Customer Reviews

Razer Arctosa Gaming Keyboard- Black

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Just simply not worth the price I paid for this item....definitely should have gotten a Microsoft Sidewinder X6 or something else for just a tiny bit more. I guess it will serve me for a while until I have some extra money laying around to get a high end Logitech or something, but a keyboard of this low of a quality should sell for more like $25 at most. Razer was obviously thinking more about maximizing profits and not about actual customer satisfaction.

Build Quality: Abysmal, the whole keyboard flexes when I just push down on it a little. The key labels look like they are just press-on stickers. The little touchpad buttons are rather hard to press, and I hear they break rather quickly anyway. Wrist-rest is not adjustable, and feels extremely slippery; it almost feels difficult to keep my hands on this keyboard. I might go spray a coat of something on the wrist rest to make it a bit less slippery.

The keyboard is relatively small and slim in form factor and looks pretty decent; the key-press depth is pretty good as well. Typing on this keyboard actually feels pretty good to me, but that's ultimately just a matter of personal opinion.
One thing I do like is that the keyboard doesn't slide around on my desk like my old one used to - it seems more or less glued down to the desk...and...I get cool little Razer stickers....oh joy...
Don't seem to notice any ghosting issues when playing Mass Effect 2, but perhaps in a more intensive game like Counter Strike it could become an issue. Razer claims to have anti-ghosting around the gaming cluster though.

Summary:
At least it is a decent looking keyboard, and will serve the basic purpose of typing and a bit of light gaming, but I still feel for $40 worth of keyboard, I should have gotten a much more solid product than this.

This product is black with black print, that is what it says it is so you shouldn't count that against it. You were informed.
Besides, being able to type proficiently without looking at the keyboard is a requirement of most American high schools, so this shouldn't even be an issue.

That all said, the Arctosa is well sized, well laid out, relatively quiet and very comfortable, given it's low price there is no other keyboard on the market that I have found that compares.

The only complaint I have is that it has the insert/delete key group arranged horizontally, I prefer the vertical setup, but that's one point off next to a hundred points on.

As the other reviews mentioned the key lock indicators are very bright, but that's what black tape was invented for.

Edit: 6/24/2011

I've now been using this keyboard for just shy of a full year. In that time I have spilled on it multiple times, I have not treated it great, I have dropped it, I have stepped on it, and it is perfectly fine. It's got a few too many screws to say it's simple to take apart, but it's not difficult ether. So far I've disassembled it fully on three occasions, the first time took me a few tries so it was open and close, I've removed all the keys multiple times, scrubbed it from top to bottom, put it back together, and it is absolutely fine. When I first bought this there were a lot of comments saying that the media control cluster was difficult to use. At first yes, but after about a week you get used to it, it's mostly flush but you can feel the holes the buttons reside in, and it's not difficult to memorize the position of them from the corner. Oddly this is just about the only keyboard that I have left the wrist rest on, it's perfect in every regard. It's a damn fine keyboard and I will by another if I ever need to.

I bought this keyboard for its macro capabilities as I am a gamer. I don't know why other people would even buy this keyboard if they are not going to use to macro keys. This keyboard has fully programmable keys to set macros to. It's great for any game; I usually play a lot of mmos and rts so the macros come in handy. Some people that buy this keyboard don't even install the software that comes with this keyboard and complain about its crappy quality. As for me I have had this keyboard now for over 6 months and it feels just like it did when I bought it.

As for the keys themselves, they are slimmer than a regular keyboard, partly the reason why I bought it, as a gamer I find I need to press keys asap, and the slimmer keys help, as they allow better movement and take less time to press. So that was a plus in my book.

As for the design, I think it is very aesthetically pleasing. It looks great on any table top.

Some people feel that the glossy finish is prone to finger prints. Well honestly I could care less if my keyboard had some finger prints on it. I hardly ever notice it. Some people might be bothered with some fingerprints on their keyboard, and if you are one of those people, then look elsewhere.

The only con would be, as other reviewers have mentioned, is that the status lights are very bright, esp. if you are gaming in the dark. But a quick remedy, like some tape, to cover the lights can fix this.

It's a great gaming keyboard overall, 5/5. If you are looking for a keyboard that can take your gaming to the next level, this is a good choice.

