Razer announce new Razer Blade and Razer Blade Pro laptops...

[Richdog]

Well, the new Razer Blade series are here... and they are somewhat head-scratching in their configurations:

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Razer Blade

14" IGZO IPS 16:9 3200x1800 Touchscreen http://www.razerzone.com/gaming-systems/razer-blade
Nvidia Geforce GTX 870M
Intel Core i7-4702HQ
8GB DDR3

Razer Blade Pro http://www.razerzone.com/gaming-systems/razer-blade-pro

17" IPS 1080p non-touchscreen
Nvidia Geforce GTX 860M
Intel Core i7-4700HQ
16GB DDR3

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I simply can't help thinking that Razer got these machines a little mixed up...

The 14" Razer Blade was screaming out to have an IPS 1080p panel and the 860M because it is a small machine and so the 1080p screen would have been perfectly fine, and the 860M would have kept it cool with good battery life. the last model was a hot mama with the 765M, so Lord knows what this is going to be like with a 100w TDP 870M in a small chassis!

Conversely, the 17" Razer Pro was screaming out to have the QHD+ panel and the 870M, where the large screen size would definitely see dpi benefit from that resolution, and the increased chassis and airflow would have greatly suited the hot 870M. I know they say this is also a "productivity" machine, but come on... it's a gaming machine, if people want productivity they buy a business laptop.

By doing these spec configs, I think Razer have effectively made the Razer Pro underpowered and redundant vs the smaller and more portable laptop. The designers really need to get a slap on the wrist for that, because it is going to lose then a ton of Blade Pro sales I think.

 

[Ace Modder]

I assume they wont release in europe anyway just like the first gen of razer laptops.

 

[Richdog]

This is true, they won't officially release it, but I know a couple of people who got hold of them via other means (even Amazon UK has listings). There's still nothing on the gaming market quite like them.

 

[IceWind]

I honestly dont think they are worth it. Nice bits of Kit but a couple of months down the line gigabyte and msi will have similar specced laptop in the same form factor for much much less.

 

[Richdog]

I honestly dont think they are worth it. Nice bits of Kit but a couple of months down the line gigabyte and msi will have similar specced laptop in the same form factor for much much less.

Similar spec perhaps, but the build quality on the razers is definitely a notch or two above Gigabyte and MSI.

 

[IceWind]

I would tend to disagree on that.... the MSI Stealth laptops build quality is pretty dam awesome. I mean the Razor probably is better but not £1k better

also yea ok amazing screen on the blade.... but it doesnt have enough power to drive that res any decent settings anyway so thats a bit of a mute point

 

[Seirrah]

If looking for a thin gaming laptop I bet the Aorus X7 will be faster and cheaper than the Razer Blade Pro.

 

[Gazb]

Sad to see Razer doing the stupidly high res screen crap that everyone else is doing at the moment. 1080p would already be pushing the ease of use/comfort limits on the windows desktop before resorting to the less than great windows scaling option.
But more to the point, that GPU will never be able to play any current games at that resolution at smooth frame rates making its high resolution redundant. (Never mind the fact the high resolution screen will also use a lot more power than a 1080p screen would)

Regarding build quality, I have a 2nd gen Razer Blade bought from ocuk. And while I would call the blade over priced (by about £400), it's build quality is fantastic. It's also been rock solid stable. If I was looking now, I'd be considering the Auros x7 but I'm not sure its build quality would be comparable.

 

[silvagti]

I like the look of the 14" model but the increased resolution seems like it would be wasted with Windows 8 on a small screen?

I'm quite tempted by the idea of replacing my ageing i7-920 desktop with a gaming laptop. Are there any alternatives out there similar to the 14" blade given it's not available in the UK?

 

[Meaker]

Clevo 13 inch with 1080p display 860m and quad support.