It can be difficult keeping track of Razer’s growing number of keyboards, many of which are mechanical and some of which have customizable RGB (or “Chroma,” as Razer calls it) lighting, and yet others are tenkeyless (no dedicated number pad). Now the company is starting to incorporate water and dust-resistance too, beginning with the popular BlackWidow Ultimate.
Razer redesigned the BlackWidow Ultimate to be the most resilient keyboard in its stable. It has an IP54 rating to protect against accidental spills and floating dust particles.
“We’ve never stopped making improvements to our gaming keyboards,” says Min-Liang Tan, Razer co-founder, and CEO. “The Razer BlackWidow Ultimate is now more durable than ever and our first mechanical keyboard to incorporate water- and dust-resistant features.”
Breaking down the IP54 rating, the “5” represents limited protection against dust ingress, and the “4” denotes protection from splashes of water from any direction. It’s not clear how much liquid the new iteration of the BlackWidow Ultimate can withstand, though judging by one of the press photos (shown above), Razer seems confident it can survive a heavy spill, or a rainstorm in your computer room.
There does not appear to be any type of drainage system for your spilled Starbucks, but the keycaps are easily removed, allowing you to pat the inside dry and clean up the mess.
Other features are the same as the previous version, including Razer Green mechanical key switches, individually backlight keys with green LEDs, and on-the-fly macro recording.
The new BlackWidow Ultimate is available now for $100.