Razer ornata chroma review (full review)

Mechanical keyboards are more popular than ever among all the most demanding users, however membrane solutions also have their advantages such as quieter operation and smoother laying. Razer has realized this and has created its new Razer Ornata Chroma keyboard with new mechanisms with what they have dubbed “mechanical membrane”. This new proposal promises to unite the best of both worlds with the sensation and feedback of a mechanical switche together with the softness of the membrane.

We thank Razer for trusting the product for their review:

Razer Ornata Chroma: technical characteristics

Razer Ornata Chroma: unboxing and analysis

The Razer Ornata Chroma comes in a very common presentation, it comes in a box dominated by the brand's corporate colors. On the front we see an image of the keyboard as well as the layout it presents, this time we find a Spanish distribution and we thank the brand for this gesture. In the back we detail all the characteristics of the keyboard. We also appreciate a window that allows us to test the buttons before going through the box.

We open the box and find a wrist rest in a plastic bag for protection and the keyboard itself is very well padded by several pieces of foam to prevent it from moving during transport. We also see the usual Razer stickers and warranty and greeting card.

It is time to focus our eyes on the keyboard, the Razer Ornata Chroma is a fairly compact unit with dimensions of approximately 470mm x 155mm x 30mm0. These figures are quite contained for a full-format keyboard and that make it quite comfortable to carry. The keys are half-height, a format that Razer says helps us type faster than full-height keys.

The wrist rest is magnetically attached to the keyboard, something that allows us to put it on and take it off at will. The hold is not as strong as other systems we have seen but in return we are sure that no anchoring system will break.

The soul of this Razer Ornata Chroma and what makes it unique are its new mecha-membrane mechanisms, a solution that tries to combine the best of membranes and mechanical switches. For this, a piece very similar to that used by the famous switches is used and this is responsible for activating a membrane that is below. The membrane provides a smoother pulsation and helps to dampen the clack when the key is pressed, in this sense it works in a similar way to the O-Rings. These mechanisms maintain a "click" very similar to that of the Blue or Green switches, although it is certainly less pronounced, it is noted that Razer likes that metallic sound.

The main features of the keyboard continue with a 1000 Hz ultrapolling, 10 n-Key Rollover (NKRO) technology and 10 keys reinforced with Anti-Ghosting protection that transmit an ideal experience to the end user.

In the back we find two folding plastic legs that allow us to slightly lift the keyboard for greater comfort of use if the user considers it appropriate.

This time we did not find any USB port on the sides or 3.5mm jack connectors for audio and micro. Thus we lose the possibility of using in a more comfortable way some peripherals that use this interface or a pendrive for example.

Razer Synapse 2.0 software and Chroma lighting system

We got to the software section with the Razer Synapse 2.0 application. To install the customization application, we must go to the official Razer website and download the Razer Synapse application. Once the application is open, it will ask us to update the product firmware, which we always recommend, even if it takes a few minutes. If you do it later, you can do it from the application itself.

The other great protagonist of this Razer Ornata Chroma is the advanced Chroma lighting system that allows us to customize the keyboard with 16.8 million colors and the following available effects:

Wave: Swap the color scale and make a customizable wave effect in two directions. Spectrum Cycle: Cycles of all colors. Breathing: It allows us to choose 1 or 2 colors and they alternate for several seconds. Chroma Experience: Make a color combination starting from the equator of the keyboard. Static: A single fixed color. Custom themes backlit specific keys, depending on the profile / game activated. By default the following come:
- MMO: Number keys, WSAD and Enter are activated.MOBA: Number keys from 1 to 6, QWER, AS and B.RTS: Number keys from 1 to 5, AS, SHIFT, CTRL and ALT.Counter Strike Global: numeric keys from 1 to 5, Tab, QWER, Y, U, ASD, G, K, B, SHIFT and CTRL.DOTA 2: function keys F1 to F8, numeric from 1 to 6, QWERY, AS, G, ZXCVBN and enter.League Of Legends: number keys from 1 to 7, QWER, ASDF, and B. Starcraft II: Function keys F1 to F4, number keys 1 to 5, AS, Shift, BN, Control, Alt and Enter.

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Razer Synapse is not just limited to controlling the Chroma lighting system, from here we can manage numerous keyboard options such as creating different user profiles, assigning functions to each key and managing the help macros.

Final words and conclusion

I really wanted to get my hands on a keyboard with the mechanical membranes of Razer and the feeling has been really good, other manufacturers have promised something similar but we can affirm with total force that the Californian has achieved something unique. From the first moment a sensation similar to mechanical switches is perceived and we even hear a "click" very similar to their Razer Green.

I have been using the Razer Ornata Chroma for several days to play and the writing work on the web and the feeling has been all the while of having a mechanical keyboard in hand, in reality you realize that it is not like that when having a “ clack ”much smaller than the mechanical ones, it can be seen that the membrane does its job in this regard.

Currently, there is a lot of competition between mechanical keyboards to play . But without a doubt the Razer Ornata Chroma is one of the best on the market and also at a fairly contained price for what we usually see in the brand. It is for sale on the official Razer website for a price of 109.99 euros in its different versions of Layout.

ADVANTAGE	DISADVANTAGES
+ 10 N-KEY ROLLOVER	- NO KEYS INTENDED FOR MACROS
+ REMOVABLE WRIST-REST	- NO USB HUB INCORPORATED
+ 16.8 MILLION COLOR LED BACKLIGHT	- THE UNION OF THE WRIST-REST IS NOT VERY FIRM
+ MECHANICAL MEMBRANES THAT SURPRISE FREE OF CHARGE
+ SOFTWARE VERY WORKED
+ VERY COMFORTABLE AFTER SEVERAL HOURS OF USE