Considering Buying a Razer Blade Pro

The Razer Blade Pro (2017) seems to have a lot going for it on paper. Most distinctively, it appears to be the only notebook with both a truly high end GPU and a touchscreen. I'm kind of spoiled on wanting a touchscreen at this point, but I really want more power again. I feel silly making a post like this, but here goes.

I see a number of complaints on here about throttling and about Razer's support, but I'm not sure if it's just a vocal minority. I'm getting the sense that none of the new Max-Q notebooks are likely to have touchscreens for whatever reason. (If you know the reason, I'd be curious. Is there no panel compatible with their form factor in mass production? Is there an issue with making a capacitive G-SYNC panel?) Normally I'd steer clear of a product with complaints like the ones I've seen in this forum, having dealt with defective hardware in the past, but it seems like there's nothing else quite meeting my demands.

So, if the RBP is the only option for the foreseeable future, should I just go for it? Is there another more reliable notebook out there that's got a 1080 GTX and could be modded to get a touchscreen? Or have I missed another option?

 

"truly high end GPU"

The 1080 in the RBP loses to a normal 1070 laptop. Far cry from what you believe you are getting.

"see a number of complaints on here about throttling and about Razer's support, but I'm not sure if it's just a vocal minority."

The CPU throttling is manageable by undervolting and controlling the clockspeed of the 7820HK, however, there are many good reasons why Razer is listed as having the worst customer support in the industry in a pinned post on more than one forum.

"So, if the RBP is the only option for the foreseeable future, should I just go for it? Is there another more reliable notebook out there that's got a 1080 GTX and could be modded to get a touchscreen? Or have I missed another option"

Even 1070-based laptops would give similar or better performance. If you can live without the touchscreen, there are MUCH better options.

Aorus X5/X7
Asus Zephyrus
Acer Triton
Dell Alienware 15/17
Acer Predator 15/17

Quite a few Clevo models as well.

 

I've read a lot of that. It seems as though the GPU is pretty comparable to a Max-Q variant of a 1080 GTX.

The point of my post is really that I don't want to compromise on the touchscreen. This seems like virtually the only option that gives it to me.

 

The Max-Q 1080 is somewhere around the same level, yes. But there is a reason why people call it Max-Qrippled. It really, in no way, justifies the price. ESPECIALLY when a 2000$ 1070 machine hands in the same performance.

Also - in addition to the Customer support problems, people have had quite a few negative remarks about quality control - it seems the likelihood of getting a lemon are much higher than they should be.

 

I purchased my RBP V2 directly from Best Buy and also got their geek squad protection on it (warranty - additional). So I am covered if anything goes wrong. I had version one of the RBP from December through May and it performed flawlessly I sold it for almost the price I paid for it. I missed having it so much that I purchased the Version 2 in May and am loving it once again!

So think about purchasing it through Best Buy.

 

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll consider that route for added protection, depending on what that costs. Seems like they don't offer the 2 TB option though.

 

If the touchscreen is the deal breaker than you are left with this one overpriced option.

 

Seems weird that two features reduce to only one option, but it's good to know I'm not missing anything.

 

I'll agree that the laptop is overpriced, but people bash the RBP performance like it's a complete dud. It isn't. Gaming/productivity performance is by most measures "very good". What sort of numbers do 1070 laptops put up?

Other manufacturers have their fair share of issues as well. Even a brief look at the various owners lounges of these "boutique" machines show enough to frighten most consumers.

For the record, my RBP V2 has been flawless so far. Hope it stays this way. I've even managed to hit 20,000 in firestrike graphics with a few recent power tweaks. It's not full beans 1080, but it's miles above 1080 max-q.


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The best place to buy with actual decent warranty is either the Microsoft Store or HIDevolution.

 

I still have to warn him what he will get. Else, in a few days we'll be posting in a thread labelled "My 1080 is performing like a 1070, why?" - several people who have OCed their 1070s have posted better results than the RBP in the owner's lounge. One of them was @iunlock , of that I am certain.

 

Absolutely.

DO NOT BUY RAZER if your intent is to buy a gaming laptop.

