Razer BlackWidow Ultimate 2013 Elite

The Razer BlackWidow Ultimate 2013 Elite ($139.99 direct) is Razer's current top-of-the-line mechanical gaming keyboard, and Razer knows the business well?its previous model, the Razer Black Widow Ultimate (2012) , earned our Editors' Choice. Since then, other keyboards have come onto the market with competitive designs and a wide array of unique features, but the Razer Black Widow Ultimate 2013 Elite is still one of the better mechanical gaming keyboards available.

Design and Features
The Black Widow Ultimate 2013 Elite is a mechanical keyboard whose glowing green blacklight puts the "Ultimate" in its name, as the standard model BlackWidow has no backlight. The keys have the satisfying clickity-clack of mechanical keys, but since Razer opted for MX Cherry Brown switches instead of MX Cherry Reds or Blues, they lack the bouncy quality felt in the Editors' Choice Corsair Vengeance K90 or its more basic sibling, the Corsair Vengeance K60 . The keys require only 50 grams of downward force to register a keystroke, and the combined 1000Hz polling and 1ms response time means that you won't experience lag due to the keyboard no matter how fast your fingers fly. Anti-ghosting allows up to 10 keys to be pressed simultaneously, allowing you to fire off the most complicated commands without fear of overwhelming the keyboard.

An anti-fingerprint finish on the keys minimizes smudging, but the same couldn't be said of the matte finish chassis, which picked up grease and fingerprints easily. The keyboard measures 1.18 by 18.7 by 6.7 inches (HWD)?it doesn't have the extra width of the built-in wristrest seen on the Roccat Isku Illuminated Gaming Keyboard ?and it weighs 3.3 pounds, so it won't be moving when you don't want it to.

The glowing green backlight accents the black nicely, but many will find the bright green distracting, or will want the option to customize the color like they can on the Razer Anansi . The pulsing of the light is also a major distraction, but, unlike the color, it can be adjusted in the settings. The keys are marked with a blocky stylized font, one which looks cool, but isn't as helpful for those who don't touch type.

Five additional macro keys along the left edge of the keyboard sit ready and waiting to be used the next time you storm an enemy camp or frag some unfriendlies. The accompanying Razer Synapse 2.0 software is easy to use, and lets you select from a list of preset macros or record your own. Thanks to a macro record button on the keyboard, you can also record macros on the fly. Razer also covers the keyboard with a one-year warranty.

The BlackWidow Ultimate 2013 Elite is also equipped with pass-thru ports for USB, headphone, and microphone connectivity. These pass-thru ports are especially convenient when using a desktop PC, as it's easier to connect a mouse or headset to the keyboard than it is to reach behind the tower and navigate the tangle of wires that may reside there. One issue that I had noticed immediately upon plugging in headphones was that the audio isn't well shielded from interference. A slight hiss and occasional crackle and pop could be heard, especially when using a mouse.

While the Razer BlackWidow Ultimate 2013 Elite is still one of the better gaming keyboards out there, it faces stiff competition. Other keyboards offer similar mechanical designs, broader feature sets, and diverse designs, like the Editors' Choice Corsair Vengeance K90 or the more basic Vengeance K60, both of which have the same high quality feeling of the BlackWidow Ultimate while also adding programmable macro keys, a physical volume control knob, and extra features like swappable keycaps. By comparison, the Razer BlackWidow Ultimate 2013 Elite looks like a competent basic keyboard, with a slightly inflated price.

COMPARISON TABLE
Compare the Razer BlackWidow Ultimate 2013 Elite with several other keyboards side by side.

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