Hardware Razer BlackWidow Chroma V2 Review

£165 to buy a keyboard from a company that doesn't have a great reputation for quality and durability? Not something I will be buying.

 

Heaven knows how much more it would have cost if it didn't have that silly requirement for an internet connection, the reason they gave for dropping onboard profile storage was the extra costs involved.

 

I had an original Razer Diamondback that literally lasted best part of 8 years before I replaced it with a 3G version - that lasted a further 4 years before I switched allegiance to Corsair (I prefer the keyboards).

I can't say I've ever held or used a Razer product that felt under-engineered or badly put together?

 

Or common sense about spending £165...on a keyboard.

 

Folks spend that (and far more) on keyboards all the time.

 

Every Razer product I have ever had has felt like cheap garbage, apart from the keyboard. And every Razer product I have ever had has also broken and stopped working too apart from the keyboard.

 

I know..if folks are stupid enough to pay it, the companies are smart enough to charge it I guess.

 

It's like cars I guess - for everyone who says they'll never touch a Renault/Volvo/Vauxhall after nothing but problems, there's another lifelong customer singing the praises!

All I know is those Diamondback's were rock solid and never skipped a beat. My mate has a Leviathan speaker set and they sound every bit as good as the AE Aego M's I have.

Life's a lottery, eh?

 

I spend a lot of time at my keyboard, I have many, I have some that are >£350.

Even if I spend a hour at my computer each day, then £1 a day for something that I use is worth it imo. People spend far more on things that are used far less and don't warrant a price tag over £20 (trainers, t-shirts etc...)

If you are using something all the time, it is worth paying for something you enjoy using.

 

I would bet a tenner that Razer do not make that speaker system. My guess would be on Boston Acoustics..

https://www.whathifi.com/boston-acoustics/tvee-26/review

Which is why it sounds reasonably good.

Salmosa - left click broke. Oh and it squeaked like a pig too.
Abyssus - cable frayed and snapped at USB port on laptop.
Boomslang 2007 - software stopped working and was never updated so had to stop using it.
Naga - right click went
Tron mouse - right click went (not mine, my step daughter's BF)

The quality of all of them was completely pants tbh. The Boomslang started out nice (I still have it in the tin) but the paint started wearing off of the body.

After the Naga I stopped buying anything made by Razer. I guess I was under the impression that if you spend a lot of money on something you can automatically assume it is made well. Yeah, see, doesn't work like that for Razer. The better looking something is the more money it costs but fundamentally it's all made the same way using the same methods in China so there's just no point.

The BF3 edition (blue switches) was the nicest Razer product I had but I certainly would not have paid £150 for it. I got it for £27 for a French version.

Talking of French you have it spot on there. Razer are the French car of the peripheral world.

 

I think it really boils down to certain models and user preference. I have had my BlackWidow Ultimate keyboard (you can have any color so long as it's green) for several years now with no issues. On rare occasion a bit of debris may get under a key, but it's quick to recognize and easy to pop the key up and remove the debris. That said, I've always like Logitech mice... eventually no mouse seems to last forever, but I have 3 or 4 different models for my PCs and laptops that are still going strong. I've only just recently started using an actual mouse pad rather than a table or desk surface. I'm using a Corsair one because I liked the texture feel at the store compared to some of the others on display. Only time will tell how it holds up in the long run.

 

I had an Imperator (the first one, not the 2012 one) and it started double-clicking after two or three years. I moved onto a Corsair M95. Best decision ever.