I can't comment on the Black Widow in particular, but I bought a Thermaltake Tt esports MEKA G1 mechanical keyboard last year and will never go back to a non mechanical keyboard. The tactile feedback and increase in accuracy of a mechanical keyboard makes me wonder how we slowly became adaptive to typing on most modern keyboard designs.

Judging by the Amazon reviewsBlack Widow Ultimate is pretty darn good too!

Don't buy it. It is garbage. I used one for a year. I hate everything about my Lycosa that I bought at woot. I'm not a Razer hater; I have two DeathAdder mice and one Naga mouse from them.

The lighting system is controlled by a touch button you can only see when the lights are on. Which is kind of hard when they're off. See this pic, you can't see where to touch to turn the lights on!

This is made even worse because it doesn't remember the setting. And you have to hit it twice, since the first touch only lights up the WASD keys! But it lights up the WASD keys brighter than the other keys! Who needs lights to find WASD? Who is this keyboard for? Fake gamers?

The finish is worn off mine, too. I use it at work now when I need a spare keyboard.

tl;dr skip

(Also, the mechanical keyboard is refurbished.)

review (with video) from cnet

http://reviews.cnet.com/keyboards/razer-lycosa/4505-3134_7-32640959.html

As I type this on my Razer Lycosa (did not buy from Woot), I cannot say this strongly enough:

DO NOT BUY ONE

PCMAG gave the BlackWidow Ultimate 4.5 out of 5 stars in their review.

There is a new 2013 model of this keyboard that has replaced the one they are selling here, but even the 2012 model has good praise pretty much everywhere.

blah blah blah blah blah... it's a keyboard. What kind of switches does it have? Cherry MX? WHAT!?!? 1k Hz? Gimme a break. Keyboards should FEEL good, that's it. It's about ergonomics, nothing else. I don't hate my Razor, but it's hardly among my favorites. Give me a Cherry MX Blue based keyboard, and you're on the right path. Otherwise, just buy a cheap POS and be done with it and forget any semblance of quality. I have about 50 keyboards. I've tried all the "best". IMHO, there is really no substitute for Cherry MX Blue. Filco has the best implementation. I've said my piece. Trust me, or go spend 1yr of your own time figuring out the same thing. Cheers! :-)

wine.woot party was FUN! :-D

The Razer Lycosa is not as well reviewed as the BlackWidow. In fact most hardcore gamers all seem to say stay away as it doesn't have proper key response. Many complain about keys not responding at all and having to unplug it and plug it back in, the coating on the keys rubbing off, etc.

I have the non backlit Lycosa keyboard. I've been eyeing this as its shown up on Woot 4 times in the last few months I think I will pull the trigger. As long as it feels the same as what I have now I'm happy with it. The back light will be a huge bonus.

Also, the Lycosa offers anti-ghosting of the WASD keys, but it doesn't offer it on the rest of the keys. For this reason I wouldn't call it a 'gaming' keyboard.

The BlackWidow Ultimate being sold here offers 6 keys at once, and the new 2013 model offers 10 keys at once.

Microsoft explains Anti-ghosting here in case your are interested.

Cherry browns, blues reds or what?

Need more info on this mechanical wonder.

(typed on a Topre)

Edit: seems like Cherry blues. Nice. That's what I use in my office. Clicky and loud, but purposeful.

Not a gamer. I'm an adult. I like the blues, but the browns are much quieter. I say you can't go wrong with the mechanical nature of Cherry blues. Loud. Satisfying.

ericshmerick wrote:Cherry browns, blues reds or what?

Need more info on this mechanical wonder.

(typed on a Topre)

Cherry MX Blue.

For those of you who don't know what this means, here is a good guide on the types of switches mechanical keyboards use. It is part of a great primer on mechanical keyboards in general.

I purchased the BlackWidow Ultimate (refurb) last time it was on woot, and I've been using it since. Here's my thoughts.

Pro's
- Feels great to type on
- CLICKY CLACKY GOODNESS
- Backlighting is nice, yet not too bright at night
- Braided cords feel sturdy
- Includes a bonus USB pass-through port, as well as audio cables

Con's
- Expensive
- CLICKY CLACKY may annoy others
- Historically known for having some keys stick, such as the ALT and Spacebar keys. May not exist at first, and develop over time. Mine is fine so far
- Braided cord is a bit stiff and thick, some may not like that. Freud may though.

Overall I really like it. I'm even considering picking up a second to go with a new workstation PC I just put together.

Recommended buy.

Edit: It's probably good to mention that as a refurb, there were no issues with it. It wasn't scratched up or anything, and the keys all work well. Inside the woot.com shipping box, the keyboard came in a rather plain cardboard box with the Razer logo on it -- which is fine, just don't expect a shiny full-color retail box.

