New Razer Blade with Notebook 10 series all but announced

Yeah, it's just that in my "gaming" spot that I sit at 90% of the time, I have to lift the machine off my lap and set it on a stand that is non-optionally on the left-hand side of my chair, which is also where the only accessible power outlet is. My furniture layout does not allow an option for setting the machine in front of me or on my right when I'm not holding it, and I don't want that cord laying in front of my legs when I get up - I know I would eventually trip over it and either hurt myself, or yank the laptop off onto the floor. I'm not willing to risk either of those, so no right-hand side power cords for me. It really is a non-starter for how I will use the machine.

 

Outstanding! But bummer on the price going up (though only $100). The $400 jump to 1TB is a little steep as well. I'll probably end up waiting until next year and some more reviews and benchmarks, but this looks great. One good thing about the price is that the used market hasn't tanked and I see people getting pretty decent value for the 970m models.

 

What makes you prefer the MSI laptops over the newest Razer Blade?

 

For starters the screen options are better. GS73VR has a 120Hz screen and full gamut 4k options. The GS63VR has a full gamut 4k option. Even the 120Hz TN screen on the GS73VR has better viewing angles than the QHD+ screen on the Razer Blade. Sure, there's the FHD matte display but I was hoping for another highlight to compete with everyone else(full gamut, 120Hz, G-Sync). Like I said before though, their choices are super limited at 14". It's not like they manufacture these panels - they just choose from what's available and 14" are slim pickings.

The other big deal is the keyboard. The 2014 and 2015 Blades had a keyboard that was equal to the GS60, GS63VR and GS73VR(all the same), But the 2016 Blades have shallower keystrokes and frankly I still make typos on it, even after 4 months of use. I did get a lot better from when I first started using it but it took a while. It wasn't until last week using MSI's keyboard that the difference became extremely obvious.

The extra SSD bay, 32GB Ram option, memory card reader, Hi-Fi audio are all bonuses. The fact it works perfectly with the Core threw it over the top too. I'm a little concerned with throttling with the new Blade too. The 3D render they showed had the same cooling system and heat pipes as the 970m version. It could be just a recycled graphic I suppose. But all the other 1060 laptops have shifted to either dual fan, more heat pipes and larger heatsinks. The power adapter is 180W for those units too. I'm really curious to see what Razer does with that. I hope it's not throttled but it could be a possibility with the limited space they are dealing with.

Razer is still better with the build quality and Razer's trackpad is much much better. Chroma is pretty cool but to be honest, I didn't really use it all that much. In fact, the only keys I colored differently were the F keys that changed brightness, volume and keyboard backlighting. And the ONLY reason I color coded them is because the backlighting only lights up the Primary keys, not the Shift/Fn functions(i.e. $, %, ^).

Edit: I'm also going to add that the fan noise on the MSI units is low compared to previous models. Having 2 dedicated fans for the GPU makes a huge difference. And having them both turn off when not in use makes the laptops that much quieter. At the lowest speeds they are both as quiet as the Razer Blade 2016 v1. But they are both quieter than the RB under heavy load. Of course the v2 Blade 2016 is going to be a different animal. Again, I hope they focused on the cooling management.

 

That would have been nice. I'd like to have had that option as well.

The reason may not entirely be due to lack of available panels in Razer's preferred dimensions, though.

According to NVidia ( http://www.geforce.com/hardware/technology/g-sync/faq#q17) G-Sync does not currently work with Optimus technology. For a company like Razer, I would be very surprised to see them dump Optimus to gain G-Sync. I'll bet they'd lose more customers than they'd attract by giving up the ability to use the less-powerful GPU when not gaming due to the impact on non-gaming battery life.

In addition, this 2016v2 is just a mid-year refresh for Razer - I'll bet the swap to the 1060 didn't involve much in the way of re-engineering, and they already had offered the FHD panel in a prior model. The 1tb drive was also already something the more advanced users were already swapping for in the field, anyway, so no real engineering changes there, either. OTOH, a swap to G-Sync panels and dumping Optimus would probably entail a lot more under-the-cover changes than they were prepared to make for a mid-year refresh.

[edit] I'll bet they'll offer G-Sync options for 2017. I sure hope so, anyway.

