Razer Arctosa gaming keyboard review

March 23, 11:25 AMPC Game ExaminerBryan Edge-Salois

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The Razer Arctosa gaming keyboard - black edition

The Razer Arctosa Black Edition is a sleek, sexy keyboard that ditches a lot of bells and whistles to deliver what gamers need most: ultra-responsive accuracy.

And the Arctosa definitely delivers.

For starters, it sports a 1000Mhz response rate. This means that, if it were possible, you could basically press 1000 keys in a second and the Arctosa would register every single one of them accurately.

The Arctosa also uses anti-ghosting technology, which basically enables you to hold down more keys simultaneously without key presses getting 'lost in translation'. For example --  you could jump, move forward, crouch, and lob a grenade all at the same time without one of those commands getting 'lost' (and probably getting you fragged in the process).

And while the Arctosa doesn't have dedicated gaming keys or macro keys, the Arctosa software enables you to program virtually any key on the keyboard to replace a single or multiple keystrokes. You can record and store as many macros as you like, and store up to ten macro profiles as well -- so you can have a 'photoshop' profile and a 'Team Fortress 2 butt-kicking' profile if you like.

Like many gaming keyboards, the Arctosa enables you to easily disable that damnable Windows key, and it has a set of touch-keys for media control set just above the number pad.

The Arctosa has a very thin, low profile than most keyboards. I grew to like this quite a bit for both gaming and general usage. The Arctosa definitely feels sleek and responsive, although to be honest I'm not sure I ever came remotely close to taxing its capabilities.

Overall I really liked the Arctosa's 'back to basics' design. Even without all the bells and whistles, backlighting, and other features common to gaming keyboards, I think the Arctosa Black Edition is the dead-sexiest keyboard to ever grace my desk, and I loved the responsive feel and the way it  'melded' with my desk.

Master this keyboard and you will be a gaming jedi.

However, I must confess that I'm probably just not 'gamer' enough for the Arctosa. I'm also just not a good enough typist to get by on a black-on-black keyboard.

While I really liked the Artcosa, I ultimately I came to miss a lot of the 'extras' common to gaming keyboards like the Logitech G19 and the Merc Stealth -- and I'm not even talking about backlighting. Mostly I missed the extra USB ports (convenient for plugging in mice or other peripherals), and I still would have liked to see some dedicated macro keys. On the other hand. the lack of these features is also what keeps the Arctosa relatively inexpensive (for a gaming keyboard) at about a $45-50 street price.

If you're interested in this type of 'back to basics' gaming keyboard (and you're 'gamer enough' for it), I highly recommend the Arctosa Black Edition --  although mediocre typists like myself may want to check out Razer's Arctosa Silver Edition with silver-lettered keys.

Razer Arctosa Technical Specifications

• Fully-programmable keys with macro capabilities
• Selective anti-ghosting for WASD gaming cluster
• Slim keycap structure with Hyperesponse™ technology
• Easy access media keys
• Gaming mode option for deactivation of the Windows key
• 10 customizable software profiles with on-the-fly switching
• 1000Hz Ultrapolling™ / 1ms response time
• Detachable wrist rest
• Approximate size:
  470mm (length) x 165mm (width) x 20mm (height) – without wrist rest
  470mm (length) x 222mm (width) x 20mm (height) – with wrist rest

Razer Arctosa gaming keyboard home page

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