Razer Huntsman Gaming Keyboard review

Razer Huntsman Gaming Keyboard review

Razer Huntsman Gaming Keyboard review

hey everyone with another review for you today we're looking at the razor Huntsman gaming keyboard this is very different from what we seen from waser before this is using their brand new digital optomechanical switches these years have been infrared light which is broken by the switch stalk and then sends the signal to the keyboard more on those later as a quick note there's actually two versions of the full-size keyboard available alongside the newly announced tournament Edition which is the 10 keyless version the one I have here is the standard version that retails at $$ pounds there's also an elite version that's got media controls a wrist rest and underglow that retails at $$ pounds so quit things tonight before we get into the box this does perky RGB with the Razer synapse 3 we've seen this one generally every razor keyboard nowadays it also has tanki anti-ghost it roll over five different onboard storage profiles they're using abs key caps and you have a pulling weight of a thousand Hertz and a nice braided 2.1 meter cable it was a quick note I'm going to say this in every video just because people asked the picture on the box is aus layout keyboard and the one I'm actually reviewing is a UK as

obviously I'm in the UK it's easier for them to print the same layout on every box than it is to do different regions and specific ones so that's why the picture on the box and what I've got inside that you're going to see in the review is different so included inside the box we've got the manual a little welcome note from Razer and then the Razer stickers we've got the nice Razer logo so different from just to raise a holographic logos but also quite nice I reckon they can definitely fit somewhere in your setup okay so let's not waste any time let's get straight onto that your keyboard itself as you can see from this shot looks pretty clean I do like the minimal style that this one offers obviously they do the elite version has got the media controls that underglow in the wrist rest but obviously you're going to pay for that if you want those features but those of you that do will obviously know that but I do love how simple this is just R a sleek and black just a very simple Razer logo in the corner now I did clean this keyboard before I did the video but it does pick up grease on the key caps quite easily so just something to make you aware of but that being said I have used this you know all day so it's going to be but for a few

hours at a time it's not going to make a difference of course I'd you being able its glory there going through this spectrum on Razer synapse I will show you some presets that are actually built in there's some additional ones from the last keyboard I looked at and then I'll give you another video link that you can check out the snap software in a bit more detail new cocktail switches have a stability bar just to reduce that left and right motion of course I'll give you a full breakdown about the switches my I think about them but being that stability bars are visible from the side of the keyboard I thought I'd briefly mention it now both the arrow keys you've got some very simplistic lights for the caps lock scroll lock number lock and also your macro recording this hat that's got a little red light when that's active then you've also got a game mode on there so we don't inadvertently press the Windows key and it all pop-up and you know you have to tab back in and all that kind of jazz just to say was that for a nice piece of

mind way of gaming now those buttons such as a macro in the game mode are available by pressing the function one at the bottom of the keyboard and then the relevant keith above on the F keys Rasika options for brightness on there for your lighting and also some media controls play pause volume etc and one thing that I've really come to love is the fact that they illuminate too white when you press the button so it kind of overrides any of the RGB that you set up yourself through synapse and for those of you that have been with me for a while you know I always like to mention white on RGB as it's a very difficult color for it to produce really proud to say that the white comes out spectacularly on this keyboard probably the best boy I've seen on the keyboard yet being produced by RGB of course white LEDs are obviously a given they're going to be good but RGB being a difficult color these do it absolutely spot-on there's no light blue or anything like that to it absolutely bang-on white other things the nose has got a

two point one meter braided cable it is fixed to the keyboard oh so just bear that in mind but it does have a nice braiding on there as well you can't see any of the cables through very nicely done unfortunately and there's no keyboard pasturing this just the one that connects to the PC but personally for me and I've used that anyway so it's no big deal on the underside we got some nice rubber pads for anti-slip when your desk and you've got two stages elevation on there as well so this is at the high saying but then you've also got a medium one as well should you not like quite such a steep angle so under the key caps are these objects wishes and just what benefits they provide to you so the actuation point of these is extremely slim this is where you get part of the speed from and have fun on some occasion it doesn't actually necessarily need to click either to actually register so metally is a new thing from Razer it's the first generation I think it does need a little bit more refinement like I have found on occasion if you

