Razer refreshes its Blade laptop with stunning QHD+ display, better graphics

[Jos]

Razer has announced a refresh for its 14-inch Blade and 17-inch Blade Pro that should bring the gaming laptops up to spec with the latest hardware from Intel and Nvidia. The smaller model is also getting an insane display upgrade that turns the uninspiring 1600×900 resolution of its predecessor into its greatest strength, thanks to a 3200 x 1800 IGZO IPS screen that's crisp, offers wider viewing angles, and faster response times for gaming.

To put that into perspective, Apple’s 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro has a resolution of 2880 x 1800 pixels, with a density of 227 pixels per inch. The new 14-inch Blade’s screen comes in at 262 pixels per inch.

Powering graphics is Nvidia’s just-released 870M GPU, which should provide approximately 65% better framerate performance than last year’s 765M. Other specs include a 2.2-GHz Intel Core i7-4702HQ processor, 8GB of RAM, 128GB, 256GB or 512GB SSD storage options, 802.11ac wireless, three USB 3.0 ports, HDMI, a backlit anti-ghosting keyboard and 10-point capacitive multi-touch support to accommodate Windows 8.

Battery life is promised to come in at about six hours under normal use or four hours when you’re gaming. Both the cooling system and the touchpad buttons have been refined to keep the surface cool, but other than a minor increase in thickness to 0.7-inches the chasis and keyboard remain the same.

The 2014 Razer Blade starts at $2,199 and will ship in mid-April -- pre-orders are open now.

Meanwhile the 17-inch Razer Blade Pro sticks with a 1920 x 1080 panel and was updated to a slightly lower-end GeForce GTX 860M GPU, reportedly to avoid sacrificing battery life too much. Nevertheless Razer is still promising a ~40% performance boost compared to last year’s model. Elsewhere there’s an Intel Core i7-4200HQ processor, 16GB of RAM, 128GB to 512GB SSD options, 802.11ac, three USB 3.0 ports, HDMI, and Ethernet.

The Blade Pro doesn’t carry a touch sensitive panel but instead you’ll get its distinctive Switchblade UI, a touchscreen that lies underneath the touchpad alongside special LCD keys can be customized with various functions such as macros for Windows 8 Charms, games, and more.

The Razer Blade Pro starts at $2,299 for the base 128GB SSD model and is available now.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/55972-razer-refreshes-its-blade-laptop-with-stunning-qhd-display-better-graphics.html

 

[madboyv1]

OKAY... This rash of interesting laptops and portables is making it rather hard to keep my pocketbook shut until the end of the year regarding tech purchases... =(

dat new 14" Blade... so good. I mean, I'd buy a SSD third party to replace what is in there for a lot cheaper, but otherwise... do want.

 

[OliTheG]

So let me get this right.

It looks good. (and better than the Macbook Pro)
It has a better display than the "Retina" display Apple uses
It's WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY more powerful than the Macbook Pro
It's cheaper than the Macbook Pro.

It's still pretty overpriced though

I think if anybody was stupid enough to want to spend £2000 on a laptop, then this is a WAY better bet.

 

[VitalyT]

So let me get this right.

It looks good. (and better than the Macbook Pro)
It has a better display than the "Retina" display Apple uses
It's WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY more powerful than the Macbook Pro
It's cheaper than the Macbook Pro.

It's still pretty overpriced though

I think if anybody was stupid enough to want to spend £2000 on a laptop, then this is a WAY better bet.

Where did you get this nonsense?

- I don't know how well their SSD will perform, surely it won't come close to the 800MB/s in Macbook Pro.
- For $2,299 you get the most basic spec. If you want to bring it to the Macbook Pro 15" level you need to spend not less than on Macbook Pro.
- Higher resolution of the screen doesn't mean much if it is not used properly by the OS and the applications.

The only area where it is better than Macbook Pro is the video sub-system, so gamers may like that, but for regular usage Macbook is much better where the screen is used as it should be.

And while 870M is surely better than 750M, it uses more power, and in combination with already power-hungry Windows it translates into always-plugged usage, while Macbook Pro with 750M takes me easily through a whole day in Mac OS. I have Windows 8.1 on Macbook Pro 15" as a second OS, and I know how bad the battery life in it compared to the Mac OS, about half, I'd say, if not worse.

 

[madboyv1]

Where did you get this nonsense?

- I don't know how well their SSD will perform, surely it won't come close to the 800MB/s in Macbook Pro.
- For $2,299 you get the most basic spec. If you want to bring it to the Macbook Pro 15" level you need to spend not less than on Macbook Pro.

And while 870M is surely better than 750M, it uses more power, and in combination with already power-hungry Windows it translates into always-plugged usage, while Macbook Pro with 750M takes me easily through a whole day in Mac OS. I have Windows 8.1 on Macbook Pro 15" as a second OS, and I know how bad the battery life in it compared to the Mac OS, about half, I'd say, if not worse.

The 14" is $2199 for the 128GB SSD... the price differences, as far as I can tell on Razor's website, are for incorporating a larger SSD and no other changes to the hardware. The same seems to be true for the 17" model as well (though starting at $100 more).

