RAZER BlackWidow 2013 RZ03-00391500-R3U1 Black USB Wired Expert Mechanical Gaming Keyboard

Pros: The keyboard worked right out of the box, software installed correctly, works well with my razor mouse (death adder).

Cons: The key layout does not work well for the casual user. My wife, adult daughter and teen son all have problems just typing with it. the Caps key and the close but not quite right layout makes the typist miss frequently. For gaming, it's spot on, especially with the razor game booster software and the mouse and keyboard software working together, but after several months of owning this keyboard, it seems I'm going to have to buy another one because the rest of the family just isn't getting used to the layout of this one.

Other Thoughts: If you the sole user of you computer, and you game a lot, don't shy away from this keyboard, but if you are looking for a keyboard for a family/community computer which many different people will be using for actual typing (reports, letters, homework etc.,) you are likely to get some serious complaints about keyboard layout, I am. (for those that care; caps key, and the pinky fingers keep finding the wrong keys on the upper rows) they just aren't quite where your hands expect them to be and you have to use the back key a lot. I'm not talking about casual typist either, but college students and business managers keep saying the keys aren't where thy should be).

Pros: 1. Mechanical keyboard, nuff said. When you hit a button, you know you hit a button.
2. Layout is nice and ergonomic, much like gamer keyboards of this type.
3. The Audio in and Mic in ON the keyboard....yeah, baller! Makes for connecting things right in front of you super easy, super quick and ergonomically appropriate to a gamer.
4. Extra hotkeys on the left side are nice as well to binding to random items that you might want to use in day-to-day computing.

Cons: 1. Mechanical keyboard sound. I like it, it's a distinct sound that if you aren't an old school typist or ever used one before, it might get annoying to you. Not a fault of the company, just how a mechanical keyboard is built; be warned if you've never used one before.
2. I like the Matrix/Japanese-American hybrid font they use on the letters, but what I don't like is that in dim lighting, sometimes it is hard to make out a letter if you've lost your finger placement.

Other Thoughts: Over all, a solid keyboard for someone who likes the feel and sound of a mechanical keyboard. Ergonomically is the same as most, with a couple differences, mainly the hotkeys on the left hand side. The only reason I'm giving 4 out of 5 eggs is due to the font. At night, if I lose my fingering, which happens since I don't have my fingers on the ASDF/JKL; for gaming, it's hard to see what the letters are due to the funky Matrix/Japanese-American hybrid style font. Not a big deal, but it's a TAD bit annoying. If you have the extra 30 dollars, go and get the backlit one, it would make it easier to find your way AND is worth the money in my opinion. Mic/Speaker In on the keyboard are awesome as well, really nice to have right there at your fingertips. Great keyboard and well rounded. I'll keep for a little while until I save up a bit for the $130 backlit RAZAR keyboard and upgrade to that. Kudos RAZAR, kudos! ;-)

Pros: Very nice feeling. (my first mechanical keyboard also first i've ever used) I use it daily so it gets tons of use and doesn't really show the part. No keys are sticking.w, a, s, d, shift, and space bar dont really feel particularly worn in, in a good way i mean, i game daily for atleast 4 hours a day, ATLEAST. Gaming keys are a good addition.

Cons: Sometimes this thing goes haywire and i have to unplug it, like holding down certain keys, also maybe its just me but i am constantly accidentally hitting the macro button and its kind of annoying.

Other Thoughts: I got it on christmas so not really sure if it's 2013 or not. Having to set a gaming key to a different independent button for it to show up in game is pretty annoying, if the guy that reads these to check for bad ones knows of a work-around for that it would be greatly appreciated if you reply because i cant find anything, maybe i'm the only one who finds it annoying.

Pros: Great keyboard, very responsive and great feel. Thing weighs a ton and feels very solidly built.

Cons: Keyboard is a little bit noisy. For games this is really no problem, but if you need it for a quiet work environment with others working in near proximity you should look elsewhere.

Pros: Typing is really smooth
Good weight of keyboard
cord is braided and solid

Cons: KEY STICKS/DOESN'T WORK

The 0 key rarely works (i just pressed 0 about 8 times to get it to go)

This is a problem for me when writing some code now and then, since the parenthesis key ")" also is affected by this.

I expected more for a 100$ keyboard honestly, pretty disappointing..

Pros: Solid keyboard with mechanical keys. Headphone, Mic, and USB on keyboard. Nice feel.

Cons: Software buggy and makes keyboard unusable. After 10-20 minutes started firing off the return/enter key constantly. Requires you to create a "Cloud" account just to use the software. A little noisy.

Other Thoughts: If they fix the software it could be a decent keyboard. Support contact info is hidden and very hard to find.

Manufacturer Response:

Hi,

It sounds like you were able to find our contact page -- it's not hidden at all. http://razersupport.com and select "Contact Us"

Please get in touch with us if you need further support.

Thanks.

Razer Customer Satisfaction

Pros: Its mechanical, big improvement in CS

Cons: typing is horrible - this is the only cons about this keyboard

Pros: Solid, good keys

Cons: I've had this just over one year (BF3 edition)
Now it's spamming keys as I type, only way to fix it is unplug the keyboard and plug it back in. Just got off the phone and since it's 3 months over the 1 year warranty, I can't do anything. I blew 100+ dollars on a bogus keyboard. This same situation also happened to my Naga mouse. Not happy at all, obviously they're making these with super cheap internals.

Pros: Keys feel amazing

Keyboard is weighted so it wont move while playing games

Cool light up Razer logo in the middle

Cons: Keys are not back-lit (oh well, its still awesome)

Other Thoughts: First real keyboard I've ever owned, I could never go back to a normal keyboard. My fingers are in heaven typing on this thing. Seriously give it a shot.

Pros: First of all, I want to say that I have an older model of the Razer Blackwidow. I purchased mine about 4 months ago, so I had to look for the model that looks closest to mine.

The keys on this keyboard are nothing short of amazing. Ever since I have been regularly using a mechanical keyboard, I can't see myself using a regular keyboard ever again. There is just no substitution for this amazing keyboard. I love hearing that satisfying click when you type.

This keyboard is also heavy, so it won't slide around unless you want it to.

I like that the letters on the keys are actually part of the keys that rise up slightly. I have had this keyboard for a long time and not a single symbol on the keys has started to wear off.

ALL the keys are mechanical. F1-F12 are mechanical, numpad is mechanical, everything is mechanical! Most mechanical keyboards aren't fully mechanical, so it's nice to see that this one is fully mechanical.

The macro keys are a nice touch, though I don't use them, they're there if I need them.

The software that you can download for the keyboard is very nice and works perfectly, I have had no problems with it. You can customize macros and macro profiles. As far as I know, there is no limit to how many macro profiles you can have.

Cons: Now for the cons.

Since my keyboard is a slightly different model than the one I'm reviewing, there will be a few different things here that may not apply to the keyboard I'm posting under.

My keyboard has a gloss finish, a very cheap one at that. If you lay your hands on the gloss for long enough it will actually melt off onto your hands. Luckily I don't lay my hands on the keyboard that much at all, so it isn't that much of a problem.

Another thing is the lack of a USB and headphone jacks on the side of the keyboard. Would've been nice to have.

No backlighting. I knew this when buying it, but I couldn't afford the one with backlighting, sadly.

Other Thoughts: This concludes my review of the Razer Blackwidow mechanical keyboard. Don't let the cons that I states that don't apply to this model keyboard deter you from buying it. It seems they've updated the model, I sure which I could have bought it after they changed the model :(.