Razer Blade (2014) Owner's Lounge

I have good experience with Asus routers. I can recommend RT-AC66U and 68U.
Netgear nighthawk R7000 is also very good (especially if you attach a USB3 drive to it)

 

Just ordered mine from the Microsoft Store, got a 10% student discount and free overnight shipping, should be here Tuesday. I don't see any reason to order from the Razer Store any more.

 

My razerstore order is arriving Tuesday as well, with the mouse and Razer's excellent support.

 

So having been using my Blade for 3 days now, the only thing I have a serious complaint about is, of course, the screen. The colors are amazing, but there is significant color shift noticeable even moving around in a normal viewing angle. On some windows, depending on their color scheme, I can even notice color shift simply between one eye and the other in the same position. Determining how much of that is reflection from the SUPER shiny screen and how much is actually due to the LCD is a little difficult, but there is some issue there.

I think the biggest downfall of this particular panel is the black-white-black/dark-light-dark response time. It's horrific. Moving around a window with white text on a dark/black background is a great example of how bad it is. It appears that Skyrim's color palette is perfect to cause this issue to be very apparent almost everywhere in the game.

I downloaded a bunch of games on steam to test them and I have yet to find another game that gives me a significant issue like Skyrim, however the slow response times do make fast-paced FPS games a little harder to play, especially if they are dark such as the F.E.A.R. games. I think this first-generation IGZO panel has a high persistance, which leads to images appearing "smeared" as they move across the screen instead of being smoother on older technologies like traditional IPS or TN panels.

I'm still undecided if these shortcomings of the LCD are deal-breakers for me or if I can live with them. The colors and resolution of the panel are beautiful, but due to the color shifting issues darks look a bit funny (I have a Dell 2408WFP PVA monitor that has problems with darks, too. I think I can live with that). It's hard to say how much one can get used to the quirks of this panel and how much will be forever noticeable.

Aside from that, this laptop is awesome. I'm a bit disappointed in the performance of the Crucial M550 drive I replaced the stock with, but there's not a whole lot of option out there for M.2 drives right now. Is there anybody with a 512GB model that can post a CrystalDiskMark of the stock 512GB SSD? I'd be interested to see if the performance was similar to the 128 and 256 or if the 512 was the best performer (as is the case with most SSD's on the market right now).

 

You should be getting 500 read and write with a crucial m550 500gb. What are you getting?

I'm with you a little on the screen. I think I'll get used to it though or at least find some tweak that makes me happy. It's not bad, just not stellar like I was hoping. The high brightness, screen uniformity and lack of backlight bleed are the features I love about this screen though.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

I am getting in the neighborhood of 480-500 MB/s on sequential reads and writes. It's the random reads and writes that are weak, particularly the reads. 23 MB/s/s in C6/C7 is terrible compared to the stock drive or the Samsung Evo 840. Stock drive was 33 MB/s and an Evo is 38 MB/s. It's nitpicky, but programs just aren't opening as fast as they should be. Doing a side-by-side with my desktop (with an Evo) stuff takes around 1.5-2 times as long to open. I know 1.5-2x half a second is ~1 second, but it's annoying nonetheless. It's especially annoying since the M550 has such a price premium over the faster drives that aren't offered in M.2.

Still trying to decide if it's worth keeping the M550 until better M.2 drives come out or not.

 

Just want to chime in - I agree with Justinus about the screen. It is very distracting in FPS. I notice the issue in Dishonored too. I haven't decided if a deal breaker yet either. I also didn't realize how used to a non-glossy screen I am...so that's a change too.

I have decided to return the M550 due to its slow 4k performance and either live 256gb or exchange for a 512gb.


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It's not just the fact that it's glossy, it's super glossy. I have a glossy LCD on my desktop and I've been using a Surface Pro 2 (With glossy glass touchscreen) for months and they have never been as distracting. This glass is just reflecting everything.

 

Anyone else have temps this high?
It seems like it could be problematic and almost a deal breaker, I don't really need this laptop but I want one enough to order one, just wondering if I should cancel my order if others experience temps this high.

 

I haven't seen my GPU temp go over ~85C, even in a prime95/furmark stress test I ran for about 15 minutes. I can do a little more thorough testing later today.

 

I've decided that I can live with the screen as it gets a lot of things right. I have decided to return the m550 and have ordered a 512gb blade from the Microsoft store.

If anyone in MD would like a 256gb blade for 2300 cash, let me know.


