Razer Huntsman V3 Pro 8KHz Review: A Keyboard for the Competitive

Smooth and snappy switches. Impressive in-software customization options. On par with Hall effect switches. 8,000-Hz polling rate. Simple robust build. Indicator surface is utile and entertaining.

Mediocre typing experience. Plastic bottommost case. Some RGB troubles. Strange bundle decisions. Proprietary switches.

A keyboard is much than the sum of its parts. To person a genuinely great typing experience, a batch has to travel together—each facet of a keyboard needs to beryllium designed (or selected) with the remainder of it successful mind. But not each keyboard needs to strive for a large typing experience. Sometimes, they conscionable request to get the occupation done. Take, for example, the Razer Huntsman V3 Pro.

Nearly each determination connected this keyboard is made with show successful mind, with some the sonic and tactile acquisition taking a backseat. Instead of the plush luxurious typing consciousness of a gasket-mounted keyboard with hand-lubed tactile switches and premium lawsuit materials, we person a plastic-and-metal lump fitted with ultrafast optical switches, susceptible of sending inputs 8,000 times each 2nd to your PC, without a azygous extraneous diagnostic to fatten it up (aside from the expected RGB lighting).

I didn’t emotion typing connected this keyboard, and I didn’t find myself itching to get it backmost connected my table erstwhile I took a break. But I person to admit, I rather similar the tunnel-vision, gaming-only attack Razer takes. It's not for everyone, and it surely isn’t for me.

Speed Is Key

The Razer Analog Optical Switches Gen-2 enactment fantastically. They’re responsive, casual to benignant on, and drawback backmost rapidly aft being pressed. They person a spot of wobble, but don’t person any scratchiness oregon resistance—each cardinal property feels creaseless and controlled, adjacent erstwhile pressed from the borderline of the key.

Unlike gasket-mount keyboards, the Huntsman doesn’t precisely consciousness comfy to benignant on. It’s stiff and simple, utilizing a tray mount with a metallic sheet integrated into the apical fractional of the case. The switches person a hard bottommost out, without immoderate bounce oregon flex erstwhile typing. Technically, the deficiency of flexibility is a show payment with ultraprecise switches successful a gaming context. I’ve utilized immoderate gasket-mount keyboards wherever a afloat cardinal property would origin the interior assembly to determination a not-insignificant distance, which could theoretically propulsion disconnected a peculiarly precise input.

At 8,000 hertz with hardly immoderate input lag, cardinal presses are astir instantaneous. A key’s actuation constituent tin beryllium raised precocious capable that adjacent grazing the cardinal with your digit volition registry an input. This tin origin immoderate issues, particularly connected the abstraction barroom erstwhile playing games that necessitate precise treble jumping (like Destiny 2), but erstwhile the settings are dialed successful correctly, the keyboard feels incredibly intuitive and natural.

Quite a fewer of the switches had issues with sound. Pinging is wide crossed the keys and is exacerbated by the plan of the tray-mount case, which sometimes picks up resonance erstwhile typing. The stabilizers are lone lightly lubed from the factory, with longer keys feeling scratchier than others, with much resistance. While the stabilizer wires don’t rattle erstwhile typing, they bash person a dry, plasticky dependable erstwhile typing that’s antithetic from modular keys.

Strange Software

While I usually rather similar Razer's Synapse software, I ran into rather a fewer hiccups with this keyboard. Nearly each cardinal tin beryllium adjusted and customized, but 2 of them are stuck with their default settings nary substance what. Both the Function cardinal and the Windows cardinal cannot beryllium remapped with customized layouts, nor tin their actuation region beryllium adjusted, meaning they’re some stuck with the default 1.2-mm actuation distance, adjacent erstwhile different keys’ actuation distances tin beryllium adjusted freely. The lone disposable enactment is disabling this cardinal utilizing “Gaming Mode” (Fn + Win).

The surface connected the close broadside is convenient and practical. I admit the gimmick of the actuation visualizer, which is simply a tiny enactment of dots that illuminates from near to close arsenic you propulsion down a key. It tin assistance with determining and mounting an perfect actuation distance, but beyond that, it’s astir wholly aesthetic. The remainder of the indicators connected the keyboard are nice, but they are underwhelming compared to the afloat OLED screens that many gaming keyboards person today.

The seldom utilized clump of keys supra the arrow keys present has a secondary purpose, wherever each of them tin beryllium utilized with the Function furniture to prime 1 of 5 preset profiles. Four of them are customizable, but the first, called “Factory Default,” seemingly functions arsenic a fail-safe successful lawsuit you royally messiness up different illustration representation (such arsenic remapping your abstraction barroom to your controller’s “A” button—something the bundle really warns you against if you effort it).

Across these profiles, you tin marque each of the modular Hall effect adjustments. Each key’s idiosyncratic actuation region tin beryllium adjusted, Rapid Trigger allows you to customize the key’s reset constituent (so you tin instantly property the cardinal down again alternatively of waiting for it to instrumentality past the archetypal actuation point), and Razer’s SOCD (Simultaneous Opposing Cardinal Direction) setting, called Snap Tap, works similar immoderate other, letting 1 cardinal override different for accelerated strafing.

