Razer BlackWidow V3 Pro Wireless Gaming Keyboard review: Full-size fun
Our Verdict
The BlackWidow V3 Pro screams Razer, from its premium build and keycaps to its flashy RGB, media controls, and included wrist rest. It's a fantastic option as a full-size wireless gaming keyboard, but it is expensive and requires software to change the RGB.
For
Doubleshot keycaps feel premium, smudge resistant
Satisfying multi-function dial and media keys
Premium wrist rest
Versus
Expensive
Finicky when the battery is very low
No macro keys
RGB is too software dependent
Sometimes the
best wireless keyboard
is one that's small and small. This makes it ideal for traveling, moving between different systems and small desks. But what if you want all the feel and functionality of a full-featured, full-featured mechanical keyboard, but you just want to ditch the cable?
The Razer BlackWidow V3 Pro (
$230
at the time of writing) exhibits many characteristics of the
best gaming keyboards
, including a full set of media keys, RGB and even a quality wrist rest. it needs charging. This is the keyboard for the gamer who wants everything but the wire.
Razer BlackWidow V3 Pro Specifications
Switches
Razer Green or Razer Yellow
Lighting
RGB per key
Onboard storage
Up to 4 profiles
Multimedia keys
Yes
Connectivity
USB Type-A 2.4 GHz (Razer HyperSpeed), Bluetooth or USB Type-A
Cable
USB Type-A to USB Type-C, braided, detachable
Additional Ports
Nothing
Caps
Double shot 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 lbs (1,423g)
Design
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)
The BlackWidow V3 Pro looks like many Razer keyboards. Take its showy media dial or slithering snake emblem at the bottom of the keyboard and its included plush leatherette wrist rest. simple, all-black that features a sturdy aluminum top plate and plastic base. Most of the flash in this keyboard comes from RGB, which Razer has never been too bad of but has improved even further by releasing transparent versions of its mechanical switches which are supposed to help the
LEDs
shine through more.
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)
The key font, which strikes a good balance between serious and fun, with friendly round curls and thin letters, makes the mission of tasty RGB easier. Having things like Caps and Shift in lowercase letters keeps the mood light , without looking silly. The thin font also makes the RGB stand out against the double-shot black ABS plastic keys that look and feel almost as premium as PBT and held up well to smudges. fingerprints after a week of heavy use - although the aluminum top plate isn't so lucky.
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)
RGB bleeds between the well-spaced keys for a glow that shines from the south side of the feature row at brightness settings as low as 20%. Note that you can adjust RGB brightness on and off with the keyboard and you can also hold FN, Ctrl and 1-7 to switch between RGB presets.
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)
An exceptional volume wheel also brings flair, but for the price of this keyboard, I wouldn't mind that much more. The wireless
Logitech G915 Lightspeed
, with its brushed aluminum top plate and matching volume wheel and soft-touch buttons, looks more expensive and special at first glance. The Razer RGB logo is a no-brainer, but it intersects with the aluminum top plate and lives behind a textured plastic that strips away the aluminum finish subtly and makes the snake emblem look a little blurry.
Certainly many gamers will be happy to see the keyboard's potential for subtlety. And there are still premium keys. The wrist rest (which Logitech's rival omits) is well padded. flimsy plastic ones that I would immediately set aside in favor of my
HyperX Wrist Rest
.But the wrist rest here fights well.It's not the same luxurious and cooling memory foam, but it's comfortable and the leatherette feels nice on the wrists.
Like the wireframe
Razer Huntsman Elite
, the BlackWidow V3 Pro sports a sleek volume wheel that lights up with RGB, offers tactile control, a frosted center of pressure, and protrudes from the side of the keyboard for a bold shape. Adjusting the wheel changes the volume by two steps and gives the feeling of being a DJ. The wheel also offers additional functionality as a programmable button. The three accompanying media buttons also stand out proudly and feature a smooth plastic finish. The symbols on thmn, however, are hard to read, especially if you're in a well-lit room. Speaking of which, the icons south of the navigation keys are also hard to discern.
The BlackWidow V3 Pro is wireless, but that doesn't mean it's travel-friendly. It's the same size as a typical full-size wired keyboard at 17.7 x 9.8 x 1.7 inches and 3.1 pounds. The keyboard's biggest rival is Logitech's G915 Lightspeed (18.7 x 5.9 x 0.87 inches, 2.3 pounds), which stays balanced with low-profile switches.
