Razer Blade (2014) Owner's Lounge

Is it normal? I tried my own benchmark (CRYSIS 1 on native resolution - very high settings) and 5 minutes of gaming. The place around power button is EXTREMELY hot! It's untouchable then suddenly Blue Screen of death... Is that sign of overheating?

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Hey there, guys!

Just got my Blade 2014, so I can now join this club!

I'm wondering, what nvidia driver are you using? I know it came with the last WHQL'd one, but I installed the 337.50 Beta, because I like to live dangerously. The particular reason I'm asking is because ever since I installed the beta, 3DMark crashes with an "Assertion Failed" message; something regarding a getGPUName call. So, I'm wondering if it's the driver being in beta the problem here - though on my desktop it works okay, and I have a 780 Ti with the beta drivers there.

Heck, the same thing happens on the ol' Blade Pro (2013) using the 337.50 Betas.

Oh, also, I'm wondering... should we start a thread dedicated to how we have our resolution/dpi scaling settings? Though I know each one of us has individual preferences, I believe it would be nice to share our different setups.

Cherri-o! Be seing you around!

 

I'm using the same. Haven't tried 3dmark,but no issues other than full-screen scaling on anything I've tried. No need for a different thread in my book. Scaling will be an important issue to all of us with 3200x1800 screens.

 

My Razer Blade 2014 unboxing video below:



It was a bit of a rush, given the nature of the video. Also, this is my first video of myself in YouTube. Sorry for the newbie-like behavior This video is still undergoing some tweaking.
My later videos will be more polished, that I will promise.

Feel free to post some requests, fellow forumers.

 

Thanks for the info!

I plan on getting it and playing FFXIV on it when i'm away from my desktop. I wont be playing on my lap, just browsing web and doing some work.

 

Something is wrong with YouTube. After adding music in this video that YouTube provides, my voice is completely replaced with the music, and I've intended to use it as background music. I know there's a bar, so that music can be played lightly in the background, and my voice clearly in the foreground, but it did not work. I have to fix that sometime later today

Sorry for the inconvenience.

 

Does anyone else's screen blink when connecting/disconnecting the power supply while idling at the desktop? Not sure if it's always been like this or if I messed with a setting to cause it. It's obviously switching back and forth between the dGPU, I just don't know why.

Edit: Never mind. Somehow in my fiddling I switched the refresh rate to shift to 40Hz when on battery.

 

Another interesting question: has anyone tried disabling the touch screen?

My mother cracked the screen on her laptop, and the touch sensor went haywire. Out of trial and error I was able to disable the touch sensor - remember it's a registry edit. What I'm wondering is if doing so will save battery.

If no one has tried it... maybe I will tonight when I get back from work.

EDIT: I lied, it's not a registry edit, it's from the Device Manager:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9Uy5lpHzK0

http://superuser.com/questions/659757/windows-8-1-disable-touch-screen

It *IS* trial and error, though.

 

Hey so I'm about to pull the trigger on a razer blade. I have done a ton of research on it and it looks awesome. The only thing that is still concerning me, based on what some people have said, is the heat. Does it really get as hot as some people have said? Could it really end up being an issue for these laptops? I just don't see how razer could make such an expensive "gaming" laptop and not take the heat it produces into account. It seems like there must be a way the blade regulates it's temperature or something or else it seems like these laptops would be breaking very quickly because they get too hot.
Any information would help a lot.
Thanks

 

Hi guys!
Sorry if this is the wrong thread, this'll be my first post on these forums.
I've ordered a RB 512gb a while ago (3/18) and it's yet to ship, but that's not what this post is about.
I'll be importing the RB to the Netherlands, but I'm worried about the reported coil whine/cricket like noises some blades've been making.
Is this a rare occurrence or do more people have this problem? Thanks!

 

Yes, the part above the keyboard does get very hot, but it's by design. It's supposed to get hot. The engineers designated it as a "no touch" zone. The palm rests and the majority of the keyboard remains warm, but not uncomfortably hot like the previous zone I just mentioned.

EDIT: It only gets very hot while gaming, obviously. Surfing / business applications are run cool

 

I have installed Intel XTU and lowered the voltages and it helped with my CPU temps, before when gaming CPU temps were in the mid to low 90's when gaming and after using XTU and tweeking the voltage settings temps are mid to high 80's.
My GPU temps top out at 85.

I have had my RB for about a week now and I have yet to hear any coil whine/cricket like noises of any sort, and trust me I have really listened for it and have nothing unusual to report.

Temps after gaming Bioshock 3 ULTRA settings max res.

