Razer Huntsman Elite keyboard review: Actuation at the speed of light
The Huntsman Elite is a brand new mechanical gaming keyboard from Razer and it's their flagship. It also has a price that reflects that at S$339.90, which makes it one of the most expensive keyboards you can buy. Are the optical switches and all the bells and whistles that come with it worth it? Should you get Razer's new flagship mechanical keyboard?
By HardwareZone Team -
Note: This article was first published on 28th June 2018.
Meet Razer's new flagship gaming keyboard.
Nothing’s faster than light
Traditional mechanical switches register key presses when two metal leaves come into contact with each other. The problem with this is that metal oxidizes and wears out, which can lead to performance degradations.
This has led some manufacturers to create optical switches that use light for actuation instead of a mechanical connection. Mechanical keyboards like the Wooting One and Zowie Celeritas II already utilize optical switches – with the former also supporting analog input – but the majority of keyboards still use conventional mechanical switches.
Today, Razer is hopping onto the optical bandwagon with the Huntsman Elite, a brand new mechanical gaming keyboard from the company. This is Razer’s new flagship, and it has a price that reflects that. At S$339.90, this is one of the most expensive keyboards you can buy. Are the optical switches and all the bells and whistles that come with it worth it? That's what we hope to establish in this review.
How does it work?
Each Razer Opto-Mechanical switch has its own stabilizer bar.
Let’s talk about the switches first. The Huntsman Elite uses what Razer calls an Opto-Mechanical switch, but that’s really just marketing jargon for the aforementioned optical switches.
In the Razer switch, a light beam passes horizontally across the switch shaft. This is normally blocked by the switch’s stem, but when the switch is depressed, a hole in the stem is exposed, which then allows the light beam to actuate a receiver. This sends a corresponding signal to your computer, which translates into a key press.
The switch uses light for actuation instead of metal contacts.
This is different from the Zowie Celeritas II, which relies on a light beam that shoots up vertically from the PCB. It features surface-mounted infra-red optoelectronic components on the circuit board, and the light beam passes through a prism in the switch slider and is bent toward the sensor.
The Celeritas II uses Flaretech switches (made to Zowie’s specifications) from a Taiwanese manufacturer called Adomax, but it looks like Razer’s switch might be based off a different design from A4tech.
Razer has introduced its own modifications however, and each switch comes with its own metal stabilizer bar. This supposedly helps reduce key wobble, and I think it’s pretty neat that Razer hasn’t limited stabilizers to just the larger keys.
The additional stabilizers that come with keys like the spacebar look like they're based off Cherry-style stabilizers, which are mounted on the PCB itself (as opposed to plate-mounted, like Costar). Razer has implemented two struts that grip onto the stabilizer bar running underneath the keyboard top plate. If you want to replace the stock caps with a third-party set, these struts look like they can be removed and inserted into your new keycaps.
Razer's stabilizers for the larger keys are different from your regular Cherry or Costar variants.
You’ll also find a clear piece of plastic located at the rear of the switch that helps diffuse the light more evenly.
The Razer Opto-Mechanical switch is a tactile, clicky switch with a shallower travel distance than regular Cherry MX switches. Here’s summary of the switch’s specifications:
Image Source: Razer
In addition, the mechanical click and optical actuation mechanisms are separate, so the switch actuates at the same point as its click. This gives a clear auditory cue when your key press has been registered. In comparison, the Cherry MX Blue switch actuates about 0.5mm after its pressure point.Razer designed the switch with speed in mind, which explains the shorter actuation and travel distances. The 45g actuation force also makes this a very light switch, and it’s difficult to avoid bottoming out when typing.
The reset point is also within 0.2mm of the actuation point, which theoretically ensures you won’t have problems with tapping a single key rapidly in succession as you don’t have to bring the key too far above its actuation point to reset it.
Why is it better than a mechanical switch?
Optical switches have a couple of advantages over their mechanical counterparts. For starters, there’s no need to introduce a debounce delay to account for the bouncing, or the generation of multiple signals, that occurs when two metal contacts touch each other. A debounce delay is needed to avoid picking up multiple signals and registering extraneous key presses, but it also adds a small delay to each keystroke. Because optical switches have no metal contacts, there’s no need for this debounce delay.
Furthermore, the switch supposedly has fewer moving parts, which reduces the chance that something will break down.
Lights all around
The Huntsman Elite comes with 168 individual lighting zones.
But for all their upgrades over a regular mechanical switch, Razer’s Opto-Mechanical switches don’t feel all that different. These improvements are better characterized as under-the-hood changes that make the switch faster and more reliable on paper, while still retaining the feel of a traditional clicky switch.
