2014 Razer Blade initial review day 1

I'm using the Razer mostly for business as well. I actually have an alienware now that I use. I love the fact that I can pull out my computer and do anything that I need to. Honestly, no one, unless they are a computer or gaming enthusiast themselves, will notice or comment on the computer.


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If I needed a Mac quality laptop and wasn't a gamer, I would buy a MacBook pro. Unless you absolutely must have a touchscreen, there's no reason why it wouldn't meet your business needs because you can still install Windows on it.

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Are MacBook Pros cheaper than Razer Blades?

 

Not without a dedicated GPU and a much much weaker one.
The 15" with a 750M (MacPro) will cost about the same as a Razer but for gaming the 870M will absolutely crush a 750M...but we all know that

 

I don't know if I agree completely because I don't like the Mac environment. I've used it before. I don't see a benefit to simply running Windows on a Mac 100% of the time. And I'd still same I am a technology enthusiast overall and like that I have the capability to play whatever game I want if I so choose. Kind of like daily driving a 500+ hp car. You could buy an accord to do that to, but for that day when you wanna break a few rules, you can do it easily.

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The ones with dedicated graphics are roughly the same price but the integrated graphics versions are cheaper. If you're going to use programs that use dedicated graphics, I would still get the razer. Most non gamers don't need a dedicated video card anymore though.

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Right but that's you and me. I only posted that because he asked about buying a Mac quality laptop for business use and he's not really a gamer. I would never recommend Razer for someone asking that, especially if they were questioning the logo and key colors.

As for your analogy, I would never buy a 500 hp car to drive the 2 miles I travel back and forth to work. I prefer having money. To each his own though.

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Thank you for the suggestions, I will look into them. What I mean by mac build quality is attention to detail in a seemingly unibody aluminium laptop (something solid). I understand the razer blade is a bit over priced for its specs, however I see the premium as worth it for the build quality. I intend to carry this laptop around with me, and want something solid that will last me a few years. For example the laptop I have now, the hinge broke in 2 days (never dropped it or anything) and it now causes the screen to pop out if I open and close it. Generally speaking, I would rather pay extra for aluminium then have something plastic.

 

I don't know if it's that complicated, and would maybe compromise 2-3mm thickness at most for RAM upgrades. Measure the height of the chips in there now. Now measure the height of a RAM socket, a standard one is about 4mm high. m.2 socket is no thinner than an mSATA socket either, so you really don't gain anything. The packaging space for the RAM is there if you remove the chips that already exist. But with RAM if it is soldered at least offer an option with 8GB and one with 16GB. Simple enough. Then there's only two PCB parts to manage. But at the price premium you pay already they should just include the 16GB RAM.

 

Battery Run Time 5/9/14
I got 6:03 out of mine today and plugged it back in at 10%. So maybe could have gotten 6.5-7 if I ran it all the way down. This seems comparable to what I had with the 2013, although I only ran the battery down a couple times in the few weeks I had it.

Understand I only did this for the forum, because I never actually use my laptop this way without the screen turning off after a bit, and many times I don’t have the wireless on but that wouldn’t help me get a solid number to compare to. Light usage to me means some office tasks like writing/reading, web browsing or going through files.

The settings for my “light usage” test were as follows:
Screen min dimness
Screen never turned off for any reason
Power saver profile (CPU min/max both set to 5%)
Set to never hibernate or go to standby
Wireless on the entire time
Sound was on but I wasn’t doing anything that made any sound

I am sure I could have gotten quite a bit more if I allowed the screen to turn off after a couple mins like I normally would, and even standby or hibernate after say 10 mins of non-use(like going to restroom, answer the phone etc). These things allow me to “lightly” use the computer all day long and charge at night but for the purposes of this test I was trying to get a number for folks.

 

So that's basically an idle test. I'm assuming the backlit keyboard was off too?

 

He said light usage to him was office tasks, web browsing and "going through files".. So basically the same thing someone that's not gaming would do. 6 hours isn't shabby for the screen not being shut off or sleeping.

 

Keyboard backlight was on lowest setting, I thought it was important to have on because some people (like me) still have to look at the keys

I wouldn't quite call it idle, I'd call it light usage, although note with my settings it doesn't make a whole lot of difference since the nothing was really allowed to go into low power/disable/or be turned off. The SSD may have been the only thing that could have turned off in my test, but it's so few watts I'm not sure that would have made any difference. The way I had the CPU set min/max the same it's not like it was ramping up and down while I was opening programs and reading/writing.

