And it is announced - Razer Blade 2016

Will the 2016 Blade have an option to have a built-in HDD in addition to the SSD? I'm currently using an MSI Ghost Pro and have a HDD with two SSDs in Raid 0. This is great for performance and gives me a non-SSD space to put all my files. The apparent lack of HDD in addition to SSD is a deal-breaker for me on the Blade. So.. is it possible to buy it with a HDD / install one after purchase / reasons why I shouldn't be bothered by the lack of HDD?

 

If I'm not mistaken since the blade is soo thin, it doesn't not support a regular 2.5'' HD. They are all m.2 SSDs, my only questions is what kind are they? I hope they are the Samsung 950 Pro versions. In your case I'd get the 512GB version, but if you need the HD then this laptop isn't for you. I'm personally waiting on reviews on thermals and noise before I decide, might be worth waiting on Pascal also

 

They are probably the same ssds as in the stealth. Nothing special.

 

There's no room in the 2015, and I'm sure the 2016 will be the same. My best recommendation would be to either pick up an inexpensive 256GB thumb drive, or get something like the samsung 850 500GB M.2 SSD and put it in a $25 external case. Yea, you can go traditional 2.5" external, but sometimes space is at a premium.

 

What type of m.2 does the stealth utilize?

 

PM951

 

That's a shame, I'm assuming if I decide to upgrade it'll void my warranty right?

 

No you can upgrade the ssd

 

Cool,
Thanks for the input Xentar712 - I plan on probably getting the 256GB then, but upgrading to 512GB of 950 PRO

Do you know how much of an increase would be the 970M vs Pascal?

 

... can you tell me about the future, trusted sage!

 

If the jumps are consistent with the previous generations expect a increase between 25%~30%. But it will be much more efficient and expect it to be better at asynchronous computing.

 

Hi Rinneh, Ive read several of your comments and agreed with your point of view. Can you tell me what "better at asynchronous computing" means ? Also, are there any timescales for pascal coming out ? Id assume Razer wont be jumping on it as soon as its available since they are only just announcing skylake , would you agree ?

 

Do you have an ETA ?

 

I have no clue what razer would do. Maybe release a blade pro. Asynchronous computing will be big for DX12 and means that not all cores have to do their thing in the order they are tasked with. But unused cores on the card can do something else next to the primary functions that take longer. Thus always 100% utilizing the gpu. THe current Maxwell chips can do it but less advanced than the current AMD chips.

 

Well, the Blade had a shipping date of March 31st when I pre-ordered it. If I recall correctly, when I pre-ordered the Blade Pro back in 2013, I actually received it a few days before the estimated shipping; heck, I received it without a shipping notification from Razer. Let's hope the same applies this time

Also, I just put the pre-order for the Core, which has a shipping date for April 29th.

 

ughh, still don't want the touch screen

 

Just got a delay email for April 22nd. Not sure if that applies to everyone.

 

Ye i got same email, going to cancel and wait.

April 22 is only a few months away from new gpu line I think razer should have waited for a complete refresh.

 

@Xentar712 and @Darkhan did you all have March 31 ship dates on yours initially? I also received the April 22 delay e-mail unfortunately

 

Yep, I placed my order soon as they became available.

Oh well thanks Razer you just saved me 2200.00

 

Yes

 

Ahh bummer, maybe I will end up jumping on an XPS 15 after all...

 

Same here, Push back until April 22. Order cancelled. . .If I have to have one THAT badly I can wait until stock is available.

 

Yes, mine was also moved from March 31st to April 22nd...

... March 30th is my birthday... guess no new laptop gift for me.

The samething happened in 2014; I ordered a Blade as soon as they were up and had the order delayed twice. Decided to cancel and ended up buying it from someone here in the forums who had bought 2 (one from Razer and one from Microsoft).

Right now I am not completely sure what to do. More than the laptop itself, I was excited about the Core and the whole eGPU thing. In all honesty, I actually do not need to replace my Blade 2014, it works well for what I use it - a secondary machine in which I can game when I travel or Thursday Night Football so I can raid while I watch the game. For heavy gaming, I have my desktop.

