Razer BlackWidow V3 Mechanical Gaming Keyboard Review

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Razer BlackWidow V3 Mechanical Gaming Keyboard

From the early days of the advent of computers, we have always seen its recreational side in the form of movies and gaming and other various fields. Gaming in particular evolved as technology did, and today, we have machines that are absolutely beastly in their processing ability and performance. If you want more info, just check any product’s spec sheet.

Besides a powerful computer strong enough to run games like Cyberpunk 2077, one also needs amazing peripherals for a streamlined gaming experience. If your keyboard has a good build quality and is classy in design, it feels good to use it. Moreover, with multiple lighting features like the RGB lighting which are currently trendy throughout the world, it certainly feels like something that would make your gaming setup look beautiful. That’s where this keyboard, the BlackWidow V3 by Razer comes in.

Specs

Switch Type	Razer Green Mechanical Switch
Key Feel	Tactile and Clicky
Sizes	Full size
Lighting	Razer Chroma backlighting with 16.8 million customizable options
Wrist Rest	Yes
Onboard Memory	Hybrid onboard storage – up to five profiles
Connectivity	Wired – Attached
Other	80 million keystroke lifespan Multi-function digital roller Razer Synapse 3 enabled Cable routing options N-key roll-over Fully programmable keys with on-the-fly macro recording Gaming Mode Option 1000 Hz Ultrapolling Aluminum Construction
Price	$139.99 on the Razer website, and $99 on Amazon

Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Comes with Wrist Rest	Fully wired
Onboard Storage	Costs extra money to get different keycaps from Razer
Excellent Keystroke lifespan	A bit too large for some gamers
Good pricing
RGB backlighting

The Overview

The BlackWidow V3, one of the latest products by Razer, is one of the many gaming keyboard options available throughout the market. However, there is something really beautiful about how it looks and feels. Odd for a wireless keyboard, this is a full-sized mechanical keyboard with enough RGB lighting and backlight support to keep those RGB fans drooling. Whether this keyboard is worth buying or not, is the debate that we will open here and the answer will be in front of you. (Disclaimer: The BlackWidow V3 is probably the recommended one.)

Features – A Bird Eye’s View

To make an informed and educated decision when it comes to gaming peripherals like keyboards, headsets and mice, there are some basic things to discuss and talk about. Without looking over the description of the product and making sure about these features, you cannot make a good decision about the keyboard.

Size

The first thing you see when you look at a keyboard is the size of the keyboard and the amount of keys on the keyboard itself. The BlackWidow V3 is a full-sized keyboard and with the wrist rest attached, and it takes up a significant amount of space. This kind of thing is a bit less common with wireless keyboards, where most of them decrease the size to make it compact and the battery to last long.

Ergonomics

Having almost three incline settings, with the minimum incline of 3 degrees and a maximum of 9, our keyboard has pretty good ergonomics. The detachable wrist rest also allows the design to feel welcoming and easy to use for long times.

Switches and Keycaps Material

The second most important thing to look at as the type of switches used in your gaming keyboard. Depending upon different manufacturers, they have given different color coding to the three basic types of switches, namely

Loud and Clicky
Bumpy and Tactile
Smooth and Quiet

When it comes to Razer, the loud switches go by the green color, while the tactile ones go by the Brown color and Smooth ones go by the yellow color.

Razer’s BlackWidow V3 comes with two variants, one having the clicky green switches while the other having the quiet yellow switches. Depending on what type you like better, you can choose.

When it comes to the keycap material, the type used here is ABS. It’s a kind of plastic polymer which is smooth and shiny and provides the feeling of an amazing build quality. The aluminum face plate offers very little flex, further adding to this amazing quality. Although some users have said that they felt minor wobble with the keys, this is not of much significance, because when pressing the keys one after the other, this feeling is unnoticeable. The incline feet have enough grip to keep this from sliding about, and they feel sturdier than the ones used in BlackWidow Elite.

