If you are looking to up your PC gaming experience with features made for the professional gamer, and have relatively deep pockets, the Razer Huntsman V3 Pro Tenkeyless keyboard is definitely worth considering.
Designed for e-sports professionals in mind, Razer’s Huntsman V3 Pro Tenkeyless is a wired keyboard that offers a slew of customisations and features through the Razer Synapse software for the serious gamer.
Physical attributes
Being tenkeyless, the keyboard occupies 20 per cent less space on your desktop, which is great if you don’t really need the numeric keypad. The Huntsman V3 Pro Tenkeyless also comes with a detachable leatherette wrist rest if you need one, but I personally eschew it for more desk space.
Besides the tenkeyless keyboard layout, the Huntsman V3 Pro Tenkeyless also sports a volume and analog adjustment dial as well as two buttons — one to open the Xbox Game Bar and another to play and select tracks in audio playback.
If you don’t use the Game Bar, that button can be remapped via Razer’s Synapse software (unfortunately, the one for audio playback is fixed). I opted to map the lighting effects to the mappable button since I don’t use the Game Bar, and use it instead to toggle between my preset RGB effects.
I really like the brushed aluminium look and premium feel on the Huntsman V3 Pro Tenkeyless’ keyboard top plate. Definitely an upgrade from the Huntsman V1 that I own, which is more plasticky and lacks the classy metallic aesthetic.
As with most Razer products, the RGB lighting effects controlled by the Synapse software offers almost limitless customisations for colours and effects, and make for a fabulous lightshow in a dark room.
The audio dial also sports an RGB ring, which is so pretty, and the sheen off the aluminium surface accentuates the colours under the keys even more.
The Huntsman V3 Pro Tenkeyless’ keycaps are made from PBT (Polybutylene Terephthalate) which is touted as the strongest and best-quality plastic. It also promises to avoid ghosting effects after many presses.
An improvement over the Huntsman V1 is in the keycaps. On the new keyboard, the symbols sharing the same keycap as the numeric keys are also lit up by the RGB lights. This solves a non-gaming problem for me, when I am trying to write articles in a dark room!
Speaking of that, the Huntsman Pro V3 Tenkeyless’ Analog Optical Gen 2 switches are quieter than my own Huntsman V1 that I use for gaming and writing.
Personally, I prefer the clicky tactile keys of the Huntsman V1 as they feel more satisfying, although they can be annoyingly loud for those around you.
Pro customisations
The Huntsman V3 Pro Tenkeyless offers plenty of customisations for you to experiment with for first-person shooter (FPS) games.
You can fiddle around with the settings in the Synapse software to make the keyboard suit you to a tee. This will take quite a bit of time and finagling but the result is a keyboard that will suit your very own gaming and typing style.
The Rapid Trigger option lets you trigger the next action on keys with a shorter release time for faster responsiveness. Instead of a fixed reset point, keys reset instantly with an upward motion as low as 0.1 mm, allowing for faster keystrokes.
This makes a difference in milliseconds but in hectic and intense firefight, responsiveness will give you an edge and makes a difference between life and death in the game.
Another feature I find useful beyond gaming is Adjustable Actuation, which controls the sensitivity of the keys using the Synapse software.
I noticed I was making more typos than usual on the Huntsman V3 Pro Tenkeyless at the default settings, and after adjusting the actuation, I managed to lower the sensitivity of the keys to a level that suits my typing style.
These three settings can be adjusted on the fly using the Function (FN) key on the keyboard and the LED array on the keyboard and serves as a visual indicator of your settings. This is a great feature since you can change the settings within the game and not have to go into the rather temperamental Synapse app to effect the changes.
Snapping and tapping
The most unique feature of the Huntsman V3 Pro Tenkeyless is the out-of-the-box support for the Snap Tap mode, an onboard feature on the Huntsman V3 Pro series. This feature is touted to offer near-instant directional changes without the risk of slowing down too late or coming to a complete stop.
In practice, the Snap Tap allows for a change in strafing direction based on the latest input from the key pressed without having to completely let go of the other key. This matters most typically for the A and D keys to control left and right strafing in FPS games.
Sure, it makes a difference of only a few milliseconds but in competitive gaming, this can make or break a headshot on you when dodging enemy fire.
I tried playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III on multiplayer with Snap Tap enabled, but with my non-pro FPS skills, I’m still getting whooped a lot. Maybe I need more practice using the Snap Tap function as it doesn’t come naturally to me.
Be aware however, that Valve has banned the Snap Tap mode on Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) servers. Players will be kicked out if they use it, so remember to disable the Snap Tap mode before joining a match on CS2.
If you have an older Razer keyboard, you can try out the Snap Tap mode as well. The Snap Tap mode is backwards compatible with previously released Razer hardware, and can be enabled through the beta version of Synapse 4.
TL;DR
The Huntsman V3 Pro Tenkeyless is chock-full of features and customisations that you can fine tune and bring your gaming up to the next level. The question is if you need all the pro-level bells and whistles and if you have the dollars to flex.
The new Razer keyboard’s premium feel and sleek design are an added bonus, with media controls, improved keycap design and brushed aluminium top plate that makes it hard to keep one’s hands off.
For all that, the Razer Huntsman V3 Pro Tenkeyless does not come cheap at S$349.90. If you prefer the full-sized version, it will set you back S$399.90.
