This is the first "super high end" keyboard I've bought.
I laughed at the thought of spending more than $100 on a keyboard.
However, my old one was having issues and I needed a new one.
During my review searching, I kept seeing BlackWidow Elite mentioned. It showed up more than a few times.
I checked it out and was like "No! I'm not paying almost $200 for that!" then I kept reading. And it showed up a lot.
After doing tons of searching through Amazon, I ended up coming back to this one and doing more research. I was intrigued. I started looking for specific reviews about this keyboard. YouTube. Reddit. Amazon. And more...
This keyboard has a lot going for it.
It's surprising how many bells and whistles this comes with. Each individual key light can be controlled in some manner.
The app for it (call Synapse...kind of like in the movie Antitrust) has tons of presets. And there's an entire community of people who make color themes for this. I love it. Someone is always coming up with something new and interesting.
The app lets you set up macros and key binds for almost anything. And there's a bunch of other stuff I haven't even messed with.
Synapse could use some QOL improvements and some upgrades. The layout design could use some love and navigating the app takes some getting used to. It's not horrible but there is definitely room for improvement. For what it is right now, it's a good app. I don't hate it.
What I don't like is that the keyboard immediately prompts you to install Synapse as soon as you plug it in. I'm sure there are some people who want to use the keyboard as just a mechanical keyboard and they don't want to use the app. I'm not sure if this is an option for them, but it should be. A $200 keyboard should not force a software installation to be used.
As I have not tried using my keyboard without Synapse, I can't expound on this topic other than to say the popup might be construed as "invasive" to some users.
Another small thing I really like about the keyboard is the side USB plug. It's great for doing quick USB connecting and it's within arms reach at all times.
I have USB 3.0 hub that I'm going to try connecting to it at some point to give me some additional ports.
You also get a plug for audio in and audio out. I don't use these ports so they have no real effect on me and I can't comment on how the sound quality is. But I'm sure there are others who will love the quick audio port access. Especially if you have a tower that doesn't have easily accessible ports.
Let's talk about the additional buttons that come with this. The ones not part of the standard 104.
In the upper right corner, this keyboard comes with a spinner dial for controlling volume and a rather large mute button in the center of the dial. To the left of the dial are three media buttons. Rewind, play, and forward (in that order).
Now, I like having media buttons. But I LOVE these things because, as a scripter, I can reassign these to do a multitude of things.
Example: In my main script that I have running at all times, I wrote a piece of code that lets the dial control the main system volume normally but when the Windows key is held, the volume dial adjusts the sound of Winamp without me having to actually open Winamp (Winamp is a music player that has been around forever. I've used it for years and haven't found a better replacement for it.)
On a side note, if you're curious about rebinding keys, making advanced custom macros, and more, check out the language AutoHotkey. It's completely free, it's one of the most user-friendly programming languages I know of, and the community loves teaching newcomers how to create programs. They have a very active main forum, subreddit, and Discord.
Back to the review.
Finally, I want to talk about the key switches. The Razer greens exceeded my expectations. I've been using this keyboard for long enough that I can comfortably say these keys are probably the best ones I've used.
Before this, I had Cherry MX Blues and I loved those. But these greens seem like they're just a smidge better. They're really responsive. The pressure requirement per keypress is great. And I love the "clack" they make.
There's something almost soothing and zen-like about listening to a keyboard talk as you create something.
I do all the major things keyboards are used for: Gaming, coding, and composition.
For gaming, it's all about response time and key pressure. The greens have been fantastic in both areas! I've set multiple new records on StepMania (think DDR for your fingers) using this keyboard. The switches seem to be so accurate that I'm hitting notes, rolls, and crossovers that I was having difficulties hitting before. I have a folder of favorite songs and I've gone up 1-2 grades on almost every song in there. Not only that, there are certain songs I had never finished that I've gotten past with this keyboard. I highly doubt that my skill level randomly jumped that much after getting this keyboard. Gotta give props where props are due.
For coding and composition, all I care about is not missing keystrokes. Give me what I type.
If I'm coding and I miss one letter/number, it can have a myriad of negative effects. It could be an easy error to find or it might be something so unnoticeable that it takes you forever to fix. Either way, I've never had an issue with keystrokes registering when I'm typing. And because the keyboard doesn't have a super high actuation rate, I don't get fatigued fingers after elongated sessions.
Finally, I have never experienced any ghosting issues (that's where your keys don't register when you hold too many at once). Apparently, this keyboard has a 10-key rollover with anti-ghosting. I play a ton of different games and not ONCE have I had an issue where multiple keys were being held and some weren't registering. I've also noticed that comments like "BULLS#@T!!! I did too hit that button!!" have become almost non-existent. I couldn't be happier about that.
TLDR: The BlackWidow Elite is a solid keyboard, it has great features, the Razer greens are some of the best switches I've ever used, the Synapse app is decent and has a lot of options, side ports are very convenient, the extra media buttons are always welcome, and it never ghosts or miss keystrokes.
10/10 would buy again.
*Authentic Greg Review*
Thanks for reading this review. All of my reviews are 100% "Greg honest". I cannot be bought.
Amazon's review system is going downhill. Paid review groups ravage this site and the removal of comment responses has made things worse.
I strongly believe in uncompromised reviews where the goal is protecting the buyer and informing the masses.
Let's look out for each other!
Manufactured using processes that reduce the risk of negative environmental impact.
As certified by
ECOLOGO
ECOLOGO certified products are made with materials that reduce environmental impact at one or more stages of their lifecycle, from raw materials to end of life. An ECOLOGO certification indicates that a product has met environmental performance standards, which include criteria in some or all of the following categories: materials, energy, manufacturing and operations, health and environment, product performance and use, and product stewardship and innovation. Products are evaluated on the applicable criteria through testing and auditing.
