Razer Blade (2014) Owner's Lounge

I think there's a setting in the Synaptics driver control.

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Edit: NVM, beat me to it.

 

It's for those with short m.2 slots(cache drives) that want to use longer, higher capacity drives. Lenovo y510p for example. Useless for the blade.


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Thanks for all the info! Can you compare the trackpad to anything with a better trackpad? Gold standard imo has been MBA/MBP. Sorry, I never used the 2013 model. Also, are your still planning a side by side compassion with the GS60?


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Is anyone else getting weird bugs and glitches when you set your native screen resolution to 3200x1800?

For example, when I start games or quit games, the screen, at random times, goes black and stays black (no cursor, but the screen is still on..) until I put the laptop to sleep by pressing the power button or closing the lid. Also when I wake the laptop up from sleep, the screen sometimes stays turned off while the computer runs. This happens sometimes when shutting down the laptop completely and powering it up or restarting.

Another weird bug I encountered was sometimes, seemingly at random, after turning the laptop on, the screen is tinted blue because most of the black pixels are being displayed as blue.

All of these bugs ONLY happen when the resolution is set to 3200x1800. When I change the resolution to anything under 2048x1152 all the bugs are gone and everything runs smoothly. So that's why I'm guessing I'm not the only one that's encountering these problems because it isn't a hardware problem.

Since it isn't a hardware problem I'm assuming at this point that it's either a problem on Microsoft's side with Windows 8.1 (Update) or the newest Nvidia drivers for 870M or both of them in conjunction.

If anyone has any solutions besides just using the lower resolutions, please let me know!

 

Guys, do you think we can use any of these?
http://www.techpowerup.com/mobile/2...s-jetdrive-ssd-upgrade-kits-for-macbooks.html

 

No. Apple used a different type of connector

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oh man you guys already have it..the little
beautiful beast...

if you have a little time...would you mind post some video review for us here?

 

Thanks for the numbers finally we are starting to know it better. BTW they look good but my concern is you are seeing a 90 degrees in the chiiiiil of Alaska and it is as per what you said a 70+ delta that for me in my melting country would pass the 100 easily... So I will have to wait for a more detailed review about temperature. Also I would love a teardown so we can see all the internals. Cheers

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That isnt quite how it works but there maybe problems. Displaylink works by compressing the data and then decompressing the data to get over the data constraints. They managed to get 1080p working over usb 2.0 and they already have a chipset dl 55000 capable of 4k over usb 3. The technology only compresses the data (or individual pixels) that change, so 4k video is pretty intensive normal browsing office not at all.

The problem for gamers as I understand it is 2 fold. 1. There is latency although it is pretty small about 30 microseconds (compressing/decompressing) - I suspect power gamers wouldnt be happy with that. The other problem is that Displaylink uses the CPU to do the number crunching. Now this might use say 1% CPU for browsing but video intensive stuff could perhaps take 30% CPU. And my guess is that this would have an effect on games at high resolutions/high frame rates.

 

so. does anyone already upgrade their SSD?
and what specifically SSM M.2 must used? sorry im not that techie.
i just want to upgrade my ssd caus ive bought the 256gb and its not enough for me.

 

If that's the case I would return it and buy the 128GB and upgrade that (my initial plans), unless you have a good use for the old drive. With the money saved you could probably get a nice 480GB drive in there.

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Thanks for your reply.
But if i change my order its gonna take more delay well i think im just gonna stick to 256gb and just use portable hdd.

 

Right, I've ordered a 128 GB Blade. Are there M.2 SSD drives that are cheaper than $0.50 per GB? I really need some space for games and pro software like Adobe and Maya. 128GB just won't cut it, but I'm a high-school student on a restricted budget. I don't think I'll be allowed to get something else that's so expensive just after I get the Blade...

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i wish that they just retain the extra SSD slot.

 

I don't think there are any right now that approach the .50 per GB range. I mean some regular mSATA drives just got there and those aren't the high quality ones. You're probably looking closer to $1/GB. However, who knows how that will change in the next year or two. You may want to use an external drive and just make it work for a while before upgrading to save some dough. I just reserved some of my tax refund for the upgrade, even then I'll probably run the 128GB for a fair bit. Im odd in that I don't mind uninstalling/installing to play a game, as I'm usually only playing 1/2 titles at a time, and I really only use 1/2 apps for my development work, and do most if my processing on servers, so I should have enough space to wait. I know that's not true for everyone though.

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Where have you been price-checking? Crucial M500 480GB m.2 on amazon for $288 ($0.60/GB) or the M550 512GB m.2 on Newegg for $335 ($0.65/GB).

