Thursday, March 6th 2014
Razer Launches First Keyboard Mechanical Switch Designed for Gaming
Razer, the world leader in entertainment devices and software, today announced the launch of the world's first mechanical switch designed by Razer specifically for gaming -- the Razer Mechanical Switch.
While traditional mechanical switches were originally designed for typing, the all-new Razer Mechanical Switches have been designed and engineered from the ground up for gaming. In order to achieve that, Razer decided to go back to the drawing board to completely re-engineer the traditional mechanical switch.
After extensive research, Razer's multi-award winning engineers identified the optimal actuation distance for a gaming switch to a fraction of a millimeter and reduced the distance between the actuation and reset point by almost half to allow for faster, more precise gaming commands when compared to standard mechanical switches. Furthermore, the all-new Razer Mechanical Switches are made using an ultra-precise manufacturing technique that, along with gold plated contact points, result in a lifespan of up to 60 million key strokes.
While Razer scientists and engineers designed the new Razer Mechanical Switch from ground up, mass production was done by a third party manufacturer. However, to ensure that each switch met to its demanding specifications, Razer placed its own quality assurance experts on the production floor to make sure each switch meticulously follows the design blueprint and specifications defined by Razer.
Finally, these switches were tested extensively by the world's most demanding eSports athletes who validated the new Razer Mechanical Switch in some of the most intense professional gaming tournaments.
"The new switches on the Razer BlackWidow have a lighter and smoother feel, allowing me to play at a faster pace than before," says Jens "Snute" Aasgaard, Team Liquid StarCraft player. "It's comfortable and solid - perfect for long practice sessions and tournaments."
"Instead of focusing solely on typing comfort, as traditional mechanical switches have done, we had to completely rethink the conventional approach behind the actuation and reset points of mechanical switches in order to fine-tune them for gaming," says Min-Liang Tan, Razer co-founder, CEO and creative director. "Our engineers' focus for the specification was on speed, accuracy and durability to bring the unfair advantage to gamers worldwide. The new switch makes the most popular gaming keyboard in the world even better."
The Razer Mechanical switch is available on the new Razer BlackWidow family of mechanical gaming keyboards, and is open to other gaming peripheral makers who wish to manufacture the highest quality gaming-grade mechanical keyboards.
The all new Razer Mechanical Switch comes in two types: The Razer Green switch that is tactile and clicky, requiring a force of 50 g to actuate; and the Razer Orange switch that is tactile yet silent, requiring a force of 45 g to actuate.
For more information about the Razer Mechanical Switches along with the Razer BlackWidow range of gaming keyboards, please visit www.razerzone.com/razer-mechanical-switches.
While traditional mechanical switches were originally designed for typing, the all-new Razer Mechanical Switches have been designed and engineered from the ground up for gaming. In order to achieve that, Razer decided to go back to the drawing board to completely re-engineer the traditional mechanical switch.
While Razer scientists and engineers designed the new Razer Mechanical Switch from ground up, mass production was done by a third party manufacturer. However, to ensure that each switch met to its demanding specifications, Razer placed its own quality assurance experts on the production floor to make sure each switch meticulously follows the design blueprint and specifications defined by Razer.
Finally, these switches were tested extensively by the world's most demanding eSports athletes who validated the new Razer Mechanical Switch in some of the most intense professional gaming tournaments.
"The new switches on the Razer BlackWidow have a lighter and smoother feel, allowing me to play at a faster pace than before," says Jens "Snute" Aasgaard, Team Liquid StarCraft player. "It's comfortable and solid - perfect for long practice sessions and tournaments."
"Instead of focusing solely on typing comfort, as traditional mechanical switches have done, we had to completely rethink the conventional approach behind the actuation and reset points of mechanical switches in order to fine-tune them for gaming," says Min-Liang Tan, Razer co-founder, CEO and creative director. "Our engineers' focus for the specification was on speed, accuracy and durability to bring the unfair advantage to gamers worldwide. The new switch makes the most popular gaming keyboard in the world even better."
The Razer Mechanical switch is available on the new Razer BlackWidow family of mechanical gaming keyboards, and is open to other gaming peripheral makers who wish to manufacture the highest quality gaming-grade mechanical keyboards.
The all new Razer Mechanical Switch comes in two types: The Razer Green switch that is tactile and clicky, requiring a force of 50 g to actuate; and the Razer Orange switch that is tactile yet silent, requiring a force of 45 g to actuate.
For more information about the Razer Mechanical Switches along with the Razer BlackWidow range of gaming keyboards, please visit www.razerzone.com/razer-mechanical-switches.
