Razer Blade (2014) Owner's Lounge

Hi everyone,

I've been haunting this thread for a while and watching the Razer Blade 14 for months now. Finally decided to register to ask you all for advice. I think this is currently the best thread there is on this topic. Thank you all for your insightful posts.

I'm an addicted gamer and have never owned a laptop. For the last few years I've had a job that requires extensive travel and I'm getting tired of leaving my only gaming outlet (my desktop) behind and going on the road with my work-issued HP Elitebook, which is too small and heavy to be feasible, let-alone a non-starter for games. As a gamer who travels frequently, mobility is important to me, especially where weight is concerned. The Blade seems to be a great solution:

1) I'm a sucker for sleek and solid build quality (so forget MSI)
2) a good screen,
3) low weight

But here's where I doubt the Blade and I wonder if you could comment on:

1) The biggest potential con is longevity. I've never owned a Razer but all of the Razer peripherals that my brother has ever used (mice, keyboards) seemed to malfunction relatively quickly until he gave up and went for more durable brands. I will spend whatever money is necessary if I know the product is going to last me a while. The only reason that I want to feel compelled to replace a laptop is if games have eventually outpaced the hardware, not because of broken parts or annoying glitches. In other words, I want to get a few years out of it and I'm dubious of Razer's reliability (though I've never been an owner). Have you owned Razers before and were they reliable?
2) Cooling and noise are also very important to me. What is your experience on cooling and noise with it?
3) Secondary but mildly important is limited glaring in the screen (when I travel I often find myself on balconies or in cafes, the Elitebook I use might as well not even be on if there's sunlight around). I've seen some people complaining about the glare on this forum and I guess I'd compromise on the balcony time if it means reaping other benefits.

I'm also not sure about 14 vs. 17 inch as having real estate while working on multiple documents is helpful (again I hate this tiny HP Elitebook for that). I imagine 17 inch would put on a few more pounds, however, unless there are any other benefits to the 17 inch model that I've missed.

Thank you very much in advance.

 

1)This is my first RAZER as well and it's still to early to see if this laptop will last the test of time, there have been no unusual reports of massive failures with RAZER laptops.Sure you'll get your occasional failure but that happens with every make and model of every laptop manufacturer.
2) Stock CPU temps tend to run a bit high but using Intel XTU to undervolt helps a great deal, runs cooler and it seems to help with the fan profiles not blasting full bore as much, but I will admit at full fan speed it can be pretty loud.
3) The glare does not bother me but that's just me.
If you value the screen size I would suggest the RAZER PRO.
Good luck with your decision, either way you get a fantastic laptop.

 

I use an HP Elitebook for my work laptop as well so I understand where you're coming from there. That being said, you can't compare the two, the Razer is so much nicer and while the real estate off of the 17" would be nice, I love the screen on this thing and surprising even myself, I like having a touch panel.

I have had bad experiences with both Razer mice and keyboards in the past and always ended up going back to logitech. To combat this worry for me I decided to order mine from the Microsoft store and purchased the 2 year warranty for $200. It's nice because it also covers accidental damage, which is handy.

As I stated the elitebook is a junker compared to this thing. I am coming off of a 15" Retina Macbook pro, and even though it is a little smaller and the bezel is much larger, I find myself enjoying this a lot more than my Mac.

I don't find the noise to be a bother at all, in fact it is a lot nicer than the Elitebook as the fans don't sound nearly as harsh. Cooling is as others have stated, it gets hot under load, but with undervolting that seems to do the trick.

Hope this has helped.

 

This is also my first Razer laptop. Based on my experience so far (In the thread about bad QC) I'm inclined to think they might not last, but that is why I've purchased the Microsoft Complete 2 year warranty. If the laptop catastrophically fails after two years, I won't feel so bad but I also think if it survives that long it probably won't.

I'm moving from a Surface Pro 2 to the Razer Blade, and the screen is enormous. I don't care what anyone says about 14" being too small, the sheer pixel density and resolution makes it feel HUGE. I opened up paint and drew a few boxes to standard resolutions like 1080p, 1200p, and 1440p and they are all insignificant in comparison to 1800p (It has enough pixels to fit three 1080p screens). I feel like when I go back to my desktop with a 24" 1200p monitor that I'm using Fisher Price's My First Desktop because everything is so huge. I've been running it at 125% scaling since I like the space and sharpness, but 100% is far too small.

The screen glare took a little getting used to, but it doesn't bother me now. The LCD is bright enough to counter most normal amounts of glare, but if you setup somewhere that reflects the sun, you're gonna have a bad time. Strategic placement to minimize that should be all you need.

