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 Tournament Edition and the Razer Huntsman V2 Analog are both fantastic gaming keyboards. They both come with linear optical switches, but the Tournament Edition has the Razer Linear Optical switches, while the V2 Analog has the Razer Analog Optical switches, which are a bit heavier to press but offer a much better typing experience. As the name suggests, the V2 Analog has a feature that allows you to control the keys like an analog joystick, providing greater control over fine movements. It's also a full-size option with a wrist rest, while the Tournament Edition is TKL and doesn't come with a wrist rest.
The Razer Huntsman Tournament Edition and the Fnatic miniSTREAK are wired TenKeyLess mechanical gaming keyboards, but the Razer may be a slightly better choice since it has significantly lower latency. Otherwise, both have customizable RGB backlighting, media hotkeys, and all keys are macro-programmable with their separate dedicated software. The Razer is available with Razer Linear Optical switches only, and the Fnatic is available with Cherry MX Silent Red and Kailh Speed Silver switches.
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.
The Razer Huntsman Tournament Edition is slightly better for gaming than the ROCCAT Vulcan Pro. The Razer feels better-built, and its switches actuate quicker thanks to the very short pre-travel distance. You can also program macros on all its keys, which you can't do on the ROCCAT. However, the ROCCAT has a much better typing quality, and it has better ergonomics because it has a wrist rest.
Test Results
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