Razer Huntsman Elite review: Stone-cold killer

Even the best mechanical keyboards can cop a bum rap. Take the Razer Huntsman Elite, for example. Opt for the clicky version, and you can expect noise complaints from colleagues or housemates. Gun for the linear one, though – the focus of this review – and you can merge speedy mechanical keystroke performance with not a lot of noise.

The Razer Huntsman Elite is, to date, the best gaming keyboard we’ve used, edging out more recent premium-priced competitors like the Roccat Vulcan 120 AIMO, and delivering impressive results.

Pop the box to get to the Razer Huntsman Elite with fixed braided fibre USB 2.0 cable, which splits off into two male ports for connecting to your computer. Just connect the one marked ‘Razer’ to save a USB port, but connect the second if you want lighting for the wrist rest. Speaking of the wrist rest, you’ll find that stored under the keyboard, and there’s key documentation housed in the top of the box.

A premium price means premium inclusions. You’ll need very little force to make the optical switches actuate, so much so that you’ll have to unlearn old habits of resting your fingers on keys to avoid accidental keystrokes. There’s also a soft detachable magnetic wrist rest that makes everyday use and long gaming sessions incredibly comfy.

The Razer Huntsman Elite is a full-sized gaming keyboard, albeit one without a dedicated row of macro keys. Above the numpad, you’ll find easy-to-reach media controls for play/pause, skip back, skip forward, as well as a volume dial that can be pressed to mute all system sound. With the wrist rest attached, the Huntsman Elite’s height stretches out by half the size again. Still, consider that an essential item to save your wrists. In terms of the all-important typing, the Razer Huntsman Elite keycaps are the soft-touch start to typing nirvana.

This is where it’s important to pick the Razer Huntsman Elite keyboard that best suits your working or playing environment. For this review, I’m using the Linear optical switches. Not only are these switches quiet to the point where they don’t sound like traditional mechanical switches, they’re faster (1.00mm actuation point) and require less force (40g) than their Clicky counterparts. If you like to feel and hear the actuation point, you’ll want the Clicky switches, which are louder, slightly slower at 1.5mm actuation point (though that’s still quick), and require slightly more force at 45g.

Check out the video below for an idea of what the Razer Huntsman Elite Clicky switches sound like.

Like all Razer products, the Huntsman Elite uses the user-friendly Razer Synapse 3 software. Download Synapse 3 after connecting your Huntsman Elite to configure it to your personal tastes. For the Huntsman Elite, Synapse 3 lets you click on each individual keyboard key and rebind functionality on a per-profile basis. This is also where you can tinker with the RGB lighting.

These days, the Razer Huntsman Elite is actually more expensive than it was at its initial release date in June 2018, meaning it’s a steep price to pay for a gaming keyboard. To further extend buyer hesitation, there’s no audio or USB pass-through. Still, viewed as a peripheral investment, the Huntsman Elite is rated for 100 million key-presses, which means you can be feasibly working and gaming with this speedy performer for many years to come.