The Razer Ornata Chroma is a great gaming keyboard that uses proprietary hybrid switches. They have the soft touch of a membrane switch, on top of having clicky and tactile feedback of a mechanical switch. The board is decently built and features nice RGB lighting. It also comes with a nice and plushy wrist rest, which makes the overall typing experience much more comfortable. This keyboard is a nice improvement over the very similar Razer Cynosa Chroma.
Our Verdict
The Razer Ornata Chroma is a great gaming keyboard. It has unique switches that combine the feeling of both membrane and clicky mechanical switches. However, the pre-travel distance is a bit deeper than some other switches, which might make it feel a bit longer to actuate. On the upside, the board is decently well-built and features full RGB lighting, which can be customized inside the software.
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Good typing experience.
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Full RGB lighting, customizable.
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Acceptable ergonomics.
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Feels a bit cheaply made, plasticky build.
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Can be loud for some.
The Razer Ornata Chroma is wired-only and isn't designed to be used with mobile devices.
The Razer Ornata Chroma is an okay office keyboard. It comes with a nice wrist rest, and the low profile of the keys makes for a good overall typing experience, without too much fatigue. However, it can be quite noisy since it has clicky switches.
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Good typing experience.
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Full RGB lighting, customizable.
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Acceptable ergonomics.
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Feels a bit cheaply made, plasticky build.
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Can be loud for some.
The Razer Ornata Chroma is a good programming keyboard. It comes with a comfortable wrist rest and can be used to type on comfortably for hours. However, it's not the most high-end keyboard, but on the upside, you can easily set macros on any keys.
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Good typing experience.
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Full RGB lighting, customizable.
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Acceptable ergonomics.
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Feels a bit cheaply made, plasticky build.
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Can be loud for some.
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Good typing experience.
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Full RGB lighting, customizable.
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Acceptable ergonomics.
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Feels a bit cheaply made, plasticky build.
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Can be loud for some.
- 7.9 Gaming
- 1.4 Mobile/Tablet
- 6.8 Office
- 7.2 Programming
- 2.7 Entertainment / HTPC
- Updated Jun 21, 2023: We've converted this review to Test Bench 1.2. This update introduces new Backlight Features and Backlight Clarity test boxes. We've also added a new Switches test box, added additional test comparisons to our Hardware Customizability test box that we introduced with our last Test Bench. For an in-depth look at our changes, you can see our full changelog here.
- Updated May 31, 2023: We've converted this review to Test Bench 1.1. This update adds several new tests addressing Hardware Customization, Macro Keys And Programming, and Wireless Mobile Compatibility. We've also added new objective evaluations to the Typing Noise test, and we've simplified several tests and removed several others that were no longer relevant. For an in-depth look at all our changes, you can see our full changelog here.
- Updated Sep 12, 2022: Added in a comparison to the recently reviewed Razer Ornata V3 X.
- Updated Sep 08, 2022: Added in a comparison to the newly reviewed Razer Ornata V3.
- Updated Apr 06, 2021: Converted to Test Bench 1.0.
- Updated Jul 20, 2020: The switch type has changed to 'Membrane' so that it's consistent with our testing methodology.
- Updated Mar 30, 2020: Review published.
- Updated Mar 24, 2020: Early access published.
- Updated Mar 22, 2020: The product has arrived in our lab, and our testers will start evaluating it soon.
- Updated Mar 18, 2020: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.
Compared To Other Keyboards
The Razer Ornata Chroma is a great overall gaming keyboard but sets itself apart by its unique mecha-membrane switches. It feels a bit like the SteelSeries Apex 5, but the build quality feels a lot cheaper, unfortunately. This keyboard targets people that like the clickiness of mechanical switches but also like the soft touch of membrane switches. For more options, check out our recommendations for the best gaming keyboards, the best mechanical keyboards, and the best Razer keyboards.
