Introduction

In August 2012, Razer induced sticker shock across the world with the launch of a $250 DeathStalker Ultimate membrane keyboard that also had an integrated touchpad/numpad on the left akin to what we see today in ASUS Zenbook Duo and ROG Zephyrus Duo laptops. It was arguably ahead of its time since we saw several living-room solutions come up over the years from the likes of CORSAIR and ROCCAT, and mid-cycle upgrades in the form of a Chroma variant only did so much before the product was discontinued. The last couple of years have seen a resurgence in low-profile mechanical keyboards from the likes of Logitech and CORSAIR, among other direct competitors to Razer, and it seemed only a matter of time before we would see the Singapore-based brand strike back.


Aptly named the DeathStalker V2, Razer today introduced three new keyboards through a new lineup using its own brand-new low-profile optical mechanical switches. There's the DeathStalker V2 Pro—the subject of this review—and the DeathStalker V2 Pro TKL, which is the tenkeyless version of the same. Then there is the less expensive DeathStalker V2 differing from the other two by only offering wired connectivity as opposed to the three connectivity modes here. We of course get per-key RGB lighting with Razer Synapse support, although I wonder how the world would react to the numpad having been replaced by an updated LCD touchpad/numpad as with the original. Join me as I muse on about what if's and take a closer look at what we actually get in this review beginning with a look at the product specifications in the table below, and thanks to Razer for providing TechPowerUp a review sample!

Specifications