When it comes to PC peripherals, Razer is one of the most
prestigious and most sought after brands by gamers and the reasons are clear
every time you get your hands on one of their products.
Veteran in the production of gaming peripherals, Razer
continues its commitment to expand its range of products and improve, from time
to time, those already on the market, as in the case of our protagonist, the
Blackwidow Chroma V2 . The company, in order to adapt its products to the needs
of its community, has even created a series of exclusive mechanical switches.
Speaking of keyboards, we recently had the opportunity to
try the new Blackwidow Chroma first hand, a real revision of the V1 with a
series of improvements based on user feedback.
If in the past the keyboard had already obtained several
positive opinions, the V2 only demonstrates that improving an already excellent
product is very possible especially if you listen carefully to your customers .
During this review, as usual, we will analyze in detail the Razer Blackwidow
Chroma V2 through a photo gallery, we will then take a look at the technical
specifications, we will analyze the potential offered by Chroma lighting and,
after spending a few lines on ours overall experience, we will conclude with a
final verdict on the product.
Technical specifications
In addition to the complete and independent lighting of
every single key which we talk about in the next paragraph dedicated to Chroma
functions, the Blackwidow V2 is built to perfection for the most demanding
gamer . As already mentioned, the green mechanical switches impart a force of
50 grams to ensure excellent feedback with each press and an excellent key
return time to be immediately ready for the next press. The green mechanical
switches are characterized by a short “dead zone” accompanied by a clear
audible “click” that activates the button. In terms of noise, we are close to
the Cherry MX Blue switches but with a softer click and feel, it goes without
saying that the selection of the switches is the most important part and to
give you a clear idea we leave you the video below.
By reviewing the various features of the keyboard:
• Keys
resistant to over 80 million keystrokes.
• Powered
By Razer Chroma , the full backlight with 16.8 million colors that allows a
complete customization of the keyboard lighting effects.
• Ultimate
Gaming Confort - The keyboard features a comfortable palm rest that
magnetically attaches to the keyboard. Ideal for long gaming or writing
sessions.
• 5 fully
programmable Macro Keys .
• Audio e
USB pass-through.
It goes without saying that, as usual, it is a premium
product for those who do not accept compromises, the plastic shell is
accompanied by the synthetic leather wrist rest cushion to avoid annoying halos
due to wear.
For more information, see the dedicated Razer website .
Chroma lighting
The flagship of the keyboard is the whole Chroma package,
which guarantees total customization of the lighting of the keys. Thanks to
Chroma , every single key is mappable with a lighting effect of its own, it is
possible to create complex effects and scripts to obtain stunning results .
The user will be free to experiment with infinite
combinations to create bright lighting effects or find the perfect minimal look
in perfect harmony with their gaming station.
Razer Chroma has an entire SDK dedicated to developing
applications and profiles to completely revolutionize the concept of keyboard
backlighting. In fact, the keyboard is capable of adapting to its surrounding
environment or to the activity we are carrying out.
To make the idea a little better, imagine you're playing
your favorite game and seeing the various keys related to your character's
skills light up whenever the skill is available. Thanks to the Chroma Workshop
it is in fact possible to download many applications to be installed on the
keyboard in order to better prepare it for our gaming sessions. Take Overwatch
for example, each selected character will have its own color in the keyboard, a
series of keys connected in real time to the game and lighting effects
depending on what we are doing while we play.
But it doesn't stop there, Razer Workshop has super complex
user-created lighting profiles for stunning lighting effects , entire scripts
or applications you can run on your keyboard, audio visualizers that
synchronize the keyboard with the music you're listening to, or even entire
minigames to play. with the leds of your keyboard.
If you are a real maniac of customization you will have
bread for your teeth, Chroma technology is perhaps one of the most supported on
the market and Razer continues to provide the community with all the tools
necessary to further expand the package of services offered.
We spent hours and hours indulging in the lighting effects
available with the Blackwidow V2 and we were more than thrilled , the ability
to integrate with our applications or simply to be able to create complex light
effects based on multiple levels makes it the perfect keyboard. when it comes
to personalization. Everything is enclosed in a simple and intuitive software
suitable for everyone. With a couple of clicks you reach the desired effect, if
it is not enough, you access the Workshop and start a colorful search for the
profile suitable for our needs among thousands and thousands of results.
Although the other peripherals in the market are very
respectable, Chroma lighting and the entire ecosystem created by Razer is
absolutely one of the reasons for the pride of the company, and it is very
clear why.
Performance and Comfort
In the life of a video game editor, the keyboard is perhaps
the most important tool. Not only does it allows you to experience vast digital
worlds, playing and interacting with the game universe, but it allows you to
tell them typing by typing. The supplied wrist pad is perhaps one of the best
things a company like Razer could have come up with, so much so that we wonder
why it's not a standard. Obviously it is completely personal tastes, but once
magnetically hooked to the keyboard, our wrists find rest in the comfortable
pad, making both gaming and writing sessions even more comfortable and less
stressful going for the long ones.
In gaming, the keyboard is presented in the best way and
gives the best of itself. Each key has excellent feedback, each click provides
clear feedback to the player's fingers and the execution of commands is,
undoubtedly, instantaneous. The 5 Macro keys are a great addition,
indispensable in the PC world regardless of the type of game chosen. An
inevitable addition to the previous model which instead did not have any extra
buttons, the reason for many complaints about the product.
We spent several consecutive hours in gaming sessions, going
from game to game the keyboard was comfortable and versatile, the spacing
between the keys excellent and the integration with Razer Synapse has always
satisfied our every little whim.
However, the absence of multimedia keys should be noted, as
can also be seen in the photo gallery.
Conclusions
You could spend days fiddling with Razer Synapse to find
your favorite Chroma configuration or explore the Chroma Workshop and discover
an entire community dedicated to creating state-of-the-art configurations. The
quality of the backlight and all related effects are some of the best we've
ever laid eyes on. The truth is that we are faced with an excellent product
from all points of view without too much to report. The keyboard is extremely
comfortable and suitable for many situations, the design incorporates the lines
of its predecessor and the construction materials are more than excellent, as
long as you are not looking for a metal keyboard ( See BlackWidow X ).
There are not really many improvements introduced in the V2,
but for a handful of euros more the revision of the Blackwidow certainly has
some tricks up its sleeve that can make you appreciate the product even more.
The keyboard is available in three different switch variants, giving maximum
freedom of choice to the end user who can thus select the model that best suits
their needs.
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