The Razer Ornata V3 is the recent version of the Razer Ornata Chroma; however, the Chroma is still a better choice as it has much better features. For example, the Chroma comes with a plushy, magnetically detachable wrist rest and RGB backlighting that's customizable on a per-key basis. Both keyboards use the same mecha-membrane switches that offer a unique typing experience, so your choice boils down to what extra features you value.
The Razer Ornata V2 is an upgraded Razer Ornata Chroma. It now has dedicated media keys with a volume wheel. Other than that, the hybrid switches still feel fairly similar and you still get full RGB backlighting with individually-lit keys. These two boards offer nearly identical features, but if you prefer having dedicated media keys, the V2 is the better option.
The Razer Ornata Chroma is a better keyboard than the SteelSeries Apex 3. The Razer uses hybrid membrane switches that give you the clicky feedback of a mechanical switch with the feel of a rubber dome switch. It has a better overall typing experience, and the keys are individually lit. On the other hand, the SteelSeries uses typical rubber dome switches that are quiet to use in an office, and the keyboard has a better build quality.
The Razer Ornata Chroma is a better office keyboard than the Razer BlackWidow because it has a wrist rest. However, the BlackWidow is a better choice for gaming because the mechanical switches have a shorter pre-travel distance. Overall, they're similar keyboards that offer the same features, but the Ornata doesn't have onboard memory, while the BlackWidow does.
The Razer Ornata Chroma is a better keyboard than the Razer Cynosa V2. The Ornata has a better typing experience due to the unique mecha-membrane switches that provide clicky feedback. That said, the V2 is much quieter and has dedicated media keys.
The Razer BlackWidow Elite is a better keyboard than the Razer Ornata Chroma. It's a full-size mechanical keyboard that's noticeably better built and offers a better overall typing quality. It features dedicated media keys and Razer Orange tactile switches. On the other side, if you don't like mechanical switches, the Ornata has mecha-membrane switches that feel like rubber domes, but they still have the clickiness of mechanical switches.
The Razer Ornata Chroma is better than the Razer Cynosa Chroma. It features switches that are a mix of membrane and mechanical switches, while the Cynosa simply uses mushy rubber dome switches. The Ornata is better built and comes with a magnetic wrist rest, which makes its ergonomics and overall typing experience much more comfortable.
The Razer Ornata V3 X continues the Ornata lineup that includes the Razer Ornata Chroma. The two keyboards perform very similarly in terms of their latency; however, the Chroma has full RGB backlighting with individually customizable keys, while the V3 X has a single lighting zone that can only display one color at a time. Also, the Chroma uses Mecha-Membrane switches, while the V3 X uses membrane switches, so they don't have the audible "click.
The Razer Huntsman is a better gaming keyboard than the Razer Ornata Chroma. Its optical clicky switches actuate a lot faster than the Ornata's clicky mecha-membrane switches. The Huntsman is also noticeably better-built, but it doesn't come with a nice wrist rest like the Ornata does.
The Razer Ornata Chroma and Corsair K68 RGB are very similar keyboards. The Ornata has hybrid mechanical switches while the Corsair uses Cherry MX switches. The Ornata feels slightly better built, and its wrist rest is slightly more comfortable. If you listen to music when playing, the Corsair has very useful dedicated media keys.
The Razer BlackWidow Lite is better overall than the Razer Ornata Chroma. The Lite is a TKL keyboard with mechanical switches that are quiet and offer good tactile feedback. It's better built overall and offers a much better typing experience. The Ornata is full-sized, has full RGB backlighting, and comes with a plushy wrist rest.
The Razer Ornata Chroma is much better than the Logitech G213 Prodigy. The Razer has a better build quality, RGB backlighting with individually-lit keys, and every key is macro programmable. Its mecha-membrane switches provide a significantly better typing experience, but they generate a lot more noise than the rubber dome switches on the Logitech. The Logitech has dedicated media controls and better software support, as G HUB is also available for macOS.