I don't really mind if Nvidia releases the new GPU family. I guess I could wait it out until April - just a few more weeks. Actually, the Core is supposed to ship on April 29th, if that is not delayed, then they'd come in closer to one another.

Guess I will have to sleep on it and hope that your cancellations allows for my order to ship sooner, maybe

 

Well my order is in process now and my card is charged. Let's hope that means it's shipping.

 

Same thing here; I got a notification overnight from my bank that the charge was made. Still have not received a shipping email from Razer, but as I understand they only charge you when they're about to make the shipping.

Maybe the delay email is automatically sent when they update the shipping date on their website, even if your order was sent and reserved before that.

Anyway, I hope it's being sent soon.

 

If it matters

My experience buying a laptop from Razer is that their sales / shipping / support processes are pretty bad when it comes to informing the customer. I think we've been spoiled by places like Amazon, who have it down to a science.

When I bought a Razer laptop earlier this year:
>> I didn't get any notification of expected ship date (ended up being 1 week for me).
>> I didn't get any notification when the laptop actually shipped.
>> Any inquiries into their sales / support for a status update on my order were pretty useless. They couldn't tell me any additional information that I couldn't see on my own through the order-status page for my order.

When the stuff actually shows up at your door, it's the best day you'll have all week. But until then, you're stuck in that obsessive-compulsive where-is-my-new-toy mode where you just constantly refresh the order status page / tracking information page that most of us know all too well. But it's even worse in this case, because Razer isn't very efficient at giving you the info you want to feed that OCD F5-every-2-minutes mode you put yourself into.

 

This is true! Hahaha. When I bought the Blade Pro in 2013, I received a whole week earlier than not only the expected shipping date, but the product's release. No email notification of shipment or anything. Heck, I think if I check it today, it might still not be complete in my order history, hah! That was awesome.

<shakes fist at Amazon .o9 Those guys really have spoiled me. I can't imagine my life without them. I feel sorry for my grandparents, who lived in the dark ages

 

Any updates?

 

Got an email from Razer this morning stating mine will ship from April 25th.

 

Same here; it says it is now in backorder until April 25th. I are sad monkey.

 

well its nice they charge your card a month in advance. jeezzz

 

Hum, I just got an interesting email from Razer, in which they somewhat explain the delay. Here's what it says:

"We recently decided to implement an update from Intel and in doing so will delay shipment of your new Razer Blade."

I wonder if its referring to the Skylake bug that was found around January or something else? Oh, yeah, also the bold in the quote is theirs, I didn't add it.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

did your email include a free case? Some people got one. I didn't though.

 

Woah! No, there is no mention of a free anything. <shrugs />

 

I received a mail for my 2016 Blade. Seems I pre-ordered early enough to be eligible for the free Armor case due to the delay.

 

Anyone considering the XPS 15 from Dell over the new RB? Sure, the 970 will top the 960, but is the difference that significant? Significant enough to outweigh those sexy bezels and build quality of the Dell? I am thinking of upgrading my 14' RB within the next 3 months and that Dell is stealing my attention more and more. I just trust a company like Dell more when it comes to support and such.

 

I got a refurb one for my wife and it is awesome. The 4k screen looks fantastic. I think the 2gb of ram chokes it bit though for games. If you're willing to sacrifice a little, I think you'd probably be able to live with it. Personally, I don't think could go back that far.

 

Yes, yes I am considering it. Also the HP Spectre, which is more like a Blade Stealth...

... but I wonder if the Core will work with any of those. I know that they're *supposed* to, since its TB3. Yet, I guess there's no way to know 100% for sure until it's out.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

What is it about the Dell build quality that trumps Razer? Razer's build quality is fantastic. Except the bezels which I don't care about.

Sent from a 128th Legion Stormtrooper 6P

 

Believe it or not, Dell did a fantastic job with the XPS 15. The 13 was good but the 15 I really am liking so far. The build quality is about equal to Razer really. The dimensions are almost identical, with the XPS 15 being only .5" wider(not thicker). The XPS 15 is a little lighter though. Both feel very solid when carrying them around. Like the Razer Blade, there are no gaps and all the edges are properly rounded. The fusion of the carbon fiber to the aluminum is perfect.
What I like the XPS 15 more:
-They use a carbon fiber palm rest so sweat smudges and fingerprints are far less obvious and the silver aluminum also masks the fingerprints.
-Tiny bezel and larger screen size
-Full gamut 4k screen looks way better than the 2014 Razer Blade.