Your point of all day usage is kinda moot for systems clearly designed for gaming or high performance computing. Honestly if real life usage actually sticks remotely to the 4 hours of gaming they suggest that's very good considering the hardware. And when you say all day, you mean 8-12 hours? Because your "about half" would be 4-6 hours and that's what Razor is claiming.

 

[BlueDrake]

And while 870M is surely better than 750M, it uses more power, and in combination with already power-hungry Windows it translates into always-plugged usage, while Macbook Pro with 750M takes me easily through a whole day in Mac OS. I have Windows 8.1 on Macbook Pro 15" as a second OS, and I know how bad the battery life in it compared to the Mac OS, about half, I'd say, if not worse.

800M series which TechSpot has still yet to post, is actually packing a bit more tech behind it. Battery Boost is the tech in the 800M series, which you can find details about elsewhere. 870M and 880M will be Kepler based, the 860M and 850M are based on Maxwell. So you might be finding a better option with the latter laptop, in terms of performance per watt on the move.

 

[waterytowers]

Looks very similar to the new DELL XPS high end model. Chassis is a little bit different but has the same basic shape, same high res panel. I think as we get thinner laptops all laptops will be the same, just components may differ a little. I am very happy with the DELL since I got it last month. I have upgraded the mid-range DELL XPS 15 to have a 480GB mSata and 1TB SSD and it flies. Only issues so far is under Linux Mint the track pad seems to have a few problems when clicking left button, the mouse jumps to the bottom left or moves down and misses the item I wanted to click. This problem will hopefully go away when the next version of Ubuntu is released. Likely to be driver related since Windows 8.1 that came with it doesn't exhibit the issue.

 

[Darth Shiv]

Looks great. Regional pricing is just insane... $2199 USD for 128GB. $3199 AUD!!!! for the same thing. What. The. Hell???

 

[Jad Chaar]

I love how the 14 inch is more powerful than the 17 incher.

 

[DKRON]

I love how the 14 inch is more powerful than the 17 incher.

its stupid, why buy a pro if the basic is more powerfull? I want a pro to be the best you can get

 

[Guest]

It's too bad it comes with Windows 8 my computer screen. A pretty lousy experience on super high-res screens unless your playing games. OS X is so far a head in this department (among others). Then you have mortgage your house and pull out your teeth to buy and apply the next Windows monstrosity. Free and painless from Apple without the nasty surprises.

Nice machine but the next MacBook will be a smarter choice unless you're a win gamer. But true gamers would prefer a powerful desktop rig.

 

[Darth Shiv]

Gaming on Mac is hilarious. If you don't care about multi touch you could probably just throw Win7 on. Drivers hopefully not a problem between those two.

 

[VitalyT]

Gaming on Mac is hilarious. If you don't care about multi touch you could probably just throw Win7 on. Drivers hopefully not a problem between those two.

Maybe in general, but I play SC2 on Macbook Pro 15" with 750M, it looks and works great

 

[Darth Shiv]

Maybe in general, but I play SC2 on Macbook Pro 15" with 750M, it looks and works great

Yeah I was referring to the game support. It's "roll the dice" with whether a game is released on Mac. No idea on how performance on like for like specs is...

 

[Jad Chaar]

its stupid, why buy a pro if the basic is more powerfull? I want a pro to be the best you can get

Yeah seriously.

 

[Guest]

Apple fans do insist in defend that Macs aren't overpriced, it's incredible. It will lose in every spec for a pc at the same price tag, but they claim to have a nice trackpad XD

 

[Darth Shiv]

Other thing to beware about Razer is they tend to be poorer on build quality and my personal experience is their drivers are shockingly bad. If you just get drivers from 3rd parties (Intel chipset, Nvidia etc), you should be ok but as good as the laptop looks on paper, I'd do some solid research on how reliable the laptops are as well as how their warranty practices are nowadays.

 

[Tech Analyzer]

So let me get this right.

It looks good. (and better than the Macbook Pro)
It has a better display than the "Retina" display Apple uses
It's WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY more powerful than the Macbook Pro
It's cheaper than the Macbook Pro.

It's still pretty overpriced though

I think if anybody was stupid enough to want to spend £2000 on a laptop, then this is a WAY better bet.

Where did you get this nonsense?

- I don't know how well their SSD will perform, surely it won't come close to the 800MB/s in Macbook Pro.
- For $2,299 you get the most basic spec. If you want to bring it to the Macbook Pro 15" level you need to spend not less than on Macbook Pro.
- Higher resolution of the screen doesn't mean much if it is not used properly by the OS and the applications.

The only area where it is better than Macbook Pro is the video sub-system, so gamers may like that, but for regular usage Macbook is much better where the screen is used as it should be.

And while 870M is surely better than 750M, it uses more power, and in combination with already power-hungry Windows it translates into always-plugged usage, while Macbook Pro with 750M takes me easily through a whole day in Mac OS. I have Windows 8.1 on Macbook Pro 15" as a second OS, and I know how bad the battery life in it compared to the Mac OS, about half, I'd say, if not worse.

Sorry VitalyT, but what you are talking is completely adhering to Macbook pro's side.... the display resolution of 4k will be compatible to most of the new games,movies and youtube videos, so if you got Apple's retina, it wont be the perfect one for 4K streaming!