Can Razer's second stab at the Blade pique our interest?
So here it is. the Razer Blade, a gaming laptop that's setting its sights on desirability over affordability. Well, actually this is the second revision of the Razer Blade, and this time it's a better class of machine all-round.
The first had a miserly dual-core CPU, a 6T555M graphics card and a easily filled 256GB SSD. It was also bottom-achingly expensive, being just south of £3K. Now, it's merely bloody expensive at £2,400, but at least it has a full quad-core Ivy Bridge CPU running at 2.9GHz under load. This second-gen Blade also sports a GTX 660M GPU from Nvidia - a much more powerful discrete GPU compared to its predecessor. Along with that, you've got a 64GB 55D acting as a cache drive for the 500GB hard drive and a healthy 8GB of speedy DDR3 memory.
One of the loveliest things about the Blade is that screen. At 17.3 inches, it's got a healthy amount of real estate and does the 1080p resolution justice. It can't quite match up to the best of the IPS bunch, but it's a close-run thing and it's as responsive and bright as you could wish for. The matte finish also means it’s happy enough in brightly lit areas too - especially handy for when you're on the move.
Cult of Razer
So. What does Razer bring to the gaming laptop party? Well, the big thing is the 4-inch touchscreen that sits in place of a keyboard’s numpad and doubles as the machine's trackpad. If that all sounds familiar, it's because it’s the same setup as Razer’s Deathstalker Ultimate keyboard. In a laptop though, it makes a great deal more sense. And it feels more solidly put together, too: the chiclet keys are really firm and have none of the wobble you might normally associate with them. It's the same with the bank of OLED keys sat above the second screen as well.
As a trackpad. I find it actually more responsive than many. It can get a bit sticky when it's warm and the 'mouse'buttons feel a little dead to the touch, but it's generally very good. The placement may take a little getting used to -1 did find myself stroking the bit of chassis where the trackpad usually is - but I like some of the wee extras you get such as Twitter and Gmail integration, as well as a few game-specific apps.
Oh. but it's pricey. The svelte chassis and funky Switchblade screen are all well and good, but it's around £1,000 more expensive than more traditional gaming laptops with better specs. MSI’s GT70, for example, comes with a 2.4GHz quad-core Ivy Bridge CPU. 16GB RAM and a GTX 675M GPU. The style and the design of the Blade are excellent, and it delivers decent gaming performance if you knock the set tings back a bit, but svelte as it is you're only going to get around an hour of serious gaming while away from the plug socket.
It all reminds me of the old days of Alienware laptops. They may have been desirable, but they were never good value - and while aesthetically the Blade is impressive, it's asking a lot for people to ignore the spec.
| Technical Specifications | Header 2 |
|---|---|
| CPU | 2.2-GHz quad-core Intel Core i7-3632QM |
| Operating System | MS Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit) |
| RAM | 8GB |
| RAM Upgradable to | n/a |
| Hard Drive Size | 500GB + 64GB SSD |
| Hard Drive Speed | 7,200rpm |
| Hard Drive Type | SATA Hard Drive + SSD |
| Display Size | 17.3 |
| Native Resolution | 1920x1080 |
| Optical Drive | None |
| Graphics Card | Nvidia GeForce GTX 660M |
| Video Memory | 2GB |
| Wi-Fi | 802.11a/g/n |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth 4.0 |
| Touchpad Size | 3.5 x 2.3 inches |
| Ports (excluding USB) | Gigabit Ethernet; HDMI; Headphone; USB 3.0; security lock slot |
| USB Ports | 3 |
This is dummy text. It is not meant to be read. Accordingly, it is difficult to figure out when to end it. But then, this is dummy text. It is not meant to be read. Period.
3 comments
Click here for commentsIt would be of use for proffesional gamers that would be able to take it with them to LAN parties/competitions. I like Razer's gear, been using their mice/keyboards from back when the original Boomslang came out in 2000. Only really had 1 problem and that was with the Tarantula keyboard where the headphone/mic sockets didn't work. But their customer service were stellar in sending me a replacement which bodes well for this laptop.
ReplyBut yeah it is a bit tooooo expensive.
Save yourself the heart ache and buy a Falcon Northwest. The price for this is rediculous. I like how it's made for gaming and all, but the specs aren't anywhere near what they are charging for. Cool buttons and the little display is mainly what people are paying for in the end. If you want a high end gaming laptop get a Falcon Northwest, it costs around the same amount and you can completely modify everything you want in the laptop. Yes, they CAN get pricey with all the bells and whistles, but how many laptops have you seen with a water cooling system along with specs that blow away most desktops?
ReplyThe Razer Blade and its cousins from other vendors above $1500 are too expensive and they price themselves out of the game soon. Hopefully, they re-consider pricing strategy.
ReplyConversion Conversion Emoticon Emoticon