The cooling system is 100% adequate and in some aspects performs beyond expectations. I never have the laptop get warm when I'm doing desktop stuff (Which appears to be difficult for most laptops to achieve). In gaming, the fans do ramp up a bit and it does get warm, but it doesn't bother me. The microphones pick up a bit of the fan noise and I've gotten some comments while playing Diablo 3 on voice chat, but it didn't interfere. I've seen some variability in the performance of the cooling just in the 3 units I've been through. My first was flawless with cooling and I couldn't get it to peak over 90C if I tried. The second one I never tested, but the third performed worse. One core of the CPU consistently peaked 10C higher than the rest(well over 90), which makes me think it was a bad paste job. If I ever get one that isn't defective but has temperature issues, I have no doubt repasting it will solve the problem. I have complete confidence in the cooling solution provided it's setup right. Playing around in XTU it's really easy to undervolt/overclock and whatever else you'd like to mess with. -75 mv on the CPU makes a world of difference for temperatures.

 

i totally agree. the best way you can do is purchase it if you have access to microsoft retail stores much better you can return it within 30 days but they only carry the 256gb RB. i returned mine without any hassle and re-purchased the 512gb online together with the microsoft complete (highly recommended) which yeah like they said covers a lot of stuff you can literally smash it and return it to them for exchange that's what the associate told me lol. as far as other razer products i owned some and its still workin fine like the 2009 model of razer lycosa and deathadder .

 

Just wondering. Can anyone tell me of this sleeve fits the Razer Blade 14, 2013 or the 2014 model?

1. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GU6YJVY/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
or
2. Amazon.com: EasyAcc Macbook 13.3 inch Felt Sleeve Carrying bag Ultrabook Laptop bag for Apple Macbook Air 13, Acer Aspire S3, S5, S7, Asus Zenbook UX31, HP spectre xt, Samsung SERIES 9 NP900X3B, Samsung SERIE 5 NP530, Toshiba Satellite Z830 Ultrabook
or
3. http://www.amazon.com/TopCase-13-In...1151166&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=topcase+sleleve
or
4. Any suggestions under $15. I want it to fit perfectly and slim nothing to bulky.

 

Hello guys, I have been reading through the entire forum to catch up and I think you guys have done a great job on updating everyone with relevant information. Well done.

I'm going to be purchasing my RB (From the MS store) here shortly and I couldn't be more excited. The only thing that I'm curious to know is if anyone has played Borderlands 2 on 1080p at max settings and what CPU temp you might be seeing as this is a game I frequent quite often. Also if you could also go into other game-play experiences you might have had at 1080p resolution and the temps you have recorded. I feel that I will only keep the system at 1080p to maximize heat dispersion.

Thank you and keep up the great work guys.

 

Thanks for the responses, folks. I guess I've made up my mind and will commit to one of these bad boys. Of all available options, it seems to strike the best balance for a traveling gamer. I've subsequently read even more reviews that are fire and brimstone about how hot this sucker gets but I'll be sure to undervolt as yall suggest. Does anyone have any recommendations on cooling pads for this?

Can't wait for a few years from now when more of the world besides Razer, MSI, and Gigabyte begin riding the crest of this wave of real mobile gaming.

 

It seems like part of the cooling design is for the metal casing to conduct heat away from the CPU/GPU, resulting in the palm rest areas getting rather warm during gaming sessions independently of how hard the fans are working. Whether this will bother you will depend on personal preference (and whether you're keyboard/mousing or using a gamepad). However, using a laptop stand or lap desk with an integrated cooling fan seems to help mitigate this.

(And on the bright side, the metal casing means that during light usage the machine stays quite cool and the fans rarely spin up.)

 

Quick question:

What hardware can you easily alter or add to the 2014 RB?

 

Unfortunately none really except maybe the wireless card and maybe storage but that yet has to be straightened out, one member got an after market SSD but it didn't work at the speeds it should.

 

That's what I thought as well, but I wasn't sure so I decided to ask you guys. I'll be ordering my 512GB 2014 RB in about a week. I plan on getting at least a 2TB HDD and a monitor to add to it. This one looks particularly good:

Newegg.com - ASUS VG248QE Black 24" 144Hz 1ms (GTG) HDMI Widescreen LED Backlight LCD 3D Monitor Height&pivot adjustable 350 cd/m2 80,000,000:1 Built-in Speakers

 

You mean an external 2TB HDD I hope?

 

I use a Cooler Master notepal u2 and it works really well and fits great. Cost about $20.

 

hmm.. is there a difference between RB Razer and Rb Microsoft store? i read on another thread that microsoft rb's are opened and have different wallpaper honeycomb without the razer logo? i noticed this one too on my 256 blade that i returned. still waiting for 512gb still from microsoft.

 

Got mine from the MS store brand new and sealed in the box ( the box they shipped it with was absolutetly huge !!!! .......0h yeah and I saved a ton of money )
They are exactly the same as if you got it straight from RAZER.

 

Anybody notice any issues on the logo on the back? Mine looks a little melty:



...or is that a layer of plastic I'm too dumb to be able to get underneath to peel off?

 

That definitely looks like a slight blemish.

