Razer unveils the Ouroboros, new BlackWidows

July 27, 2012 | 11:16

Tags: #blackwidow #gaming-keyboard #gaming-mouse #keyboard #mechanical-keyboard #mouse #ouroboros

Companies: #razer

Peripherals maker Razer has officially unveiled its Ouroboros gaming mouse, alongside its latest BlackWidow keyboard line entries.

First, the Ouroboros. As its bizarrely angled lines suggest, the Ouroboros - named for a historical sigil depicting a serpent or dragon swallowing its own tail, Razer apparently having run out of real-world snakes for its product names - is designed to be adjustable for individual hand sizes and grip styles.

Accordingly, the Ouroboros features a palm rest which can be adjusted by up to 20mm to alter the length of the mouse, along with two interchangeable side panels which increase or decrease the mouse's width for different grip styles. Finally, the angle of the back panel's tilt can be adjusted to ensure comfortable palm support.

Internally, the mouse includes the usual glowing LEDs along with an 8,200dpi dual-sensor optical tracking system, a claimed 1ms latency wireless transceiver, a total of eleven programmable buttons, acceleration tracking up to 50G and a rechargeable battery good for a claimed 12 hours of continuous gaming.

The Ouroboros is joined by three redesigned gaming keyboards: the BlackWidow, BlackWidow Ultimate and BlackWidow Tournament Edition. Fans of mechanical keyboards should perk up at this point: as before, all three keyboards are fully mechanical, with 50g actuation switches on all but the 45g silent-yet-tactile Tournament Edition.

The standard BlackWidow boasts a claimed 1,000Hz 'Ultrapolling' engine with ten-key rollover anti-ghosting system, on-the-fly macro recording, and support for Razer's Synapse 2.0 cloud storage system for macros and preferences. As well as the usual keys - each one of which is individually backlit - the BlackWidow includes five dedicated macro keys, audio out and microphone in jacks, USB passthrough, and a braided fibre cable for connection to the host PC. The BlackWidow Ultimate adds overall back-lighting for easier use in the dark, but is otherwise identical.

The BlackWidow Tournament Edition drops the number pad from the BlackWidow and BlackWidow Ultimate for a more portable tenkeyless design, and swaps out the 50g switches for 45g tactile yet silent versions. A detachable braided USB cable with Velcro patches improves the keyboard's portability still further, as does the inclusion of a protective sleeve. The anti-ghosting system promises full support for six simultaneous key presses or 10 when 'gaming mode' is activated. Multimedia controls are also included, as is a glowing Razer logo - just what every hardcore gamer needs. Finally, the Tournament Edition drops significant weight over the 1.5Kg alternatives, weighing just 950g.

The Ouroboros is due for release in September and the BlackWidow keyboards in August, with UK pricing yet to be confirmed - but expect the new BlackWidows to cost roughly the same as their current-generation equivalents.
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