Premium bells and whistles are expensive under any circumstances, but when it comes to gaming equipment, those extras are sometimes pricey enough to cost an arm and a leg even when paired with middling core features. Case in point: the Razer DeathStalker Ultimate . Headlining with the same Switchblade touch-screen interface seen on the Razer Blade (2012) , the DeathStalker Ultimate is considerably more expensive than most premium gaming keyboards (at $249.99), in spite of its crummy keys.
Design
While many of the high-end gaming keyboards we review feature mechanical switches, the DeathStalker Ultimate uses chiclet keys with scissor switches?the same style used on the Razer Blade laptop. While this provides slightly more tactile response than plain membrane switches, the typing experience is a bit mushy, with very shallow key travel.
The chiclet style keys are backlit, but even though the default backlight color is Razer's trademark green, the backlight can be adjusted to nearly any color in the rainbow, unlike the single color backlight of the Roccat Isku Illuminated Gaming Keyboard . The only problem with the backlight is that it doesn't show up well under regular lighting conditions, and when the backlight is turned off, the transparent lettering blends into the black of the keys enough to make it hard to read. Speaking of hard to read, the DeathStalker's keys are etched with the same stylized block font used on the Razer BlackWidow Ultimate 2013 Elite .
With a built-in wrist-rest, similar to that seen on the Roccat Isku, the DeathStalker Ultimate is fairly wide. Though the keyboard measures 1.25 by 20.5 by 8.5 inches (HWD), the DeathStalker Ultimate has no traditional 10-key number pad. Instead, where the number pad would normally be found, you will find Razer's Switchblade interface.
Switchblade UI
There are also several apps included with the Switchblade UI. In addition to basic touchpad functionality, the Switchblade touchscreen doubles as a 10-key number pad, switching between the two with the press of a button. Using other apps, the Switchblade serves as a portal to mobile versions of YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and a Web browser, all displayed through its own small screen. Other apps include a clock and stopwatch, a screenshot button, and buttons to record macros and activate gaming mode.
Testing the YouTube App (with Deadpool Vs. Gangnam Style, naturally) I found that the little 4.3-inch display is perfect for YouTube videos, so long as you don't need to watch what's on screen while typing or doing anything else. The display is pretty far removed from monitor, so you'll be glancing down at your keyboard every time you want to watch it. For gamers, the real utility will be the fact that a player can pull up a walkthrough video to watch as they play on their monitor. It also seems to be perfect for TED Talks and the like, which seem to be best played in the background, with the occasional glance at a visual-aid.
Gmail, Facebook, and Twitter apps facilitate online communication, even while in game. During other tasks, it's still helpful to have a separate display for your Gmail inbox or for following Twitter feeds. And the Browser app is excellent for pulling up information without interrupting whatever task or game you have up. That said, it's far from perfect. The text is small enough to be difficult to read, and interacting with these apps can be a bit frustrating, with small text links and the so-so accuracy of the touchscreen combining to make navigation difficult. It's also problematic when trying to follow a link, as the link opens on the small display. It could easily be improved by simply sizing up the default text, and providing the option of opening links on your monitor.
Gamer-centric tools, like the Macro Recorder and Gaming Mode buttons, are a bit more useful than basic hotkeys. The Macro Recorder pops up controls to start and stop recording keystrokes, while the display lists all of the keystrokes made and lets you edit as needed. Gaming Mode lets you toggle gaming mode on and off, as well as popping up a menu of options to determine which keys and keystroke combinations to disable and which to keep active.
Features
In addition to the Switchblade interface, the DeathStalker Ultimate also uses Razer's cloud-based customization and syncing tool, Razer Synapse 2.0. Downloaded for free from Razer's website, Synapse lets you create profiles for any of your Razer devices, including recorded macros, remapped key functions, and settings for backlight color. These settings can then be saved and used on another computer simply by signing into your Synapse account. Packaged in with Synapse is the software package for the Switchblade interface, making it easy to set up the DeathStalker on another system.
Performance
The DeathStalker is made for gaming, so naturally we tested it in its native environment, with a few healthy rounds of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Team Fortress 2. The chiclet keyboard may not offer the same response and comfort of a mechanical keyboard, like the Razer BlackWidow Ultimate (2013) Elite or the Editors' Choice Corsair Vengeance K90 , but it served just fine in the heat of battle. And the Switchblade interface adds a new element to gameplay, with game data and macro recording available on the fly, and without interfering with your game. While there are some rough spots to work out with the Switchblade, and the keyboard would benefit from a shift to mechanical switches, the DeathStalker Ultimate is still a solid performer.
The final question mark for the Razer DeathStalker Ultimate is price. At $249.99, the DeathStalker is twice as expensive as the Editors' Choice Corsair Vengeance K90, and as expensive as a standalone gaming console like the Sony Playstation 3. We've seen one other gaming keyboard with its own display, the Mad Catz S.T.R.I.K.E. 7 Gaming Keyboard , and it is actually more expensive, suggesting that this is simply the cost of entry for gamers who want this sort of secondary display.
For gamers who want to experiment with Razer's Switchblade interface without having to pony up the money for a Razer Blade laptop, the DeathStalker Ultimate is the way to go. For those who want a more traditional keyboard, but still want premium gaming features, our Editors' Choice Corsair Vengeance K90 is still the best option out there.
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