New Razer Blade (2015)

I was trying to make the same decision a few months back (I live in the UK), I did look into either using one of the paid US services that I could have got Razer to ship to (they won't ship direct to the UK) and then having them to ship to the UK, I also looked into purchasing through http://www.hidevolution.com/ who will at east ship to the UK (and with lower import tax than doing it myself) and offer (paid) maintenance contracts (Razer offer no warranty if used outside of the countries they sell it in).

In the end I decided it just wasn't worth it and bought a rebranded Clevo P651SE (an XMG P505) from mysn.co.uk for a fraction of the cost and with a better spec (see my signature) and couldn't be happier. The XMG P505 is a much larger machine, though, which is both good and bad - obviously it's much less portable, but is still smaller and lighter than most gaming 15" laptops (I'm looking at you Alienware...), and the extra screen real estate is very nice. In my situation it did help that I already had a not that old Macbook Air, so I already have a very portable machine (though obviously it's not great for gaming). It should be noted that the Clevo runs quite a lot cooler and quieter under load than the Razer too.

Don't get me wrong, I still think the Razer Blade 15 is a great little powerhouse, but for the money it would have cost me to get it in the UK (combined with not having any official warranty), it just didn't make sense. Razer are mad not to make it available in Europe, there's tons of gamers here!

BTW mysn.co.uk are a great reseller, I even got them to reduce the price a little after price-matching with other Clevo resellers and their customer support and communication has always been good.

NB: I like Macs, but they're definitely not gaming machines, even the top of the range Macbook Pro only has an Nvidia 750M GPU in it, the 970M GPU in the Razer 15 and Clevo P65xSE completely blows it out of the water.

 

Ah right so I've been looking at the XMG machines quite heavily - why didnt you go for the XMG C405? Which is the same size as the razerblade with similar specs?

Also by much larger how MUCH larger do you mean?

Also for the sake of going back to them for a discount do you mind disclosing how much you paid for your P505?

The only thing that is putting me off buying the Razer is the lack of warranty - it seems like its had a lot of problems in this section of the forums, even though they are fixable its required sending back the laptop a few times which is unnerving.

Edit: I'm predominantly asking because one of my core requirements is portability so I want something I can move around easily or just stick in my rucksack and go places. I was even thinking about the Alienware 13 but the design is so offputting...that alien logo is worse than the green snakes!

 

Because that's basically a re-branded Gigabyte P34 V3, with the same issues (e.g. CPU throttling). It also wasn't available when I bought my P505, though the Gigabyte was, and I'd already rejected that. It also has a rather bizarre choice of ports e.g. it has a VGA port, but no mini display port, though at least it has an SD card slot. For someone in the UK, though, it looks a much better buy than the Razer Blade and I think this is a better choice than the equivalent Gigabyte model, due to the options offered and good customer service from mysn.co.uk. I still don't regret getting my P505, but if you really want a smaller machine, this looks like a decent buy, though I still have some caveats about the CPU throttling

Well it's about 5mm thicker (which isn't that much), but is much wider and quite a bit deeper. It weighs about 2.5kg. Obviously the 15.6" screen is much larger too, of course, which is the beneficial trade-off and it has a larger keyboard (with numpad, which I originally didn't see the point of, but it's actually very useful in some games). The XMG website has the exact dimensions

PM me and I'll tell you. The discount wasn't huge, but was still worth getting (and stopped me buying elsewhere, which I'm glad I didn't do)

That put me off alot - computers are complex beasts, and more issues are encountered with ones that push the limits, like gaming laptops, than usual and if you have a duff one, you'll likely encounter problems in the first year. No warranty and you're stuffed, especially as the Razer is not easy for third-party repair shops to fix (unlike Clevos). Although when I asked, Razer said if I had a problem with a Razer bought from the US, I could return it the them in the US to have it repaired, but both the repair cost and shipping (both ways) would be at my expense.

My XMG came with a two-year collect and return warranty, for no extra charge and it gets sent to a UK repair place.

Don't buy the Alienware 13, it's ridiculously bulky and also underpowered and looks like it's designed by an overexcited teenager

I did also consider the Aorus X3 Plus, it's more expensive than the Gigabyte P34/XMG C405 (but in the UK cheaper than the Razer), and shares the same (or very similar) internal design, but looks a bit better built and has a better port selection, and has a higher base spec (though you could probably equal or better this at less cost with the XMG C405 pimped out): http://www.aorus.com/x3plus.aspx

 

Hmm - I had a browse around your bog standard 15'6 laptops today and even the MBP was a bit too big for my liking.