33 Comments on Razer Launches First Keyboard Mechanical Switch Designed for Gaming
1. Same as previous "Cherry" only with different colors (green = blue / orange = brown) aka "rebranded".
2. Really new one, but with Razer "fantastic" quality that is in last years aka "run away". :laugh:
Their mice on the other hand, no thank you, i've got a deathadder that has the dreaded double click, firmware refuses to update even though there is one available the coating is disgusting and the blue led light went out.
Naga : twin eye sensor bug RMA, Twin eye sensor fried RMA, everything except the sensor stopped working: put aside.
Lycosa: soft touch covering of the key have worn off in less than 3 month + structural failures ( cracking in the plastic casing) multimedia touchpad acting weird (IE: play on the mute touch) and last but not least, very weak lightning and unreadable key writing ... had to keep the lightning on even on broad daylight.
Orochi: soft touch covering wiped off in 3 month
Mamba: sensor fried, key stopping working, wired mode stopping working.
Electra: hinge too frail.
Destructor: still pristine and like new ... oh wait, it's a mousemat ...
edit i forgot
Black Widow: mech switch lock syndrome and weird key behavior
on the other hand all my Logitech mouse and keyboard lasted me years and still are useable, and i don't use them differently than my previous Razer
Gigabyte Aivia K8100V2: still look like fresh out of the box and no failure or bug noticed
Logitech G15 1st serie: except a cigarette burn the rest is in a perfect state
Logitech G600: same as the Gigabyte keyboard
Logitech G602: new as if it was out of the box today, no sensor fail, key still snappy, not even a finger mark on the R/L click.
also i laughed hard when i did read that:
"Razer Launches First Keyboard Mechanical Switch Designed for Gaming"
oh it's really the 1st gaming mech switch keyboard? seriously?
Razer onza tournament edition, first month of usage and triggers failed for a while before functioning as buttons :shadedshu:
and whenever i tried to buy anything else from them, most reviews said they broke quickly, and what doesn't help is they are overpriced in here compared to other offerings.....
On the other hand, what you said is kinda inconsistent. You could worn off multiple devices' rubber coating in less than 3 months (you have acidic hand apparently) yet your Destructor and G15 are in perfect condition? even worse, while smoking? Destructor is hard plastic not metal and it could worn off after years (I have one) and my 1st gen and 2nd gen G15 are worn off too (the buttons become shinier after years and the silver section is muddier). If yours are perfect, then you never use it in the first place sir.AFAIK, MX Red and Black (for example) is never made solely for gaming purpose if that's what you mean. It's marketing people from ducky, filco, razer, etc that said that. By that definition, Razer's claim is probably correct.
Razer used to be a brand name I loved when I was a teenager, now I think most people have grown out of it and learned of other manufacturers.
i never wrote about the coating quality on the destructor ... i just wrote that it was the only Razer product (in fact the second ... see below) i had who is still in good shape, but obviously since it is a mousemat ... the quality build is good : it's not too complex so even Razer can do it right ... :roll:
around 2yrs and a half usage
my Aivia K8100V2 has a set of WASD rubber coated and it's been more than 3 month, and they are by far the most used key on the keyboard.
on the other hand the Naga never had her rubber coating worn off and it is the same as the Orochi i even had a R.A.T. 7 who lasted longer than any of the Razer mouse i owned (pretty much unbelievable when you know the reputation of it ...) still the soft touch of it never worn off like the Razer did, and the sensor who is also a Twin eye, never had a bug or fried.... i had to RMA it just once due to a double click syndrome ... but she was way less in RMA than any of my Razer product.
for the mech switch: ok i give you reason on that.
end words: of all the PC accessory i had till now (and i had a lot) without changing my gaming or use habits, ALL the Razer product i had never passed the 1st 12 month without a RMA while all the other from various brand still functionate at the time we speak... Conclusion: build quality, Razer: 0 Other: 1, tho they have a good customer service :D none of my RMA with them had any problems , the second Razer product i had and never failed me was a Razer Diamondback but i was 27 (typo) when i brought it.
i mean COME ON PEOPLES!!!! how can you not tell that its a world changing step up for a keyboard...
as said, this will still pack in on the week after its warranty expires but i bet it is about as good as a keyboard can be for the rest of its very short life before iy starts double clicking and unconnecting itself.
razor make great mice, they last a week past their warranty too.
my Naga last failure was exactly 1 week after warranty so do my Black Widow... :D
Their black widow mechanical keyboard was ok. It wasn't anything spectacular.
I went back to my old trusty G500 and replaced the black widow with the Corsair K90. It's been working great ever since and has no quality issues. I never understood why people are so faithful to the G500 but now i do. I am becoming one of them too.
..and if you think I just treat my accessories well, all I'll say to that is it has a nice flat spot over the G15 logo and LEDs that I can balance a beer on pretty well. (LED backlight is failing though, I'll admit)
If only I could meld a Microsoft Natural Keyboard and cherry mx browns I would be in heaven !!