Razer Ornata V3 X Gaming Keyboard: Low Profile Keys - Silent Membrane Switches - Spill Resistant - Chroma RGB Lighting - Ergonomic Wrist Rest Snap Tap

Now I have to say, I tend to have a love/hate relationship with keyboards, especially gaming keyboards. The "good" ones to me tend to be very chunky, big keys, etc. I keep thinking of an IBM Selectric typewriter, and if you don't know what that is then get off my lawn.Now my daily computer is a MacBook Pro. I use the Magic Keyboard when docked and, well, it's a low profile keyboard that I like very much. Going from that to a pro-level mechanical gaming keyboard is really a shift. So here, Razer seems to have solved my dilemma. This is a low profile keyboard but it does have a positive response that is expected from a gaming keyboard. But it also straddles a line between pure gaming and pure general use. In that it works, and works well. Think of this as a keyboard that isn't 100% focused on the gaming.Now then, about the functionality. It does what it's supposed to do, though some things are little absent. Media control buttons are just those...buttons. No scroll wheels or dials. Odd to me. Layout is generally as expected, and I'm old school enough to really want the ten key there. The clicking of the keys is a nice thing to me, as it does provide some positive feedback...the keyboard isn't as mushy as a purely membrane keyboard. It's not quite as positive though as purely mechanical either. Yes, I confirm the ad copy that this is a hybrid, which does require some compromise.So this all said, lighting is in ZONES and not individual keys. This gets me a bit perturbed as I kind of like WASD to be set off from the rest of the keyboard. The zones are mostly decent, in that I mean the two right hand zones follow the format of the keyboard, but after that I'm not seeing a rhyme/reason to the zone borders. And yeah, you have to use Synapse/chroma for the functionality and colors. That is, well, I'm not reviewing Synapse but I'll say I have a love/hate relationship with it.I like the wrist rest, and really recommend keeping it on there especially if you're using this as an everyday keyboard. I like having it there for general use, but in gaming I tend to remove it and rotate the keyboard slightly clockwise to make it more accessible with my left hand. It responds well enough for this amateur gamer. It has great build quality for the application, inasmuch as it's not designed to take a serious pounding but it IS sturdy enough to work well for most anything under that.Responsiveness is similarly appropriate. It's wired only, so take that into account...you'll need a USB port.So I like it. A lot. It's not a pro keyboard, but I'm not a pro. Accounting for the compromises, I don't see anything there that seriously impedes the mission of the product. Yeah, the zone lighting is a bit yuck, and the anti-ghosting...isn't there...but for shall we say motivated amateur use I like it a lot.

I know that some people are really picky about keyboards. When I started looking into getting a new one for myself, I saw lots of people talking about things like how raised they buttons are, how much noise they make, layout, etc. Personally even though I use my computer a lot, and I'm always typing, I don't care that much. My only preference is (and it is just a preference for me, not a deal breaker) is I like lower, non-raised keys which makes typing more comfortable and less strenuous on the fingers, though it's worth mentioning since this is a gaming keyboard, I don't think it really makes much difference when gaming.My other preference, is I like a "full" keyboard layout. I don't care if the overall keyboard is big because it's a wired keyboard, so obviously it's for a stationary setup (if your not moving it around, why does size matter?) Also I like having the numpad, which I use quite a bit.Anyway, the whole reason I even decided to buy a new keyboard is I have gaming mouse that is also razer and I've really come to appreciate how cool having the ability to rebind and macro commands to different keys. My birthday came up, and I decided to get a cheap razer keyboard just so it would work with Razer Synapse.Honestly if your a keyboard connoisseur and you want to be able to control the RGB lights and have the keys make just the right amount of clicking sound or whatever, I'm sure you'll find something wrong with the keyboard and not like because it is pretty basic.If you are like me however and are just looking for a slight upgrade or something that works with Razer Synapse, this is a great keyboard for a reasonable price!My only complaint is by default the RGB lights are pretty bright, it's kinda jarring at night, even if you are using your computer with a nearby light to keep the room from being dark (which you should be doing if your looking at screen, it's better for your eyes). Also color of the light cycles on its own, which I don't really like. I don't even really care about RGB lights other than just allowing me to see the keys in the dark, so I'd rather they just stay one color. I don't care that much about it to take off a star though, and I've heard there are ways to adjust this either with third party software, or through something provided by Razer.

Amazing so far, the most mesmerizing backlighting I've seen on a keyboard so far. It has a unique glow that makes every color pop. The keys are quite silent with short key strokes, I've been quite accurate with.