Having said that, Razer’s new switch feels very good, and each keystroke feels consistent and smooth. If I had to describe them, I’d say that they feel like a clicky version of Cherry MX Reds.
The distinct ‘click’ sound also has a lower pitch than Cherry MX Blues, which I find to be less annoying. They’re still rather noisy however, so you’ll need to think twice about using them in an office setting.
It’s a pity that there’s only a clicky variant offered now, as I imagine that there’d be quite a large audience for a silent, tactile version of this switch.
Overall, the keyboard itself is quite elegant by the standards of most gaming keyboards. It features a floating-key design for a cleaner, more minimalist look, and I do like the matte black aluminum top cover.
The volume dial and media controls sit at the top right.
The key legends are easy on the eye, and Razer opted for secondary pad-printed legends instead of making everything translucent. This looks slightly odd at first, and the only reason I can think of is that the company wanted to avoid any issues with uneven backlighting.
The secondary legends aren't translucent.
The stock keycaps are made of ABS plastic, which unfortunately picks up the detritus of daily life all too well. You want to make sure your hands are clean before you touch this keyboard, as grease stains show up way too clearly. Furthermore, ABS generally wears easily and picks up an unpleasant shine after a while, although I can’t speak to how well the Huntsman Elite’s keycaps will hold up after months of use.
But optical switches aside, the other standout feature on the keyboard is really its Chroma RGB lighting. The Huntsman Elite ships with a plush, leatherette wrist rest, and both it and the keyboard are ringed by customizable LEDs. In addition, the keyboard supports per-key RGB lighting and individual lighting zones for the media control keys and volume dial.
The wrist rest snaps into place magnetically and interfaces with the keyboard via pogo pins.
On top of that, the underglow surrounding the keyboard and wrist rest comprises 38 and 24 different lighting zones respectively. In total, the Huntsman Elite boasts a total of 168 customizable lighting zones, so you can really go to town with the customizations.
A second USB cable is required to power the underglow lighting.
All things considered, Razer has done a great job with its implementation of RGB lighting. The backlighting is bright and even, and the Synapse 3 software is intuitive to use and powerful. If you enjoy playing around with different lighting effects, the Huntsman Elite delivers wonderfully.
This is also Razer's first keyboard to feature onboard memory, following in the footsteps of mice like the Basilisk and Lancehead. You can store up to five profiles on the keyboard and toggle between them by pressing Fn + Menu, so you'll have access to them even if Synapse isn't installed on the PC.
When it comes to build quality, the aluminum top cover helps confer some extra rigidity, but the rest of the keyboard is predominantly plastic. While the Huntsman Elite still feels like a quality product, I’d have preferred to see more metal in a keyboard that costs S$339.90. Furthermore, the volume dial feels like it could have more clearly defined notches, and it doesn’t feel as smooth when you’re trying to make small adjustments.
Another drawback is how horrendously unwieldy the cable is. There’s no USB passthrough here, but the keyboard still requires two USB ports, one of which is dedicated to powering the underglow LEDs on the keyboard and wrist rest. The thick braided cable is stiff, inflexible, and non-detachable, so you’ll have to wrestle with it in the process of hiding it away.
Conclusion
Razer's new flagship comes with an equally premium price tag.
All things considered, the Razer Huntsman Elite is a keyboard for those where price isn’t an issue. If you want one of the most technically competent switches on the market, Razer’s Opto-Mechanical switches seem like a good fit. I honestly don’t think they make a tangible difference in practice, but they probably do offer among the lowest latencies on paper.
The Huntsman Elite feels like a keyboard designed for your stereotypical gamer, and it tries hard to check off all the right boxes. This means highly customizable RGB lighting, a full-sized layout, dedicated media and volume controls, and onboard memory. It even comes with a comfortable wrist rest.
However, I’d really have appreciated more choice. For example, Razer is only offering a 104-key layout and clicky switches, when I’d really have liked to see more compact tenkeyless models and tactile switches. I’m always struck by how far I have to move my hand when switching from the mouse to the keyboard, and full-sized models always feel less ergonomic and comfortable to use in this regard.
Having said that, I’ll admit that not everyone shares my preference for more compact keyboards. Razer set out to make a premium gaming keyboard, and it’s pretty much succeeded. The Huntsman Elite is every bit worthy of its flagship status, but it’s unfortunately got a matching price tag to go with it.
Razer does have another flavor of the Huntsman that forgoes its "Elite" naming, wrist rest, keyboard underglow and media controls for a more 'palatable' price point of S$229.90. That's not bad considering most of these are frills that you could live without. Both models are now available on Razer's online store and it will soon be decked in the usual physical retail stores.
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