 

I'm not positive but I don't think they would have to dump optimus in order to allow gsync. Just add an option in the bios to disable/enable optimus and let the user decide. Gsync panels can still work without gsync being enabled as far as I know.

 

The MSI GT62VR is actually at the top of my list at the moment. The blade's fans are just too loud for me at this point. Need something quieter and that's the best compromise of weight and noise.

I really like it, but I'm tired of getting evil looks trying to play demanding games.


Sent from a 128th Legion Stormtrooper 6P

 

There is an issue with the MSI GS43, though. I saw a pic of the internals and they put key components directly under the heatpipes. It was a recipe for disaster

 

Does the Razer Blade 2016 v2 with the 1060 have Optimus or an MUX switch? Or is it 1060 only?

 

Were these ever available for pre order? I went to the site the day they were announced and every day since. All I've ever seen is 'Notify Me'. No option to pre order

 

Optimus

Preorders sold out quickly

Sent from a 128th Legion Stormtrooper 6P

 

Wow, what lousy planning on their part. Though I suppose after the earlier launch I shouldn't be surprised. Hopefully by the time I am seriously considering this later this year they have it all sorted out.

 

Any news about availability? For any of the configurations?

 

People are probably too impatient to wait for this, but.... I've been told by Microcenter that Razer had teamed up with Lenovo to distribute these new systems and they will be at Microcenter during the 2016 Holiday Season. I did not know which version* but this is what a Sales Rep had told me.... (I have subtle fears for my year end Bonus Check) and I would be especially bummed out if it was ONLY the Stealth*

 

Question for people with experience with these, is the QHD 3200x1800 screen worth getting? Is there any quality difference between it and the FHD in terms of color quality etc? Is there any benefit to having this resolution screen? From what I read it's not a very standard resolution and you're not really going to find movies or anything made for that res, so would you really be able to watch 4k content on it? Will it just drain battery faster trying to run the desktop at that resolution or are there actual benefits to having that higher res?

 

I think when it really come down to it, it's really just a matter of preference towards touchscreen and non-touchscreen because of the reality of the situation is that nobody is really gaming at that high of a resolution unless they've attached the CORE with some beefy GPU inside of it.

 

Given the choice, I would never get it again. The biggest fault is the viewing angles. For an IPS screen, they are pretty lousy. Some of the fault lies in that the panel is matte and they put a piece of glass on top of it, so the colors tend to shift at even shallow viewing angles. Go even further at an angle and some of the colors wash away completely. It's tolerable and certainly better than TN but not by much. There is also some sort of blur or poor response time that is really apparent on the QHD+ screen and I rarely see it on other laptops. It's most obvious on their webpage when you see light text on a black background and try to scroll. It just looks funny sometimes. Other than that, it's a really sharp image and for the most part is bright and beautiful.

The FHD screen, though, has better battery savings, better viewing angles and less glare. It's also FHD so you won't have any scaling issues(yes, after all these years, this is still an issue). There's little chance you'll play many games at QHD+ resolution either, even with the 1060. Really, there's no reason to get the higher res screen unless you really want touch that badly. Had the FHD screen been available earlier this year, I would have bought it and would probably still be using it today. And this is coming from someone who is really into high res screens(using a 4k 17" laptop now)

 

I don't use touch screen a whole lot but I will admit with my current carry around laptop being a s230u twist and my work laptop being an x230 I have gotten somewhat used to using it occasionally to click on something or scroll. There have been a couple times I have pulled out my Alienware 17 at a friends house to game and tried to click the screen for a simple "accept" prompt or something along those lines.

I know I wouldn't be gaming at that resolution but if I had it I would try to use it as my desktop resolution and was hoping movies and things might look better on it but without it being full 4k I don't know (or think?) I could even watch anything in 4k or stream netflix would I? The scaling issue as you said is one of my biggest concerns that I may run into things I use and end up using the screen at 1080p, plus it could save me what like 5-600 bucks to just get the FHD and use that money to buy a 1tb SSD and be set.

I have never actually used a 4k display to be completely honest, the one time was installing at 75" 4k TV for a customer with a Lenovo M700 mini desktop attached to the wall behind it and running that at 4k was stunning which makes me want to try a really high res display myself and try to be "future" proof as I'd hope to have this laptop for years but I'm afraid this "3k resolution" will not provide any real benefits over 1080. I wish I had a way to see some of these in person before trying.

