Razer Blackwidow Ultimate 2014 - Custom KeyCaps So I Can See Symbols

Hello All!

I just purchased a Razer Blackwidow Ultimate 2014 keyboard and I love everything about it (the way the keys feel and sound, the backlighting, ergonomics, etc.) except one thing:

The backlighting illuminates only part of the keys that have special characters. For example, the characters @, $, $, etc. on the number row are not lit so when I am using my keyboard at night I can't see them.

I am a software developer and I use these special characters all the time and I don't always remember which key has a particular symbol.

I was checking online for custom keycaps but I am not sure which ones to buy. The ones I buy will have to feel as good (if not better) than the stock Blackwidow keycaps and also allow for the backlighting of all the symbols on the keys.

Can anyone recommend a good set of keycaps for my Blackwidow Ultimate and where to get them? Or another alternative, if there is one?

Thank you.

Jan

The partial backlighting is inherent of the design of the backlit Cherry MX key.
The stem of the key blocks the light from the LED of hitting the opposite side of the keycap, causing a dark spot where your special characters are.

My G710+ is the same way, although I get a slight bleed through on this keyboard.

You can check with WASD Keyboards or MAX Keyboard about getting keycaps though, both of them sell great quality parts.
Make sure any keycaps you buy are specifically for backlit keyboards though.

Thank you for the response! I will checkout the keycaps from WASD and MAX Keyboard now.

So, the fact that the symbols are not lit is inherent to Cherry MX keys, and not due to the fact that Razer decided to put the symbols at the bottom of the key rather than the top like most other manufacturers?

I had backlit Rosewill Cherry MX Brown and a Tesoro Cherry MX Blue keyboards before this and I could see all of the symbols/characters on the keyboard. So what's the difference between the Rosewill and Razer?

http://www.rosewill.com/products/2545/ProductDetail_Overview.htm
http://tesorogamingusa.com/collections/keyboards/products/tesoro-durandal-ultimate-gaming-keyboard

Thank you.

Well, the LED is at the upper half of the key. The numbers are the main key, with the symbols being the alternate.
Therefore the numbers go over the LED.

You can see the symbols on those keyboards since they put it directly beside the number, which is on the upper half of the key where the LED is.

My G710+ also has the symbols at the bottom of the key, but they do get a slight bleed through so I can see them just enough if I need to.

It's really unfortunate about this backlighting issue and I am probably going to return the Blackwidow. Sad because I like it so much. I just feels great to type on.

Can anyone recommend a good replacement that "feels" just as good as this one? I was looking at the CM Storm Trigger-Z and it looks really good:

http://gaming.coolermaster.com/en/products/keyboards/triggerz/

There are a few things I would like to have on the new keyboard (other than the obvious backlighting, etc.):

1. palm rest
2. cherry mx brown or blue switches (i like the audible feedback)
3. i would like the usb cable to not be so thick like the razer and also a single usb plug would be better as i never use the keyboards built in usb hub

Jan

Look at a G710+, sounds like it fits the bill.

It has the palm rest, MX Brown keys, and the USB cable doesn't split until close to the PC so you can leave one plug out.

Also, I know some of CoolerMaster's mechanical keyboards were only partially mechanical... a lot of keys were still membranes.