need to press a key quickly twice that I'm sometimes it went wedge to that second press so here's a case if you have to press the key let it go all the way back up there press it again you can't you know DoubleTap them rapidly there's a case of open to bottom an out is a little bit hit-and-miss in that regard so just something they'll probably finesse with time now as you'll hear from the sound sample in a minute this is a very loud keyboard certainly louder than cherry blue switches so something you need to bear in mind if you're gonna be buying this for an office it's a definite no-go for that situation likewise for streaming too I think it's gonna be picked up on the mic too easy in the comparison to the other keys and place you're going to say the orange is still my favorite if they could design this without the clicks I think they'd have a much more of a populist which days because you eliminate that noise but obviously ways did come out with the green switch to begin with and that's known for being loud anyway so I could see where they put their click in there to begin with I think it also needs a bit more work with the stability as well the key caps to move from left to right quite easily but again I think that's

another thing they kind of refine as time goes on so before we get to the lighting let's give you a little sound sample so as you can see very loud to listen to certainly something like I said you can't use in an office or anything like that but should you just be a casual gaming you don't need to be streaming or you know using microphones where you type or anything like that I'm not sure you'll get on with it just fine so in terms of how the keys feel I would say they're closest to Cherry blues as well obviously I did say that they were a lighter key as well so you ought to take that into consideration I would really recommend just try and one out if you can basically I think that's the best way you can really do it just going up and play around because they're not gonna be for everyone just like the Razer green switches some people don't like how they feel so they probably opt for the oranges of the yellows same for this so in terms of the lighting and full customization available I'm gonna put a card on the screen now that'll take you to one of my previous videos that I've done where I kind of gave them an in-depth look I'm just gonna

cover the brief presets that come with this keyboard obviously Chrome is something you can spend actually hours on but this is gonna give you a rundown of the preset effects that comes with a keyboard okay so first off we've got ambient awareness this basically uses whatever windows are in your screen so for example I'm using Skype on this one and whenever you position that it would light up that certain area at the keyboard which is a little bit different something I haven't seen before how much I'd really use it but something certainly unique the next one we've got is audiometer so you're gonna monitor whatever audios going through your system and then adjust accordingly I do like the fact that when you pause it it goes totally black you can also just the starting color from that as well next we've got breathing which is a simple fade in and out you can obviously choose your color as well we can go from two different colors if you wish so for example white and red are ones I've used commonly before next we've got fire

I first saw this on the old NASA I really do like this effects and most warm reds oranges and yellows does make a nice fire effect reactive it is a short fade out on whenever the keys pressed you can set the duration of this on there as well so you can go for a short medium or a long time out next up we've got a ripple which sends a obviously a ripple of effects from the Keeler's pressed spectrum cycling goes between all sixteen point seven million colors that's what's actually on by default when you put the keyboard in star-like will randomly lights up different keys to give a twinkling effect of obviously stars you can set a random color for this one as well or you can obviously pick between what you fancy the wave is a classic effect for either one I use the most when I show off the RGB just gives a lovely variation of color all the way through the keyboard and then we'll goes in circular motion clockwise or anti-clockwise okay so all in all I do like the keyboards the switches are definitely something that can need a little bit of refinement though just to stabilize them and maybe give an option without the click then I

think that's gonna be an absolute banger there are responsive and fast though that high actuation point of just 1.5 millimeters because the infrared does make responses a lot faster as I said they just need to have a little bit it'll play around just get it out to you nailed other things to know I love the minimal design just a pure black with a simple Razer logo a gloss just really looks nice and just pops I do think it is a tad expensive for that is but I certainly would get the elite version if I'm gonna go out and splash the cash so need to have those media controls would be quite nice but it's handy to have them on there anyway just using that function key the chroma lighting is good not quite as white as some other keyboards that I've tried but I think where the key was pretty stealthy anyway I think the lighting does suit it doesn't overpower the keyboard it does give it very stealth overall look even if you do have the RGB on the way for

example so if you're the person that can forgive that click enos and you're not looking for the media controls and I definitely have a consideration for this

