BrainWav wrote:Anyone used the Carcharias headset before? I need a new set of headphones, as my old Pioneer Steelwheels (from woot too) finally started cracking. My main issue with headphones is that due to a big head, I tend to put a lot of pressure on them and cheap plastic just breaks after a while.

I've tried some gaming headsets, not specifically the Carcharias, and I've never been fond of how they sound. My opinion is to spend a little more money and get a decent pair of headphones (like the Sony MDR-V6's) and a separate mic. I've been doing it for about a year or two now and really do enjoy it.

marscion wrote:Can anyone confirm that the Anansi is backlit? The Razer website says it is, but the pictures here and the description don't give any indication. Maybe it's an older model?

I would really like to know this as well. I want those 16 million colors.

Well Bought the Lycosa keyboard because I loved my razer mouse and keypad, however I hate this keyboard. It has slowed my typing down considerably and the amount of miskeys is unbearable. It is damn near impossible to type a full sentence now without 2-3 typos due to double key presses and miskeys. it looks nice but it is a pos avoid.

elfleadermike wrote:YOU! We're in the exact same boat. My deathadder is perfect other than the scroll wheel. It's lasted years.

My death adder is 4 years old as well and so far no problems with the scroll wheel.

Wish I could say the same for the Lycosa keyboard I just got last week. Two keys were bad out of the box and it would randomly stop responding to various keystrokes. I called Razer and they told me to cut off the cord and send them a picture, which I did, and now I'm waiting on an refurb in the mail (with no keyboard in the mean time since I cut the cord off)

corvettejoe wrote:Had a Nostromo keypad since when they were still under the Belkin branding. Mine got misplaced a while back and I ended up buying the latest razer branded one a year or so back. THese things are great for all types of gaming, Keeps your hand from cramping up on the keyboard and is very comfy to use.

I've played a variety of games with it too from Diablo 3, to the latest FarCry3 and logged countless hours of Minecraft with it as well.

I won't game without one now.

I was about to ask if they're useful. Been looking at them for a while, but all I play is some light Diablo III and a few MMORPGs. Sounds like that's a yes, though. Thanks!

I'm rocking the refurbed Razer Naga 2012 edition from Woot a couple weeks ago, and I absolutely love it. The size and feel of the mouse is great. I wish I would've waited for the Naga Hex here, as I can imagine the 6 thumb buttons here are easier to use than the 12 on the Naga 2012 I purchased. I don't play any MMOs, so 6 num keys for LoL and shooters would be plenty fine for me.

I also purchased a pair of the Onzas at the last Woot for Razer. Love the controller. It took a little bit to get used to which bumper keys are the normal LB/RB and the remappables, but now that I'm used to it, it's a great controller. I still favor my MLG controller over the Onza, however I would highly recommend both (especially the Onza at this price).

artulo wrote:My Razer Diamondback that I bought here in 2008 still works great.

I was about to say the same, then I realized mine is a copperhead from Jan 2007. The rubber was coming off, so I sanded it down, but other than that, it's been great.

Does the Blackwidow 2013 have any significant features that the original one doesn't have? I actually prefer the blue backlighting on the original, which is why I held off on buying a 2013 (wanted to see all the other options available), but for $80 I might pull the trigger on this. Also has anyone had issues with refurbished Razer keyboards? Do they include any kind of warranty?

GaleForce wrote:Does the Blackwidow 2013 have any significant features that the original one doesn't have? I actually prefer the blue backlighting on the original, which is why I held off on buying a 2013 (wanted to see all the other options available), but for $80 I might pull the trigger on this. Also has anyone had issues with refurbished Razer keyboards? Do they include any kind of warranty?

i went over this a couple weeks ago. to get the older version, or the new one.
this is what i came out with:

i believe the 2013 version has a matte finish with green lighting. i think the blue backlight looks better.
Also the 2013 has like 10 anti ghosting keystrokes, while i think the older version only has like 6, which is kinda useless due to the fact that you only have so many fingers, why would you need to press 10 keys at once. Minor differences, probably so they could have an excuse to sell new ones and make more money. nothing really major to justify the price difference, and besides in half a year the 2013 version will probably be much cheaper

So really no real reason to get the latest. I decided to go with the older Bf3 collectors edition, which is great. It's the same as the one on sale here, but with amber/orange backlights and bf3 graphics. love it.

damnidunno wrote:i went over this a couple weeks ago. to get the older version, or the new one.
this is what i came out with:

i believe the 2013 version has a matte finish with green lighting. i think the blue backlight looks better.
Also the 2013 has like 10 anti ghosting keystrokes, while i think the older version only has like 6, which is kinda useless due to the fact that you only have so many fingers, why would you need to press 10 keys at once. Minor differences, probably so they could have an excuse to sell new ones and make more money. nothing really major to justify the price difference, and besides in half a year the 2013 version will probably be much cheaper

So really no real reason to get the latest. I decided to go with the older Bf3 collectors edition, which is great. It's the same as the one on sale here, but with amber/orange backlights and bf3 graphics. love it.