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)
Razer has thoughtfully included dongle storage on the underside of the keyboard, and the dongle is well registered, so you'll always know what it's for unless you have a plethora of Razer wireless gear. of the keyboard also has flip-up feet for 6 or 9 degrees of elevation, another thoughtful touch.
Wireless experience
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Although the keyboard is not easy to carry around, Razer makes it easy to pair with multiple PCs. A solid rocker that won't be accidentally hit on the left side makes it easy to switch between systems. You can opt for dongle connection 2 .4 GHz, a Bluetooth connection, or the detachable braided USB-C cable. keyboard a decent, but heavier option for productivity or living room input. Unlike many wireless gaming peripherals, you can even control the BlackWidow V3 Pro with software when paired to your PC via Bluetooth. After 13 hours of using the keyboard in Bluetooth mode while using a wireless mouse, the keyboard suddenly connected three times, each time after a few minutes of inactivity. Your mileage may vary, and this could have been a problem with my computer, but I've never experienced this when using a
Logitech G915 TKL
Bluetooth connection with that same PC (and my mouse's Bluetooth connection did not drop).
For gaming however, connecting the HyperSpeed dongle is recommended. Razer claims up to 25% speed increase over "any other wireless gaming technology", according to certification institute TUV SUD. The connection served reliably on the battlefield, even when also using my
best wireless mouse
and sometimes a 2.4GHz headset as well. I experienced lag when the battery life was 3% or less. At this point the keyboard enters a low battery mode which makes the RGB dim and erratic and caused 1-2 second delays before registering my key presses.
Typing experience
The BlackWidow V3 Pro is tactile and clickable
Razer Green
or linear and silent
Razer Yellow
(3.5mm total stroke, actuating at 1.2mm with 45G force) mechanical switches. Razer has updated this for the Blackwidow V3 Pro with non-removable silicone dampers to ensure true silence. Our review unit has green switches, which are similar to
Cherry MX Blue
switches - loud and proud.
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)
Razer's Green Switches have a total travel of 4mm and actuate at 1.9mm with a force of 50G. This makes them a little lighter and faster to actuate than the Cherry Blues (4mm total travel operating 2.2mm with 60G). In a side-by-side comparison, they feel familiar, but Cherry's switches take a noticeable amount (if you're into that sort of thing) more force to depress. Both switches have a noticeable bump along the way, but the Razer Greens seem to ride over that bump with more pop. If you like Cherry MX Blues or similar switches, you should like Razer Greens.
But more than anything, these switches are loud. When you depress the actuation point, there's a quick plastic click, followed almost instantly by the sound of the keycap snapping back into place. aluminum from the BlackWidow V3 Pro, there's not much echo, as you'll hear in the
SteelSeries Apex Pro
.But like many mechanical keyboards, the space bar is much louder. I heard a solid thock as I bottomed out frequently. Meanwhile, large keys, such as backspace, offered a pop more hollow deaf that overpowered the clicking sound of switches and reappeared quickly and loudly. When typing, my "home office" seemed like the only place in the apartment with a tin roof bombarded with raindrops of various sizes .
One of the most impressive things about the BlackWidow V3 Pro is its keys. The double shot ABS is top quality, providing a healthy texture that you can see if you look closely. They are so well made that you might mistake them for PBT. Plastic PBT keycaps have even more texture, but these double-shot ABS keycaps fit respectably close and resist fingerprints much better than the standard ABS ones on many other mechanical keyboards.
The combination of clicky, lighter switches, quality keys, and well-spaced, shaped keys makes for efficient and enjoyable typing. In the 10fastfingers.com typing test, I averaged 125.7 words per minute (WPM) and 97.6% accuracy, compared to my typical average of 115 wpm and 98%. .
gaming experience
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)
The BlackWidow V3 Pro performed very well on the battlefield. I used Razer's HyperSpeed dongle for gaming, as it's supposed to provide a more reliable, lag-free connection than Bluetooth.
With MMO games, it was a pleasure to type in different key combinations, and the well-spaced keys made it easier to tell which button I was pressing without having to take my eyes off the screen. However, Razer's green switches are so loud they can be annoying, especially when you can hear them despite the loud explosions and laser blasts. If your teammates can hear you, they'll probably have opinions too.
With
Borders 3
, I again found myself appreciating the resistance offered by the textured keys. This allows my fingers to stay put on the keys without slipping and to quickly switch to a new key when manipulating hordes. If you concentrate on repeatedly pressing the same button very quickly, the linear version of this keyboard would be advantageous. Still, the Razer Green switches snap back into place eagerly to aid in quick input.