racers latest mechanical gaming keyboard it's called the honks man and what's so special about it you may ask well I'm glad you asked because it features racers latest mechanical switch they like to call it the optomechanical switch and as the name hand seduces optical sensors guys this exciting stuff let's get into it hey how is the cone guys robbing here on chips media bringing you the best tips and tools for gaming on this channel you'll find PC components together and console accessories and product reviews such as this one's if you're interested in that consider subscribing in this video we can unbox races latest mechanical gaming keyboard it's called the Huntsman and with that said let's jump into it soul so we got two models in total we got a cheaper and a more expensive slightly expensive one I should say the cheaper one sits at $$ US dollars that is Tiye the one we gonna take a look at today eraser also sells a slightly pricier one

which is called Huntsman elite now both these models share the same core specs same switch and build material but there are a few differences between these two you guys should know about the most obvious one is the palm rest and the under glow as well as the dedicated media buttons that comes with the elite anyway before we start with the unboxing as I said we're looking at an all-new mechanical switch actually a slightly lighter actuation only takes 45 grams to activate the switch here we had a lifespan of 100 million keystrokes which is kind of ridiculous if you think about it we got chrome aback lightning with 16.8 million customizable color options this also works with synapse 3.0 and yeah obviously Phillips you you want to get that immersive lightning experience as well it's gotta be possible with this keyboard we got fully

programmable keys with on-the-fly macro recording we also got tanki roll over with ghosting which should be enough for most people out there got gaming mode option this is standard among gaming keyboards today we got a braided fiber cable we got a thousand Hertz ultra pulling rate which translates into one milli second which is standard as well and we got finally aluminum matte top plate which you typically find in more expensive boards now with that said the OL new switch of course we're gonna do the unboxing as I talked about this the all-new switch as raised like to call it optomechanical this is this is exciting stuff because it uses a totally different technique than the traditional mechanical one I'm gonna talk about a lot more about this in the full review guys but yeah let's just focus on the unboxing part so open the box what do we got we got a few things going on here at the top congratulations our welcome to the next level of gaming domination usually we find a few stickers in here as well let's see if I'm right or

if I'm wrong for gamers by gamers that slick logo as well as the Razer chroma gotta save that gotta save that for later for that special moment right there we go alright so let's just focus on the cool stuff now we got the braided cable here what else do we got let's open this one here what do we got here there's nothing here okay so that's just right there really not that much going on here just a box in the keyboard nothing special all right here we go now the metal plate makes it very sturdy and but still but still it's not very heavy definitely not happy so stand up break the cable nothing special on the back we got legs which can be extended in two levels so to speak got the level one which is gonna leave you with that angle and you got level two with a slightly more tilted angle I prefer to use the more slightly one but that is just me now we got a try we obviously gotta try this out right get rid of this let's get rid of that let's see if I can alright cool fancy very clicky but I gotta say super clicky guys nah it's not a joke Wow but they're very

satisfying I gotta say and it doesn't take much force either more specifically 45 grams for the actuation guys time to give this keyboard round of a test I'm gonna be back in a few days time with a comprehensive review now I want to know in comments down below guys have you actually had the chance to try these all new switch yourself gotta say my first impression is very good feels solids obviously super super clicky and very light as well the aluminum sort of plate makes it look very stylish and obviously easy to hold clean as well but yeah guys gotta cut it for this video obviously we gotta have a look at this switch before we on this video let's see so this is what it looks like you can't really see the optical sensor but you get a sense what it's all about now that's gotta cut it for this video obviously I want to know guys have you try this keyboard

out what is your thoughts how much would you pay for a keyboard for this type of feature we are lacking media buttons you have to pay another what's that for the dedicated media buttons which is quite a lot in my opinion for 150 stars shouldn't that be included I don't know guys let me know in the comments now expect a full comprehensive review within the next couple of days guys

what the tides have actually shifted what's up guys I'm random Frank P and the brand new razor Huntsman tournament keyboard this is a very interesting and unique keyboard that has a lot of people excited myself included because Razer has made strives toward improving their keyboards listening to community feedback and we have a very very positive outlook on the future here with a tournament edition keyboard so in this video we'll talk about the brand new features what I like about it what I don't like about it all that good stuff so first off like we've seen with you know previous tournament edition keyboards from Razer in the past the tournament Edition really stands for just the compact tkl layout we have here so it's gonna be you know ditching the numpad and stuff and for one I've always been a fan of the tkl layout because I just like how it is a smaller form factor and I've never once needed a numpad at least

