Razer BlackWidow V3 Pro review: Recommended for gaming

Taking into consideration that it costs $229, the Razer BlackWidow V3 Pro keyboard came with a lot of expectations attached to it from my end. Especially considering that we were aware it was loaded with features like as per-key RGB lighting and wireless connectivity that was designed to be indistinguishable from cable connectivity.

After using the BlackWidow V3 Pro as my primary keyboard for a little more than a month, We have to say that it has, for the most part, delivered on the promise that was made about it. We believe that due to the outstanding build quality and extensive feature set, it is worth the price of admission for a lot of gamers as well as typists.

This is because of how well it is designed. The BlackWidow V3 Pro is a strong contender, but it does have a couple of drawbacks that might cause some customers to look elsewhere. This is especially true for people who, like me, divide their time between gaming and other computing tasks and don’t want to have separate keyboards for each type of task.

Specifications

Razer BlackWidow V3 Pro review: Design

The BlackWidow V3 Pro looks a lot like other keyboards made by Razer. Take its flashy media dial or the snake emblem on the bottom of the keyboard, or the soft leatherette wrist rest that comes with it. Overall, it’s a simple, all-black design with a strong aluminium top plate and a plastic base.

Most of this keyboard’s flash comes from its RGB lighting, which Razer has always been good at but has now improved by releasing transparent versions of its mechanical switches, which are meant to let the LEDs shine through more. The font on the keycaps is a good mix of serious and fun, with friendly loops and thin letters.

This helps the mission for tasty RGB. Putting words like “Caps” and “Shift” in lowercase letters keeps the mood light and doesn’t make it look silly. The thin font also makes the RGB stand out against the black, doubleshot ABS keycaps, which look and feel almost as premium as PBT and did a good job of keeping fingerprints off after a week of heavy use, but the aluminium top plate wasn’t so lucky. You can buy this gaming keyboards from its official website.

Razer BlackWidow V3 Pro review: Keys

One of Razer’s mechanical gaming keyboards is finally going wireless. The Razer BlackWidow V3 Pro combines the Hyperspeed 2.4 GHz and Bluetooth wireless tech from its productivity keyboard, the Pro Type, with the popular design and features of the 2018 BlackWidow Elite.

The V3 Pro gives you the tried-and-true Razer flagship keyboard experience without the wires, which is nice because mechanical wireless keyboards are hard to come by. But, like many other cordless mechanical keyboards, the V3 Pro has flaws that make it less appealing to go wireless. Plus, it costs $229, which is a lot of money.

Razer BlackWidow V3 Pro review: RGB lighting

On the other hand, depending on how you feel about RGB lighting, battery life may be an issue. Razer will tell you that the BlackWidow V3 Pro can last up to 192 hours if the RGB lights are turned off. They have every reason to be happy about that number, since that is a really long time.

But the number drops off quickly as soon as you turn on the RGB lighting. Razer says that a full charge of the keyboard with the RGB lights on should only last 13 hours. It’s normal for a wireless gaming keyboard to last less than half as long with RGBs on compared to when they’re off, but this is a big drop.

The good news is that there are many ways to find a happy middle ground. Using keyboard shortcuts or Razer Synapse, the company’s configuration software, you can change the brightness on a scale from 0 to 100%, set up RGB dimming when your gaming PC is sleeping, or set the keyboard to turn off after a certain amount of inactivity.

With the lights set to 30% power and power-saving features turned on, we only had to charge the keyboard once a week after using it every day for a week. Still, this seems like an odd choice, especially for a Razer product, since the company loves RGB accessories.

Razer BlackWidow V3 Pro review: Connectivity

Given that it costs $229, we knew it had a lot of features, like per-key RGB lighting and wireless connections that are supposed to be indistinguishable from wired connections. After using the BlackWidow V3 Pro as my main keyboard for a little over a month, I have to say that it mostly lived up to its promise.

We think it is worth the price for a lot of gamers and typists because of how well it is made and how many features it has. The BlackWidow V3 Pro is a strong contender, especially for people like me who use their computers for both gaming and other tasks and don’t want to buy two different keyboards for each. However, there are a couple of problems with it that might make some people decide against it.

Razer BlackWidow V3 Pro review: Battery life

Right out of the box, it is set to turn off after 15 minutes of not being used. With these settings, my review unit lasted about 14 hours on average before it needed to be charged. Razer lets you choose whether or not to do this, unlike Logitech’s wireless competitor, which claims 30 hours of battery life with RGB at full brightness but automatically dims after you haven’t used it for a while.

We didn’t have enough time before publishing to run the keyboard’s battery down with a Bluetooth connection, but after 13 hours of use with Bluetooth and RGB set to the same max brightness and same settings as above, my BlackWidow V3 Pro had 18% battery left.

As was already said, the problem is that the keyboard stops working when the battery is at 3%. The RGB on my keyboard would flicker between a dim rainbow wave, dim colours that stayed the same, and off. Worse, there was a noticeable delay before key presses were registered, especially the first one after a moment of inactivity.

Synapse also couldn’t find the peripheral anymore. Razer told me that this is because the keyboard is in “low power mode,” but this makes it hard to use the keyboard. Once this starts to happen, it’s easy to plug the keyboard’s USB-C cable back in and get back to work.

Razer BlackWidow V3 Pro review: Performance

Whether I’m connected via USB C or wirelessly, the Razer BlackWidow V3 Pro gives me the same great performance. The latency differences are so small that it’s almost impossible to tell them apart. When we cut the cord to use the deck on my Razer Blade 15 gaming laptop or want to use it in our test PC without having to re-thread the wires around my desk, we prefer Bluetooth for the sake of convenience.

But you’ll want to run the BlackWidow V3 Pro through the 2.4GHz dongle for the fastest connection with the least amount of lag. Both connections are stable, but if you want to play games seriously when you’re not plugged in, the dongle is your best bet for avoiding lag. In my experience with the keyboard, we didn’t notice much difference between the connections.

Conclusion

The Razer BlackWidow V3 Pro is a great mechanical gaming keyboard that can be used wirelessly. Our unit has Green tactile switches that have low pre-travel and a light actuation force. It can also be bought with silent linear switches. It has full RGB backlighting and macro-programmable keys that can be changed with the help of the software that comes with it.

Unlike the Razer BlackWidow Elite, the V3 Pro has a dedicated receiver that works with both Bluetooth and Razer’s Hyperspeed technology. Even though it has a straight shape, the ergonomics are good because it has two angles and a wrist rest that can be removed.

FAQs

Is Razer BlackWidow V3 Pro good for gaming?

Even though it’s one of the more expensive models from the brand, the Razer BlackWidow V3 Pro is easily one of the best gaming keyboards you can buy. It’s wireless and great for everyday use.

Is Razer BlackWidow V3 worth?

The BlackWidow V3 is a great way to get started with a full-size keyboard for only $139. It has the same great build quality, full-RGB lighting, and powerful software as other Razer keyboards that have made our list of best gaming keyboards.

Is Razer BlackWidow V3 better than Huntsman?

In general, the Razer BlackWidow V3 Pro is better than the Razer Huntsman Elite. The V3 Pro can be used with a wider range of devices, like smartphones and tablets, because it can connect wirelessly.