I'll probably be getting the M550 to upgrade mine, its a good bit faster than the M500 and competitive with faster drives like the Evo 840.

 

I just knew they were more expensive. I was probably thinking PCIe, though its questionable if those would even work.

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One thing I don't understand is, why don't they (Razer) use ordinary SATA/mSATA? M.2 still is very obscure; I hadn't even heard of it until this Blade was released. Hence it's obviously more expensive. The 2008 MacBook Air used ordinary SATA (correct me if I'm wrong), and it was still thinner than the Blade at its thickest point near the back. Why, Razer, why??

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Because they can and only want you to upgrade storage through them charging you whatever they want.
You gotta remember RAZER is a business out to make money, they didn't make this laptop just for our enjoyment.
Saying that I too wish they used reg mSATA but they didn't, what are you going to do.

 

Well if it let's us add PCIe cards that's F-balls amazing. If it doesn't, it might just be some discount they received for pushing the new standard. I mean Lenovo appears to be heading that way as well. And they are one of the few PC manufacturers that makes a profit.

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Well, that sucks. I hope there is another drive slot hidden somewhere that people who have so far received, have overlooked. Speaking of Lenovo, I used to have an old T61 which used to be my dad's; it was one hell of a laptop for its day. 64-bit CPU in late 2007 - I mean, wow. That's early. It lasted all the way until the beginning of this year, when I chose to upgrade to Windows 8.1 and then my laptop began lagging unbearably. Windows 7, on the other hand, was great.

I also would've rather Razer used a 16:10 screen instead of 16:9; it's much better for coding, gaming and just browsing. For the same length, you get more height. Maybe use a 2880x1800 resolution like the rMBP. Let's hope next year's Blade gets better...

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Eh. I'll be loving this years I'm sure

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Don't get me wrong; this year's Blade is excellent. It's just that somehow every year, there's something small that Razer misses out. The screen this year definitely will be gorgeous; and with that 870M inside, I'm looking forward to an eyegasm when I run X-Plane 10 in HDR at native resolution.

BTW, I have an ordinary Seagate USB 3.0 1 TB external hard drive. Do you think it will be worthwhile or feasible to run games like Titanfall off it?

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Like many companies that emulate Apple, they try to use less available upgradeable components if the cost to them is worth it. Razer obviously emulates Apple in quite a few ways and their #1 goal is to be profitable. Their most profitable item is the 512GB model, so if they can get you to buy it by limiting storage options, they will. It doesn't benefit them at all to put an extra slot in there and have you replace their 128GB drive with two 1TB drives. It's a gamble on their part to remove the slot but I'm sure they are banking on getting a lot more customers than last year based off their screen alone. Apple did this with their rMBP by removing the super drive(which many modified to put a second hard drive in). They gambled and it paid off because now people are paying $400+ more for their laptops and are also buying more of the higher storage options. I could be wrong but that's my 2 cents.

 

Lenovo lost my business when they switched from the Y500 msata to the M.2(42mm) in the y510p. Crippled it imo. If they made it the 80mm version(or if they had those adapters at the time I bought it) I probably still would have that laptop.

 

Makes complete sense. Especially on the 'Razer emulates Apple' part. For all purposes we can say Razer almost entirely based their design of the 14" Blade off the Retina Macs.

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Don't expect to be able to run X-Plane 10 in native resolution, it is an extremely demanding game.

 

It actually doesnt make sense to me. When people say they have the highest profit on the 512GB all it means is that Razer is making more profit without any value added (changing an m2sata spec isnt value added). I suspect that people would happily pay an extra US$100 for the 128GB model if it had 2 m2sata slots that they could upgrade. They could keep the 256gb and 512gb at the same price. They would sell less 512gb and far more 128gb but with an extra US$100 profit.

As a customer, I am not really happy for Razer to make more profit simply by overcharging for an m2sata ssd. On the other hand I am happy for them to make a 95% profit margin on adding a US$5 second m2sata slot.

 

My guess is that the blade does support PCIE, and Razer is trying to make a relatively compromise - free laptop, so they decided their customers would prefer the option of faster storage to more storage. Also, it was probably easier to deal with the additional heat from the 870m without the extra drive bay taking up space.

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I guess they could make that $95 but, they make at least an extra $250 from selling the 512GB model. Limiting the slot also keeps people from opening their system, which they probably don't want for warranty reasons. You're right though, I certainly would pay the extra $100 too, but I guess their marketing research department felt differently on what would be better for them.

 

I admire your heroic optimism but no PC company in the world has ever introduced a dual sata/pcie m2ssd slot. And if it did wouldnt Razer have offered a PCIE option especially on the basis that if you actually manage to install your m2pcie, you will in fact void your warranty?