for me and my uses but like I said the big thing about this particular release is the amount of new features and leave a brand new optical switch inside this keyboard but once you get it unboxed the first thing you're gonna notice despite the form factor is the overall simplicity of this that's one of the things that I really can appreciate is it doesn't scream gaming keyboard from Razer it's very simple looking I also noticed right away how relatively lightweight it was compared to other keyboards so the majority of this keyboard is plastic you know helping to cut down on the overall weight but it still feels sturdy and I wouldn't say the overall of design that this is compromised in any way for being lightweight it does feel solid now first things first something I've always loved about Razer over the past few years is they never chiefed out and went with that stupid-looking ugly gamer font they found here on all the keys is nice and simple

again fitting in with the rest of the aesthetics but with the keycaps comes the first big change these are pbt key caps there are more solid sturdy plastic overall compared to abs and the actual finish on the top of the key caps has this very slight texture to it that does feel really nice on your fingertips when you're typing your gaming this might not seem like a feature to some but once you compare abs to PBT it is worlds different but it doesn't end there because of some of you might have noticed the bottom row is finally not not standard so we have a standard bottom row now as opposed to the years of them using a non-standard bottom row this means you could finally use your own key cap set or whatever you want to really customize it to the next level this has always been a huge not really issue because you know other gaming keyboards also have non-standard bottom rows for whatever reason I don't know but they

finally listened and now that gave us a standard bottom row now flipping it over on the backside not too much has changed here we still the four rubber pads in each corner plus the feet on the backside which have two separate degrees of elevation a six degree in a nine degree so you can feel what's more comfortable for you and the subtle little touch with the for gamers by gamers kind of embossed into it with the glossy finish there as opposed to the all matte finish on the rest of the keyboard and then another new improvement for a move on on the actual top of backside not only is the cable here removable but it's USB type-c it's also non proprietary which is good there's no extra you know hooks or lashes which some other keyboards do all of my USB C cables I have in house they've plugged right in and fit this is great because again it shows they're moving along with the trends USB type-c is the future it's now adopted on here yes in the past you could have used your very own custom coiled micro USB cable but odds are

if you're in that whole you know custom keyboard community maybe you have a really nice custom USB type-c cable you can use that with hear to it then plug it in and use it with your potential other colored keycap set then moving right along to the next to new feature is a definite big one that is their brand new optomechanical switches that they're using inside here now with the you know the past huntsman lineup with the Huntsman in the Huntsman elite we were introduced to these new optomechanical switches with their clicky purple but now for people who don't like that clicky tactile response we had these linear red switches these are brand new created by Razer this is the first keyboard where they're featured but with the new linear switch comes with shorter actuation point these actually at just a one millimeter versus the clicky optomechanical switches which were 1.5 millimeters and these are lighter at 40 grams versus again the 45 grams of the purple clicky optical switch so there a faster switch there a

lighter switch and there's still you know a lot more sturdy with it being reinforced with the stem and these stabilizers on each side but the bigger thing with you know these optical switches is the fact that there is absolutely you know no delay there's no debouncing and stuff the second you actuate it by pressing it down the one millimeter you know it triggers that light beam and then it's automatically registered to your PC so faster lighter better versus you know a more traditional standard mechanical switch especially with something like just the regular red linear switches so you're getting a better switch in the end here and now we'll do a sound test of these linear optimal switches so you might have heard more of a solid clack than a higher-pitched click and before we move on I want to touch on that real quick because you might have noticed these sound a little bit louder than a traditional linear red switch Linear's are known for being a little bit more quiet but these are a bit on the louder side now you're not getting that's that high-pitched tactility and stuff but the reason I think they are louder is because of

the residents we now have with these thicker pbt key caps so it's gonna sound more of a solid clack clack sound that was stupid but it's difficult to explain unless you're actually typing it and using it for yourself the key caps are giving you a different resonance they're not gonna be as quiet as you might be used to a little bit louder because of the solid plastic now while these stabilizers here are still miles better than their competitors I'd say they're definitely not as rickety as some stabilizers we've seen there still is some room for improvement because as you heard during that sound test there's still a bit of wobble and flex and then lastly before we move on I have to touch on the synapse software because people still do have complaints with it I know when I plug this in there was an update for I don't know if it's because I haven't updated synapse in a while but there was a bit of a refresh and one of the things - this keyboard is there's now five profiles stored on the keyboard itself so you do have that five profile onboard storage but with the onboard storage you still need to have synapse on that computer you're plugging this into so I saved five different lighting effects on each of the different profiles and I plugged into a different PC and it was still just the stock color when you take it out of the box