If you're intent is to buy an ULTRA BOOK and insist of getting a unibody, then maybe the Razer 14.

Even then...over priced for nothing. If one has money to burn, then that's their call...

There are far better laptops for a better price.

 

Have had mine for a few weeks and i really like it. But i use it mainly for work (software developer). The gaming experience is pretty decent but its not what you would expect from the components.

If there are things you want from this laptop and can afford the price without feeling cheated when the performance isnt what you hoped for - go for it.

If you only look at it from the potential performance of the individual components - waste of money.

 

Can't dispute that.

I'll admit that there was no way I would have purchased this machine with my own money, nor purchased it directly from Razer.

 

Thanks for the tip. The educational discount on the Microsoft Store makes it a little less daunting too. Maybe I can get by on 1 TiB for a while....

I get the posts about not getting maximum power out of the 1080 GTX component, but it seems like everyone is knocking this notebook as though the new Max-Q notebooks are a compromise that's unsuitable for anyone. Is it that people are upset that this notebook didn't have a different GPU designation to make it clear that it was a compromise? Or, again, is there a broader problem I'm missing?

 

Just a warning - the 1TB NVMe SSDs overheat and cause BSOD issues due to the RAID array. I'd opt for a smaller driver and no RAID if possible.

EDIT: The problem is that you pay for a 1080 but you get a 1070. They could have EASILY had a 1070 inside and made it 400-500$ cheaper.

 

I ordered mine without RAID. do you know if these overheating issues would plague two non-raided drives?



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Is that a common problem? That would be a more serious issue that I've seen nothing about until now.

And that doesn't fit my understand of these throttling issues. Wouldn't the 1070 still throttle, albeit less, and you'd then say they might as well have put in a 1060?

 

Only under moderate or heavy use (say copying large amounts of files or offloading several GBs worth of data)

 

The reason why the 1080 clockspeed is lower is not because of thermals but because of power limits. Razer have enforced very low power limits on the 1080 making it throttle due to hitting the TDP ceiling.

Quite a few RBP users have reported BSODs due to the RAID array overheating. One of the SSDs has a fan cooling it but the other one has no cooling whatsoever and that results in overheating, throttling and BSODs due to the RAID array being in place. Many of the affected users have manually removed the RAID array. Though NVMe drives run hot in general. A friend bought a 256GB WD Black SSD and that runs in the 70s-80s*C under load. In contrast, typical SATA 3 SSDs and slower NVMe drives (older gen) rarely pass 45-50*C

 

Since when is modifying several GB even moderate load? This isn't the early 2000's anymore. If what you're saying is true, I'd crash this system all the time.

 

The base panel could use a few cooling slots to help that third fan. As of right now, that fan simply spreads air around the internal, fully enclosed chassis. This fan, as designed, may reduce temps of a few components by simply spreading that heat around the chassis, but It doesn't actually exhaust the energy.


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Which is part of the problem. Anyhow, I don't have much time but here is one discussion around the subject. We've also had this in the RBP owner's lounge. Basically, the consensus is that removing the RAID array solves the issue somewhat.
https://www.reddit.com/r/razer/comments/5ielip/new_razer_blade_pro_crashing_frequently_anyone/

 

Notice the 2nd drive's thermals.

 

Is that the "2nd" slot? I put a 2TB 960 pro in my first slot and it seems to be holding up pretty well. Wouldnt like that to start having thermal problems.

 

Not sure which one is the slot away from the fan - but that is the one having issues

 

Thats slot 2 i think, i got my new disk in the one closest to the fan. I was also a bit curious to see that there were a 3rd slot in mine. Didnt investigate further but my 2nd slot is more to the middle and then theres a 3rd M2 slot to the right.

 

So I'll have to consider immediately dropping to one drive on this thing? Definitely not a simple decision to pick this thing up. I wish i could just swap a panel on something else for a capacitive touch screen.

 

The question is where does the third fan source intake air. If it's just from within the chassis, it's horribly ineffective. I see that the air can likely leave the chassis from the back rear vents, but you barely feel any hot air from those center vents.

