In the modern world of gaming, we really are spoilt for choice when it comes to getting tech that scratches our own particular preference itch.
But with so many different choices out there, the world of tech can sometimes become a little confusing and we don’t want to slip down the dark hole of making the wrong choice.
This is especially true with keyboards!
Terms like membrane, mechanical, optical or hybrid can confuse people – and that’s just on the switches. And which is better? Or better for my intended purpose? Enter a brand like Razer and we know that what they offer is good.
But just how good is it?
PERFORMANCE AND DESIGN
The first thing that stands out about the Razer DeathStalker V2 is the overall look and feel of the keyboard. Straight out of the box, it is very clear that this keyboard means business.
At first glance, the DeathStalker V2 is not overly flashy and, with the right RGB set-up, could look quite comfortable in a corporate setting. But that does not mean this keyboard is boring.
Through the use of the Razer software, the DeathStalker V2 comes to life and will not just fit in, but compliment and enhance the look and feel of any set-up it’s added to with its 16.8 million colour options thanks to the Razer Chroma compatible backlighting. Whether it be simple and smart, or bright and colourful – you will find it with the DeathStalker V2.
Razer opted to use ultra-durable coated keycaps on their own linear low-profile optical switch, which gives a smooth and almost completely silent feel to it as it takes barely any pressure for the switches to recognise that it is being pressed.
That’s not all that is “low-profile” profile about the DeathStalker V2, with the entire keyboard being called ultra-slim. But slim doesn’t mean weak as Razer has opted to use 5052 aluminium alloy to reinforce their top plate and make sure that the DeathStalker V2 can handle any amount of pressure dealt to it in those tense 1v1 moments (within reason of course – no bulldozer tests were conducted on this keyboard).
Razer has also included a convenient multi-function roller and media button to ensure that the control is literally at your fingertips (every pun intended). The roller is used to adjust PC volume by default; but can be configured within the Razer Synapse application to perform a variety of different functions. The media button is limited to play/pause, next and previous track through a combination of different taps.
One drawback that the DeathStalker V2 has when compared to its counterparts is that it is a wired keyboard. It comes with a detachable braided fibre Type-C USB cable that allows for speedy transmission so that there is zero input lag between keystroke and action being fulfilled.
MY EXPERIENCE
It was love at first touch for me and the DeathStalker V2 keyboard. I liked the simple and sleek look and feel to it as well as the coating on the keys that felt “grippy” to my fingers.
My friends especially liked the sound of the optical switches on the DeathStalker V2, or rather the lack thereof as they regularly complained about the sound of my Cherry MX Blue switches from my other keyboard. Although they didn’t expressly announce their pleasure in the silence of the linear low-profile optical switches, the absence of their complaints on my “clicking” was more than evidence enough for me that they preferred this to my usual.
The sensitivity of the keys and the overall low-profile design of the DeathStalker V2 took some getting used to. Regularly missed keystrokes would happen in the first couple of days of my using the keyboard. This became rather frustrating in gaming as I would accidentally hit my ultimate instead of push-to-talk and end up having to Leeroy Jenkins it a couple of times as I just had to roll with the unintentional deployment of my ultimate. This did result in some frustration from random teammates, as well as myself.
However, as time went on, missed keys and accidental presses did become less but I find that in typing, even now as I type this, I press the key next to the one I’m looking for more often than I’d like to admit. And sometimes this happens as my lazy fingers don’t lift high enough and drag over a key and press it because of how sensitive the switches are.
BUT THIS IS GOOD. Although I’ve mentioned it as a frustration – after some getting used to, the easy press keys reduce fatigue and actually worked in my favour for quicker reaction time as the key literally took less time to “activate.” In editing – the easy press of the keys helped me go longer as well.
I personally have never been a fan of wrist supports on keyboards but I know the angle of some keyboards puts strain on wrists without them. The DeathStalker V2 does not need a wrist support at all as even on the highest height setting, the ergonomics of the keyboard have been so meticulously worked out that no wrist strain occurs. At least for me it didn’t – and I have bad wrists from years of reckless decisions as a teenager and a couple of times in casts and braces.
Another feature that I’ve truly come to love about Razer’s RGB products is the Chroma support. With this particular keyboard, I had a little fun and “built” myself three colour scheme layouts. One for editing, one for gaming and one for general use. And all three can be easily switched between within the Razer software.
My gaming layout was simple and had WASD and Spacebar lit in red while all the other keys matched the RGB of my PC, which at the time was blue but has since changed to white. But the keyboard is still blue. But I’m waffling.
The editing layout was all white except for my editing “hot keys” which I literally made hot with the fire effect in chroma to light them up.
And the final layout was just a general pulse of transitioning neutral colours that I’d chosen because they weren’t overly bright. As someone who is VERY visually distracted, the changing of RGB really pulls my attention and find myself battling to concentrate but this colour pulse helped to almost calm me.
The media button and multi-function roller were used regularly both in game and in workflow as I paused and played songs (mostly in workflow) and adjusted volume on the fly with a quick roll on the roller. I never played around with the function of the roller as I liked its default function of volume control the most.
FINAL VERDICT
Razer have done an incredible job in the DeathStalker V2 in making a keyboard that can fit in and enhance almost any space it is put it – from corporate law office to grungy teenage gaming room, this keyboard will make it work. And not just in aestethic but in function to as the DeathStalker V2 packs a solid performance punch, as well as being able to take a punch (looking at you rage-gamers).
All of this doesn’t come cheap as the DeathStalker V2 comes in at around the R4000 mark, and this is probably where it takes its biggest knock as being an expensive, yet highly functional and good-looking wired keyboard
With that being said though, I do struggle to see where one would have buyer’s regret from making this purchase and feel that the DeathStalker V2 will have little fault to any owner.
A big thank you to Apex Interactive for allowing us the chance to review this incredible product.
