Right at the front of your PC sits one of the most personalised peripherals of all time, the gaming keyboard. There's not a device out that comes with more options, be it type, switch, keycap, size, lighting, and more. Something we haven't seen a tonne of in recent times is low profile boards, which seem to have fallen out of favour. It's a shame because I've always quite liked the faster actuation given by these boards, so I'm keen to try out Razer's new BlackWidow V4 line of keyboards with low profile keys.
These new low profile BlackWidows come in both a full size and tenkeyless variant, so you can choose between maximising keys, ergonomics, and deskspace. Both feature Razer's HyperSpeed wireless connectivity with the 2.4 GHz dongle which delivers up to a 1,000 Hz polling rate and can be shared over multiple Razer devices. They also work with Bluetooth and Type-C wired connections, and let you choose between Razer's lineup of clicky, linear, and orange mechanical switches, now in a low profile format.
Despite Razer's recent claims that optical switches are better, these are still mechanical and should be familiar to most who've used a Razer board in the past. Some boards like the Razer Huntsman V3 Pro TKL use Razer's optical technology, which our reviewer found excellent. So that might be a better bet if you want to see what all the rage in optical keys is about.
These new Blackwidows will likely feel, unsurprisingly, more like the Razer BlackWidow V4 Pro, which sports fantastic feeling tactile switches. It will be a little different though, due to that shortened travel time, and hopefully added wrist comfort thanks to the neutral resting position of this lowered board.
But the biggest kicker of these boards, especially for esports fanatics, they work with Razer's Snap Tap. This gives them the ability to read the latest stroke even if keys are depressed allowing for super speedy movement changes in FPS and other games. Given this tech is still being debated by the scene, it's worth noting this can be turned off in Razer's software.
The keycaps are also fairly premium. They're doubleshot PBT so they should last forever, and are even textured for her pleasure. Backlit with Razer's famed RGB lighting, these keys are also designed to let as much light through as possible for your brightest gamer experience. Of course, if you want the best battery life you can turn all this off and even enable power saving mode which is boasting 980 hours of play.
With a fair few features, these are looking to be quite fancy low profile boards but unfortunately they come with a price tag to match. The full sized BlackWidow V4 Low-profile board retails for $200 USD, $360 AUD, or $410 NZD. The Tenkeyless comes in a fair bit cheaper at $170 USD, $300 AUD, or $350 NZD so you can save your money while you save your wrists and deskspace.
Whether these boards, or any other keyboards for that matter are worth these prices is fairly debatable. You can get very capable boards for under $50 USD, so forking out four times that can feel like a huge ask. Without going hands on, I can only hope these are worth the cash.
Our current top pick for keyboards is the Asus ROG Strix Scope II 96 Wireless which has hot swappable switches and only costs $180 USD. That's pretty similar price-wise, so hopefully these Widows feel similar. You could also go for something like the $140 Keychron K2 HE, the best board around for wireless rapid trigger, though it won't have the RGB prowess of a Razer.
1. Best overall:
Asus ROG Strix Scope II 96 Wireless
2. Best budget:
Gamakay x Naughshark NS68
3. Best mid-range:
Ducky Zero 6108
4. Best rapid trigger:
Wooting 80HE
5. Best wireless rapid trigger:
Keychron K2 HE
6. Best silent:
Be Quiet! Light Mount
7. Best tenkeyless:
Keychron Q3 Max
8. Best low profile:
NuPhy Air60 HE
9. Best ergonomic:
Kinesis Freestyle Edge RGB
10. Best membrane:
Roccat Magma
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