Razer Blackwidow Chroma V2 Gaming Keyboard Review
Peter Donnell / 8 years ago
Final Thoughts
Price
The Razer Blackwidow Chroma V2 Mechanical Gaming Keyboard will set you back around £165 from Amazon UK and $170 from Amazon US. That much money isn’t exactly loose change, but that’s the price you pay for a top name brand mechanical keyboard these days, especially if you want a great lighting and macro engine. It’s around the same price as the Corsair K70 LUX, Roccat Sova, Creative Vanguard, and a few others, and they’re all great similarly specification offerings.
Overview
This keyboard packs in a good range of features that are sure to appeal to gamers. It’s also a very nice keyboard to use day-to-day too. Some gaming keyboards tend to be quite harsh on the eyes and suffer from that “gamer” aesthetic. However, that’s not the case here. If anything, you could argue that the Blackwidow V2 looks quite bland with its monolithic black finish and relatively featureless frame design. The detachable wrist rest seals the deal though. It looks stunning and understated, but it’s also the most comfortable I’ve ever used. If I put this in an office, no one would take much notice. It would blend in well. Of course, fire up the RGB lighting and start putting on rainbows, it’ll draw a lot of attention if you wanted it to.
Build Quality
The build quality is rock solid, and that’s obviously helped in no small part by the large and relatively thick frame. The keyboard has a solid weight to it, and while it’s not super heavy, it’s obviously better suited to staying at home on your desk rather than being carried to LAN gaming events in your backpack. You do get a few extra home comforts, though, such as the wrist rest, the USB pass-through and the audio pass-through, so it’s certainly going to be convenient to use at home.
RGB!
The RGB lighting is as good as they come, Razer offer one of the best lighting engines on the market, and if you want to set lighting timers, fades, effects, and pick any colour you want at the same time, this keyboard ticks all the right boxes. Personally, I set one colour and leave it, but don’t worry, you can do that too.
This keyboard is expensive, but it’s not any more expensive that rival brands flagship keyboards. I would like them all to be a bit cheaper, but in all fairness, you get what you pay for. The overall quality is superb, the design is slick, it’s got a bit of badge envy since Razer as a massively popular brand, and the mechanical switches are as good as anything else on the market, and rated for 80 million strokes.
Pros
- Excellent build quality
- Powerful RGB lighting engine
- Detachable magnetic wrist rest
- Durable braided cable
- USB and audio pass-through
- Well-known brand name
- Dedicated macro keys and comprehensive macro engine
Cons
- None
Neutral
- It’s quite expensive, but all high-end mechs are these days
“The Blackwidow v2 is Razers best keyboard to date, and now comes with more switch choices than ever before!”