 

I think if you have a choice, touch is always worth getting- except for the razer blade. It's just the QHD panel they use is outdated garbage.

 

I see the 1060 version is available for preorder on Razers website now instead of saying "notify me". Really want to go ahead and order a 1080p one now if that's what the general consensus seems to be, that the 3k screen is not worth it, I just don't know if I should wait for any reviews for this new model or if there's any chance of them changing the screen or "film" on this new model.

As much as I would really love the higher resolution screen for "future proofing" myself I don't know if I want discolorization or a weird blurry film thing on my screen that people report. I've also read that a lot of apps and some games have issues with the scaling and people were saying WoW could only be played at 3k or would have black bars around the image which I really do not want to have to deal with.

 

I have a 2015 Blade, and personally like the 3k screen. I know it's not for everyone. The touchscreen is convenient but seldomly used. It is definitely easier sometimes to just reach out and use it instead of the touchpad when I don't have a mouse attached. And while you won't be able to run many games at that resolution with all the bells and whistles, some games do look amazing even with details turned down. Really up to you. When I order mine, it will be with 3k as the 1060 will be so much better than the 970m.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

Anyone know what brand of the SSD will be shipped with New Razer Blade?

 

It is a Samsung 951 according to a user on reddit who received his.

@bradleyjb Out of curiosity, have you tried CSGO and or WoW if you happen to play it at 3k resolution, or even starcraft? These are probably the main 3 games I will occasionally play on my laptop, maybe hearthstone and other things like that that are not as important to me, but I am curious if CSGO or WoW are able to be played at 3k resolution on the 970m. I am just curious if these games will be able to function at the native resolution. The closest Microsoft store to me is an hour away and I called them and they only have the Blade Stealth on display there so unfortunately I don't even have the option of driving to a MS store and seeing the 14 inch Blade in person and the QHD screen.

I am just so torn about what to do and I can't stop thinking about it lol, I just want to get a/my new laptop ordered but cannot make up my mind on the best thing. The extra battery life could be nice for the 1080 but I don't know if 4-5 vs 5-6 will affect me a whole lot. My biggest concern is screen quality and scaling. Half of the users I feel like I have seen complain about the QHD screen and say they would not get it again and there's a weird film over it etc etc, and the other half love it and wouldn't go with a 1080p screen.

If all my movie files are 720 or 1080, will watching them on a 3k resolution change anything? Will they look better, will they possibly look worse and pixelated? Will I be able to stream higher quality content from say Netflix, or is it 1080, or 4k and nothing else?

Lastly, how is 1080p on the 3k screen? Do you kind of NEED to use 1600x900 since it lines up with the 3k, or can you set your desktop resolution and or games to 1080p and have them still look good or will they get distorted somehow and or not fit the screen properly?

 

1) Havent tried CSGO or WoW, but Starcraft 2 (Legacy of the void) at 3K runs in the low to mid 60 fps at extreme preset. Does get a little loud though. I didnt try it long enough to see if it would throttle (only 5 minutes)

2) I think the MS Stores have pretty decent return policies - check it out. Worst case is if you dont like it, you lose a few days or couple of weeks in the return process

3) I dont know anything about a weird film. It is super glossy though, so lots of reflections

4) No issues with movies, but I only stream, no files. I dont see why it wouldnt run at 1080 though

5) I dont use 1080p. regularly, but I think it looks fine. I dont see any blur at all, and text is pretty sharp. I use 2048X1152 as that seems like a fair compromise, and I can also keep the scaling to 100% so things dont get weird. At Full 3200X1800, everything is too small, and I had to mess around with scaling which is hit or miss, so I went with this as my default - was an option there - i didn't make up this resolution

I havent noticed any games being distorted. I have played a lot of GTA V, LA Noire, and Tomb Raider on this laptop at all kinds of resolutions, without any issues.

Good luck!

 

Looks like the QHD 512GB is shipping now ... decisions decisions ...

 

Hi there! I'm trying to clean up the forum a bit, can you put this and other related info on the new Owners Lounge thread? Thanks!