:
Razer Black Widow Ultimate 2013 Edition
1. AESTHETIC QUALITY
Razer products almost always look great. The clean lines, striking green and black color scheme, they know how to make something look appealing. It's when you actually start using them that they start to slack off. The Black Widow Ultimate has a bright green glow, with each key being individually lit. Naturally, this adds a lot to the price, but it really pays off.
The matte black finish means it looks stylish without absorbing every fingerprint in a 2 mile radius. The letters and numbers come through quite clearly in the dark, meaning if you're slammed off your ass and can't touch type for whatever reason, you can easily find that key without having to find your light switch first.
2. BUILD QUALITY
This is where most Razer products completely fail. I'm a fairly big and aggressive man, much like a Silverback gorilla. The Black Widow isn't much of an exception. Whereas most membrane keyboards can be beaten, thrown, smashed, stomped and burned and still survive, the Black Widow is made of much more delicate stuff. However, this does not detract from the feel of the keys. In fact, the plastic feels quite good to the touch. This is the only keyboard I have ever actually enjoyed the simple act of typing. The Cherry MX Blues on this thing feel (and sound) amazing. If you've got an essay or large assignment coming up, the Black Widow can make typing it up much less of a chore. Despite it's fairly fragile build components, if you take care of it, it's going to last for a long time. The cable is heavily braided, making it quite resistant to damage and tangling.Just don't unleash your fury on it.
3. PERFORMANCE
This is probably the most important part of a keyboard; it's ability to perform. And holy shit, does it perform. Each key is a self contained unit, a feature of mechanical keyboards that separate them from membrane keys. Instead of having to press a piece of metal down to the bottom of the board, you only have to press a short distance in order to activate a switch. The keys actually activate about a third of the way down, cutting down a fair bit of time when typing. This means it actually bolsters your reaction times slightly. It's an incredibly short time, but in games like Quake or DOTA, that REALLY matters. It doesn't make you superhuman, or qualifies you for MLG, but the action you want to happen, will happen sooner than if you were using a membrane keyboard. Some people won't like the "click-clack" of the switches, but I certainly do. It makes each key press that much more satisfying.I can safely say this is a shining example of a good mechanical keyboard.
4. FEATURES
Unlike most gaming keyboards, this isn't loaded down with gimmicks or pointless add-on's; it's straight to the point. It's most prominent feature is, of course, the Cherry MX Blues. It also has 5 macro keys on leftmost side of the keyboard. However, you must use the Razer Synapse software to utilize them, and Synapse doesn't work particularly well. I wouldn't bank on those macro keys. It also has a USB port on the side and a headphone and microphone jacks that work entirely as passthroughs- the keyboard must take up an additional USB port and the microphone and headphone jacks on your computer to utilize them. But for headsets with ludicrously short cables, that can be a real life saver.SUMMARY
The Black Widow is an amazing keyboard. While it has a fairly steep price tag of $130 USD, each and every single penny is worth it. It really makes both typing and gaming more enjoyable, and it's pretty fancy looking to boot. Not everyone will be suited to the Black Widow Ultimate, and there are cheaper, but less pretty versions out there. There is also a Tournament Edition, which, puzzlingly, just removes the Numpad. And a Stealth edition, for those who don't like to hear themselves type.All in all, The Razer Black Widow Ultimate 2013 Edition is an amazing keyboard that I highly recommend.
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