RGB and Backlights

There is no gamer that would pass on the option of having colorful lights on their gaming computer as well gaming peripherals. RGB as the name indicates is not just these three lights coming out constantly, rather there are different modes, and different kinds of light options that are found on this BlackWidow V3. Using the software you can control the color, speed, brightness and other features, making it highly customizable. The keys are also individually backlit making it easy for gamers in dark rooms and dark settings.

Wireless Capabilities

This right here is one of the characteristics of BlackWidow V3 that make it stand out, it’s being wireless and providing the Hyperspeed features. Obviously, gamers would never want a keyboard that is slow, (i.e., has a high latency.) This would affect their gaming experience really poorly and cause them to suffer in competitive gaming.

This is achieved by the amazing 2.4 GHz connector dongle that comes with BlackWidow V3. It has the availability of being able to connect multiple devices as well. Besides being able to connect to a computer through the dongle, we also have the option of Bluetooth, although to enjoy Hyperspeeds, using the dongle is highly recommended.

It can pair up with three devices at a time and one can switch between the paired devices using a button on the left of the keyboard.

Latency

Just where the wireless capabilities are discussed, it is essential to shed light on the latency. As everyone knows, a low latency translates to immediate responses and this is what is being offered by the BlackWidow V3. Besides the Bluetooth mode which offers a 7.3 ms latency, BlackWidow V3 is very good. It has a wired mode latency of 1.2 ms and a dongle latency of 0.9 ms. Thus, allowing for hyperspeeds and instant response times. This is something adored by the gaming world.

Charging Cable

It’s a USB A to USB C type cable that allows for wired mode as well as for charging the keyboard. It’s a braided charging cable that ensures that the cable is durable and would not break.

Extra Dedicated Keys

People also look for extra dedicated keys like volume keys and others when making a purchase because hotkeys like this provide for the ability of getting things done quicker and easier. The presence of a volume ball dedicated in the top right corner with RGB backlighting and dedicated media controls in BlackWidow V3 make it a highly liked option.

Typing Experience

Many people also work on their gaming systems and use it for writing essays, articles, reports, stuff like that. If one wants an amazing typing experience, then using the keyboard should not make our hands tired really quickly. Rather the keys should be so that they are easily pressed, and the angle of the keyboard should not make our wrist joints hurt. With the option of clicky switches which have a very light feel and smooth switches which just go down without making any noise, the BlackWidow V3 provides an ecstatic experience. Moreover, the detachable wrist rest and custom incline provides extra support to your wrist joints.

The component of noise also affects your decision when you are choosing the switches as clicky switches produce a lot of noise while the smooth ones produce none at all.

Software and Compatibility

This keyboard is completely compatible when used with a Windows computer. This makes sense as gaming is always done on a Windows PC and it being a gaming keyboard faces no issues in Windows whatsoever. However, with MacOS and other platforms, some keys are non- functional, but this is not of major concern.

The software provided by Razer to program this keyboard and customize its lights etc. goes by the name of Razer Synapse 3. It is an amazing piece of software that is very easy to use and does not require one to sign in before you can start using it. The keyboard has an onboard memory to save the user profiles and more than 6 profiles can be saved. Using this software, all the lights could be easily customized, reducing any issue users would face. There is also an option of Cloud Sync for the profiles through this software.

Cost – Value for money?

This right here is the last factor in the decision of a gaming peripheral. Once you have gone through the specs, you compare and contrast what you can get in this bracket of money from other competitors. Thus, it begs the question, is the BlackWidow V3 by Razer worth every penny?

Only you can decide, but based on the product characteristics, this is a serious competitor to think about.

Bottom Line

The BlackWidow V3 is one of the most different and complete wireless keyboards that is both mechanical and made for gaming. Although some may argue that it’s not a traveling keyboard, its main goal is to provide a seamless gaming experience that increases your level in the gaming world. Surely with its futuristic design and amazing keys, this keyboard is the one to consider when you are out looking for a new one.