BlackWidow Chroma V2: Esports Gaming Keyboard - Ergonomic Wrist Rest - 5 Dedicated Macro Keys Green Mechanical Switches (Tactile and Clicky)

Paying 170 dollars for a keyboard is worth every penny. Easily the best keyboard that I have ever used. Its modern, has a pass through for headphones (which i don't use) and usb, which i do use. I got the more quiet clicky keys, orange i think? and they work great. Just enough depth, and a slight resistance when typing, with a satisfying click. Its not silent by any means, and has a nice tactile resistance.The keys are in the right place, and the lighting is super nice. You can make the keyboard all one color, and don't have to stick with the rainbow theme. Just an FYI, as we age, it gets harder to see the difference between blue and black, so the blue keys are invisible. I used to think you had to be really old to have that happen, but im just merely middle age, and blue looks allot like black to me now. Too much sun i guess.If you work on linux, and want to use the | key allot, then this key is in the right place, i.e. the same place on the dell keyboard, or ibm keyboard that comes in racks, and most other keyboards. Some of the keyboards on amazon have the | key to the right of the ' key. All other keys seem to be in the same/correct place.The back lighting of the keyboard is fully customizable, and is awesome. its not glaring (i use a solid purple) and a little light shines between the keys. However, the keys themselves are bright enough that the light bleed is not that noticeable.I type about 80 words per minute, and this keyboard is super nice to type on. The keys could stand to have a bit more resistance than they do, but i guess its designed this way. The keys certainly feel solid (clicking, not mushy) but that could be because i learned on old mechanical and manual typewriters. Those keyboards suck, just an fyi. you couldn't type much faster than 50 wpm on them cus they would jam.The only downside to me, is that this keyboard seems a tiny bit small, as in, i think the overall size of the keyboard could be about one to two inches wider. There is plenty of spacing between the keys, just seems a bit small. This is in no way a micro keyboard, or small keyboard at all. I just was wanting a slightly wider option. Apparently this is the feature of this keyboard. After looking, it looks like the logitech - g910 is about 1 inch wider than this keyboard. I might just go buy that one too, and see the difference.I'm not affiliated with the company, and they certainly didn't pay me for this review, or compensate me in any way. I just purchased several different keyboards that had issues, and decided to spend some real bucks on a keyboard that hopefully will last a lifetime.

This keyboard is everything that they describe, and for gaming it is pretty amazing. But, anyone thinking of ordering it needs to really be aware of just how noisy it is. I am sitting here writing on it for this review, and the clicks for each key are the loudest of any keyboard that I have ever used. That said, it is also the fastest keyboard I have ever typed on, the best gaming keyboard I have ever used, and the coloring is just super cool.I used the app and created a bunch of different color schemes. You can create as many schemes as you want, applying patterns and colors to individual keys, groups of key, or the entire keyboard. So, in a FPV shooter game I turn on the color for the movement keys, and a different color for the weapon selection keys, and a different color for any other key, and the rest of the keys remain dark. It really makes playing the games that much easier when you can quickly look at the coloring and know which keys are needed and which aren't. You can assign these schemes based on the executable for the game, so that each game can have a custom scheme, and it will automatically load that scheme when you run the game. You don't have to select them scheme ahead of time, or scroll through them. It is really slick.You have options for the colors like "fire", "waves", "ripple" etc. You can set the speed and duration, the colors and everything else for these options. You can assign these options to individual keys, groups of key, or the entire keyboard. So, technically, you can have a different setting on every key of the keyboard. Personally, I try to highlight the keys that are used at any given time, and leave the others dark. When just running windows, or IE, I usually have a default setting where the color on the keyboard matches the color of my graphics card, mouse, and the color of the water cooler on the CPU. I actually have them sync'd almost perfectly, and it looks really cool, like the computer is a piece of art you would want out on display.The keyboard has other nice features. You can disable keys, and remap them, and this can be attached to a specific app or game. Just like the color scheme. I found that in some games I kept hitting the "windows" button and jumping out of the game, where I would have to resume. This usually happened during a critical fighting sequence, and once I resumed I was not "in the moment" anymore, and it would really mess me up. So, in these games I simply disabled the windows button, and the issue is gone.There are 5 macro keys that you can assign to any combination of keys that you want. You simply tell it to record the macro, hit the keys in the order you want, and then assign it to one of the keys, and viola, you have a macro. This is also really helpful, if you find yourself doing the same keystrokes over and over again for something. I don't use this so much for games, but for work. I log remotely into a Linux cluster for work, and do most of the work on the command line. I try to streamline the command prompt as much as possible, but when in GVim I find myself doing the same keystrokes over and over again for things that I could not automate, so I broke out the Macro function of the keyboard and eliminated these sequences. It has drastically reduced the keystrokes and time things take me to complete at work.For gaming, this really is