I bought this to replace a Microsoft Comfort-curve keyboard that had crapped out on me after a few years. The most important requirements were low profile keys and a standard layout (ie, rectangular CR instead of the goofy double height one that some keyboards have.) This keyboard has both of those and I like it a lot.

I do have a couple gripes though. I'm no touch typist or anything, but I find the arrow keys hard to find if I'm not looking at them. They just barely stick up taller than the surrounding plastic.

The keys are a bit noisy, especially when I'm typing fast.

The shell of the keyboard is glossy plastic, so it's prone to finger prints.

As others have mentioned, the three status lights are quite bright, but the NUM LOCK is the only one I ever have on.

It's quite a solid keyboard overall, though. I removed the wrist pad so it wouldn't take up so much space, and I didn't bother installing whatever software came with it. (So no macro keys I guess). The media keys work great for Winamp.

Works Great! But you better know the keyboard lay out. The black lettering doesn't allow you to read the keys unless you have a bright light on.

I bought this due to being low on money when my Lycossa died on me finally. It feels the same there is no difference in typing or layout to this one and the Lycossa. I do miss the backlight of course, though not the usb port *too slow* or the audio jack. If you want a great budget keyboard that looks great and feels great this is definitely for you.

The first thing that really caught my eye with this keyboard is that the keys are not too high. It kind of has a laptop feel too it which I personally like. The key press is short and its not noisy at all. Another thing that I love is that you can disable the windows key. I always hit it while trying to get to the ctrl key so this feature helps me out a lot.

I purchased the silver one instead of the black one because I was afraid of not being able to see the keys. I read some reviews on the black one and people said you could only see the keys if you look really close.

It is mostly a glossy finish. It does get fingerprints on it, but unless you are totally ocd, you dont have to clean it off all the time because they are barely noticeable.

Its very thin so it is a little bendy, but only if you hold it in both hands and twist it. You have to press on the keys pretty hard to get it to flex on a table. I dont know why anyone would have to press that hard on a key anyway....

It is very light, and looks really nice. I haven't gotten a chance to set the macro keys yet but I still love it.

Do not get the black one. You can not see anything on the keys, even with a light on. Just get the silver edition. Unless you are perfect with every key on the keyboard this is not for gaming. The cord isn't very long either.

This keyboard extrudes cool, black on black exclaims to the world that you are truly elite and don't have to worry yourself with silly letters on your keys. Unless you have extensive knowledge of your keyboard and can type blindfolded this is not a keyboard for you.

Pros: Slick looking, key response is lightning fast and nice basic design for gamers who want better response and macro options without a million extra buttons and extra bulk to take up desk space. The customization software is powerful if not a little confusing but does allow the media buttons to automatically adjust to most popular media players with a simple selection. The best feature is the ability to turn off the annoying windows buttons quickly and easily, I was always bumping them during hot and heavy FPS games and getting myself killed, this happens no more.

Cons: It's flimsy, the first thing you notice picking up the box is how light it is, there isn't much too this board. I fear for it's long term survival with the amount of abuse I tend to inflict on my peripherals. The built in angle adjusters just don't adjust enough, I'm planning on making a cradle of some sort to give me a little bit more slant. The lights! Wow. The num/scroll/caps lights are so bright it's like a pixy is hiding in your keyboard shining a flashlight at you. I actually had to paint over the numlock light so I wouldn't go blind. The media buttons are a little stiff...just a warning.

In conclusion: This board is about as cool as a keyboard can get and if you are a typing master this is a great little board to make your friends jealous and never want to use your computer because they fear it's darkness. (Seriously, you have to been within two inches of the keys and tilt your head at an angle to see the letters, like those security watermarks on checks, it's crazy! It freaked my wife out.) Buy this board if you want to make a statement and want a few gaming features otherwise shop around, this board is for a very specific customer.

I have no complains about the functionality and quality of the keyboard. It works fine and I am happy with it. The only downside is the price. For $50 I would expect something more. It feels somewhat cheap and not solid. I mean, the keyboard is just fine if it was around $20-$30. For $50 I would like some backlight. But well, Razer is always pricey. By the way, buy the silver version, in the black one is hard to see the keys.