Razer Huntsman V3 HE Review: Jumping on the Bandwagon

In contrast, the defaults on this keyboard are pretty good. Both are smooth and quiet with zero noise, showing that Razer has found ways to make the factory fat, which few manufacturers struggle with.

Popular Plastic Shell

Photo: Henry Robbins

Like most Razer keyboards, the latest Huntsman has a very straightforward build: a composite metal top and plastic shell underneath the tray-mount assembly and sound dampening foam. The screws that hold the two parts together are submerged in the upper housing, which features Razer’s black brushes. Fortunately, there are no fragile plastic pieces connecting the two parts. The shell, despite the metal upper, has a little flexibility in the hand.

Inside the box, there are two printed boards: The main board that slides into the metal frame, and the female board that goes into the bottom. The two boards are connected with a three-way JST connector and a thick ribbon cable. There is a piece of sound deadening foam between the plate and the PCB, filling the empty space between the switches, and another inside the bottom shell. Although using a second female board is good, the plastic bottom shell is very thin. This seems to help make this keyboard feel better, and ultimately makes it more durable and sturdy compared to full metal (or thick plastic).

This keyboard uses a standard tray-mount assembly. The top half screws into the bottom shell of the keyboard, using a series of evenly spaced studs. This design is easy to disassemble, making all changes and maintenance straightforward. Because the bottom half is made from plastic, however, there is a high risk of fiber posts being stripped or damaged during assembly and disassembly.

Compared to standard mechanical keyboards, which have hundreds of different types of adjustment that can be adjusted freely, one of the biggest features is Hall Effect curtains and custom limits. Switches and sensors have several competing standards, meaning it can be difficult (or impossible) to find aftermarket switches that are compatible with every keyboard. At first I was told that third-party switches would not be compatible with the Huntsman HE line, but I was surprised to find that the switches from The price of 60HE it seemed to fit perfectly. I easily pulled one of the switches from the 60HE, and put it directly into the Huntsman with zero. Although I cannot confirm the details, this indicates that other switches on the market that use the same standards may also be compatible.

Finicky’s work

Photo: Henry Robbins

While testing this keyboard, I ran into a few issues. Most notable was key repetition: Within a few hours of use, the N key would generate input every time I pressed it (ie, nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn) until I pressed another key. When I swapped with another one, the new switch refused to register any input. The only solution was to completely reset the keyboard.