An aggressive physical solution would involve cutting a few slots in the bottom panel. Directly below the third fan to allow cool air to be ingested into the chassis, and then an opening below the second SSD to allow an additional exhaust. Ideally, the cool air makes its way across the two SSDs, but air always takes the path of least resistance and that may be to turn and exit out the back vents. Either way, adding intake vents for the auxiliary fan would 100% aide in cooling.


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Well i just checked my photo from installing the new drive. I dont even have that 3rd fan...

 

Now that is interesting.


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There seem to be a few other things thats different as well.

Well i dont know if that image made it in any way properly.

 

Confirmed that there is no third fan??


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Yes, i didnt manage to upload the image but there is most certainly not a 3rd fan. It is the 2017 model though.

 

Can you post the internal picture through Google Drive or something else? I really want to see how the internals have changed.

 

Sure, heres a link:
https://ibb.co/ih2Npa

It looks like they removed the fan, added some of those rubbery heat sinks that ive seen with other M2 drives and some other changes. As you can see both drives are to the left, and to the right there is an empty space with a M2 connector.

Overall its the same layout, but with some changes here and there with positioning of the drives and the removal of the 3rd fan as the major ones.

 

See... MiniQ was featured on the Razer all along.


@hmscott, @Papusan, @Mr. Fox, @DeeX, @zergslayer69, @Wormwood, @D2 Ultima, @Galm, @Welrence, @Eason, @Pete Light, @Wormwood, @dspboys, @Prema, @SimplyJ3sse, @ALLLLLL

::iunlock::

 

Not all 2017 razer blade pros have the third slot... XD however they removed the fan to accompany one.

 

So you are thinking about getting a razer blade pro...well i can say that i do have the 2016 version and boy oh boy...1080 comparable to a max q? i dont think so...i mean i oced my memory +500 and core +200 and got a result like this http://www.3dmark.com/fs/13130500 but let me tell you downfalls...i have experienced this laptop powering off cause the power definitely will exceed 250w when pushed hard, games that will take the clock speed to 1900+ on the core after an oc has caused my screen to start dimming, and shortly after..power off..but i mean games that are played in 4k i dont experience that, at least demanding titles, im still playing with this thing to see a good balance, but to know it can achieve just under 300 points shy of my friends desktop 1080 on the graphics score is wow to me...at least mine can...but that dosent mean when constant gaming it will.

 

Sure? Maq-Q and 1080 in RazerBook perform almost equal. And your FireStrike graphics score is below what Max-Qrippled can as well.

 

Your friend must have a poor throttling GTX 1080. Your linked score is along the lines of an EVGA 1070 SC Desktop. A GTX 1080 Desktop should get around 22000.

 

And Papusan caught playing around with his newly acquired zephyrus.... ....yeah right.

 

Bruh, I'm not Albert Einstein, but not stupid But,tyeah I playing with BGA... My smartphone and wifi router The nearest I will come soldered filth!!

 

I got 16000 on FS on my Blade Pro 2017 a few weeks ago

 

razer is the worst thing you can do...the products seem good but they are rubbish..overheating...screen issues...they are just a fraud company..copying apple designs but trying to show they have good quality products..i would avoid razer at all costs

 

Thats a bit harsh to be honest. Their peripherals are really good, havent had a single unit fail on me in any way. The razer blade pro is by all means not exactly what its advertised (and more importantly perceived) to be but after using mine as a work machine for the past few months i am really happy with it. The workload performance is great and the screen is just fantastic. As for overheating its mainly a performance problem. Sure it gets warm to the touch but not more so than my macbook pro which is supposed to be the golden standard of performance in a slim form factor.

The downside with the RBP is that there seem to be lemon units out there, and the gaming performance doesnt live up to the components (and as a result the price tag). As ive written earlier, you gotta take a long hard look on what you are going to use it for and what your expectations are before forking out the very high (and in some ways unjustified) price tag. There are a lot of better options for price/performance especially for a gaming experience.

But avoid at all costs as a company? My computing life would be worse off without a few of my razer products.

 

Looool

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Haha! RBP makes for a great mouse pad BTW...

::iunlock::

 

Did you Razer machine pass your quality checks? Still rated one star. Did it fail midway because of overheating?