Razer Huntsman Elite Review

Razer has gotten pretty massive in the past few years in terms of their peripheral expansion and yet they still manage to hone in their previous designs and innovate. The Razer Huntsman Elite is part of that whole innovative process, a new keyboard design brought about by Razer wanting to offer a premium experience.

Not only that, but it acts as a sort of testbed for new technologies, namely the opto-mechanical switches, of which Razer is the first big name to introduce into their designs. Whether those switches are actually useful . . . well, that’s going to be up to you and your own perspective on what you read below.

Razer Huntsman Elite Performance

For most of you, you’ll probably be familiar with the fact that keyboard switches tend to come in one of two varieties; membrane or mechanical. Well, there’s a new switch on the block and that’s opto-mechanical, Razer’s own brand name for what is essentially an optical switch.

How it works is actually pretty similar to a standard switch, but instead of using physical levers to actuate a change, they use an optical line that gets broken and that activates the switch. I mean, it sounds complicated but it’s pretty simple, just think of those old movies where people are sneaking in somewhere and they accidentally trip a laser, that’s exactly what we’re talking about here.

So why go the optical route? Well, it essentially cuts out the need for any kind of force to press down the key and activate it, so compared to a cherry MX red that requires 45g of force to press down, opto-mechanical switches need nearly 0g.

Similarly, it allows the actuation point and activation point to be essentially on the same spot, as opposed to the latter being above the former, meaning you need to release the key more before you can press it down again. What that all boils down to is a longer-lasting switch (Rated to 100million presses), and much quicker performance with the ability to easily tap down really fast if you need it.

Now, whether this actually matters in a practical sense, I can’t really say. Human beings don’t really parse information that fast, so unless you’re aiming to go pro and have insane reflexes, the extra performance might not be worth it. That being said, it still has tons of value in the fact it can last twice as long as your average mechanical keyboard, as well as the difference actuation force required to press down.

Unfortunately, even though this is considered a high-quality gaming keyboard, it doesn’t actually have any macros keys on it and whether that bothers you varies wildly on the type of games you play and if you even need them. Still, for a keyboard with this price tag, some macros would have been nice, although I can certainly understand the cost that comes with introducing new technology, so I can’t blame them that much.

Other than that, it has some really excellent performance in games (bar the need for macros) and general use, so even though some aspects might be a bit too high tech to be of practical use, as a whole its performance is top-notch.

Razer Huntsman Elite Design

Razer doesn’t always introduce a lot of new designs into their lineup, instead preferring to iterate on their previous designs, so it’s definitely nice to see something new on the block. That being said, it’s not over the top like some other keyboards, instead of taking the approach of minimalist sleekness, with very little frills outside of the RGB.

I actually prefer that kind of design; something that could fit in an office without receiving too many weird looks and doesn’t always put you in a gaming frame of mind. As mentioned above, it doesn’t have any macro keys, and if you just look at it without the RGB, then it looks like a pretty standard keyboard you’d find anywhere.

But RGB it has and boy is there absolutely tons of it. Aside from the typical backlighting and underlighting of the keys, a feature which I do appreciate, it also has a strip of RGB running across the outside frame. It’s actually a pretty cool effect and something you don’t tend to see very often on keyboards so I appreciate the innovation, although I will say that how people react to it over time remains to be seen.

Another place that has an RGB strip running around it is the wrist rest, yet again something which you don’t ever see on any keyboard (at least to my memory). Sadly this is where we run into the first and probably most annoying design issue of this keyboard, which is that the wrist rest also needs a USB connection for lighting.

This is compounded by the fact that the keyboard itself doesn’t have any USB slots or pass-throughs, so you’re stuck eating up another USB slot on your PC, which can be super painful in the modern world where everything needs USBs. I really don’t understand why they didn’t go with a USB passthrough or just a single USB slot for the wrist rest, especially considering that it’s a pretty standard feature on most high-end gaming keyboards.

Moving on though, another place that has some great RGB lighting is the discrete media controls, something which I always look for in a keyboard and where I’m often disappointed. While it’s not complex by any means, as it’s only three buttons and a scroller, it is pretty smart.

You see the scrolling knob on the side, can be programmed to different things, such as volume, RGB brightness and even switching weapons in-game, or zooming in documents. It’s actually a really awesome feature that I wish more keyboards had, and the wheel itself is also extended slightly from the body, which makes it easier to use.