Test Results
The Razer Ornata Chroma is a full-size keyboard that's fairly large. It also takes more space on your desk if you use the detachable wrist rest.
Update 07/20/20:We previously indicated that the Ornata Chroma is a mechanical keyboard. However, even though it has the tactility of a mechanical keyboard, it's fundamentally a membrane keyboard according to our testing methodology.
The build quality of the keyboard is decent. There's a decent amount of flex to the board, and it can stay twisted, although we don't expect most people to flex their boards. The overall build is made from plastic that doesn't feel too premium. On the upside, it comes with a very nice and comfortable wrist rest, and the switches and keycaps feel better than on the Razer Cynosa Chroma. You can also check out the Razer BlackWidow Elite and the Huntsman for better-built Razer keyboards.
The ergonomics of this keyboard are acceptable. The lower profile of the keycaps makes typing smooth and feels like a hybrid between a regular mechanical and a chiclet keyboard. It also comes with a nice and plushy magnetic wrist rest.
As its name suggests, the Razer Ornata Chroma supports full RGB lighting. You can easily customize the board's design on a per-key basis inside the software.
This keyboard's cable is long and you shouldn't have any issue reaching your computer.
This keyboard is wired only and can't be used wirelessly.
Unfortunately, even if it's a full-size board, it doesn't have dedicated media keys to control your music while playing; you'll have to use the function keys. On the upside, you can set the Windows key lock to be always off, always on, or to trigger whenever playing a game. This will prevent you from accidentally minimizing your game by hitting the Windows key. If you need dedicated media controls, check out the more recent Razer Ornata V2, or the SteelSeries Apex 5. If you want a keyboard with dedicated media keys, consider the Razer Cynosa V2 or the more recently released version of this board, the Razer Ornata V3.
The Razer Ornata features Razer's unique mecha-membrane switches. This is like a mix of a clicky mechanical switch with a rubber dome membrane feel. Unfortunately, while it feels comfortable to type on, the actuation point is quite farther than other mechanical keyboards, which might not feel as responsive when gaming.
Note: The Razer Mecha-Membrane curve resembles a typical membrane switch much more than a mechanical switch, therefore we categorize it as non-mechanical. If you want a keyboard with hybrid switches that have a typing feel closer to traditional mechanical switches, check out the SteelSeries Apex 5, which uses the SteelSeries Hybrid Blue switches.
The overall typing quality of this keyboard is good. It feels quite similar to the SteelSeries Apex 5 which also uses proprietary hybrid mechanical switches. These switches offer the soft touch of a rubber dome switch with nice feedback from tactile switches. Unfortunately, the ABS keycaps are only of decent quality, and the keys are quite wobbly. On the upside, the spacing between them is good, and their rather high pre-travel makes for less unintentional keystrokes, which helps to reduce typos.
Due to the clicky part of the switches, the Razer Ornata Chroma is a rather loud keyboard to type on. Each keystroke is clicky, which might be a bit noisy in an open-office environment. However, the more recent version of this keyboard, the Razer Ornata V3 X, uses membrane switches which are much quieter and better suited to an office environment.
The Razer Ornata Chroma should feel decently responsive, but it isn't as low as some other options. If you want a similar non-mechanical gaming keyboard with much lower latency, check out the ROCCAT Magma.
The Razer Synapse software offers a good amount of customization with this keyboard. You can control the backlighting of every key easily and create profiles. All keys are also programmable, but unfortunately, this keyboard doesn't have onboard memory. This means you won't be able to save your profile directly on the board and use your settings on a different computer. If having onboard memory is important to you, check out the Razer BlackWidow.
This keyboard has decent compatibility overall. While it's fully compatible and customizable on Windows, its software isn't available on Linux. Also, some keys, like 'context menu', don't do anything on macOS, and the software isn't supported either. This is unfortunate as the keyboard doesn't have onboard memory, meaning you can't customize it on Windows and use it on another platform after.