Thanks for the info. Did you buy a new or a refurb? I seem to find mixed reviews on the reliability of their keyboards so I'm a bit hesitatnt to buy a refurb, especially only with a 90 day warranty. On the other hand I have the Carcharias headset for a while and I've yet to have a problem with it, so I haven't seen the reliability issues people claim outside of the mice products.

This Keyboard is junk. The Enter button sticks and the lights work sometimes. I like the mice but this Keyboard is not worth $1.....Heads up!

GaleForce wrote:Thanks for the info. Did you buy a new or a refurb? I seem to find mixed reviews on the reliability of their keyboards so I'm a bit hesitatnt to buy a refurb, especially only with a 90 day warranty. On the other hand I have the Carcharias headset for a while and I've yet to have a problem with it, so I haven't seen the reliability issues people claim outside of the mice products.

i got lucky because i went over to TigerDirect and they were having a flash sale on the Bf3 branded edition for only $79 brand new.

I never bought refurbished. debating on getting this refurbished Nostromo, but not sure if its worrth it. $33 refurbed vs $59 brand new. Not sure if $26 is worth the hassle that could come.

Alot say the refurbed razer stuff on woot is trashy, but then again others say its good.

Does come with normal warranty and return policy, so if you have the patience go ahead :d

Blackwidow is an awesome keyboard. Feels sexy to type on lol loud though.

I would avoid the Black Widow like the plague. Or, the actual spider. It's a glossy fingerprint magnet and (though this is personal) macro keys on the side just screw up my finger placement. It also seems to wear through oddly quickly despite the switches (stuck keys mostly). The butt-ugly font just adds to it for me.

Do yourself a favor and get a Leopold or Quickfire for less. Even a Das, if you insist on backlighting/gloss.



(Warning: the CM Quickfires also have a butt-ugly font. To avoid this problem entirely, get a blank keyboard.)

coleman2010 wrote:Anyone ever used the xbox controller? I'm not too fond of the ideal of it being wired but willing to give it a shot if someone else thinks it's worth it.

Here's my review from another site.

Pros:
The longer triggers are great, and the buttons are also great. The thumb-sticks have a greater range of motion than the Microsoft 360 controller, and I definitely did better using the Onza in FPS games when switching back and forth (immediate and noticeable difference aiming). The wire on the controller is plenty long unless you like to sit 40 feet from your TV. The coating is more comfortable, and the controller is more comfortable for my hands in general. The adjustable tension rings are also nice, however, if you like your thumb-sticks stiff, it seems to make it more difficult to push the thumb-sticks all the way in one direction. (Pressure increases as you move away from the resting thumb-stick position--particularity towards the very edge.) Also, on all 3 Onzas I've had (more on that later), I've experienced more difficulty clicking the thumb-sticks when the tension is high.
Cons:
Reliability. My first controller worked great, and then the left trigger began glitching out. When zooming in Black Ops, the scope would spazz in and out, but sometimes work perfectly. Amazon was great and sent me a new one. It had trouble out of the box, the right thumb-stick resistance adjustment ring didn't work at all, while the left thumb-stick developed problems with pushing up and clicking. (A common set-up for "running" in many games.) Amazon was gracious again, and allowed me to return it and get a new one... unfortunately, it also is developing the dreaded left-thumb-stick problem.
PC Users:
It is not detected as an official 360 controller, which has caused me some problems in Assassin's Creed. It's hard to explain but even though it says it's a Xbox 360 controller, some games notice that it is not the Microsoft 360 controller and so some of the axis and buttons are not assigned correctly. It's very strange, and I've contacted Razer, but they didn't seem interested in the problem, giving me a canned response. In short, it doesn't use the official Microsoft 360 controller software/driver and therefore causes some issues on PCs.
Final Thoughts:
Knowing what I know now, I would probably have never bought one, but since I did, I can't do without it. Which is unfortunate, because they are so unreliable. I was hoping the new BF3 edition would have been improved and the problems would be fixed, but it appears they are plagued with the exact same problems. If you are lucky enough to own one with no problems, I'd go out on a limb and say it may be the best 360 controller out there.

