

I tackled competitive first-person shooter Overwatch, zooming around the map and healing teammates as Mercy, just as easily as I commanded Terran armies against the Protoss in the real-time strategy game StarCraft II. The Ornata performs as well as any other keyboard Razer produces, which is to say,"very well." The peripheral doesn't favor any particular genre, working well across the board. If you insist on having dozens of commands at your fingertips at all times, this isn't the keyboard for you, but I appreciated the streamlined approach. You can program macros and assign them to the function keys, but there are no extra macro keys or discrete media buttons. Otherwise, the Ornata plays things pretty safe. You can describe how the Razer Ornata looks in two words: simple and attractive. While playing Overwatch, for example, the Ornata automatically adopted a pink profile for D.Va, a white one for Mercy and blinking yellows for menus. If you opt for the Chroma model, some games come with pre-programmed color patterns, which is a nice touch.

There's arguably not much you'll need to do to do with the Synapse 2.0 software, though you'll have no trouble setting up different profiles or color combinations should you choose to do so.

I've been fond of the Synapse 2.0 software for a long time, due to its user-friendliness and extensive options. The Razer Ornata runs on the Razer Synapse 2.0 software, which allows users to control the Chroma lighting, set up profiles for individual games and programs, and re-program certain keys. I just didn't like them more than what a standard mechanical model offers, and I question whether gamers ready to invest in a mechanical keyboard are dying to hang onto a membrane feel. I did like both the aural and tactile responses that the Ornata offered. While it's true that membrane keyboards sometimes let users type faster, the mechanical switches limit typing speed, and they do itin a way that's even more noticeable than with more traditional mechanical keyboards. By way of contrast, I got 111 words per minute with six errors on the fully mechanical Logitech G810 Orion Spectrum. Analyzing my skills on, the Ornata gave me 93 words per minute with nine errors. However, I didn't find the Ornata to be any more comfortable than a standard mechanical keyboard.
