Razer is diving deeper into the world of keyboard customization with its latest accessories. While they’ve had PBT keycap sets available for a while, today Razer is announcing their new PBT + coiled cable sets, Phantom keycap upgrade set, and ergonomic wrist rests for mini and tenkeyless, and full-sized keyboards. Razer sent over a bunch of these sets for us to take a look at, so be sure to hit the video below and see how you can make a custom Razer keyboard.
The world of custom keyboards is a deep, dark dive, and one that Razer is helping you to dip your toe into with their own accessories. Razer usually has a few different color options available for their keyboard, but now you can go even further with more customization.
If you want to jump both feet into the custom world, Glorious PC Gaming Race is a great place to start with modular keyboards and a whole host of accessories colorways.
PBT keycap + coiled cable upgrade set
Usually seen as superior plastic, PBT keycaps are known for their durability. Razer’s sets come in four different colors to fit your custom Razer keyboard setup. Black, white Razer green, quartz pink, and mercury white are a nice variety of colors. The matching coiled cable looks sharp when the set is all put together. Razer’s cable is coiled to lay flat on a desk and features a USB-C to USB-A connection for compatibility.
While the keycap sets are available by themselves for $29.99, adding a matching colored cable takes the total price up to $49.99. These are purely aesthetic upgrades and offer no real performance difference, so if it’s something you want, you’re going to either find that price justified or not. To me, to get a set of seemingly high-quality PBT keycaps and a perfectly matching coiled cable, that price sounds about right.
Included in every set is a keycap puller as well as extra stabilizer pieces for Razer’s optical and mechanical switches.
Phantom keycap upgrade set
Besides the PBT keycaps, Razer is also offering a new Phantom keycap upgrade set. With a more stealthy design, these ABS keycaps offer a unique look. From certain angles, the legends on the keycaps can be hard to see, and when the RGB is turned off, they’re invisible. But from straight above, with the lighting turned on, they are more visible. This provides a nice combination of stealthy and practical looks for a custom Razer keyboard.
The smoked housing also lets RGB color shine through the bottom half of the switch for a unique look.
Custom Razer keyboard: video
Custom Razer keyboard: Hear the difference
Being different materials, the two different types of keycaps also sound a bit different. Razer’s PBT keycaps are a little sharper, while the ABS Phantom caps are a little lower and duller. Be sure to hit the video to hear an example of the two different types of keycaps on the same Razer Blackwidow V3 Mini keyboard.
One note on compatibility – the PBT keycaps come in a 120 keycap set that doesn’t have the correct keycaps to fit the Blackwidow V3 Mini. It’s missing the smaller Alt, Fn, and Ctrl that are squished a bit over the standard layout to fit in the arrow keys. It worked just fine on the Huntsman Mini, though, and I would imagine most full-size and tenkeyless boards.
The Phantom set comes with 128 keys and has the proper caps for the Blackwidow V3 Mini.
Ergonomic wrist rest for mini and tenkeyless keyboards
Rounding out Razer’s new offerings are ergonomic wrist rests for its mini and tenkeyless keyboards. They’re simple with a blacked-out design and a plush leatherette memory foam cushion. I don’t typically use wrist rests, but these seem to work pretty well. They’re not as special as what you can find from Glorious or a more specialty site like Drop.com, but at just $19.99 for the standard wrist rests and $35 for the full-size pro rest, they’re an easy way to get a little more comfort for your board.
9to5Toy’s Take
It’s no surprise that Razer is offering more upgrade kits to make a custom Razer keyboard. With companies like Glorious becoming more popular for their custom options, it just makes sense for more mainstream brands like Razer to do the same. The keycaps feel durable and well-built, and the prices seem reasonable for the features.
Customize your keyboard
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