With all the massive downside risks I'm still angling towards the razerblade - by the looks of things the FHD version has less problems and on the whole performs better. Seriously thinking about taking the plunge and risking the lack of warranty.

 

Performance wise, the QHD+ version is quite a beast, and games look amazing at 1600x900 at exactly 1/4 native res. It took me a couple of days to adjust to an lcd screen, since I've been using a media centre pc connected to a plasma before this, but I have to say, the colours are amazing for this little screen. Also, like you I've heard good things about the FHD screen, the 8gb ram put me off a bit though.

I did have to return the first laptop I recieved for a broken key hinge (it clicked in and out of place) but it seems to be a rare problem. Considering you live in the UK i would suggest getting your aunt to check for any issues before sending you the PC. It may be a lot to ask of an aunt, considering my aunt would have no idea what to look for, but if she's technologically inclined it would be a good idea. Get her to check for keyboard problems, screen abnormalities, and if possible, download firetrike, set the power options to high performance and give you the score. Good luck, I hope you get a good one, this little laptop is a great machine, and I'm very hard to impress.

 

I have to state that, actually, exactly 1/4 of native res isn't actually helping the "quality". It's noticable on Windows desktop the most. It's still interpolated down and loses "sharpness" unfortunately. I can definitely see it in some cases. But I will agree that it looks plenty "good enough". I can imagine a time though when the one or two apps I'm holding out for actually support HiDPI properly I'll revert my desktop back to 3200x1800. Games., though, they look fine. I play pretty much everything at 1600x900.

 

I think it's normal for it to loose sharpness, I just wonder if it's any worse than a native 900p panel. As for HiDPI, there has been quite a few updates lately and companies like Auto desk, JetBeans and MathWorks all support HiDPI displays now. I don't know why Unity is taking so long.

 

Linus just posted his review of the Blade 2015.

Not a single benchmark in the entire video. Oh, Linus.

 

Where did you guys buy your razer blade 2015 laptop? There's a microsoft store not that far from me but in the event that it doesn't have any in stock, would ordering from razer's site or amazon be fine?

 

Of course. Can't go wrong with either. I would get it from the Microsoft Store online if you're planning on getting additional insurance as they have the cheapest option with accidental damage coverage for only $150. Someone please confirm.

Sent from my OnePlus One using Tapatalk

 

Razer's site has the Witcher game as a free promo though, don't think you get that if you purchase it from the MS. I'll look into the insurance, thanks for making me aware of it.

 

Right now I'm torn between the FHD and QHD versions. I am leaning towards the QHD version solely for the vram capacity as I want my laptop to be as future-proof as possible and be able to handle a lot. I just read through the whole thread and there are mixed results, some love the QHD while others don't. Which one would you guys recommend I get?

 

I can confirm the extra coverage cost about $150 CAD

I would say I'm personally a little disappointed with the qhd screen, although it is by no means that bad. That being said, future proofing and the RAM far out weighs the pros of having a FHD screen. Switching resolution from native hasn't proven too much an issue, but it is a minor inconvenience.

I would say if ram wasn't important to my work ( games should be fine with 8gbs?) and Microsoft sold a FHD version (extra coverage was important to me too) I would have bought the FHD.

 

Yea I talked with a Microsoft sales rep and they quoted me the same price about the coverage, I'm definitely getting it. If switching resolution isn't that bad then I'll probably swing for the QHD. I've seen some instances where people said they would have liked the extra VRAM, plus I don't know what I'll be playing in a year or two down the road. How are you liking the QHD besides that small issue?

 

Unless I missed something since purchasing my FHD model back in April, the VRAM is the same between the FHD and QHD model. Only the RAM is different.

 

Yes you are right, I made a mistake, was not thinking of the right thing.

 

Any promo codes at the moment? Also last month when I checked there was a free mouse classic naga I think but this month it's not there anymore

 

The promo codes were probably on the old models. Try checking out the refurbished store.

 

I received my Razer Blade 2015 from the Microsoft Store yesterday and absolutely love it. My only concern is in my haste to order it, I forgot to ask them about doing a thermal paste. I didn't get the option to have a thermal paste done so I'm assuming that if you buy from the MS store that you cannot get it done for you? Is this a significant problem if the only games I want to play are League of Legends and Battlefield 4? I played LoL just fine last night and had 60fps pretty consistently and just tried BF4 and while the fans were a little noisy the game play was great.

 

i don't think any store will open up a new blade for you to repaste, and imo it's not even necessary.

 

I doubt the MS Store would have done a repaste for you anyway. It should not be a problem. If you have overheating problems, you should return it. The fans are always loud when gaming so that's normal.

