Experiences and Conclusion
The Razer BlackWidow Ultimate Stealth 2013 Edition is a great example of a no-frills mechanical keyboard. In its simplicity of execution it shows the amount of care that has been paid to its design. As the first modern mechanical keyboard that I have spent an extended amount of time using – I am well and truly impressed.
I lose a bit of my mousing area because of the port placement.
The few issues I have with the keyboard boil down to quibbles. I am right handed as is the majority of the population. My desk setup puts my mouse directly off of my keyboard. The USB and audio ports on the BlackWidow Ultimate Stealth 2013 Edition are at the top of the right side of the keyboard and get in my way a bit.
The missing driver disk is silly, and a key puller should have been included. Recessed rubber feet would have been a plus, but are not sorely missed.
Nothing else really stands out as a negative for this keyboard.
This shade of green is awesome in a dark room.
Having had to use a membrane keyboard while writing part of this review I can unequivocally recommend mechanical keyboards. They are far more comfortable to type on than their membrane based cousins. However, selecting a mechanical keyboard is something that bears a great deal of research both because of cost and of how different the switches are. You should look at the different switch types available before anything else – then begin looking at the keyboards with those switches.
The Cherry MX Red switches on the Corsair K60 and K90 that Scott reviewed (https://www.pcper.com/reviews/General-Tech/Corsair-K60-and-K90-Mechanical-Keyboard-Review/My-Personal-Take-Keyboard) last September feel significantly different than the Cherry MX Brown switches on the Razer BlackWidow Ultimate Stealth Edition
While prices vary, from Razer’s site the BlackWidow Ultimate keyboards are each $139.99. Compared to the retail prices for the K60 ($109.99), the K70 ($149.99) and K90 ($129.99) on Corsair’s site and the price for the Das Keyboard Model S professional (139.00), the BlackWidow Ultimate boards are priced at the higher end of things. However, the Corsair K-series use Cherry MX Red switches while the Model S gives an option between Cherry MX Blue or Brown switches at $139.00 or Cherry MX Red switches for $149.00. The BlackWidow boards are priced competitively for the switches that they use.
As a person who has been labeled an ‘authoritative’ typist by household denizens, I find that the BlackWidow Ultimate Stealth 2013 Edition does live up to its name – my typing no longer echoes as it did with my favorite membrane based keyboard. The Cherry MX Blues may have suited me just fine, but my typing may have been audible over my games.
This keyboard is very solidly built without being overly heavy. It feels durable enough to withstand several years of heavy use. If you come to the conclusion that you are in the market for a mechanical keyboard with Cherry MX Brown switches, the Razer BlackWidow Ultimate Stealth 2013 edition is one to consider. By extension the Razer BlackWidow 2013 edition with its Cherry MX Blue switches is well worth a good long look if that’s the switch type you decide on.
I’ve owned this keyboard for
I’ve owned this keyboard for several months now, and though I share the strong endorsement from your article I do want to point out a shortcoming. In terms of the backlighting, only the primary (non-shifted) function of keys are backlit. So the number keys are lit, but the ‘!,@#$%^&*()’ shifted key values are not, note this holds for opening and closing parens, pipe symbol, all of which are heavily used in programming/command-line shell environments.
Maybe not an issue for gaming use, but definitely an issue if you code or use this keyboard with Linux/Unix systems. Such a shame, as a bit of work by Razer and this would have been a very, very good keyboard.
Cherry MX blue is too loud
Cherry MX blue is too loud also, this new version should help that but I agree the non-backlit shifted keys is the only real let down on the keyboard.
Also the Synapse software is bloated junk and causes endless issues with start-up and reassigning keys to macros you haven’t asked for.
I have the 2012 version and
I have the 2012 version and it’s a solid great keyboard.
The software sucks. It requires an online connection. Hope they fixed that.
I just checked on this.
I just checked on this. There’s an offline mode in the software accessed by going to the top right of the window, clicking on the drop down arrow, and hitting ‘go offline’.