Synapse besides allows for much infinitesimal customizations, with adjustments to power dormant zones, accelerated trigger sensitivity, and “Continuous Rapid Trigger,” which keeps Rapid Trigger progressive supra the default actuation constituent until a cardinal is afloat released.

During my clip with this keyboard, I struggled rather a spot with the RGB lighting. It would regularly halt functioning astatine each during use, requiring maine to unplug the keyboard to reset thing internally. At 1 point, the main RGB furniture stopped illuminating entirely, with lone the OLED show and the illuminated Function furniture (displaying which keys person functionality erstwhile Fn is pressed) maintaining their lighting. The strangest portion was that the RGB lighting would instrumentality to the default mounting erstwhile my machine was locked, indicating immoderate benignant of contented with the Synapse software. Ultimately, aft troubleshooting rather a bit, I had to wholly uninstall and reinstall some Synapse and Chroma for it to enactment again.

Keys connected the keyboard tin beryllium remapped to crippled pad controls, utilizing the analog input to replicate the adaptable inputs of triggers and joysticks. This works exceptionally well, adjacent allowing for customizable input curves to fine-tune movements. I tested this chiefly with racing games and didn’t tally into immoderate issues with input accuracy oregon effect velocity (however, controlling a car with a keyboard is inactive jarring erstwhile compared to a modular controller). The lone contented with this strategy is that, for immoderate reason, each fastener connected the controller tin lone beryllium mapped to 1 cardinal astatine a time. This isn’t a immense issue, but it does look similar an unnecessary limitation.

Not Pointlessly Premium

The lawsuit is thing fancy. Metal connected apical and integrative connected the underside. Just capable metallic to forestall immoderate flex erstwhile typing and not a spot more. If you effort to twist the keyboard chassis, it gives without overmuch struggle, and for immoderate reason, a mates of the switches adjacent registry a azygous millimeter of cardinal property (which is intelligibly indicated connected the broadside display).

Taking isolated the keyboard, there’s not excessively overmuch inside. The 2 halves of the keyboard are held unneurotic by a fistful of screws nether the keycaps, and they drawback unneurotic utilizing integrative clips astir the edges of the case. Once open, you’ll spot 2 Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) attached to the apical case: One lodging the switches, and different containing the knob and buttons successful the apical close of the keyboard. On the bottommost case, a ribbon cablegram connects the main PCB to a abstracted daughterboard containing the USB-C port. Between these are 2 sheets of foam: One heavy portion that sits betwixt each switch, and a bladed 1 that isolates the 2 halves from 1 another.

This interior assembly is elemental and creates a typing acquisition that is accordant and rigid. Plastic supports prop up the apical fractional of the lawsuit to forestall immoderate flex erstwhile typing, and the foam limits extraneous noise. There are longevity issues, since the integrative clips hazard snapping each clip you disassemble the keyboard, and the screws are each being driven straight into integrative that tin interruption down implicit time, but determination is thing that I deliberation volition origin issues if you permission this keyboard successful 1 piece.

As large arsenic the optical switches are, they are wholly proprietary. This means you can’t swap them retired with modular Cherry MX-style switches. The power mechanics itself tin easy beryllium replaced with different Razer optical switch, since they drawback successful spot with 2 tabs connected the underside of the plate. The sensor is 2 tiny components soldered onto the PCB that would beryllium beauteous hard to replace, but arsenic it's rated for implicit 100 cardinal actuations, nonaccomplishment isn’t a superior concern.

Unlike rather a fewer different keyboards from some Razer and different companies, which usage representation foam, the wrist remainder included with the Huntsman V3 Pro is wholly made of rigid integrative (with a faux leather wrapper connected the apical surface). This makes it overmuch much solid, without immoderate cushioning for your wrists. This could beryllium an upgrade oregon a downgrade compared to a much plush wrist rest. The worldly connected apical is comfortable, and the wrist remainder is magnetized, allowing it to connect to the keyboard and not determination during regular use. It’s bully contempt the deficiency of cushioning.

Initially, I didn’t similar this keyboard precise much. Coming from my ain satellite of custom-built keyboards with subpar specs and superb typing experiences, it was jarring. It didn’t consciousness large to benignant on, and the show benefits of it weren’t evident successful regular day-to-day use. When editing documents oregon replaying Halo 3 for the 20th time, you won’t consciousness the benefits of 8,000 hertz oregon Snap Tap strafing. But erstwhile I took it into multiplayer lobbies, I was capable to look past the features I initially thought were missing and acquisition this keyboard properly.

The terms feels precocious for thing with this physique prime and typing experience, but for its level of show and accuracy, it feels a spot much reasonable. I can’t accidental this keyboard is perfect—there are countless things I would alteration to marque it feel amended to use—but determination truly aren’t immoderate performance improvements I would make. If that’s what you truly attraction about, if you privation thing with nary other frills that you tin fine-tune to your preferences, this mightiness beryllium the close keyboard for you.