Edit #2 Just pulled the metaphorical trigger and bought a second one. That's me backing up my statement above: this is a damn fine keyboard.

In for 1 Black Widow. I wish the backlighting was red, but no worries. Can't see my case lights from the keyboard anyway.

Blackwidow Ultimate for forty bucks? Kind of a no-brainer. You find a better kb at this price grab it...you will not however. Be aware, this thing is big and quite heavy.

nitnoob wrote:Blackwidow Ultimate for forty bucks? Kind of a no-brainer. You find a better kb at this price grab it...you will not however. Be aware, this thing is big and quite heavy.

The Blackwidow is $80. The Lycosa is $40.

I have purchased both of these on previous woots. I HATE the Lycosa - just everything about it. Don't buy it.

I replaced it with the BlackWidow when that popped up and it's fantastic. Well worth the money. Feels sturdy AF, especially compared to the Lycosa which bends in when you push keys in the middle of the keyboard.
The only sad news I have to report is that the light for my ALT key flickered and died after only a few hours, but for the price, and the fact that it was a refurb... meh.

Buy the BlackWidow.

I've got the Blackwidow. It's awesome. It's my first mech keyboard in decades and would never want to go back. Added bonus is I sound like a hipster clacking away on a typewriter without the embarassment.

I paid much more than this. Give it a shot.

I bought the Lycosa on here about a year ago. It has lived on my desktop, which I rarely use. It works fine. It doesn't remember light settings, but who turns off their computers? I would pass on the Lycosa if you call yourself a gamer, if not, do it up!

Is this the 2013 blackwidow?

For comparison

http://kbtalkingusa.com/

I was considering the Lycosa as a replacement to my Azio Levetron, but these reviews make me think I'd be having the same ghosting problems I have with this. Maybe if it was a good bit cheaper, but I don't want to drop $45 on something that might be just as bad.

DO NOT BUY THE LYCOSA.

I bought one on woot a few months ago. I was excited to get it. I'm ready to throw it in the dumpster because it literally is the worst keyboard I've ever used. Nearly every key is too sticky to press unless you press directly straight down. The key design is HORRIBLE. The only way I could maybe possibly keep the keys from sticking would be to remove and lubricate every single one. I couldn't even press WASD keys with any consistency. I had better luck with the $10 GE keyboard from Target that I was replacing with the Lycosa, and since went back to it.

I have a refurb Lycosa, and honestly it isn't THAT bad, as some of these other comments might suggest.

I mainly purchased it because it was one of the cheaper keyboards with a bright, even backlight. I play games in the dark at night, and it serves it's purpose well. The keys have a nice response, and after at least two years of heavy use, the rubberized coating is only showing some wear on the "D" key.

The bad? Occasionally I will get a stuck key; not mechanically stuck, but the key will screw up and register as always depressed. To fix this, you have to unplug and reattatch the keyboard, which as you can imagine is very annoying in the heat of an intense game. Seems to happen exclusively during a game, and only with one of the WASD keys, so your character will start running forward/backward endlessly or in circles.

That said, it hasnt been a big enough problem for me to go buy a new keyboard. If I were on the fence, I would get the Black Widow instead.

What happened with one and two day shipping options?!? I was switching between each to see the price difference and all of a sudden those shipping options were greyed out and I could no longer select them!!!

mboverload wrote:Don't buy it. It is garbage. I used one for a year. I hate everything about my Lycosa that I bought at woot. I'm not a Razer hater; I have two DeathAdder mice and one Naga mouse from them.

The lighting system is controlled by a touch button you can only see when the lights are on. Which is kind of hard when they're off. See this pic, you can't see where to touch to turn the lights on!

This is made even worse because it doesn't remember the setting. And you have to hit it twice, since the first touch only lights up the WASD keys! But it lights up the WASD keys brighter than the other keys! Who needs lights to find WASD? Who is this keyboard for? Fake gamers?

The finish is worn off mine, too. I use it at work now when I need a spare keyboard.

tl;dr skip

(Also, the mechanical keyboard is refurbished.)

I concour I bought the Lycosa off of the last woot and typing this simple sentence I already had 4 missed keys. It squeaks the keys are too close together, it misses keypresses frenquenty. The angle is bad and you can't see anything on the keys. The only reason this pos keyboard is still connected to my computer is because my old ergo board was soo worn that the 1,2 keys didn't work 50% of the time and I haven't justified throwing this out yet and buying a new one. I also am not a razer hater as I love their mice switched from logitech due to faliure rate and I have the nostromo which is decent. Overall if you want to feel like you are typing on a timex sinclair go for it if you want any semblance of a real keyboard stay far far away.