so you do need to have actually synapse installed on that PC for it to kind of recall the settings you have saved on the profile I do wish that was different but it's the same synapse that you're used to going in and creating your macros and stuff saving it to the board as well as the RGB effects so really not too much has changed inside synapse itself but like we've come to expect over the years with Razer and their actual RGB lighting it's bright its vibrant it looks nice the effects are nice and smooth and while I only use the RGB effects for you know filming and stuff for these reviews I'm always someone that just keeps it one static color but at least you had that flexibility with all the effects in the chroma lighting so wrapping this all off the big thing that I could you know summarize this review with for not only the keyboard but Razer as well is the word impressed and impressive what they're doing I'm happy to see them taking these giant strives forward and taking steps away back from that traditional ugly aggressive gaming keyboard look with this it's a lot more simple it doesn't look like you know that keyboard that's gonna be on that 12 year old annoying kids desk that you might just envision in your head when you think of an anoint well view saying this is a lot more simple looking and they're making all the right steps in the right direction so like I said to kind of recap the improvements

USB type-c the PBT keycaps the standard bottom row now and a brand new linear optimal Kanaka switch that is faster and lighter so very happy with all that stuff the one con that I will bring up it's gonna be minor but again for me being in the keyboard community you know the enthusiast community out there it's gonna be the stabilisers while eight out of ten people will probably be content with these because again they are miles better than other keyboards out there that I've tried the stabilizers still have a bit of a room for improvement so while they're making all these positive steps might not touch on those as well because it's a little thing but you touch on that and it's like okay you are now in a whole new market and razors and we looked at in a different light because what they're putting out is way different than anything before and it's way better than anything that's currently out there so lastly I'll leave you with the price of a hundred and twenty dollars that's the price tag for the Huntsman tournament Edition and it's not a terrible price for all things considered with the features and their own new switches it's not that bad um people aren't gonna you know roll their eyes and scream and walk away

from it but I think you know a hundred dollars would have been that sweet sweet price point and that's just me speaking for the rest of the consumers out there but I I don't think 120 is bad considering what we're getting and all the you know improvements over the previous keyboards and judging by the current market share out there of keyboards at their prices so 1:24 a very good improved keyboard from Razer with the Huntsman tournament Edition that'll wrap it up my review

Razer Huntsman Gaming Keyboard review

good people my gaming setup has changed quite a lot in the past few months I've replaced the Razer Viper ultimate with the extra Phi M for RGB mouse and absolutely love it I am constantly in between audio to right now I'm really liking the wireless Anheuser GSP 370 I also stopped gaming on my personal threat Ripper system and instead been using this insanely compact and powerful hoarser I 165 that has the same hardware as my Intel workstation which is just insane but the one piece of the puzzle that actually hasn't changed in the past two months is the keyboard this is the Razer Huntsman TE I would say Razer gets major points here for actually listening and releasing a keyboard with all the features that people have been asking for and it's what price to you at the hundred twenty nine dollars compared to offerings from

Logitech and steel series the Huntsman Te actually has an upper hand and I've actually been using it for two months and we intentionally want to postpone our review videos so that I'm not using it for a week and giving you my impressions on the build quality and all the feature set but instead deliver a more longer-term piece that allows me to see if anything has gone wrong with this keyboard in the meantime this should be fun let's begin after this want to step up your air flow game look no further than the master fan SF 120 M from coolermaster featuring a damping frame designed to ensure stability a connected fan blade design for optimal cooling performance and an anti vibration motor that ensures better acoustics it's very simple to install and it comes with three fan speed controls check it out down below alright so let's go over the