What I like about the Razer blade more:
-keyboard is better quality
-970M 6GB > 960M 2GB
-All black case looks nicer(my opinion)
-Lid opens with a finger(pet peeve of mine)

When I get the new Razer Blade, the keyboard and screen are probably going to be my deciding factors on whether I keep it. If they continue to use the same matte screen behind a glass panel, I'm going to be a little disappointed but I'll probably live. But if they use the same exact keyboard as the Razer Blade stealth, I'll pass. The key travel on the RBS is ok for a .5" laptop but there's no excuse to have travel that low on a .7" laptop. I'm only hypothesizing this because the keyboards "look" identical and their rendering has some pretty short keys. My gut tells me they are trying to share components between the two but hopefully that isn't the case in reality. If they are sharing keyboards, that's a more likely excuse for the Razer Blade Stealth's big bezels than their claim of it being because of the full gamut screen.

I'm certainly not getting my hopes up about the new RB. Something's different about them this year. They cut their costs by $200 and managed to shave .25 lbs off, so I'm wondering why and how. On top of that, they actually released a product that was actually properly priced(the $999 Razer Blade Stealth). So are they skimping on anything or are they just trying to finally be more competitive? If I didn't have quality issues with the Stealth, I probably wouldn't be questioning anything...

 

There is a significant difference between the two chips.

 

This is the reason why I am not completely sure on the XPS 15. Since I am getting the Core, gaming performance while on my house/desk is not going to depend on the laptop itself, only when I am out traveling. In that sense, even a 960m is enough for the games I am playing when on the go. Also, I am assuming the Core will work 100% fine with a non-Razer laptop (which... I think... it should, I guess).

But... but... what about next year? Or the year after that? The 970m has more longevity in that sense. And no, I'm not "waiting for Pascal"; only God know when that will even be announced for consumers, and even then how long it takes to ship and be included in actual, shipping builds. I don't like the waiting game; I get what's available.

Though I am not bothered by the bezels on the Blade, I do find the ones in the XPS 15 sexy. Plus, it has to do with availability; I could, and still can, have an XPS 15 before the Blade even ships... so...

 

Well if you decide to go that route and you have patience, you can get the i5/965M version for about $880 or less. Just wait for the next 30% off sale at Dell Outlet that aligns with ebates having a 12% rebate. I got my last two laptops through them that way. My AW 17 R3 with 4k+980M was $1050 after it was all said and done. These are refurbs of course, but Dells exchange policy is pretty decent if yours has an issue.

 

... I have issues with patience...

 

You should wait and make sure the core will work with the XPS.

I also think, IMO, that the trackpad on the blade is superior. It's just as good as my rmbp 13 as far as feel and tracking.

I do think the xps15 is an attractive option, I just think based on the things that I care about the blade trumps it. Hell, my 2014 is still a better gaming laptop than the current xps15 based on GPU alone.

I'm going to stick with my Blade one more year and see what Razer does in 2017 (or whenever the next model is announced).

Sent from a 128th Legion Stormtrooper 6P

 

Having owned the 2015 blade and now own an XPS 15, I can summarize the reasons to buy each succinctly.

Razer blade:
Keyboard
970 gtx
Slightly smaller footprint

XPS 15:
Screen
Battery life
Lower surface and component temperatures
Easier to keep clean

Draw your own conclusions

 

What do you use now?

Sent from my OnePlus One using Tapatalk

 

The XPS 15. I can't think of any other computer, between this and the Blade, that would fit my requirements for power and portability w/ future-proofing.

 

It's been a long time since I posted on these forums, but I'm in the market for a laptop again so I came crawling back.

I too was debating between the XPS/Precision but ended up placing an order for the RB16 mostly for the GPU (although that screen is beautiful on the Dell). I misunderstood their product page back in March and thought it was being released whenever they said it "ships." I didn't realize it was a preorder. Now I'm stuck waiting till late April. With that said, has anybody who DID place an order in march received their RB16 yet? I've been expecting reviews to start popping up but there is complete silence on this laptop.