HARDWARE REVIEW

Razer Essentials Collection Review

by Luke Walsh, March 25th, 2018

Razer has always had the ideals of gamers in mind with their products, usually bring out equipment that targets not only a lot of gamers but also the niche ones. Need a mouse that is perfect for MOBAs? They have one. Want something for your MMO gaming? Yup, there is one for that too, it is the same mouse.

One of the areas Razer has not really claimed as its own is the gaming peripheral market at a budget. This is where the Essentials collection has come in to offer the standard of quality gamers know from the hardware manufacturer while trying not to break the bank. Now with anything that is made to be cheaper, there are obvious cutbacks but in the Essentials Collection it really is that Razer has kept all the decent hardware that

Razer Abyssus Essential Gaming Mouse

The Abyssus Essential the mouse for the collection, has been designed to offer what a mouse needs to without any additional accessories. In terms of sheer performance, Razer kept their 7200DPI sensor which should be enough for most entry gamers across a lot of the different genres of gaming.

It is a little smaller than some of their other mice on the market, most notably when comparing it to the Lancehead. Larger-handed folk might find it a little uncomfortable to use over extended periods but unless you are a giant, after hours of use it was no issues for us.

The only thing the matte black mouse could have done with is some rubberised grips. For the additional support when using the device, it would have made a huge difference in the overall comfort.

Finally, with full Synapse support, you can do what you want much like the other Razer devices in the range. It does not come with loads RGB lighting apart from the logo but as a “nice to have” it made sense for Razer to stick to what matters when gaming.

For £50 it is a good entry mouse for a lot of gamers who are just dipping their toes into the waters of gaming. Even if you are looking to playing online, the Abyssus Essential will last you a decent time before you going looking for an upgrade.

Razer Cynosa Chroma Essential Keyboard

The Cynosa is the companion to the Abyssus and is the keyboard that sits quite nicely in the Razer Essentials range to offer a complete gaming setup.

Unlike a lot of Razer’s keyboards, the Cynosa is a membrane keyboard instead of having mechanical switches that a lot of gamers will go for. Personally as someone who owns the Ornata and hybrid mix of both mechanical and membrane, for an entry-level gamer the Cynosa is probably the right first step into more elaborate hardware.

There’s two version of the Cynosa, the Chroma version and the Chroma Pro with the only difference being additional under-glow lighting. So regardless of which one you choose the internals are still the same so it is up to the aesthetic preference for your set up, rather than over performance.

Much like the Abyssus, the Cynosa is a no frill keyboard that comes in matte black with RGB lighting for each key which is good at this price range. There’s no additional wrist support like a rest, however, and does not come with dedicated media or macro keys but has an on-the-fly recording key that you can map to any key on the Cynosa if you wish, usually being the F keys.

Again you can use Synapse with the Cynosa to control the lighting, adjust your macros keys and other confirmation options.

In terms of gaming performance, they keys are decent to respond to your key presses in games ranging from Overwatch to Battlefield and the on the fly recording is useful for MOBAs and MMOs. It’s no replacement for a mechanical keyboard if you are used to using one but if you are coming from a Microsoft office keyboard, this will be a big step up.

The Cynosa Chroma will cost you £64.99 while the Cynosa Pro with the additional lighting will cost £79.99.

Razer Electra V2 Essential Headset

Finally, in the range for gamers looking for gear on a budget the Electra V2 headset from Razer finishes the overall Essentials range. The headset is pretty versatile thanks to it being an analogue connection allowing connection to your PC, PS4 and mobile devices via a 3.5mm jack.

The Electra V2 being a non-digital connection you’ll be unaware that it does offer virtual 7.1 digital surround sound. It also looks to fit most heads with the suspension style band instead of the more rigid alternative. It is a little bit more of a bulkier design compared to some other headsets but is a lot lighter than you think once you have put it on your head. This is partly thanks to the suspension style headband being able to distribute your weight in my opinion.

It comes in the same matte black as the other devices in the Essentials Collection but instead of RGB lighting, the headset is lined with a bright green trimmed which is more reminiscent of the earlier Razer days like Kraken. There’s also a microphone but it does not retract, but that sort of makes sense if you are looking to keeps costs down. It still fits nicely in the port and offers a decent level of quality when gaming with friends and has an on/off switch.

You can purchase the Electra V2 in a USB format and unlike the analogue one, it does offer RGB lighting as you can power it through the same connection. There’s no huge difference in specification from both versions as they still have the same 40mm drivers and virtual surround sound.

Wearing the headset is lighter than it looks and is comfortable thanks to the leatherette ear cups and lack of heaviness but does tend to be a little more creaky due to the Electra being more plastic than the other Razer headset. Again this comes down to cost saving and at a £50 price point, it is worth it.

In games like Battlefield 1 or Overwatch footsteps were clear and the game audio was at a decent level. While in co-op games you can chat and hear your friends well but in terms of audio quality, it just lacked the overall finish a lot of higher priced headsets have.

It can be used again with Synapse to control the lighting if you have the RGB lit version and other settings if not.

The 3.5mm jack option will cost you £54.99 which is not bad for an entry level gaming headset and if you want the lighting to match the other three in the range it will cost you an extra £10 with the RRP being £64.99.

Razer Essentials Collection, Is it worth it?

Ultimately, Razer is offering you a full collection of gaming hardware built from the same sort of part and at the same level of quality as their other gear for around £150 which is not a bad price in any means for getting three separate pieces of kit.

The Abyssus is the best out of the three as the laser stands up against a lot of other mice at a much higher price point. Next is the keyboard which although membrane built still offers a decent gaming experience that you’d find with a mechanical keyboard. Finally, there is the headset which for the cost is completely reasonable it just lacks the other polish compared to the other two in the range.