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Razer Announces Two New Budget Chroma Keyboards

Posted on October 27, 2017 by Rae Michelle Richards

Hardware manufacturer Razer has announced two brand new budget keyboards that support the company’s propriety Chroma RGB light-up technology at a lower price point than their premium Razer Blackwidow Chroma or Razer Ornata Chroma lines.

First up is the Razer Cynosa Chroma keyboard which offers access to the individual key light-up technology, spill-resistant design, and Razer Synapsis compatibility that its pricier siblings offer. The Cynosa’s more feature rich sibling is the Razer Cynosa Chroma Pro keyboard which offers the same features in addition to the “underglow” technology which allows the user to customize a RGB glow that surrounds the keyboard with a programmable color that can match your individual keys. “Underglow” does not only make the border of your keyboard a single color, but Razer’s software allows you to customize the color, density and breathability of 24 different “zones”.

The Razer Cynosa Chroma keyboard has an MSRP of $59.99 USD and the more feature rich Razer Cynosa Chroma Pro has an MSRP of $79.99 USD. It should be noted that Razer has been very clear in their marketing materials that the Cynosa line is budget friendly, don’t expect a full mechanical chroma keyboard experience on the level of the Blackwidow in a sub $99.99 USD price point.

Razer Cynosa Chroma Keyboard Features:

Individually customizable backlit keys
Spill-resistant durable design
10 key rollover with anti-ghosting
Chroma backlighting and underglow with 16.8 million customizable color options
Razer Synapse enabled
Fully programmable keys with on-the-fly macro recording
Gaming mode option
1000 Hz Ultrapolling
MSRP: $59.99 USD

Razer Cynosa Chroma Keyboard Pro Features:

Individually customizable backlit keys
Spill-resistant durable design
10 key rollover with anti-ghosting
Chroma backlighting with 16.8 million customizable color options
Razer Chroma™ Underglow with 24 customization zones
Razer Synapse enabled
Fully programmable keys with on-the-fly macro recording
Gaming mode option
1000 Hz Ultrapolling

Promotional Shot of the Razer Cynosa Chroma Pro Keyboard:

Retail Packaging For The Razer Cynosa Chroma Pro Keyboard:

Side By Side Shot of the Razer Cynosa Keyboard & The Razer Cynosa Pro Keyboard:

This post does contain media (images) and bullet points provided verbatim by Razer USA’s PR. The top paragraph copy is original work and reflects the facts presented / opinion of the author of this post.

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Rigged Up: Steel Series M500 and Sibera 350 Review

Posted on June 1, 2016 by Broken Joysticks

Review by: j.c. campbell

The SteelSeries Apex M500 mechanical keyboard is a good mechanical keyboard at an excellent price. $99 buys you a full-size backlit mechanical keyboard with Cherry MX red switches. Unfortunately, there aren’t many options: you can have any keyboard you like as long as you like blue blacklighting and Cherry MX red switches. The Cherry MX reds are mechanical key switches with zero tactile feedback and zero audible feedback, unless you count the feeling and sound of the key hitting the end of its travel, or “bottoming out.” There is zero feedback when the keys actuate or make electrical contact and send a signal to your computer that a key was pressed. Because of this, we found ourselves pressing the keys down all the way all of the time just to be sure. Many people prefer this type of key for gaming, especially in first-person shooters, where you aren’t typing as much as holding down keys for precise amounts of time to move in the game. However, it isn’t considered optimal for typing by most people, so if you plan on spending any significant amount of time typing this keyboard might not be the best.Read More

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Das launches The Divsion line of keyboards

Posted on February 4, 2016 by Fionna Schweit

Das is well known for their solidly built, reliable mechanical keyboards, and they are often a favorite of those who work in an office that requires heavy keyboard use all day. They are known for quality, durability, and their long life, as well as their mechanical keyswitches. So it should come as no surprise to anyone that they now want a piece of another very large pie. The gaming industry.

Das will enter the market with flair, releasing a line of gaming gear, including a mouse, three mousepads and a new keyboard. All of which are branded for the new Ubsoft game The Division. The item I am most excited about is the one that the Texas based company has the most experience with, the new X-40 keyboard. Das said in a press release, that its new X40 keyboard is

“the only gaming keyboard with interchangeable metal top panels, “with exclusive space camo” printed color scheme with four options: red, olive, mustard, and silver, along with red backlighting. The X40 has five programmable macro keys, a USB 2.0 pass-through, and a 2m (6.5ft) long cable.”

Discerning mechanical keyboard users may me more interested in the fact that the board also features the new mechanical switch Das has cooked up, which it claims is 15 percent faster than Cherry MX, based on how far you press the switches before they actuate. Das is even including two options for different levels of feedback: Alpha-Zulu Tactile Switch gives you a small tactile bump halfway through a keypress, and the Alpha-Zulu Linear Switch has a much quieter and smoother feel when pressing a key. The price is set at 150USD.

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Fnatic launches peripherals range

Posted on November 24, 2015 by Fionna Schweit

Fnatic has decided to expand beyond simple T-shirts and branded soft goods with a newly announced line of gaming peripherals. The announcement was made via the teams page and they are running a IndieGoGo to get the line off the ground. The design choices may seem out of place but Fnatic has taken great care on their site to explain the motivation behind the design. The price certainly is hi-end with the full keyboard and mouse set available in the IndieGoGo for 167$.

So what do you get for your almost 170$? The full set consists of the Flick G1 optical gaming mouse, the Rush G1 mechanical keyboard with Cheerry MX red switches, and the Focus G1 mouse pad (cloth), or the Boost G1 (polycarbonate) mouse pad. The products are set to ship out in December and January of 2015 and 2016. That’s a pretty impressive turn around time for anything physical on Indie Go Go. The Keyboard looks to be fairly hi end, including two additional USB ports, LED backlighting, and several on board profiles no one is going to accuse the keyboard of being low end.

The Flick mouse is equipped with a “pro-grade optical sensor, an ergonomic feel for the hand, and three customizable profiles” This at least is refreshing to see, as many hi end gaming mice do not support any on board profiles. As for the lower DPI of the sensor the officail word from the Indie GO GO is that they did not need a high DPI sensor, and that instead they wanted something which performed reliably.

The final portion, the mouse pad is perhaps the most interesting of all. A variably sized mouse pad in two different types of materials a cloth and a PVC, a well as several sizes. The focus G1 and Boost G1 are the two mouse pads which each come in three sizes so that no matter how large or small your mousing surface is, you can still use one of them.

It remains to be seen weather or not these new gaming peripherals will make a dent in the already crowded market of high end keyboards and mice that are marketed exclusivly to gamers, but I for one would at least like to see the product before I pay 170$ for it.

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