Razer Tartarus Pro: Review
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The Razer Tartarus Pro:
The Razer Tartarus Pro is an upgrade from the Razer Tartarus and is simply the best in its class. However, it will not be the best option for everyone. The same level of comfort can be achieved with a compact gaming keyboard for most people.
The Tartarus Pro is great in a lot of ways. The palm rest is adjustable, the key caps are much larger than standard key caps, and the Razer optical switches have a great feel. However, we just didn't find the game pad to be very ergonomic, and that's kinda the point, right?
The adjustable wrist wrest has two positions that will likely fit a large range of hand sizes, but not all. Most people with have to adjust the angle of their hand or the position of their fingers on the keys for longer gaming sessions. Even after doing this the key pad lacks the comfort one might find in a standard keyboard with a wrist rest. The thumbstick is in an ideal position and offers a firmness that allows for more precision during use and has a very clicky sound. The space bar is placed just beneath the thumbstick but we found even with large hands, this is hard to reach. This made the Tartarus Pro not ideal for first-person shooters or any game that requires constant jumping, really. Our favorite games to use the Tartarus Pro in were Fortnite and The Elder Scrolls Online, both of which require plenty of macros.
Pros:
All 32 keys are programmable
Analog optical switches
Ability to switch modes
8 quick swap profiles
Cons:
All keys are programmable
Analog optical switches
Ability to switch modes
8 quick swap profiles
Contruction
The construction of the Tartarus Pro is extremely solid. The palm rest has more than enough cushion and is covered in a soft faux-leather vinyl. The switches are Razer's proprietary optical switches which require a firm press to actuate, perhaps too firm for those with smaller hands. Users may find themselves shoving their palm into the wrist rest to gain more leverage for pressing the keys, which contributes to long-term discomfort.
The whole product is very heavy and won't slide or move around during use, even when sitting on a very slick mouse mat. One of our biggest complaints with the build of this product is the height. When sitting side-by-side with our other gaming keyboards the Tartarus Pro is much higher off the desk. This is an important detail to consider, especially in the ergonomics of the product. If your chair is already in it's highest position and is in line with your standard-height desk, your wrist may have to bend just slightly to sit on the Tartarus Pro. Unless your desk is height-adjustable, we can almost guarantee that your wrist will be put in a position that's not conducive to long-term play.
One our favorite features of the Tartarus and Tartarus Pro are the angled key caps. We found these to be very comfortable to use and much easier to reach than keys on a flat keyboard.
Should I Buy the Tartarus or Tartarus Pro?
The main difference between the Tartarus and Tartarus Pro is that the Pro uses mechanical switches. This feature alone makes the Pro the better choice for us. Despite the questionable ergonomics, this gaming keypad contains the best switches we have seen in any other one-handed keyboard, and if you are a truly competitive player, the Tartarus Pro will give you the edge.
Final Take:
If your are in the market for a one-handed keyboard and have the money to spend, look no further than the Razer Tartarus Pro. However, we think you could find a standard gaming keyboard that satisfies all of your needs and is more comfortable. The Tartarus Pro is not bad, it's just not good enough for us to abandon our other gaming keyboards. It is expensive for something that cannot serve as your main keyboard (obviously), you will need another one to type, but we also don't think it shouldn't be your only gaming keyboard.
If you absolutely must have a gaming keypad, and already have a gaming keyboard that you like, we think the Razer Tartarus Pro is the best in it's class.