 

I have a very faint coil whine at the top fan speed that is washed out by the game I'm usually playing. It's not bad though. Crickets? Never heard anyone report that. Seriously though, I've heard way worse and this is nowhere near it.

 

I had crickets for the first time yesterday although it was kind of shuffley-sounding. It's definitely the fan in mine, and now I started to notice even when it's not cricketing the right fan makes a clicking and grinding sound constantly. I'm getting it exchanged.

 

Also, here's a video that covers what I said straight from the CEO himself. It's regarding the 2013 model, but the same rule applies. Skip to 5:55.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWoipdnxWD0

Hope it helps.

 

I don't understand this forum. I want to search within it for help with a keyboard problem, but the only "Search" field seems to be for every computer under the sun, not just my Razer Blade.

Okay, fine; I'll post a new message, even though my question may have been answered previously, and if I could search, I could maybe find my answer. Anyway, now I don't see any way to start a new thread; the only button seems to be "Reply," so I'm replying, though I don't know what I'm replying to.

Sometimes I hit a key accidentally and my keyboard switches to French. How do I switch back (other than rebooting my computer, which works), and how do I disable the French conversion?

 

I'm not an owner (yet), but didn't want to post a new thread for this. Does anyone know if the MS online store has the 512gb model in stock? I assumed it must be since there's nothing to indicate otherwise, but I've seen reports of people placing orders for phones and being told the store has no inventory after the order has been placed. Also, would I be charged sales tax if I were shipping to New York? I would prefer to get the accidental damage warranty, but that isn't really an option if I'll be charged tax on it.

 

This is my first though I have been following this and many threads for the past year.

Had to share, I am in the UK, ordered a new 256GB Blade early last week and it is presently sitting in the local Fedex Depot to me and being delivered tomorrow. Cannot express my excitement I have been waiting to find a machine of this build quality and power for some time. I had the Diamond Thermal paste added too as I have heard good things about it.

Any tips on any tweaks or things one should do with the beast setup wise, screen wise or anything else.

To note, I do not play games particularly, 90% of what I do on this machine will be work related, CAD drawings/ design work and some photo editing. (I know may seem crazy to buy a gaming laptop but I always have as generally they are more powerful setups, and in this case it is mostly about the design, quality and size).

 

How is it after prolonged league games? Also, what resolution for you run it at?

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I didn't pay tax for the warranty. You will pay sales tax for the unit though.

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When you hit Alt + Shift, you toggle between your installed keyboard layouts. If you whish to get rid of the french layout, I would go to Control Panel -> Region and Language -> Change keyboards -> Select the one you want to remve -> press remove.

 

This was after a 40 minute game. I am running it at 2048 x 1152

 

Excellent! Thank you!

(I still don't know how to use this forum, but hey -- whatever works, I guess.)

 

SimCity (2013) tested:

 

I hear a definite coil whine or fast purring sound on the left fan under the keyboard nearer to the video card. I can hear it most notably when my ear is about 4-5 inches from the fan. Even at lower resolutions and slightly taxing gaming I hear this fan purring away, whereas the right fan (when looking down at the keyboard) is always whisper quiet even when I am gaming at x1800 and highest settings and the fan seems to be spinning at full speed.

I would like others to get a game running at higher resolutions and settings and just lift he blade up and listen at 1-6 inch distances to the left and right fans and report what you hear!

 

Excellent idea, can you post the voltages you ended up with?

Thanks!

 

Good discussion. What will happen when performance is pushed to the max and to keep that high/turbo clock going it calls for more voltage, and find the voltage not there any longer? BSOD?

 

There will be a lower threshold that will work for each individual processor. It would nice to see what others are having success with to use as a starting point for those of us that want to try it out. Intel sets a generic profile that will work with every chip they produce but some will function just fine with a much lower voltage (and thus less power draw/heat!). If you start getting weird issues (BSOD, glitches, etc) then it means the voltage is a too low and needs to be bumped a bit.

I should also mention it's usually possible to under-volt the GPU as well and that might have even greater benefits. I will try both at some point when I have the time but with such a small chassis to work with any reduction will probably be worthwhile.

EVGA Precision and MSI Afterburner should both be able to adjust the GPU voltage.

 

Afterburner definitely doesn't work outside of just monitoring. I'll try EVGA's tool next time I get a chance.

 

Hi guys im new here. i bought the razer blade 2014 14" at the microsoft store with good discount. is there any tweak or guidelines for using it the first time? i noticed that the fonts are so small that i cant read it i only tried playing Diablo 3 ros is it advisable to play at 1080p??

 

Battle.net app is definitely not HiDPI aware on Windows, but the game itself looks fine.