You still need and account
You still need and account and online connection for the first setup. Wouldn’t mind if the sotware allowed you to use it without any kind of login and exporting of profiles in XML (like Logitech does).
Doesn’t mention if the
Doesn’t mention if the keycaps are OEM or authentic cherry height or what plastic the keycaps are made from. Probably OEM ABS.
http://keycapsdirect.com/images/faq/row1keycap.jpg
USB and audio ports on a keyboard make me giggle a bit. With most gaming grade mice coming with two meter cables, do you really need to have your mouse plugged into the keyboard?
If all the audio is being fed to the keyboard over USB then the keyboard has to have some cheap DAC/ADC inside of it to spit out and receive the audio over the 3.5 jacks on the side. One assumes that the keyboard is limited to processing stereo signal has no way to take the more common six or eight channel audio and process it into stereo for headphone/headset users that this keyboard is meant to cater to.
Would have been nice to see the PCB inside the keyboard and get an idea what kind of capability for modding it has. Overall great review, keep the mechs coming.
The USB port and the audio
The USB port and the audio ports are passive passthroughs from what I can tell.
Since I’m not a believer in USB hubs – I had a decently expensive one take out a not-cheap microphone while a tablet and 3D mouse were plugged into it – I appreciate having to run one less USB extension cable from my case to my desk.
I’m also on an Ergotron Workfit, http://www.ergotron.com/tabid/640/language/en-US/default.aspx , so the fewer cables I have to manage the happier I am.
I’ll be paying attention to keycap types in future keyboard reviews and I’ll include a page showing disassembly in any of my future keyboard reviews.
One issue I’ve had with
One issue I’ve had with Razer’s backlit keyboards, mechanical and membrane both, is the way the keycaps are designed to accommodate the backlighting. Their method is to make the keycaps of clear ABS, and then paint them black except for the label part. Keycaps made in this manner have the unfortunate tendency to have their paint rubbed off over time on top, which means that instead of backlit lettering, you get big, undifferentiated blobs on the keys you use most often. While annoying on any keyboard, this is especially inexcusable on a mechanical keyboard, which are meant to last many multiples of the lifespan of a cheaper membrane keyboard.
To clear up the usb/audio
To clear up the usb/audio questions:
USB & audio are passive passthrough. There are four cables coming from the keyboard, but very nicely wrapped inside one braided line.
-2x usb connections;
1 powers the keyboard which is 5V and has a 350mA draw & the other to a seperate usb out, making that a full powered port on the right side of keyboard.
-1x Mic minijack.
-1x Headphone minijack.
These both are colour coded (pink&green) and plug directly into your pc audio.
Synapse 2.0 software/drivers…grrrrrr!!!!…needs work!
-I installed the stuff, set up keyboard, then exited program. Synapse will restart w/ a boot or a user change. Run>msconfig>start up. Uncheck the synapse & reboot.
& it’ll stay that way, unless/until Razor can get it correct. It is a novel idea using cloud, but not nessesary for HID’s.
Do you need to download the
Do you need to download the software to use the keyboard or does it work straight out of the box
Well it works straight out of
Well it works straight out of the box (at least for the blue) for me and it will remain that way for I hardly games. Been playing with this for a while and I am quite satisfied. My other mech is a CS Storm Brown with partial lit. Acquired this piece of kit after my trusty Logitech K800 gave up the ghost a few days ago and I decided to give a lit mech keyboard a go for my daily driver. I have no issue with the noise for there is no one that i can bother with my tapping at odd hours.
Well it works straight out of
Well it works straight out of the box (at least for the blue) for me and it will remain that way for I hardly games. Been playing with this for a while and I am quite satisfied. My other mech is a CS Storm Brown with partial lit. Acquired this piece of kit after my trusty Logitech K800 gave up the ghost a few days ago and I decided to give a lit mech keyboard a go for my daily driver. I have no issue with the noise for there is no one that i can bother with my tapping at odd hours.