 

They wouldn't offer it if the required price to obtain the same profits put the price into ridiculousness.

If it has PCIe. They made the right choice.

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Ok we will compromise then. Increase the price of the 128gb by US$100 and decrease the price of the 512gb by US$100. Then everyone would be happy.

 

I quote from Wikipedia:

So to find out if the Blade supports PCIe, all we need to do is get current owners to pull out the SSD and look at the drive bay for the number of protrusions. 2= SATA only; 1= SATA/PCIE

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If Razer designed only around what you could do within the warranty, why did they throw in a second drive bay on the 2013 model?
I think that if the motivation was forcing storage upgrades, though, there are more assured methods like making the slot very difficult to access and soldering it to the motherboard.
I would also think that M.2 would introduce additional costs (although less than the retail delta for sure) to the OEM relative to mSATA, and I'm unsure as to why they would do it just to upsell us to the 512gb model.

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Exactly. The reason for the void warranty statement is obvious. If you open it up, you're at risk of damaging components. If you do so its not Razers responsibility to fix them. The same holds true if you open a dell and short the motherboard or pour juice in it, Dell will politely ask you to pay. Razer has always allowed self upgrades in the past. I don't see why they'd change now. Hell even their tablet is upgradeable.

I wasn't joking earlier when I said that it could be very likely that SSD manufacturers are offering OEMs discounts for using the new socket. M.2 is the future. Less space, less resources, etc. Allows for both mSATA and PCIe. Crucial is obviously manufacturing both now, but would rather be making m.2 only. Itd make sense for them to push the future.

I agree. We need to know about that PCIe connector!

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http://www.ramcity.com.au/assets/images/m.2-connectors.jpg



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So far 512 has been enough, I usually run around 70-90GB free. I'll replace it when I need more. By then 1TB m.2 will be rather cheap and I can just clone and swap.

 

I don't think Wikipedia explains it very well. The b and m keys indicate pcie 2x or 4x. And even if The slot has those keys, the pcie lanes still might not be wired up to it. The m6e is pcie and has both keys, but will not work in slots that are sata only. There's a very good chance that the slot in the blade is just sata. This site explains it a little better.

http://blog.lsi.com/m-2-is-this-the-prince-of-ssd-form-factors/

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The only problem is that the actual socket on the board is identical for both. I have no doubt the Razer probably just comes with mSATA, the question is whether or not the socket can handle PCIe, which we might not know until someone actually tries it...

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The picture in the ship date thread shows the drive on the right. If you zoom in, you can barely make it out

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Yeah. Like I said, its totally dependent on the socket and the board, not what's plugged in.

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I just read somewhere the the Samsung pcie m.2 isn't out of the box bootable and only some other drives are, can someone comment on that? Maybe it is the reason Razer is not using that drive...

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An msata adapter and one of those mydigitalSSD external msata drives would probably be the optimal storage solution. A 1 TB 840 Evo in the Blade itself with a still-pretty-fast 1 TB 840 Evo in that enclosure would be pretty great.
So, has anyone tried out an msata adapter in the Blade yet? If it works, we could have a real winner on our hands.

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Their #1 goal is to make products for gamers.

Razer is not a publically traded company. They need to make a profit to stay in business, but their goal is not to maximize profits.

The Blade is a boutique product for a subset of gamers. I don't see any signs that it is going to go OEM/ODM. Rahul Sood regrets selling out his VoodooPC business. He's an advisor to Razer. I don't think Min's planning to fall for the same trap.

 

We don't know what Razer's #1 goal is, but it doesn't have to be profit. That is one benefit of remaining private. Making products for gamers may be true, but it does feel a bit like marketing - speak.

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I agree with this completely. As has been discussed, there are two different MSATA to M.2 adapters on eBay that could be a short term solution until more M.2 drives are available. That is where the focus should be for now as the EVO is the best non-PCIe drive out there and the only 1TB to my knowledge.

If the slot is PCIe compatible (which it does not seem is the case) then it's a different story entirely.

I also agree that Razer probably did this for monetary reasons. There is simply no other reason to replace mSATA with M.2 SATA.

 

So was Alienware, once upon a time, until they sold to dell. Believe what you want, but most owners want to make a profit and grow. Some even do it to eventually sell their company. Google tried to sell themselves a while back. Oculus rift managed to do it without ever selling a commercial product. I think Razer has a price but it will be a while before anyone sees it since they appear to be growing well. I also work for a private company and while I'd like to believe we strictly adhere to our mission statement, the underlying goals of the company are to grow and be profitable.

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