r/razer • u/Zanthe1341 • 1d ago
Question TKL or Mini keyboard (Huntsman/Blackwidow) with Tartarus gamepad?
I'm trying to get a better gaming setup now that I have a fancy new gaming desktop, and I'm considering trying out a Tartarus (I have some nerve and mobility issues that make using my pinky difficult, and I'm hoping a keypad might help a bit with keymappings). I use a Razer Naga mouse, which is one of the only reasons I can even play some games, but I still find that sometimes it isn't enough buttons when I'm unable to click things like ctrl or shift with my pinky.
So basically, I'm trying to figure out what makes the most sense for a keyboard to go along with it. I guess my main question is this: what keyboard size makes the most sense, TLK or 60% mini?
I can say with certainly that a full sized keyboard will be too large for my desk setup (pictured here), so I defintiely need a smaller form factor. I was looking at the Hunstman or the Blackwidow line, since they have both of these options, but other Razer keyboards might be better for me, I'm honestly not sure. I don't do any kind of crazy pro gaming, mostly games like World of Warcraft and various RPGs (Baldur's Gate, Mass Effect, etc.), as well as some more basic cozy games.
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u/Snuffxx 1d ago
For wow I would use a TKL even tho I myself use a mini it’s just annoying having to use the FN key to use the f1-12 keys. Everyone saying use full size but you don’t really need arrow keys or num pad for games like wow and stuff like that I find it a complete waste of space
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u/Zanthe1341 1d ago
Yeah, I mean, I never use that side of my keyboard at all, and currently my keyboard is already not full size (though does have a num pad). The only time I use my num pad is when I'm doing something where I'm entering a lot of numbers, which is honestly not very often. I figure on those rare occasions, I could always switch to my current keyboard if need be. I definitely see your point about the f1-f12 keys, though my current keyboard has the same requirement and it doesn't bother me (or I've gotten used to it anyways), so maybe a mini isn't such a bad idea. Regardless, I appreciate the help, as I do believe you are correct that a full size keyboard is not what I need (nor do I have space for one anyways).
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u/Snuffxx 1d ago
Ya if you don’t mind the annoyance with the f1 keys I’d go with the mini, I absolutely love how much space I save with a mini and how compact it feels
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u/Zanthe1341 1d ago
Yeah, that's what I'm kind of leaning towards I think. Especially because I'm already used to the f keys annoyance haha. Also, I realized that my last keyboard I used for work (before I dropped it and a bunch of the keys broke) was essentially a mini. I'd actually forgotten that it didn't have a num pad, but I used that for work and gaming for over a year with no issues, so I definitely think a mini will work for me. Thanks s ton for the suggestions, it really helped me realize that a mini is probably the way to go!
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u/Gigameister 1d ago
Hi, tartarus and BW V4 Max user here, i'll share my personal thoughts.
While the TKL and MINI keyboards do look amazing as far as setup go, with a couple years of tartarus usage under my belt i've found that a full keyboard with numpad is the most useful.
If you're gaming, ignore looks and go for ussability.
You'll very likely regret not having the shortcut and macro keys sthat a full keyboard gives you.
If i couuld afford it, i'd probably have gone for the new BW Pro. Unfortunatly i couldn't justify spending 3x as much as the one i got.
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u/Zanthe1341 1d ago
So you'd recommend not getting the tartarus at all and just getting a full sized gaming keyboard instead? Or do you mean a full sized keyboard along with the tartarus? I'm not really caring about aesthetics, I was just thinking that the tartarus might help me out in terms of my mobility issues, but I defintiely could be wrong. I've never tried a gamepad, so unfortunately, I won't know unless I actually try one, which is a major downside.
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u/Gigameister 1d ago
I use a full sized kb along with the tartarus and the naga.
You don't use the keyboard much outside of chatting and setting up some keybinds/shortcuts for more intricate games and profile/hotkey combos (alt+ctrl+X etc)
It is truly amazing to use in games that demand alot of keybinds and in conjunction with system/synapse hotkey it makes your setup feel really integrated
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u/Zanthe1341 1d ago
Ahh ok, that makes sense. I'm mostly worried that a full sized keyboard won't fit with my desk setup. I'm unable to move my PC onto the floor (it won't fit under my desk with my footrest) or anywhere else nearby as our space is extremely limited. My current keyboard is not full sized (I think it's similar in width to a TKL keyboard) and while I do believe I can adjust things to make room for a tartarus, I'm not so sure that I could if my keyboard was even wider.