Can't say enough about this Razer Keyboard, me and the wife both own one each and we play World of Warcraft, and they get the hell beat out of them!!.. Cant wait to get my new ones as backups for this price...
Thanks Woot!!! Wonderful Keyboards

I have a regular Black Widow (no backlit keys) and all I can do is smile every time I use it. It weighs a ton and stays put, great tactile response, and makes a great mech-key click sound. The online config software seems like an unnecessary step at first. Then you buy a second one for work or home and you make changes once, save it to a profile and it works the same everyplace. Had mine for around 2 months now and highly recommend.

hiddentrainer94 wrote:Is this the 2013 blackwidow?

No, it's the original (2012, I believe.)

ericshmerick wrote:Cherry browns, blues reds or what?

Need more info on this mechanical wonder.

(typed on a Topre)

Edit: seems like Cherry blues. Nice. That's what I use in my office. Clicky and loud, but purposeful.

Not a gamer. I'm an adult. I like the blues, but the browns are much quieter. I say you can't go wrong with the mechanical nature of Cherry blues. Loud. Satisfying.

"Not a gamer. I'm an adult". Seriously? Because you can't be both?

Does anyone know if the BlackWidow has anti-ghosting?

Also, my two cents on the Lycosa: I did not like it. The keys felt very rigid and were not pleasant to press (read: somewhat difficult), and the touch-buttons were iffy at best, not registering half the time.
In addition, it has two USB cables -- one for the keyboard, one for the additional USB port on the keyboard. I realize this means it's intended more for relocating the port instead of adding one, but that may not appeal to everyone.
Plus, I did not like the rubberized feel of the keys.

I bought one of these last time they had them. Lycosa. Here's my thoughts:

- When I got it two keys were "stuck".. not broken, just tighter pressing. If you have an issue Razor will not help you.. they will tell you to first go back to Woot. Woot will only refund your money. They will offer you another unit if another comes up for sale on the site in the future or when the woot day is over and if they have any left. I decided to just keep mine and it sorted itself out after use.

- I leave the lighting on all the time and it's working great so far. If the lights do go off, like one person mentions you can't see them in the dark. I think 99.9% of people remember where things are if they use them often. Button is very easy to find without even thinking/looking.

- Anyway, I was initially worried about some negative reviews. The unit I received was not part of the problem batch Razor told me. I have not ever had any issues. The one issue I had turns out was a game thing, not the keyboards fault.

- My initial typing on this keyboard was slower.. you know you have to learn the feel. The keys seem a bit low/flatter. But now I don't mind and am used to it.

- The keys do press a little tighter than other keyboards I've owned.

- Keyboard is very quiet. Whoever said clicky clacky must have big meaty fingers? I think it's quiet.. it's comparable to other keyboards.

yuppicide wrote:
- Keyboard is very quiet. Whoever said clicky clacky must have big meaty fingers? I think it's quiet.. it's comparable to other keyboards.

They were talking about the better BlackWidow mechanical keyboard also being sold here.

I purchased the Razer Lycosa when it was listed on January 4th. It matches my refurbished Razer Lachesis that I bought here back in 2009. Hehe.

I agree that it's inability to remember the configurations sometimes is a bit of a pain. I have had no issues with the keyboard otherwise.

I have fairly small hands, so I haven't had any issues with pressing more than one key by accident. I haven't noticed the key press detection being off either.

I am with everyone else on not purchasing it if you're really rough on your keyboards. The matte coating will probably rub off fast. The coating on the side buttons on my Lachesis have already been removed, though the top of the mouse remains fine.

ericshmerick wrote:
Not a gamer. I'm an adult.

Clearly.

What is with backlight love? I prefer tactile hints to where your hands are, as I don't want to take my eyes off the screen (what ever I am doing) to know what I am pressing. Also the lights are way too bright for the darkness. I wind up wincing from them.

I have the Lycosa, which replaced an ancient Saitek, which replaced the Logitech G15 (original). I hate the Lycosa. I don't mind the surface feel of the keys, but the keys are terrible to type on. They have more of a chicklet action, and to get the key to type, you need to depress the center of the key. If you depress the side, it won't type. Also, I have to press very hard. Absolutely avoid the Lycosa. This one will be resold.

I am thinking of getting the Black Widow instead.

theguruguys wrote:The Razer Lycosa is not as well reviewed as the BlackWidow. In fact most hardcore gamers all seem to say stay away as it doesn't have proper key response. Many complain about keys not responding at all and having to unplug it and plug it back in, the coating on the keys rubbing off, etc.

This is true, I bought one(lycosa) from woot and have regretted it ever since. The keys will eventually and often lock up, you'll have to manually unplug and plug back in to get functionality... Which is piss poor in the middle of a game. I did like the feel of it so I went and bought a brand new one from frys thinking maybe mine was just a bad refurb... Nope. Seems like all lycosas come with that major defect and no fix in sight.

bought the Lycosa from woot, HUGE ghost problem, returned it few days after.would rate 2/5.