In summary, the Onza has been plagued with reliability problems and almost all reputable bad reviews are related to the bad Quality Control. If you Google the Onza and problems you'll see what I'm talking about.

fins4ever88 wrote:I also purchased a pair of the Onzas at the last Woot for Razer. Love the controller. It took a little bit to get used to which bumper keys are the normal LB/RB and the remappables, but now that I'm used to it, it's a great controller. I still favor my MLG controller over the Onza, however I would highly recommend both (especially the Onza at this price).

I agree with fins4ever88. Haven't used the MLG controller, so I can't comment about that.

rantisdel wrote:Well Bought the Lycosa keyboard because I loved my razer mouse and keypad, however I hate this keyboard. It has slowed my typing down considerably and the amount of miskeys is unbearable. It is damn near impossible to type a full sentence now without 2-3 typos due to double key presses and miskeys. it looks nice but it is a pos avoid.

I've had a Razer Lycosa for 4 years and never had any keyboard related problems. I will mention the headphone jack gets interference from the LED lighting system and the touch controls can be finicky, but they are mostly just overly sensitive. Also, if you haven't picked up on it by now, Razer struggles with quality control on many of their products. Although, everyone I know loves them when they work.

I've also had a Lachesis and Mamba. Both mice have been great and I would recommend either to anyone. The Lachesis has been going strong for 4 years also. I will also mention that the Lachesis isn't for everyone. If you use a claw-type grip and a light touch, it works great. However, I don't think many people would enjoy using it with a traditional palm style grip.

I bought the Xbox controller and it's great. I game usually with first person shooters. The triggers take a little getting used to but it's positioned so that I can use them quickly with my ring or middle finger while my index fingers are on the bumpers. Also, the buttons are fantastic. I highly recommend it to serious gamers.

Razer BlackWidow Ultimate Mechanical Keyboard

These keyboards are made by another company and rebranded/reconfigured by Razer. Im not sure the name of this other company, but they are the parent company of or in some way affiliated with the manufacturer of my current keyboard, X-Armor. i own this the X-Armor U9BL (http://www.ergogeek.com/xarmor-u9bl-led-backlit-mechanical-gaming-keyboard.html), which is an absolutely fantastic keyboard. From my understanding, Razer bought this same keyboard, albeit with a very slightly different keyboard layout, (adding macro keys, squishing the function keys together) and rebranded as the BlackWidow. This is not a bad thing. Ive had my U9BL for 2 years now and i havent looked back. I came from a Logitech G15 (1st revision, and the first keyboard with an LCD screen) that had worn out after extensive use over 4 years. I exclusively purchase logitech products as they have phenomenal no-questions-asked warranties and incredible support, but they do not (or did not) make a mechanical kbd. With that being said, this keyboard is of excellent quality and has a lot of features.

this price seems pretty good. THere are 2 versions of the Black Widow: one thats back-lit and one thats not. the backlit one, new, is ~$130. the non-backlit one is around $80. However, it appears there is a newer revision to this keyboard, dubbed the BlackWidow 2013, which dilutes the deal somewhat. im not sure how they differ.

You wont go wrong buying a mechanical keybaord, and this one is solid. i dont know if it's the best one for this price, but for being backlit and based on an exceptional product, i dont see how one can be disappointed.

Also i thought i'd add that Razer is a known and trusted gaming peripheral company. They offer headsets (i have one i bought from woot that performs as expected), controllers (gamepads), and made their name for their high-quality mice (though ive never been a fan of any of their mice since they have traditionally been ambidextrous and palm-based designs- i strongly prefer claw-type grips)

LUEshi781 wrote:My deathadder from 4 years ago finally needs to be replaced due to the scroll wheel not being responsive anymore. As far as gaming mice go, it seems pretty durable.

I've had a regular mouse for years and played games with them countless times and for long hours. How do these mouses wear out?

I just got the Lycosa and only this video can explain the quality.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHV8A80P20U

I have an old Diamondback 3G. My favorite mouse ever (same design as the copperhead). The Diamondback and any with the same design have been discontinued. After 4 years, the button finally started to give out. I opened it up, melted plastic back onto the button (where it wore out, -watch tutorials on YouTube to see how-) and now it works perfectly again!!
Best mice ever!
However, my new keyboard came with a few VERY spongey/sticky keys... gonna see if razer will exchange.

inkycatz wrote:Game mice tend to wear out so fast. How well do these hold up to those prolonged sprees of holiday gaming?

Black Widow Keyboard is a steal at refurbished price. $120+ brand new, and since its a mechanical keyboard there really isnt anything that can be wrong with them. Built like tanks if you hammer on the keys when you type. Mine has held up to hundred and hundreds of college papers so far and I used to break "normal" keyboards about every 6 months