Razer BW Chroma te v2 65% Review
So here we are. I needed a 65% keyboard and didn’t really like anything I saw online. I was able to fiddle with this one, and while I think the RGB stuff is a little stupid, the switches are amazing. If you want a quick TLDR, this keyboard is good for being almost silent in an environment where you need to kill noise. So for me, doing streams and youtube videos, and talking to my friends, this does great.
Now for the real review.
My other past keyboards have been old mechanical space invaders or membrane keyboards, either rubber down or something the style of a model M, with one exception being my Blackwidow Tournament 2016 from Razer. This had the Green Switches, basically just Cherry MX Blues, and felt rather nice, but it was too big for my desk and the switches were too loud. I’ll move the keyboard to my other desk or sell it.
This little 65% keyboard, however, is the perfect size, has linear yellow switches, which without looking too deep appear to only compare to MX blacks and Gateron Yellows (which makes sense since Razer basically just copies Gateron), and it appears that I can individually address the RGB on the switches. If openrazer worked in Void like I expect it should, then this might all mean a lot more to me with the RGB, otherwise its just a pretty looking and nice feeling keyboard.
The switches are brief. And by that I mean as soon as you push down at all you get a register. I’ve never had a linear switch KB before, but I like this a lot as this makes it easy for me to slam out text that I need typed. It does get annoying though, as compared to my previous keyboard the keys are about a millimeter closer together so I have had a few incidents hitting caps lock or Z when I try to get S.
Speaking of Z and S, Razer makes it very easy for you to move the keys around on their keyboards, so I can make mine dvorak and not really have any problems. Theres no stupid key blocks like on logitech keyboards that force you to cut out parts of the switch tube. None of that, same quality as my previous keyboard.
Now with all these positives you think I’d be a fanboy at this point right? Wrong. Again, because the switches are just that much closer together to make this thing as small as possible I have to retrain my hands to correct for that. Now from where my hands are normally I don’t have a problem. The moment I have to reach for F Y G or D, possibly B and X, I have a 50% chance of hitting about 3 keys at a time. This really does bother me.
But, to outweigh this issue which will only go away with time, thisn keyboard is stupidly portable. Just unplug the Mini USB cable and off you go to disney land for your LAN party on the cups ride. This is specifically nice for me because it means I have a proper full travel keyboard for laptops that I just can’t type on. If I ever bother to fix my thinkpad I’ll never use its keyboard again!
All in all, you pay for a pretty neat keyboard. If you really like Linear switches, which I apparently do and never knew, RGB, portability, and 65% keyboards, this is worth the 140 USD its listed as. To be honest, I don’t know why people have been shitting on Razer so much still as I think they really have stepped up their game in the last few years. Their keyboards are reliable now, laptops seem to be bought by online based businesses (LTT, other YT channels, some sales places I have talked to), and hell I even bought a set of Kraken’s yesterday and they have the same sound curve as my sony bluetooth headphones. They are good, and people need to learn to get around problems they have had in the past with a company that has changed for the better. Maybe people will try this KB because of this short little review, I dunno. But at least give them a chance.
Oh, and I’ll upload pictures later today.