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Can someone please try a memory card reader or external hard drive on their left hand usb ports and let me know if they work properly. Mine disconnects constantly after one minute of use. I'm hoping its firmware related our I'm going to have to exchange it

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Just tried a WD 1TB USB3 drive on mine and it's fine.

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Hey this is my first post here. I ordered my razer blade from the razer store about a week ago and mine is scheduled to ship on the 23. Just wondering how you are getting yours on Tuesday if you ordered it yesterday? Am I doing something wrong?

 

Microsoft Store isn't the Razer Store.

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You should cancel the order and order from Microsoft store. I ordered the 256 GB from razer for $2661 +tax and it ships next friday if I didnt cancel it. I bought 512GB from microsoft online store yesterday and it cost me $2640 +tax with the student discount and next day shipping. Im going to receive it tuesday.

 

Try to update the drivers first. I got 5 bar after updating and it was 4 bars and unstable.


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I just might do that. Thanks. So why does the razer store take so much longer to ship them?

 

I dont know. I seems like razer sent their whole inventory to microsoft. Microsoft have the blades in every microsoft store

 

I'm quite surprised .... being mainly a gaming machine - I don't see that many users reporting their actual gaming experiences ...
Maybe its just me ))


P.S. would appreciate if you guys can give some feedback on :

COH 2
Stalker series
X-com Bureau to name a few

 

Joined so I could say thanks,

I had been waiting on this to release and while searching the net for more info I found this forum. I was able to order my new 256GB Blade from Microsoft with the student discount and no tax. Saved me nearly $500 in all and it should arrive by Wed.

Thanks a lot, Terry

P.S. With the saved money I can get a really good Mouse, trackpad, and other accessories (Already ordered the Armor Case)

 

As you guys frequently talk about ordering from the Microsoft store with student discount, how high is the discount?
I assume 10? I couldn't find the info on the website

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Yes, I received 10% off. I selected the Blade after choosing my school and it was automatically discounted in the cart. No code or anything needed.
Microsoft Store - EDU Portal

 

Cheers. Too bad this doesn't work with European unis

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Somehow I ordered one from Microsoft with a student discount and had trouble with my credit card going through, Bank of America called me to confirm my purchase, but it still wouldn't go through. I called Microsoft and ended up on the phone for 90 minutes, got my case escalated to a claims department, they called me back and asked me to try and process the order through the web site. Started the process over again and when I got to check out my discount had jumped to 529.80 somehow! I put the order through and ended up paying 2322.83 for the 512 version with overnight shipping!! It hasn't shipped yet, I don't think they ship over the weekend. I just hope it they don't cancel my order, as the discount seems to be an error on their part.

 

I had the same issue. I used my Alaska Airlines card (Bank of America) and they refused the order. I called the bank and they removed the block but it still wouldn't go through afterwards. I made the same call to Microsoft and got it escalated but before they could call me back I tried to place the order again from another Microsoft account and noticed the Order Number was the same as the one that failed (On a completely separate login). At this point I figured something was not getting reset so I cleared my browser (CTR + SHIFT + DEL) and added the item back to my cart. This time the order went through no problem.

However, It sounds like you definitely got the better end of the deal, Congrats I hope it all goes through for you.

 

Sorry to hear you didn't get the same deal. I still don't know how it happened? They could still cancel it at some point too.

 

Does anyone else have the keyboard backlight flicker randomly?

 

On my way to the Microsoft store to pick one up! Going to cancel my order from the razer site once I know I'm happy with it. So excited!!


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Hey, I noticed mine would flicker once while playing every so often so I looked in the Razer synapse settings and saw a setting enabled that would turn off the keys lights after 15 minutes of being idle. I disabled this setting and haven't noticed it since.

 

Sorry for the dumb question, but how did you cancel your order from the razer store?

 

+1. It's weird because it would flicker randomly, before the 15 minute punt, but after disabling that feature it didn't happen again. Software bug most likely

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I called their number at 855-872-5233 and told them i what to cancel my order. They asked for order number, email, and method of payment. You can also send them a message at Razer Contact Us

 

Ok thanks. Do you still get the warranty when ordering from the microsoft store?

 

So found some info about the hdmi 1.4a and oculus:

"Since the Rift outputs two 900x1080p images, it's not outputting full 1080p twice... It's outputting slightly less than 1080p once.

We're fine. Nothing to worry about."

Seems like good news?

 

Anybody have any tips/tricks to make the battery charge last longer? With just simple daily use I can only get like 3.5 hrs out of it...I've lowered the screen brightness and other basic stuff, but I thought somebody might have some better ideas. Thanks!