All of this is controlled through Razer’s Synapse software, a mixed bag if I’ve ever seen one. On the one hand, you can do pretty much anything you like, from altering what the scroll wheel does, to the RGB profiles and even creating your own RGB profiles.

On the other hand, it’s a complete and utter mess of windows and click-throughs to get you to where you need to go, and even doing simple things can be incredibly time-consuming on this platform.

Aside from that slightly irritating issue, there’s actually a ton of variability and profiles in the RGB. There are even game-specific RGB profiles made either by Razer or the game devs themselves, and it ranges from custom color schemes based on characters or just overall thematic colors and patterns.

That being said, it does automatically do it for you, and finding out how to just use your own profiles can be a bit difficult, mostly due to Synapse again. I have to say though, even though the Huntsman Elite definitely has some annoying issues, it still easily competes (if not dominates) the high-end keyboard market, and is certainly worth the price. Speaking of which . . .

Razer Huntsman Elite Pricing & Alternative

The Razer Huntsman Elite comes in it a slightly elevated $174.99. This isn’t the most you can pay for a keyboard, but it’s certainly up there. Of course, it costs a lot because you get a lot in return, so I’d say you have a pretty reasonable deal on your hands. You can always look for some awesome budget mechanical keyboards if you want to get something good for much less money.

As for alternatives Corsair has some really nice entries in the Corsair K70 RGB MK.2 and Corsair K95 RGB PLATINUM, both exceedingly excellent keyboards and costing $129.99 and $171.99 respectively. But if you’re looking for the cheapest alternative, check out our Corsair K55 review.

A great Razer alternative would be going for the Razer BlackWidow Chroma V2 which is slightly less expensive.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the Razer Huntsman elite have a USB port?

Unfortunately it does not, and that’s really one of the main things that bother me about this keyboard, especially since the wrist rest needs a USB for it’s lighting to work as well.

Is the Razer Huntsman elite mechanical?

Well, technically it’s optical, but every optical switch has a mechanical component to it, that’s just how it works. I think the term opto-mechanical works well for most pragmatic uses but essentially the feel of the keyboard is closer to mechanical, while the performance is optical. If you’re interested in more similar options, check out our guide on the best mechanical keyboards.

What is the newest Razer keyboard?

The Razer Huntsman Elite actually, it features their new opto-mechanical switches and is one of the newest on the market.

What is the Razer Hypershift key?

The Razer Hypershift key is pretty much like a function key, where if you press it, the buttons/keys do different things. This is pretty common practice for any peripheral or device where buttons/keys are limited and the designers want to give more options to the end user (which is why you see this a lot in laptops).

Are mechanical keyboards better for gaming?

Arguably yes, they are generally better for gaming. The use of mechanical switches and the tech behind them means that you don’t get issues like ghosting. Similarly, they generally tend to have a better tactile feel compared to membrane keyboards, which is pretty important if you’re playing a high-intensity game and don’t want to guess on whether you’ve actually pressed the key properly or not.

Final Verdict

As you can tell, the Razer Huntsman Elite is a pretty high-end keyboard dealing with some new tech we don’t have much experience with. Whether the opto-mechanical switches are going to offer anything new still remains to be seen, but as a whole, it’s still one of the better keyboards on the market, especially if you want something modern, sleek and lights up like a few hundred Christmas trees.

Performance: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Undoubtedly the opto-mechanical switches are the best in the market. Not only are they made to last for absolute ages, their quick response times and the tiny gap between actuation and activation points means that you’re unlikely to find a quicker switch.

Design: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The design is nearly flawless, with the minimalist sleek look making it fit anywhere, and the discrete media buttons and smart wheel scroll really putting it ahead of the pack. Where it does get a knockdown though is the fact that it needs two USB cables to run and that there’s no passthrough USB.

If you like the minimalism and dislike huge keyboards, check out the best gaming keypads out there.

Price: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Razer Huntsman Elite isn’t by any means overpriced, but it is missing some things that I would expect with a keyboard this expensive, such as a USB port, and USB passthrough, or at least some other way to connect and power the wrist rest to the main body of the keyboard.

Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

All in all, the Razer Huntsman Elite brings new toys to the playground and does a reasonably good job of it. It’s certainly a solid entry into the high-end market and I can’t wait to see what they have in store for the next revision.