My Black Friday 2019 picks
The Razer Ornata Chroma Backlit Mechanical Mecha-Membrane Ergonomic Gaming Keyboard was the first of my Black Friday 2019 picks.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are of no importance to me. I monitor certain articles year around which gives me an advantage when it comes to spotting deals. My home page mentions that I have worn out a few qwerty keyboards.
Until now, I have used Logitech 750 series keyboard with my laptop but the $64.99 deal convinced me to upgrade. There was nothing wrong with the Logitech keyboard and the solar cells did an amazing job keeping the device in perfect working condition.
So why did I add a second Razer Ornata Chroma Backlit Mechanical Mecha-Membrane Ergonomic Gaming Keyboard to my setup? Well, the short answer is because I love simplicity. My main workstation has a Razer Ornata Chroma keyboard which I absolutely love. Typing on it just feels perfect for me. As far as the gaming features go I can honestly say that I couldn’t care less because I don’t play any computer games.
Blender 3D
I do a lot of 3D modeling and Blender happens to use the keyboard shortcut F12 to render. Anyone who models a lot knows that countless test renders need to be made in order to get the texturing and lighting right. I do most of the 3D and CAD work on a Dell workstation and all the rendering is done with Blender.
The Logitech keyboard is perfect for the iMac but under Linux, the F12 button is hard-coded to adjust the audio volume. Yes, I could have easily reprogrammed that button but that would have meant to also dedicate another function key for the volume which is not ideal.
To make a long story short, I now have a uniform workflow between the two computers. Problem solved.
Backlit keyboard
Strangely, I prefer to work at night and in a dark room. I can’t explain why that is but have done so for the last 20 years. Maybe it’s a left-over from the old band days playing the foggy dungeons and watching the noise fight with the colored light beams. I don’t know.
I don’t have to see the keys when I type but still, it’s good to have a backlit keyboard because there are so many odd key combinations to press which is especially cumbersome when I have to type in very long and complex passwords. Again, to keep this article short I just want to state that a backlit keyboard is preferable when working in the dark. It just feels right.
Green backlit keys by default
One thing I have never liked about the Razer backlit gaming keyboard was the fact that I had to boot into Windows just so that I could set the color profile. After that, they keyboard would remember the setting and I could reboot to Linux and enjoy the solid green color.
For some reason, the latest version of the Razer Ornata Chroma Backlit Mechanical Mecha-Membrane Ergonomic Gaming Keyboard defaults to green. My Mackie studio Monitors have a green accent and the whole setup looks just right.
The build quality seems to be very good as the keyboard is targeted towards game players. Because of that, I assume that the keys can take quite the beating which means that I don’t have to worry about it. So far, so good.
If you type a lot then the clicking sound will remind you of the old typewriter days. The included ergonomic arm rest is very nice. Buying the first gaming keyboard was a risk but the second time around I knew what I was getting and I am not disappointed. Razer is a great brand for designers and their mice, which I also use, are ideal for dual and ultrawide monitor setups.
Keep the plastic cover
If you have this keyboard or if you are planning on buying a Razer Ornata Chroma Backlit Mechanical Mecha-Membrane Ergonomic Gaming Keyboard then keep that plastic keyboard cover which comes with the device. Placing that on the keyboard when I don’t use it keeps the dust out. Dust is the number one enemy of electronics and it takes just a few seconds to cover the keyboard.
There are a lot of gaming keyboard brands out there but ever since I tried the Razer Ornata Chroma, I have stopped looking at those because I am 100% happy. What say you?