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Razer blackwidow v3 pro Wireless Gaming Keyboard review
This full-sized wireless gaming keyboard is a fantastic option, but it is costly and requires a separate program to change the RGB settings.
Pros
Premium keycaps resist smudges and feel premium
The media keys and multi-function dial are satisfying
Hand rest with premium materials
Cons
Quite expensive
In the case of a low battery, it can be finicky
Keyboard without macros
There is too much dependence on software with RGB
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Small and petite wireless keyboards are sometimes the best ones. That is why it is suitable for travel, switching between systems, and working from small desks. But what if you want all the thrills and functionality of a full-sized, full-featured mechanical keyboard without the cable?
Among the features of the Razer BlackWidow V3 Pro ($230 as of writing) are media keys, RGB lighting, and even a quality wrist rest, making it one of the best gaming keyboards on the market. The keyboard cuts out the cable, allowing gamers to connect via a USB dongle, Bluetooth 5.0, or braided cable when charging. It is the keyboard for those who have everything but wires.
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Razer BlackWidow V3 Pro Specs
Switches Razer Green or Razer Yellow
Lighting Per-key RGB
Onboard Storage Up to 4 profiles
Media Keys Yes
Connectivity 2.4 GHz USB Type-A dongle (Razer HyperSpeed), Bluetooth or USB Type-A
Cable USB Type-A to USB Type-C, braided, detachable
Additional Ports None
Key Caps Doubleshot ABS
Construction Aluminum top plate, plastic base
Software Razer Synapse 3
Dimensions (LxWxH) 17.7 x 9.8 x 1.7 inches (450.7 x 248.4 x 42.3mm)
Weight 3.1 pounds (1,423g)
Design
Razer BlackWidow V3 Pro
Design
Razer’s BlackWidow V3 Pro keyboards share many similarities. Take a look at its showy media dial or its snake emblem on the bottom, or its included plush leatherette wrist rest. It has a sturdy aluminum top plate and plastic base, and is a simple, all-black build. Razer’s mechanical switches have been upgraded by using transparent versions, which are supposed to allow the LEDs to show through more clearly, providing most of the keyboard’s flash.
The keycaps’ font, with its round, friendly loops, thin letters, and lowercase letters, helps keep things light, without looking silly. Keeping things like Caps and Shift in lowercase letters keeps things casual and light. A week of heavy use revealed no fingerprint smudges on the black, doubleshot ABS plastic keycaps, which looked and felt almost as premium as PBT. The aluminum top plate, however, proved less resilient.
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RGB
In addition to bleed between the well-spaced keys, RGB illuminates the south side of the function row at low brightness levels. RGB brightness can be adjusted or turned off using the keyboard, or you can toggle through RGB presets by holding FN, Ctrl and 1-7.
It has a standout volume wheel, but given how expensive this keyboard is, I wouldn’t have mind some extra flare. At first glance, Logitech G915 Lightspeed appears more expensive and special than other wireless keyboards due to its polished aluminum top plate, matching volume wheel, and soft-touch buttons. There is no doubt about Razer RGB, but because it intersects with the aluminum top plate and is hidden behind textured plastic, the snake emblem looks a little blurry and takes away from the subtly aluminum finish.
A few gamers will be pleased to see how subtle the keyboard can be. There are also premium touches, such as a well-cushioned wrist rest (which the Logitech rival does not have). Freebie wrist rests are often flimsy pisces of plastic I’d throw away if they were not as good as my HyperX Wrist Rest. Despite not having the same luxurious and cooling memory foam as the memory foam, the leatherette feels comfortable.
Gaming
A frosted press-in center, RGB lights, tactile control, and a daring shape make the BlackWidow V3 Pro similar to Razer’s wired Huntsman Elite keyboard. It has one stylish volume wheel that lights up with RGB, offers tactile control, and juts out of its side for an eye-catching look. Using the wheel, you can adjust the volume in two steps and feel like you’re DJing. The wheel also doubles as a programmable button. Three media buttons accompanying it also stand out proudly, and are made of smooth plastic. While the icons south of the navigational keys are difficult to discern too, they’re not impossible to read if you’re in a well-lit room.
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Dimensions
Although the BlackWidow V3 Pro is wireless, it isn’t portable. It measures 17.7 x 9.8 x 1.7 inches and weighs 3.1 pounds, the same size as a typical full-sized wired keyboard. Logitech’s G915 Lightspeed, which stays trim with low-profile switches, is the biggest competitor.
dongle storage
The Razer keyboard’s underside includes dongle storage, and the dongle is clearly engraved, so it’s easy to tell what it’s for if you don’t own a lot of wireless Razer gear. Another thoughtful touch is the flip-out feet on the keyboard’s underside, which can be elevated 6 or 9 degrees.
