The Razer Huntsman Tournament Edition (TE) is a superb gaming keyboard that features Razer's proprietary Linear Optical switches. These switches provide a responsive typing and gaming experience; however, some may find them overly sensitive, as they can often cause unintended keystrokes to register. The overall build quality is excellent, and the keyboard has full RGB backlighting, which can be easily customized via Razer's Synapse 3 software. This keyboard is part of Razer's optomechanical switch lineup that includes the Huntsman and the Razer Huntsman Elite.
Our Verdict
The Razer Huntsman TE is an amazing gaming keyboard with very low and consistent latency performance. The keys are extremely responsive and light and can be programmed via the Synapse 3 software. The full RGB backlighting is also great for gaming in darker rooms, and the doubleshot PBT keycaps feel very durable.
- Linear switches are light and extremely responsive.
- Excellent build quality.
- Full RGB backlighting.
- Superbly low and consistent latency.
- No wrist rest.
The Razer Huntsman TE is a decent keyboard for office use. It's fairly comfortable to type on, and the keys are very responsive, requiring very little force for a keystroke to register; however, some may find them overly sensitive, leading to more typos. Typing noise is minimal, which is good for noise-sensitive offices, but the stabilizers aren't all great, as some keys rattle a bit.
- Excellent build quality.
- The linear switches can be overly sensitive for some.
- No wrist rest.
The Razer Huntsman TE doesn't have wireless capabilities and can't be used with mobile devices.
The Razer Huntsman TE is decent for programming. It's very easy to type on and doesn't cause any fatigue. The keyboard's build quality is excellent, but there's some rattling on certain keys. Unfortunately, even though every key can be programmed, the Synapse 3 software is only available on Windows, so macOS and Linux users can't customize the keyboard.
- Every key is macro-programmable.
- Excellent build quality.
- Full RGB backlighting.
- The linear switches can be overly sensitive for some.
- No wrist rest.
The Razer Huntsman TE is a poor keyboard for entertainment/ HTPC use. It's wired-only, so you have no choice but to be within cable distance of your connected devices. It also doesn't have a keyboard wheel or a trackpad, though at least it has full RGB backlighting and media control hotkeys.
- Full RGB backlighting.
- Media control hotkeys.
- Wired-only.
- No wheel or trackpad.
The Razer Huntsman TE offers amazing raw performance. It has excellent single and multi-key latency performance that's also very consistent thanks to its effective polling rate of 1000Hz that isn't bottlenecked by scan rate or other latency components. Overall, it delivers a very responsive-feeling experience for gaming in any genre at any competitive level.
Changelog
- Updated Nov 29, 2023: We've converted this review to Test Bench 1.3.1, which adds a new estimated PCB latency test to the Single-Key Latency section and a new Analog test to the Switches section of this review. You can see the full changelog here.
- Updated Nov 15, 2023: We've found that latency results are impacted by the placement of the testing solenoid, so we retested this keyboard for consistency with other reviews. This review has been updated, and you can find more information regarding this retest here.
- Updated Aug 30, 2023: We've added text to this review for the new tests added in TBU 1.3.
- Updated Aug 30, 2023: We've converted this review to Test Bench 1.3, which overhauls how key input is evaluated. We've added new tests for Single Key Latency, Multi Key Latency, Data Transmission, and Chord Split. We've also introduced a new Raw Performance usage and adjusted how the Gaming and Office usage scores are calculated. You can see the full changelog here.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
This keyboard is part of Razer's optomechanical switch lineup that includes the Razer Huntsman and the Razer Huntsman Elite. The Tournament Edition only comes in black with Razer Linear Optical switches.
Popular Keyboard Comparisons
The Razer Huntsman Tournament Edition is an outstanding mechanical gaming keyboard. Its linear optical switches have an incredibly short pre-travel distance that makes it one of the most responsive keyboards we've tested; however, it's overly sensitive for general typing. If you want a similar keyboard that provides a better typing experience, the Razer Huntsman Mini is a better choice, as it's available with Clicky Optical switches that have a longer pre-travel distance. For other options, check out our recommendations for the best gaming keyboards, the best mechanical keyboards, and the best RGB keyboards.
The Razer Huntsman Mini and the Razer Huntsman Tournament Edition are similar keyboards with outstanding gaming performance. The major difference is that the Tournament Edition is a TKL keyboard, while the Mini is compact. The Mini is available with Razer Linear Optical and Clicky Optical switches, while the TE is only available with Linear Optical switches, which are more sensitive than the clicky switches, so the typing quality is worse, but it provides quicker actuation for gaming.
The Razer Huntsman Tournament Edition (TE) and the Razer Huntsman V2 are wired mechanical gaming keyboards. The V2 is Razer's first keyboard with an 8000Hz polling rate, and its latency is slightly lower than the TE's. Also, the V2 comes with a nice plushy wrist rest, which the TE doesn't. On the other hand, the TE is a TenKeyLess board, which some people might prefer; however, its smaller size means it lacks some of the features that the V2 has, like a numpad, dedicated media keys, and a volume control knob. Both boards are available with Razer Linear Optical switches, but the V2 is also available with Razer Clicky Optical switches. The linear switches on our V2 unit feel a bit heavier than those on our TE unit, and some of the keys had a different feel and sound than others.
The Razer Huntsman Tournament Edition is a wired TenKeyLess board, while the Razer BlackWidow V3 Mini HyperSpeed is a wireless 65% compact board. The V3 Mini can pair with up to three devices via Bluetooth, and you can also use it wired. It's available with clicky Razer Green and linear Razer Yellow switches. On the other hand, the Huntsman TE feels better built and uses PBT keycaps instead of ABS keycaps like the V3 Mini. It's available with Razer Linear Optical switches only.
The Razer Huntsman Tournament Edition (TE) and the Razer BlackWidow V3 are very different keyboards. The TE is a TKL keyboard with linear optical switches, while the V3 is full-size and is available with Razer Yellow or Green mechanical switches. The TE's Linear Optical switches have a shorter pre-travel distance and lower operating force than the Yellow switches on the V3, making them more responsive. However, they're not as good for general typing because they're overly sensitive, which leads to more typos. The V3 comes with a wrist rest and has dedicated media controls, which the TE lacks.
Test Results
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