 

Hey all,

Anyone know the best place to get one from the UK?

Thanks

 

I would recommend getting one from the HIDEvolution guys.

I sent mine to my Aunt in America to ship over to me but I bought through them because they also offer global warranty. Not yet received it but theyve been good so far.

I think you can buy the 1080p FHD one with 1 year global warranty all in for like £1800.

 

Great thanks I'll use them!

 

Good to hear about not needing the thermal repaste.

Two more questions: How do you guys keep it plugged in to maximize long-term battery life? With my alienware M14x I used to keep it plugged in the whole time I was using it and unplug it when I was done, is that what I should keep doing or run it unplugged for some time?

Also, is it fine to keep putting the laptop to sleep every night after I'm done with it or should I shut it down fully? Again, want to make sure I maximize the battery life in the long-run as my alienware has horrible battery life.

 

Yes. Do not mess with the thermal paste. I literally got called out by the CEO because of modifying the thermal paste and I was ridiculed by Razer forum fanboys for weeks. For your reading pleasure: http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/repaste-those-razer-blade-2015s-at-your-own-risk.771707/

 

I believe that Windows 8.1 stops charging your battery when it is full so it should not be an issue. Also I don't believe shutting down your computer extends the battery life of your computer (I don't know one person with a mac that ever shuts down their computer but they still retain their great battery life) so you can let it sleep.

 

Good to know about both things, thanks!

 

Well I've found out HIDEvolution have a UK outlet via amazon!

512GB, QHD version ordered £2430.00 pricey, but I'm really excited!

 

As someone who lives about 6 hours from them. I can highly recommend you cancel your order. It took nearly a month after sending a unit back to them to get a refund. I can't imagine having to deal with them with you being out of the country.

 

LiPo batteries are very finnicky. Never leave them fully charged for extended period of time. Make sure you cycle the battery at least once a month

 

What do you mean by cycle the battery? I'm not that technical so no clue what that entails.

For anyone who owns this laptop, do you find that the fans ramp up at times even when just browsing the internet? Mine has been ramping up at like 5 min intervals at times. The fans only go for like 10 secs or less but it's just something I've noticed.

 

Woops.

Might be a little too late now since my aunt has just sent it over to me! The customer support guy seemed very helpful and friendly so hopefully it was a one off on your end...we shall see I guess

 

Cycle the battery = run unplugged and use it until it drains completely.

Use Intel XTU and drop your core multipliers a couple down. Should stop it from happening. But yes, that's normal.

 

Definitely was not a one-off. There are lots of threads about avoiding them. Hope you don't have issues but I would expect them. They were quick to respond to all pre-sales questions but once I started complaining about some things they stopped replying. I had to call in multiple times per day. It was a nightmare.

 

I disagree, happy with mine.

 

Good to know it's normal and not a defective laptop. How would I drop my core multipliers? Wouldn't that impact gaming performance?

 

Well that's reassuring thanks HunHun

 

Happy with your purchase from HIDEvo? That was the discussion, not the laptop

 

It really shouldn't affect anything in game. In XTU drop 4x multiplier from 34 to 32 and all cores should switch to 32. Should be fine after that. Might need to go one or two more multipliers lower and eliminate it altogether. At full speed you will get thermal throttling which is significantly worse than just lowering the multipliers.

 

Ahh.. nm then, misunderstanding.

 

Ok sounds good, will do, thanks!

 

I'm happy with both my RB 2015 and Aorus X3+ V3

 

Ah well - it was my only real option buying a razer from the UK. Let's hope when I receive it, it is okay and I wont have any problems with it touch wood

 

Question for owners: Is the HDMI output driven by the NVidia card?
Is performance on external monitors as good as gaming on the laptop's display at equivalent resolutions?

Thanks!

 

Yup, I play using an external monitor quite often. However keep in mind it's only HDMI 1.4, so at 4k resolutions it will drop down to 30hz. You can still play at 1080p at 60hz though, maybe a little higher.

 

Fantastic, thanks! I had read that it was driven by the Intel card and wasn't certain that the Optimus architecture meant that it was being rendered by the NVidia card or not.
I only have a 1080p monitor anyway and don't expect to get a better one anytime soon.

 

What antivirus software do you guys use? My RB 2015 is unfortunately infected, every time I open chrome there are popups within windows and also new tabs open up. I downloaded avast but it didn't solve the problem.

 

So since ive bought my new blade a month ago, i have to reboot everytime i open my computer if i want to connect to the wifi, it just doesnt want to connect otherwise. Anyone have suggestions?

 

Here is hoping next year 2016 razer blade will have next generation intel chip