Razer's included wrist rest deserves a special mention, helping me stay comfortable and focused on the game and playing longer. Other features gamers will appreciate include
n-key rollover
and on-the-fly macro recording. If you compare this to Logitech's G915 Lightspeed, you'll miss the extra G-keys.
Battery life
I set the keyboard RGB to maximum brightness and shifted (depending on my task) a rainbow wave or static color. Ready to use, it's programmed to turn off after 15 minutes of inactivity. With these settings, my review device lasted on average just over 14 hours before needing a recharge. However, I could have extended the battery life if I left the RGB will dim after not using the keyboard for 1-15 minutes. Razer makes this optional, unlike Logitech's wireless rival, which claims 30 hours of battery life with RGB at maximum brightness, but dims automatically after inactivity.
I didn't have enough time before posting to drain the keyboard's battery with a Bluetooth connection, but after 13 hours of use via Bluetooth and RGB set to the same max brightness and settings as above, my BlackWidow V3 Pro had 18% battery left.
The problem as mentioned above is that at 3% battery life the keyboard is no longer reliable. off. Worse, there was a noticeable delay before registering keypresses, especially the first one after a while of inactivity. Synapse also stopped being able to identify the device. Razer told me this was all due to the fact that the keyboard was in low-power mode, but that makes it difficult to use the keyboard. Of course, once that starts, it's easy to plug in the keyboard's detachable USB-C cable and get back to business.
Razer claims up to 192 hours of battery life if you use the BlackWidow V3 Pro without RGB. If you fire up the light show, however, that figure drops to 5-25 hours. Razer has offered the following chart to give an idea of keyboard life based on RGB settings.
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
Along with having power saving settings, Synapse has an almost hidden battery indicator which, thankfully, provides an accurate percentage.
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)
Features and Software
The BlackWidow V3 Pro is relatively feature-rich, but that depends more on the
Synapse 3
software I would like. It's not a horrible thing since Synapse is quite detailed and easy to use.
Although you get up to four onboard memory profiles, the RGB settings applied to each profile will not transfer over without the software open, and you need the software to create the profiles. This means that if you want an RGB apart from the default 7 to be available to toggle, Synapse must be running. The software sometimes stumbled and failed to change RGB settings even though Synapse showed otherwise. RGB is a luxury, and it's possible that switching to a different computer or other steps might have solved the problem, but this type of troubleshooting is exactly why it's good to have a working RGB control without an app.
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With Synapse, you can tweak RGB brightness (you can also do this without software) and tweak RGB behavior to extend battery life. Software includes 10 RGB presets, including rainbow wave and RGB that match your screen colors or react to audio. More advanced RGB fanatics can also program their own per-key settings via the Razer Chroma Studio portion of the software.
You can switch to the keyboard's onboard memory by pressing FN and Menu. In addition to onboard memory, you can create profiles that can be launched with specific games and other applications.
Synapse also lets you reprogram every key except the Windows key and the right FN key. Even the four media keys are reprogrammable, including the volume wheel. With Razer's Hypershift feature, you get double the functionality. When you hold down the right FN key, each key can have an additional function. Razer has made it easy to program various tasks, like open programs, Windows shortcuts, and macros. The keyboard also offers on-the-fly macro recording.
Final result
The Razer BlackWidow V3 Pro lives up to Razer's reputation for high-end gaming. Wasn't out of breath. From its double-tap keys to its alarmingly fun media wheel and well-designed wrist rest, the keyboard does its best to earn its hefty price tag.
But I'd like to be able to associate RGB settings to profiles stored in on-board memory. And at that price, it would be handy to have macro keys, like the
Logitech G915 Lightspeed
has, although at
$20 more
than our review topic (at the time of writing). Logitech's wireless gaming keyboard also has a silent touch switch option, which the BlackWidow V3 Pro lacks, but you can only get it. with discrete switches.
For a full-size wireless keyboard with everything a wired mechanic has - plus all the software, RGB and plush keys, like per-key RGB and fancy media controls, that enhance the gaming experience - the BlackWidow V3 Pro is hard to beat.
Sharon Harding
Scharon Harding is an editor at Tom's Hardware. She has a particular affinity for gaming peripherals (especially monitors), laptops, and virtual reality. Previously, Scharon covered commercial technology, including hardware, software, cybersecurity, cloud and other IT events, at Channelnomics, with signings at CRN UK.