I wanted a backlit keyboard with cherry MX brown switches, I like the tactile but not necessarily clicky, yea so it turns out they aren't cheap as I thought, then I saw Dynamic lighting and on board macros, so now I am like, it's worth spending more to get. I wasn't thrilled not being able to get my cherry MX brown switches tho. So my husband got the Razer Huntsmen Elite / (Purple key switches) (he wanted the volume controls) and I got the Huntsmen TE (only comes with red key switches), I wanted more room for my mouse and a separate numpad I can move around as needed. My first impression and experience with the Huntsmen is nice but it's too sensitive, or maybe had a defective key switch on the J, I keep triggering the J when ever I feel for the home key bumps, just the J and not the F. I am unaware of putting to much pressure on it. I kinda got used to it but I am still getting a lot of typos. So I heard the Black Widow was the same as Huntsmen but just not optical key switches, and a friend said he will take this one, so I ordered the Black Widow TE with orange switches, should be perfect, so I thought....
I get the Black Widow TE , I did not like the cord placement, the key cap feel eww ick! what the heck, wrist rest I was nice tho, I go into setting up my dynamic lighting, importing Chroma effect does not work, then it hit me, I really did not like this Black Widow, I had a hard time reading the letters on keyboard. It turns out the lettering are little smaller and couldn't even read the Function keys and the back light was blinding and that was the final straw .. I wanted the Huntsmen back! It was far from being the same.
So on the bright side the Hunstmen is really a nice keyboard and I just did not realize it until I use another keyboard, I learned the back-lighting matters and the PBT keycaps makes a big difference, the cord placement. The only thing the Huntsmen TE is missing is the wrist rest and option for tactile or clicky keyswitch.
Other notes:
When I bought the BW, I could not get orange switches version local. Razer has a 14 day grantee but I could not find anywhere on how much, only after I bought it from Razer website where I can enter order# on return process, $15,
The Black Widow line up is confusing for first time buyer, two different styles, some has the backlighting under keycaps and more exposed, others just the keycap lights with light spill glow on black plate.
I never thought I would be so picky with a keyboard, the Huntsmen TE spoiled me.
The perfect keyboard for me would of been would of been the Huntsmen with tactile keyswitches, PBT keycaps and removable numpad but usable when separated.
Razer feature request.
make a magnetic removable numpad like they did with the wrist rest, I really would like to have dynamic lighting on the numpad as well.
offer 3 type of key switches on all their keyboards, clicky, tactile and smooth like they did on the Black Widow.
offer PBT keycaps, too expensive to buy separate.
in picture below, upper = Black Widow TE Chroma V2, Lower=Huntsmen TE
for me the additional light on BW is distracting and I have a hard time seeing the letters.
I wish Razer had a detachable numpad