an amazing keyboard. I used to have an issue where I was trying to move, change weapons and jump at the same time, and the keyboard could not handle all those individual keystrokes at the same time. That nearly always resulted in a frag, or at least severely worsening my score. I don't know what the keystroke limit is on this BlackWidow, but I know I have never reached it. No matter what I do with this it works flawlessly,As for looks and feel, this keyboard is definitely a tank. It is rock solid, a nice heavy metal case. You will be shocked when you feel how heavy it is. Keep in mind this is a wired keyboard, which most people are not used to. But, if you are playing games with it you really want the wire. You don't want to have the slight lag inherent to the wireless keyboards, you also don't want the batteries running low, or out, that you have from time to time in the wireless keyboard. It connects to a USB port, and a headphone jack, and on the right side of the keyboard you have another USB port, for a mouse as an example, and a headphone jack, obviously for headphones. Really slick. I use a wired mouse, too, just to get every last edge I can, and this port makes that a piece of cake. If I am playing, but not alone, I will use headphones, so I don't disturb or distract anyone around me, and I don't have to reach to the back of the computer, I just plug right into the keyboard. They really thought this through. The keyboard comes with a wrist pad, which magnets on to the keyboard, and the magnets have a really strong grip, keeping it right where you left it. With the pad I can type for hours and hours and not have any discomfort. As I stated above, I am using this keyboard to write this review. I type 50% faster on this keyboard than any other keyboard I have ever used. It is really shocking just how fast I can type with this keyboard.That brings me full circle back to the only issue that I have with this keyboard... The sound. Keyboard "clicks" used to be all the rage. I have to admit when I use a keyboard that is silent it just feels "wrong". I like the audible "click" and the tactile sensation from the click, too. But, that is all a personal preference. Anyway, this keyboard takes the "click" to a whole new level. Especially when you are typing fast, it sounds like one of those fast electric typewriters hammering away. The tactile sensation is great, and the keys feel really good to type on. But, the audio is just so loud. It is staggering when you first hear it. If you have someone sleeping in the next room and you are up late gaming this keyboard will wake them up and prevent them from going back to sleep.I believe there is another version of this keyboard that is silent. I am not sure if that is the only difference. However, as loud as this is, I think I prefer the massive "click" to silence. That one negative aside, I think this is the best keyboard that I have ever used, or even seen. If you are a gamer this keyboard is for you. If you like to customize the look of your computer, like LEDs on the video card, and other things like that, this is also the keyboard for you. If you like to customize the settings of your computer, and want the ability to change key functions, disable keys, and map colors and patterns onto individual/group/all keys, this is DEFINITELY the keyboard for you. Unless the loud clicks are just too much for you, this is ABSOLUTELY the keyboard for you. Except for the sound you can't go wrong.I really struggled with the 4 or 5 star rating. I have been pondering it, and having a seriously difficult time deciding which value to choose. The keyboard deserves the 5 start, or even 6 if that was possible. But, it is just so friggin LOUD. If it had a slightly lower volume setting, this would be the best keyboard ever, hands down. Unless you really wanted or needed a wireless keyboard, there is no reason that you wouldn't love this one (of course, except the noise).Until now the keyboard was simply a utility required to use the computer. There was nothing special about it. Nothing like the video card, or the case which I had no problem spending hundreds of dollars on. But this Razer has changed all that. They keyboard is now an important accessory for the computer. It is both amazingly functional, and staggeringly beautiful. Combined with the computer, and the mouse, this keyboard has helped transform my computer into a functional piece of art that I would prefer to have on display for everyone to see. Also, the performance, and the additional programmable functionality has really given me an edge in video games that I didn't know existed.Pros: What else can I say, there is nothing that comes close to this keyboard. Heavy, thick and rock solid metal case. Beautiful colors that can be assigned to keys individually, grouped or all. Keys can be disabled, or reprogrammed. Macros can be recorded and assigned to the 5 macro keys. Keyboard settings automatically run depending on the app/game that is running. Supports massive multiple key strokes, more than I can ever do. Ultra fast response time. Has extra USB port and headphone jack on the side. Has very comfortable wrist pad that is held in place by a magnet. The list goes on and on, this is the best keyboard I have ever used.Cons: Noise. That's it. Unless you need wireless, but I prefer the wire for speed and accuracy.NOTE: If you have recorded and on-the-fly macro and assigned it to a key, you might be wondering how to remove it. The manual shows how to create it, and it took me a while to figure it out, and every time I hit an "h" it would trigger my macro. Let's just say, it was tough to get anything done with that happening.To resolve this you open Synapse, the app that goes with the Keyboard. Click the "Macros" tab. You will find under the drop-down box at least one macro called "New Macro 1" or something like this. It might, or might not actually show the keystrokes that are involved in your macro. I read from people that they didn't see the key strokes. But, I did. Once I deleted the macro from the list I no longer had any issues.