 

Unless you really need the most processing power available on battery, try lowering the CPU min/max % setting in the advanced power settings. For normal use I've never had any issues with going 5% on both min and max.

If you are doing CPU intensive stuff on battery the above may not work well for you, and could also be the main reason for a lower than expected battery life.

Also you could try lowering the time for the drive to turn off, lowering the iGPU power save setting, wireless power save setting if those don't interfere with whatever you're trying to accomplish while on battery.

 

Thanks, I just lowered the screen brightness to probably around 15% and chose the power saver setting for when I dont really need it, it definitely helped extend it a good amount. The new screen comes with a trade-off in battery life I think, but it's worth it.

 

I should mention in case there are people having wireless issues. Intel released a new version of their proset software that fixes some major issues (newer than the version on the blade from the factory). I downloaded the latest version from Station-Drivers - News but I'm sure you can get them right off intel's site. It made a pretty big difference in speed for me as well.

 

So I've been using the blade for about a day. Here are my first impressions:

Screen quality:
Wow! Better than I expected. It truly is the clearest screen I've ever used. Only problem was trying to find a 3200x1800 wallpaper that I liked. Multitouch was as responsive as an iPhone.

Keyboard / Trackpad:
The keys are very responsive and pretty much what you'd expect from a chiclet style keyboard. Razer synapse rebinding is a nice feature to have. The trackpad is very smooth and responsive as well. People were commenting on the "clickiness" of the mouse buttons, but I actually like the way it feels. It doesn't feel cheap.

Battery:
Haven't run official tests yet, but it seems pretty decent so far. I'll update once I have actual numbers.

Gaming:
So far, the only graphically intense games I've tried on it have been Titanfall and Thief. Both performed very well with buttery frame rates at very high settings. Even on battery, Titanfall looked gorgeous and smooth. Looking forward to gaming on the go.

Complaints so far:
If you value frame rates over graphical fidelity, you should be running the games at 1080p instead of the native 1800p. This is what I prefer. However, the games I've tried on the blade had the issue of letter boxing. The only solution is to change the resolution of the desktop to 1080p before launching the game. Not a huge complaint, but still an inconvenience.
Storage. I have the 256gb model, and I'm already 2/3 full with only a few games and some other daily software. Again, not a big problem, but still feels cramped.

Enjoying it so far, and definitely a premium looking, feeling, and performing product.

PS
I canceled my order from the Razer store and went to the local Microsoft store. Best decision ever. I'm a college student, and they got me a student discount of 10% off AND an additional $100 off for their graduate sale (I did technically graduate high school at some point ). Might be worth the trip if you have a store near you.


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The HDMI output does 2560x1600@60hz. Tested it on my Dell U3014.

I'm running the laptop at 1920x1080. 3200x1800 is waaaay too tiny to use on a regular basis for a desktop. 1920x1080 has a few visual artifacts (jaggies in the stock wallpaper on the left side of the logo) and a bit of softness, but the ability to read everything trumps that.

It runs a bit warmer than the 2013 it seems. The right palm rest seems warm, though that could just be general new laptop installing-ness and charging of the battery (was at 51% when it arrived).

I played Saints Row IV for about half an hour. The fans seem to have a slightly higher pitch than the 2013 model, but it's nothing like the original 2011 model.

 

Anybody tried playing DayZ mod or standalone on the razer blade? How was it?

 

Hey everyone. I just posted a review of using my new Razer Blade over on Overclock.net. Take a look and give me a rep if you like it: Review: Razer Blade 14 (2014 Edition) Unboxing and Review

 

You shouldn't have to worry about the heat. Razer builds their laptops to handle extended periods of gaming.

 

What intel drivers are you guys using for those of you who have blades?

 

Intel(R) HD graphics 4600
Intel(R) dual band wireless-ac 7260


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Exactly how many games do you have installed and what games are they? I was about to order the 256gig from the microsoft store thinking that it's probably enough memory but after you saying that it's a little cramped, I'm not quite sure anymore.

 

Does this mean the Oculus DK2 can output 75hz?

 

I put a side by side comparison with the Ghost Pro (non 3K) here, if anyone is interested: http://forum.notebookreview.com/raz...14-msi-ghost-pro-gs60-non-3k.html#post9655230

 

Sorry I meant Driver version as in the actual drivers you guys are using NOT the hardware. [We all know what wireless card it is ]