basics first I am quite surprised not to find any snakes only the Razer text above the arrow keys the frame itself is surprisingly light it's mainly plastic with a thin metal plate below the key caps which are floating style and the first thing that I appreciate here is the standard bottom row with emic stems on the switches for easy key cap swapping and customization something Logitech refused to do on their latest Logitech G Pro X keyboard we have a Type C connection with a braided long cable only on the left side again awesome for custom type C cables and in the bottom the dual height adjustment is always nice but the keyboard with these extensions is not as stable especially on a mousepad surface the key caps are double shot PBT and that coming from Razer surprises everyone they are slightly more grainy and matte texture compared to what ducky offers but really solid key caps overall there are a bit lighter in color than the frame so they're more dark gray than black and these are so much better than what Logitech and still Sears offer at the same price so non-glossy fingers even after months of usage

plus no more gamer II font it's a slightly bolder and larger font versus the huntsmen elite it's clean it's easy to read except the font size for the top-right Keys is just too large and looks kind of awkward spending the entire key cap however there are many keys with uneven lighting caused by these black injection in the bottom and it's honestly not a deal-breaker as brightness is quite strong vibrancy and color is beautiful and while the secondary characters on the F keys are not illuminated they pop just fine in white now what we have under the hood are Razer's new linear red optical switches they are incredibly light at 40 grams operating at 1 millimeter so super fast with total travel distance of three point five millimeters so their light super fast and smooth there is no metal on metal contact to register the keystrokes since their optical so the entire movement up and down is clean effortless loud when you bottom out and is rated at a hundred million keystrokes now each switch comes with its own stabilizer and this means

presses it off angle result in smooth motion no sticky keys here so the execution is perfect but these sound characteristics are a bit more clunky especially when you bottom out and that plastic touches and that metal sounding just kind of reverberates through the entire frame it's not that Pleasant if you love speed switches this thing is absolutely no brainer the actuation point is high and the switch is very light it's one of the reasons why I've been using the keyboard for so long just to try to get used to the feel while in game and for text for example the weight of my fingers would press into the key without my attention either activating shift spacebar or pressing a and this doesn't happen with my MX browns from ducky secondly typing airs in the first two weeks were annoyingly common I had to develop new finger memory for more precise keystrokes during text input and fast - now I'm perfectly comfortable with the weight and the speed of the switches this is my gaming keyboard of choice for csgo and

anything casual I'm really fast at typing with a huntsman but I do prefer my MX browns on the ducky for anything text related because the switches are heavier and the quieter too and now the thing you've all been waiting for what issues have I discovered in the past two months so nothing major but basic things like dust pick up on the sides of the key caps is a minor thing because they're so textured my Alt key is starting to wear out at the front edge and no one in this household likes the sound of this keyboard including myself and at least four times that I can remember I have accidentally activated the sticky shift key by pressing it five times and that has resulted in multiple frustrations not realizing what was happening in game where I'm walking without pressing shift or doing something really strange at 4:00 sharp the actuation happens so fast and the recent point is exactly at the same time so you can you can be pressing it as fast as you can and just be mindful that the switch is very fast and requires a bit of

readjustment in terms of finger memory and also realizing that the weight of your hand will press on those keys and lastly the synapse software is optional because of guest node in which you can macro every single key change up the lighting save the profiles to the keyboard and then migrate to computers without synapse installed and what I'm hoping this keyboard would do is send a shock wave to other brands because of just how well this keyboard has been received not only by gamers but by the entire keyboard community as a whole it's a strong recommendation from me if you want fast and light switches and if you don't mind the sound alright that's all for me make sure to check out this other relevant content over here

Bottom line

The Huntsman line mostly interests me because Razer is taking risks. It bet big on optical switches last year, then introduced a new optical switch this year. And now it’s dabbling in PBT keycaps as well. With the mechanical keyboard market essentially “solved” or stagnant, it’s interesting to see Razer make bets on the future. Safe bets, pioneered by enthusiasts long before Razer arrived on the scene, but bets nevertheless.

As for the Huntsman TE itself, I think it’s a perfectly fine keyboard if you can stomach the Red switch’s low resistance. The price is steeper than I’d like, and $150 is significantly more than you’d pay for a tenkeyless board with more traditional switches—even factoring in a set of PBT keycaps. The Huntsman TE is one of the few keyboards that checks all the boxes though: tenkeyless, backlit, PBT keycaps, and optical switches. Maybe the only one. Chances are you know if that’s what you need.