 

It runs a lot cooler at 1080 than at 1800 and although I haven't really looked in detail, the visuals look about the same to me.

 

I will say that the Nvidia Optimizer recommended the next bump up from 1080 (was it 1154? - I'm at work atm) and that really did make a noticeable dent in the FPS, so I backed it down to 1080. Hey hfm, if you don't mind could you post your D3 ROS settings? I am using the Nvidia Game Optimizer's recommendations, except for shadow (which I always turn off) and resolution discussed above.

 

Can someone please comment on how glossy and reflective the display is? I read some comments earlier in the thread that noted the display was very glossy and distracting when playing certain games. I ask because I would mainly use this laptop in bright, sunlight rooms and occasionally outside. I also saw a few video reviews and i can clearly see some obvious reflections.

 

The screen is glass. It seems untreated or if treated, only applied to the inner surface of the glass. This is a touch screen, so you won't find any recognizable sort of anti-reflective coating of the sort found on eyeglass lenses. It reflects light, if using it with a big bright window to your back you will have considerable glare.

 

I didn't really pay much attention to the settings, I think I played a little while at 1800 max settings then backed it down to 1080 for the same reason, keeping the gpu under 85c is paramount to keeping the fans quiet.

+1. I sat with it at a table with my balcony door behind me for about 10 seconds then moved to a different side of the table. You will definitely not like using this with sun behind you. The sunlit room without a window behind me was perfectly fine though.

 

you guys use sleeves/bag any good brand? i was thinking of getting the official razer blade neoprene sleeves or the armor case.

 

If you like leather: http://www.shopping.hp.com/en_US/ho...ck1GNJc68_bV6Ns-rY3yxx?HP-13.3-Leather-Sleeve


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Reduced it by 85mV. Don't know it itll tolerate lower voltages but it's the sweet spot for mine, it reduced temps on all cores by at least 5-6c which is good enough for me.

 

Anyone seen this in Windows Update? It must be using this USB 3.0 chip with built in LAN capability, they just didn't supply the LAN port. I'm not going to install it simply because it doesn't exist, just thought it was humorous.

 

oh yeah i almost forgot how come everytime i play diablo 3 i am always greeted with close program low on memory after i close the game?

 

From a little googling with the same problem, it appears to be an application issue, not a hardware issue. I had the same error on my Surface Pro 2 constantly even though I was never out of memory.

Edit: I have gotten the same error on my blade a few times, also.

 

I noticed some obvious reflections too---I always see a reflection of myself whenever there is a dark scene. However, this can be mitigated by adding a matte screen protector---if you don't mind forking out a bit of money. It doesn't bother me yet, since I haven't been using the Blade outside yet, but I got a good feeling it would be difficult to play certain games.

I would recommend a matte protector. I used it on my iPad, which also has a glossy display.

 

Gentlemen firstly thanks very much for the advice to order from the Microsoft Store. The Razer store wouldnt accept any of my (international) payment cards and then wasn't going to deliver on time in any case. Their customer support is non-existent. (ps anyone have their phone number?)
My next issue is getting the case for my Razer Blade. I like the Razer Blade Armor case but I cant find it ANYWHERE. Only the razer store stocks it, but I cant order from them. Ideas?

 

Ebay but be prepared to pay a huge markup for it.
Just buy a any after market case/sleeve instead, does it have to be the Razer Armor case?

 

EDIT: I totally misread your post; how did you get the MS store to accept your card? I didn't get the option to select another country for my billing address.

The MS store doesn't accept non-US credit cards either. PayPal is supported but when I tried paying that way the billing address was locked to my shipping address, which is a Shop-and-Ship warehouse in New York.

The only option I can see is getting a friend with an American card/billing address to order the machine for you.

 

does the headset Razer Tiamat's 7.1 surround sound work with the internal sound card in the Razer Blade 2014? Thanks.

 

To clarify: how can I place an order on the Microsoft Store with a non-US credit card?

 

So here's an article I found.

http://mobile.extremetech.com/#/lat...-for-a-green-usb-port-on-the-new-blade-laptop

How many of you would make do with grey USB slots and have an extra 380$ in your pocket?
Seriously Razor? Lmao.

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I suppose it is different with every bank and country, but I've been able to set my billing address as my US shipping address in PayPal even though my credit card is Mexican. So I use PayPal whenever I can and I've never had a problem, not even with Microsoft.

In the case when PayPal is not a payment option, I try to do the same thing (set billing address as my US shipping address); it sometimes works, it sometimes doesn't. In the particular case of Microsoft, doing this doesn't work.

Like I said, it happens to work with my bank for some reason, YMMV.