BlackWidow X Chroma
Any color you like, as long as it’s green
THE MECHANICAL KEYBOARD market continues to be vibrant, with entries from Asus, Corsair, and all the usual suspects, as well as more leftfield brands. Razer continues its campaign to confuse the hell out of anyone looking for a keyboard, with the BlackWidow X Chroma joining the likes of the Deathstalker Expert, Deathstalker Chroma Membrane, BlackWidow Tournament Edition Essential, BlackWidow Tournament Edition Chroma, BlackWidow Ultimate Stealth, Anansi and more.
The “Chroma” in the name means it offers multi-colored lighting, which won’t be on everyone’s wish list. The BlackWidow X does, however, have a lighting mode that we almost approve of—a reactive system that lights keys as you press them, and leaves them lit for a few seconds, before gracefully fading them out. As ever, the best use for such a lighting system is for a discreet glow, so you can use the keyboard in less-than-adequate ambient lighting conditions. And, at least, with 16.8 million to choose from, you get to pick the color of that glow. The light passes through the letter cutouts on top of the keys, rather than spilling out around the sides, and we prefer it this way—it’s much less garish. All the lighting effects are controlled from the bundled Synapse software, which we’ve always found to be functional and simple to use.
Razer uses its own switches these days, rather than the common Cherry MX Reds that are so common in gaming keyboard. However, having said that, this keyboard is also available equipped with Cherry MX Blues (just to confuse you further).Razer’s switches are rated for 80 million presses, which should suffice for most people, and each one comes with a neat little dirtproof cap to keep gunk levels down. The keytops come off easily, enabling you to peer at the mechanism underneath, and Razer will sell you a Mechanical Keyboard Enhancement Kit, with tiny bright green rubber grommets for you to add under them to muffle the sound. The switches’ activation point is quite high, enabling a speedy user to avoid bottoming-out the key before moving on to the next, and the unmuffled click is loud and noticeable, even over speakers playing the heady symphony of a game soundtrack. NOT YOUR TYPE? The height of the keys will come as a surprise to anyone used to a standard membrane keyboard, and we found it tiring to type on for long periods. While this is something that would pass with use, this keyboard is built with gamers in mind, rather than typists. Holding your hand on WASD is comfortable, though you may want to add your own wrist rest. The small feet at the back are capable of altering the angle, but only in one position, and, as is often the case, their use makes the keyboard more prone to slipping across a desk, thanks to their small contact patches.
The X lacks the macro keys of the fullblown BlackWidow Chroma, which comes with Green or Orange switches, and there are a few other differences. The metal of the keyboard’s frame is exposed in the X, with no plastic cover. One piece of seamless metal makes up the entire top of the unit, wrapping around the sides as well. There are no macro keys or USB/ audio passthrough ports, and a single braided cord breaks out the back.
In a world where more is often looked upon as being, well, more, we applaud this smaller keyboard, with its simplicity of design and clarity of purpose. It’s only $10 cheaper than its bigger brother, however, so the decision over whether you want those macro keys or not is now more agonizing than ever. –IAN EVENDEN
BlackWidow X Chroma
CLICKY Streamlined design; useful lighting mode; good feel to the keys.
HICKEY Not ideal for typists; not as cheap as you might expect.
$160, www.razerzone.com