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pair it with multiple PC
Razer makes it easy to pair the keyboard with multiple PCs, even though it’s not easy to carry around. Switching between systems is simple with a solid toggle on the left side that won’t get hit by accident. You can choose from a 2.4 GHz dongle, a Bluetooth dongle, or a detachable, braided USB-C cable. Additionally, I was able to pair the clacker with up to three Bluetooth devices and jump around by pressing FN, 1, 2, or 3, making this keyboard a decent choice for productivity or bringing into the living room.
With the BlackWidow V3 Pro, you can even control it remotely with software, unlike many wireless gaming peripherals. The keyboard suddenly connected three times after a few minutes of inactivity after using it in Bluetooth mode for 13 hours, each time after inactivity. It may be that your mileage varies, and it could have been a problem with my computer, but I have never experienced this when using a Logitech G915 TKL’s Bluetooth connection with this same PC, (and my mouse’s Bluetooth connection didn’t drop either).
HyperSpeed dongle
However, Razer recommends the HyperSpeed dongle connection if you want to play games. As per the TUV SUD certification institute, HyperSpeed is 25% faster than any other wireless gaming technology. On the battlefield, the connection worked reliably, even when I was using my best wireless mouse and occasionally a 2.4GHz headset. When battery life was below 3%, I did experience lag. As a result of this change, the RGB on the keyboard becomes dim and erratic, and key presses are not registered for 1-2 seconds.
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Typing Experience
With Razer Green (opens in new tab), which is tactile and clicky, or Razer Yellow (opens in new tab), which is linear and silent (3.5mm total travel, 1.2mm actuating with 45G of force) mechanical switches (3.5mm total travel). A silicon dampener has been added to Razer’s Blackwidow V3 Pro to ensure true silence. We reviewed a unit with Green switches, which are similar to Cherry MX Blue switches.
In comparison to Cherry Blues (4mm total travel actuating 2.2mm with 60G), Razer’s Green switches have a 1.9mm total travel and actuate at 50G, so they are lighter and quicker to actuate. Cherry’s switches feel familiar when compared side-by-side, but they take a noticeable amount more force to depress (if you’re into this kind of thing). The Razer Greens seem to bounce back up over the bump with more pop, despite both switches having a discernible bump along the way. Razer Greens should appeal to those who enjoy Cherry MX Blues.
There’s a snappy, plastic-y click when you activate the switch, followed almost instantly by the keycap popping back into place when you don’t move it. Although the BlackWidow V3 Pro has an aluminum top plate, you won’t hear much echoing dings like the SteelSeries Apex Pro, but the spacebar is much louder. The spacebar sounds much louder than most mechanical keyboards. When I frequently bottomed out, I heard a solid thock. The switches’ click noise was overpowered by the hollow thud of the big keys, such as backspace, which snapped back rapidly and strongly. It sounded like my “home office” was the only place in my apartment with a tin roof bombarding me with raindrops of various sizes when I typed.
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keycaps
You can see a good amount of texture on the keycaps of the BlackWidow V3 Pro. It feels and looks premium, with a good amount of texture. They’re so well-crafted that you’re almost certain they’re PBT. Despite the fact that PBT keycaps are even more textured, these doubleshot ABS keycaps are much more resistant to fingerprints and fingerprints than standard ABS keycaps on many other mechanical keyboards.
With its clicky, lighter switches, quality keycaps, well-distanced and shaped keys, it was easy to type efficiently and smoothly. Compared to my typical typing speed of 115 words per minute and 98% accuracy, I averaged 125.7 words per minute on the 10fastfingers.com typing test. In addition to the snappiness of the key, I was cheered on by its booming clacks.
In terms of gaming, the BlackWidow V3 Pro performed well thanks to Razer’s HyperSpeed dongle, which is supposed to provide a more reliable, lag-free connection than Bluetooth.
As I input key combinations into MMO games, I enjoyed it, and the well-spaced keys helped me know which buttons I was pressing without taking my eyes off the screen. If you can hear your teammates’ opinions, they may also have some opinions. Razer’s Green switches are so loud that they can be distracting, especially when you can hear them despite loud explosions and laser blasts.