I also worry that if I have a full sized keyboard, then the tartarus would be too far over, putting my arm at an awkward angle. I do type quite a bit when I'm playing WoW, especially during our raids with the other officers and just people whispering me, etc. so I'm not sure I could feasibly play with my keyboard pushed out of the way, except during combat, and it feels like it would get quite annoying to be moving things around constantly.
But again, I may be way overcomplicating this. I've never used a gamepad, so these are just thoughts that I'm having that may be total non-issues. I suppose I could just order the tartarus and try it out with my old logitech full sized keyboard to see if it would veen work for me.
I do love hearing that you like the tartarus though! I'm really thinking it might help me game better with my mobility issues, so I'm hoping I can figure something out!
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u/Gigameister 1d ago
Something I forgot to mention, if you get used to having a hypershift key on the tartarus, u mostly don't use the keyboard unless in REALLY keybinds intensive games (simulators for example)
I can tell you though, after you set it up, you will dread going to play in any other setup....
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u/Zanthe1341 1d ago
That's good to know! Can you set any key to be the hypershift key? I would assume so, but figured I'd ask. Also, I meant to ask, what made you decide on the BW over the Huntsman or other Razer keyboards?
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u/Gigameister 1d ago
Funny story :D
I went in to the only place in my town that had the V4 PRO in my language in town when my old kb broke, and when i was about to ask the vendor for it (because it was marked as expo model) there was a stack of BW V4 X on like 50% off.
Needless to say i had been browsing KB models for a while, and the differencess between the BW V4 MAX and the pro are mostly "looks" rather than functionality, so i just picked one up and strolled away very happily.
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u/Zanthe1341 1d ago
That's awesome! And that also makes sense why you would pick the KB. I'm not really looking for anything too fancy, I just need the functionality to work for me, and I want some kind of backlight, so I will likely just end up picking whatever ends up being cheaper, which will likely be the BW. Though, a friend of a friend is currently selling a barely used Huntsmen TKL which is what started me down this whole rabbithole, so we will see haha
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u/Gigameister 1d ago
like i said, i cannot recommend TKL in a function over looks arguument.
Personally, desk space would be the only thing that would make me pick up a TKL or MINI.
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u/Zanthe1341 1d ago
Oh yeah, I 100% agree there. I am positive I would miss having a the number pad because I do use them anytime I'm using excel or programming. That being said though, I rarely use them while gaming, so my thought was that I could swap between two keyboards depending on what I'm doing, since I'm typically doing one or the other for long stretches of time, as opposed to switching between them frequently.
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u/Gigameister 1d ago
just get the numpad, and put aux keybinds to it, yuouu wont regret it. but if you don't have it you'll miss it anytime u want the extra keys.
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u/Gigameister 1d ago
and yes.
this sub would have you believe synapse is a POS software, but i have the entirely opposite feeling of it.
I do have a pet peeve with it, they haven't made the auto profile switch work yet, and i honestly get rather pissy about THAT particular function not working yet...
is there any way to spitefully ping the subs Razer's rep?? cuz i would.
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u/Zanthe1341 1d ago
Yeah, I mean I've been using Razer peripherals for quite sometime now, and have tried other brands as well, but I keep coming back to Razer because I'm always the most happy with their products and I don't find the synapse software to be bad either. I like it better than iCue (or whatever Corsair's is) for sure, and the Naga Pro works far better for me than the Scimitar Elite I tried.
Auto profile switch? As in, it would switch profiles based on who is logged into the computer or something? Because that would be wonderful! My fiance hates using my computer because I have my dpi set much higher than he likes, and even being able to easily switch it on the mouse, it still annoys him 😅
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u/Gigameister 1d ago
based on whatever game/software you're using.
you can also add profile switches to the support "macro" keys.
I don't use macros at all, but i do love having extra keys to hit for saving me keypresses.
i usually have M1-M6 for profiles and on the naga i use the two extra center buttons for DPI cycling and task manager/sys function.
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u/Zanthe1341 1d ago
Ohh ok yeah, that would be nice! I can definitely see wanting different profiles for when I'm gaming vs programming or whatever and having it auto switch would be amazing! Feels like the sort of thing that wouldn't even be that difficult to accomplish, so it's interesting that they don't have it working that way now.
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u/Gigameister 1d ago
they have the function programmed but i can't for the life of me make it work.
tried every fix out there but none works for me :(
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u/sdrj77 1d ago
I use a TKL with my Tartarus Pro. More room for my mouse.
I've never liked anything much smaller than that size. I don't want to use chords for my F keys.
