The Origin PC BlackWidow Chroma Mechanical Keyboard Review
by E. Fylladitakis on August 6, 2015 8:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Peripherals
- Keyboard
- Origin PC
- Razer
- Mechanical Keyboards
Gamers based in the US and Canada are very likely to have heard of ORIGIN PC. The company, one of the major botique system builders, specializes in building and marketing high-end PC systems, including laptops, workstations, and of course gaming desktops, retailing them along with assorted services such as lifetime support and labor. More recently however, ORIGIN PC decided to diversify their product lineup and branch into selling other items such as peripherals and All-In-One liquid coolers.
The ORIGIN PC BlackWidow Chroma mechanical gaming keyboard is one of the new peripherals that the company recently released, and is what we are looking at in today's capsule review. After reading its name, a well-informed gamer has already realized that this keyboard is an exact copy of Razer’s BlackWidow Chroma. ORIGIN PC is not trying to hide that. On the contrary, Razer is openly named as the company that supplies the switches and the software. Therefore, in every respect, this review can also be regarded as the review of the Razer BlackWidow Chroma.
ORIGIN PC BlackWidow Chroma Mechanical Gaming Keyboard - Key features and specifications
- Razer Mechanical Switches with 50g actuation force
- 60 million keystroke life span
- Chroma backlighting with 16.8 million customizable color options
- Razer Synapse enabled
- 10 key roll-over anti-ghosting
- Fully programmable keys with on-the-fly macro recording
- 5 additional dedicated macro keys
- Gaming mode option
- Audio-out/mic-in jacks
- USB pass-through
- 1000Hz Ultrapolling
- Braided fiber cable
Packaging & Bundle
ORIGIN PC supplies the BlackWidow Chroma in an almost entirely plain, brown cardboard box. The only artwork on the box are the logos of ORIGIN PC and Razer, side by side. Inside the box, we found a minimal bundle offered into a black envelope with Razer’s logo on it, consisting of a quick start guide, warranty information and product registration cards, as well as two large stickers. There is no media with the software, keycap extraction tool, replacement keycaps, wrist rest or any other accessories.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
44 Comments
View All Comments
Flunk - Thursday, August 6, 2015 - link
I feel I need to balance this out by mentioning that I love the keyboard, it's very solid and has lasted very well. The only thing I don't like is the glossy frame and I hear they've fixed that on the newer ones. I would be a bit leery about upgrading however, because they're switched from the original Cherry MX switches to knockoffs that they're branding as "Razer switches".Stuka87 - Thursday, August 6, 2015 - link
They aren't Cherry knockoffs, they are a completely different design (there are plenty of comparisons out there). And the stealth key switches are awesome. Cherry is JUST NOW (years later) releasing a keyswitch that is designed to match it.Oh, and mine is not glossy, its mat.
drksilenc - Tuesday, September 22, 2015 - link
they literally are... There are several reviews and teardown saying just this.Morawka - Friday, August 7, 2015 - link
my blackwidow Chroma Stealth has the Matte finish. love the silent keys too. wish amazon would start carrying it, had to order directly from razer, but i got a free set of Ferox speakers with the keyboard and they are decent..Deelron - Thursday, August 6, 2015 - link
Weird I have a Naga and Anansai on my gaming machine and it wants me to reboot every time there's an update (at least it did under Windows 7).That being said I haven't had a problem with either outside of a Windows update optional update for the Naga a while ago, which I happily removed and did without.
khanikun - Friday, August 7, 2015 - link
I know my Black Widow Ultimate and Black Widow Tournament need a reboot after updates about 95% of the time. It doesn't force a reboot, nor does it need a reboot to keep using the software. You just have to relaunch it after the update. Then reboot whenever. That's what I do.For many, the requirement to have an account is just stupid. I don't mind it, cause I have two keyboards and it's nice being able to easily grab the macros that I create on one machine, from my second machine.
Morawka - Friday, August 7, 2015 - link
yeah it works great.. format a PC? no problem, your profiles are synced. Going to a tournament? no problem, your lighting and macro's go with you.The alternative to this, is putting embedded memory on the keyboard to store these profiles. That raises costs, and complexity. Razer has some good software now-a-days. not just the keyboard/mouse stuff. Razer Comm's is pretty slick, and cortex is amazing once you give it a try.
drksilenc - Tuesday, September 22, 2015 - link
Corsair has all of it stored in memory and it costs as much as razer... They also have a pc app that you just backup your profile and transport it.meacupla - Friday, August 7, 2015 - link
Try running two computers withe same synapse account.It will constantly complain that your profiles are not synced.
Gigaplex - Saturday, August 8, 2015 - link
None of the features you just described requires an online account.