Having my fingers stay glued to the keys without slipping, I was able to quickly switch to another key when dealing with hordes with Borderlands 3. Those with a tendency to press the same button repeatedly would benefit from the linear version of this keyboard. Still, the Razer Green switches are quick to return to place when you need quick input.
wrist rest
In addition to keeping me comfortable and focused on the game, Razer’s wrist rest helps me play longer, too. As well as n-key rollover and macro recording, gamers will appreciate the extra G keys if you’re comparing it to Logitech’s G915 Lightspeed.
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Battery Life
Out-of-the-box, the keyboard is programmed to turn off after 15 minutes of inactivity, so I set it to max brightness and switched between a rainbow wave or static color, depending on what I was doing. With these settings, my review unit averaged 14 hours before needing a charge. However, if the RGB dimmed after 1-15 minutes, I could’ve extended the battery life. The battery life of Logitech’s wireless competitor is claimed to be 30 hours if RGB is high, but it dims automatically after inactivity. Razer offers this as an option, not a requirement.
In spite of the fact that I did not have enough time before publishing to run the BlackWidow V3 Pro’s battery down using a Bluetooth connection, I had 18% battery remaining after 13 hours of use using bluetooth and RGB with the same maximum brightness and same settings as above.
There is a problem with the keyboard, as mentioned above. It is unreliable at 3% battery life. The RGB on my keyboard flickered between dim rainbow waves, dim static colors and off. Also, key presses would be registered with a noticeable delay, particularly after a moment of inactivity. Synapse would not be able to identify the peripheral, as well. This is because Razer told me the keyboard is in low power mode, but it makes using it difficult. When this happens, it’s easy to reconnect the keyboard’s removable USB-C cable and resume your work.
In the absence of RGB, Razer claims that the BlackWidow V3 Pro has a battery life of up to 192 hours. However, with RGB, you can expect the keyboard to last between 5-25 hours. Based on the RGB settings, Razer provided the following chart to give you an idea of how long it will last.
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power setting
Brightness RGB Effect Claimed Battery Life
50% Spectrum Cycling 25 hours
50% White Static 14 hours
100% Spectrum Cycling 13 hours
100% White static 5 hours
Furthermore, Synapse has an almost invisible battery meter that conveniently displays a precise percentage of battery life.
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Features and Software
I like the BlackWidow V3 Pro, but I find it to be too reliant on the Synapse 3 software than I would like, but that’s not a huge problem since Synapse is designed to make life easier for you.
Onboard memory can be configured to four different profiles, but RGB settings won’t carry over without the software being opened, and profiles can only be created with the software. If you want any RGB outside of the default 7, you need Synapse running. The software sometimes struggles and fails to change RGB, even though Synapse shows otherwise. This type of troubleshooting is precisely why RGB control without an app is useful. Moving to another computer or taking other measures may have fixed the problem, but RGB is a luxury and it may have been fixed by moving to another computer.
onboard memory
Aside from changing RGB brightness (you can do this without software), Synapse also tweaks RGB behavior to prolong battery life. With the Razer Chroma Studio software, advanced RGB fanatics can program their own per-key RGB settings using the software’s 10 premade RGB settings, such as a rainbow wave and RGB that matches colors on your screen or reacts to audio.
On the keyboard, you can toggle through the onboard memory by pressing FN and Menu. On top of that, you can create profile files that are launched when certain games and applications are accessed.
All four media keys, including the volume wheel, can also be reprogrammed in Synapte, except for Windows and the right FN key. Hypershift is Razer’s double functionality feature. It is easy to program various tasks, such as open programs, shortcuts to Windows, and macros, with Razer’s right FN key. When you hold the right FN key down, every key can have an extra function. The keyboard also allows you to record macros on-the-fly.
Final thoughts on razer blackwidow v3 pro Wireless Gaming Keyboard
With its wireless connection, the Razer BlackWidow V3 Pro was as reliable as a wired keyboard, so long as the battery life wasn’t at its end. Despite its high price tag, the keyboard earns its reputation for high-end gaming with its doubleshot keycaps, alarmingly fun media wheel, and well-made wrist rest.
I would love to be able to attach RGB settings to onboard profiles, however. It would be great to have macro keys at this price, just like the Logitech G915 Lightspeed, even if it costs $20 more than our subject. In addition to the silent tactile switch option, Logitech’s wireless gaming keyboard comes only with low-profile switches, unlike the BlackWidow V3 Pro.
It’s hard to beat the BlackWidow V3 Pro when you’re after a full-sized keyboard with all the features a wired mechanical keyboard offers, plus RGB lighting and media controls that elevate the gaming experience.