 

you are probably correct sir
through out the 6 hrs span probably only 3 hrs really used. is what i think.

 

I would be interested in seeing a users perspective of the edge 14inch and the pro, the new ones that just came out. You know pro's and con's from actual users instead of some website. Anyone know of a good side by side breakdown and comparison? Thanks!

 

I have the previous generation Blade Pro (2013). There is really not much change from that one to the new Blade Pro (2014) except for extra RAM and the GPU bump. I just got the Blade (2014) this past friday.

In all honesty, the main reason I bought the Blade Pro (2013) was because I disliked the screen on the Blade (2013). Had last year's Blade been 1080p, I might have gone for it. I was amazed when I received the Blade Pro last year; I fell in love with it. Most of the time I spent with it was either coding and learning to use Unity. I did game on it, but not that much. Since it was lighter and smaller than my previous laptop (Asus G73Jh) I lugged the Blade Pro everywhere I went.

The only thing I "disliked" about the Blade Pro was its size... I know, I know, it's silly, but since it's 17' you need a little extra space on the desk. This was troublesome during the Pathfinder sessions I GM'd because table space is limited with the mat, figures, books, munchies, drinks, players and all that stuff laying around - I keep my notes in the laptop, or looked for references if needed.

Another thing that was... funky... is getting used to having the trackpad on the side of the keyboard. Don't get me wrong, eventually I was looking for the trackpad to the right of *every* laptop I used, but it was funky at the beginning. Also, since the keyboard is offset to the left, you have to get used either not being centered on the screen or having your right hand slightly to the left in order to use the keyboard. No biggies, you get used to it eventually. Heck, I learned to use it with my pinky finger so as to not move my hand too far away from the keyboard, heh.

Oh, and this is just nitpicking at this point, but since all USB ports are on the left, I kinda disliked having to route a mouse cable behind the machine. Insignificant, but take it for what is worth. Also, I never used any of the Switchblade UI apps, nor the ethernet port (which some might, it all depends).

When I saw the new Blade (2014) I thought: "This. This is what I wanted from the get go". Probably they went overboard with the resolution, but I like it. Yes, there's some issues with certain applications because they are not HiDPI aware, but such is the price of being an early adopter of such things. The screen is glossy, and as such has reflections (the Blade Pro is matte... and least in the 2013 version); I don't mind that, so it's not a con for me but I understand how others are bothered by it. All said, I really, really love the screen!

The Blade does get a little bit hotter than the Pro, but since it's a smaller machine it has less of a dissipation area so it's understandable. It's warmer, yes, but never uncomfortable - at least, not for me. The keyboard feels different. I don't know if they changed the keyboard on the Blade Pro (2014), but at least in regards with the Pro (2013), the Blade (2014) feels better.

All in all, they're pretty much the same machine but in different sizes. So far the "hardest" thing for me has been getting used to the smaller screen. Sometimes I find myself getting my face closer to the screen, where as with the Pro sometimes I could lay back and still be able to see everything ok. I'm pretty sure that I will get used to that eventually. I also hope all the HiDPI woes get fixed before my eyes get old and I have to set everything to 250% zoom, hahaha.

In the end, I think with this generation they segregated the Blade and Blade Pro a little bit more. The Pro's tagline was "For work and play", and I think in this generation the fact that the Blade has a 870M and the Pro a 860M makes that clear. Sure, the 860M is powerful enough for most things, but it's undeniable that the 870M has a little bit more oomph.

Did I mention I love the screen on the Blade (2014)? I love it!

Hope that helps a little bit!

 

Yes! Thats helps alot and I thank you for taking the time to write this. I am leaning towards the pro just have not pushed the process button in the cart on razer yet. LoL I am excited about the possabilities of this system. Once again thank you so much I learned alot!

 

Thanks KillerFry for your commentary! Any thoughts on fan noise between the Pro and the Blade 14?

 

Well... I guess while gaming they're mostly the same. So far the only difference I notice is when doing non-gaming stuff. From time to time on the Pro (2013) the fan would start spinning while copying files, or while compiling code. Anything that made the CPU go over 20% would cause the CPU fan to spin.

While gaming... I guess they're the same, I don't notice a lot of difference. Heck, maybe the Blade 2014 is a tad less noisier.