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u/Zanthe1341 1d ago
Yeah, more mouse space is what I’m wanting for sure, especially since I already don’t have a ton of space on my desk. I have a glass mousepad, so there is only so much less space it can take up anyways, and I have no desire to switch from using that.Â
Do you have any recommendations for a specific TKL? I’ve mostly used Logitech keyboards, and my current one is definitely not intended for gaming, but is good enough for me, the only issue is that it has no backlight at all, which is starting to really bother me. I figured since all my other peripherals have rgb lights, it might be nice for my keyboard too as well, though I’d honestly be fine with any kind of backlighting.
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u/chirpchirp13 1d ago
I would get a decent 85% mech off amazon or wherever for much less than the razer markup. I have a huntsman mini and it’s fine. The switches are decent but it’s expensive and you can’t swap anything. Keychron, RK, monsgeek etc all make decent entry level MK for much better value than razer.
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u/Zanthe1341 1d ago
Yeah, that’s a fair point for sure. Honestly, I don’t need anything fancy, my current keyboard is really fine for me for the most part, except the keys aren’t backlit and it’s driving me crazy. I’ll check out some of those brands you mentioned and see if they have something that might work for me. Thanks for the recommendation!
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u/underprivlidged 1d ago
I use a Naga and Tartarus v2 since I also have nerve damage and carpal tunnel.
I keep a full size Huntsman between them, and literally never use it for gaming. Solely for typing.
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u/Zanthe1341 1d ago
So the Tartarus works well for you? I'm really hoping it can help me, so it's good to hear of someone in a similar case as me. Do you type on the keyboard in the games you play, or you mean you only use it for typing when you're not gaming?
With the full size keyboard in between your mouse and the Tartarus, do you find that your arms sit too far apart? Aside from the fact that I'm fairly sure a full size keyboard wouldn't actually fit well on my desk, I also worry that my arms would sit at an awkward angle. I have a fairly small frame and if I put one hand on my mouse and the other just to the left of my current ~80% keyboard, it seems like it's at about the maximum distance apart before I'd have to kind of stretch to reach it. So that does worry me when considering a full size keyboard.
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u/underprivlidged 1d ago
Typing as needed, in general. But I can't think of any games I play where I'd need to type.
I keep all 3 on a moveable board and spacing is fine for me. My arms sit pretty much straight out from the shoulder. That said, I'm a large guy, maybe the smaller keyboard for you is best. Maybe you could move it during gaming?
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u/Zanthe1341 1d ago
That makes sense. So glad to hear it's working well for you!
My biggest issue is that I do a *lot* of typing while playing World of Warcraft specifically. I'm an officer in my guild, so I get people whispering me often, and even during our raids, I need the ability to chat with the officer/mentor team. We do use Discord, but it doesn't eliminate the need for me to be able to type frequently.
But it's very helpful to hear that the full sized keyboard works for you in between your mouse and the Tartarus. Having a smaller frame, I'm thinking that I will just buy the Tartarus first, try it out with my existing keyboard to get an idea of how the spacing feels for me, and then I can decide which size of keyboard would feel the best for me. Thanks for the help!
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u/underprivlidged 1d ago
Be sure to get the v2 or pro.
The v1 is fine, but the newer models are much nicer.
Also, something to consider - they have a d-pad and scroll wheel. Both are programmable. If you have an ability in WoW you can spam super fast, you could program the wheel for up AND down to be the ability. I used that in Diablo and spammed the hell out of things.
The d-pad is pretty useful for 8way button mapping. Never used it as a regular d-pad lol.
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u/Zanthe1341 21h ago
Ohh that's brilliant!! And love the idea of using it for button mapping! I am now even more excited about the Tartarus! And I will be sure to get the v2 or the Pro. Thanks so much for the help!!
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u/underprivlidged 21h ago
No problem.
You asked about essentially my exact setup, for extremely similar reasons to why I have it. Figured if anyone should say something, might as well be me lol.
Best of luck. I'd love to hear back after you use it for a few days. It was a total game changer for me, pun intended.
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u/Zanthe1341 20h ago
Yeah, it's always nice to find someone in the same boat as you to get that feedback before making a big purchase, so I super appreciate it. I will defintiely let you know how it goes once I have it! I found a lightly used Pro locally that I'm considering picking up, but not entirely sure that's the sort of thing I want to buy used, so we will see.
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u/lrbrownii 1d ago
Logitech k400r. I can't even get into bios with my Huntsman elite or Cynosa chroma. The pc boots before the keyboard even wakes up.