 

wew thats good to hear. apparently mine is still not shipping according to the representative that i talked to i should receive it by tomorrow hayayay i shiuld have kept the 256gb rb

 

It looks to me like protective plastic.

 

Yeah that does look almost melted, mine definetly does not look like that.
Seems RAZER has some QC issues or something happened while it was being assembled.
It would p*ss me off enough to return even if it is a slight blemish, you pay top dollar for these and should be perfect.

 

Finally, my RAZER arrives in the morning! Is there much bloatware? Any tips on first time set up/use?
Does it need a "running in period" or can i just crank up watchdogs/crysis 3 whatever straight away and see what it can do?

Edit: Whats a good screen calibrator to use? sorry for all the questions , im just excited

 

I say: Hit the ground running! Although, maybe there's an update for the nvidia drivers.

Also, someone posted a calibrated ICC; just click here. I've been using it and I like it better than the default calibration.

Have fun!

 

If you have a display calibration device, then I highly recommend using dispcalGUI for calibration. It allows for much more customization and sophistication (if you're not afraid of reading the documentation) than the terrible software bundled with the devices: dispcalGUI—Open Source Display Calibration and Characterization powered by Argyll CMS

 

I tried it and I find the whites are awfully greenish. And overall screen is too dark. Of course the colors look more saturated but in favor of white not being true white anymore and overall brightness.



Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

 

A question for you all.

I'm a web developer, in the market for a Macbook Pro Retina to replace my current desktop gaming PC. I am planning on travelling all over Asia while working. I'd also like to be able to game. Would the Razer Blade 14 (2014) be my best option? I really need that > 1920 resolution to have room for my code + Photoshop at the same time, and would appreciate having a high pixel density screen to test for higher resolution images on the fly.

I haven't looked much at any of the alternatives, but I assume that this is pretty much the best it's going to get with the current generation of laptops?

I'm located in the Philippines, and both the Razer Blade 14 & the rMBP are available for around P120,000 with VAT. I'm platform agnostic, so I don't mind being on either Windows or OS X, to be honest.

Any opinions would be appreciated, though I guess since this is the Razer Blade 14 owner's lounge, the opinions may be biased? Haha

 

Thanks for the info guys, much appreciated.

 

Well... it's the only one people have shared I have no fancy schmancy equipment to calibrate it, hahaha. Still, I like it better than the default; I usually like saturated colors. If there is someone out there with another calibration profile, I'd gladly try it!

 

Here's mine to try. And it's only $90 for a Colormunki Smile.

 

I agree, I tried one of the profiles that were attached from calibrating with a device and the whites were horrible.

I wish SuperCal existed for Windows. My 2011 MacBook Pro 13" was horribly off and I used it and it worked extremely well for a software calibration tool.

 

Thanks! I will try when I get home. As others stated I didn't like the other one posted previously, it was way too dark for my liking. I also prefer colors over-saturated too because so many games nowadays seem so bland.

 

Have you guys seen a "Razer Inc - Other hardware - Razer Blade" update in Windows Update?

The only description is: "Razer Inc. Other Hardware software update released in November, 2013". Does anyone know what it actually does?

 

I have it on my blade pro too. Not sure what it is, but it installed.

 

I got tired of same and ended up reverting back to the original profile and just upped the saturation in Intel settings by 5 points. Seemed to make things look nicer to me.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

I did a little digging into the package, it's something they call "Razer Wizard Package" It contains the following drivers, seems like a rollup for all their stuff. If this was released back in Nov 2013 I fail to see how these aren't all included in the base install. My guess is it's not actually updating anything probably same revisions we already have.

rz0007dev.inf:72:Razer0007.DeviceDesc = "Razer DeathAdder"
rz0013dev.inf:72:Razer0013.DeviceDesc = "Razer Orochi"
rz0014bdev.inf:77:Razer0014B.DeviceDesc = "Razer Orochi Bluetooth"
rz0014dev.inf:74:Razer0014.DeviceDesc = "Razer Orochi"
rz0014dev.inf:75:Razer0014Bluetooth.DeviceDesc = "Razer Orochi Bluetooth"
rz0015dev.inf:72:Razer0015.DeviceDesc = "Razer Naga"
rz0016dev.inf:72:Razer0016.DeviceDesc = "Razer DeathAdder 3.5G"
rz001fdev.inf:72:Razer001F.DeviceDesc = "Razer Naga Epic"
rz0020dev.inf:72:Razer0020.DeviceDesc = "Razer Abyssus 1800"
rz0021dev.inf:72:Razer0021.DeviceDesc = "Razer Naga Epic Dock"
rz0024dev.inf:72:Razer0024.DeviceDesc = "Razer Mamba"
rz0025dev.inf:72:Razer0025.DeviceDesc = "Razer Mamba Dock"
rz0029dev.inf:72:Razer0029.DeviceDesc = "Razer DeathAdder 3.5G Black"
rz002adev.inf:72:Razer002A.DeviceDesc = "SWTOR Gaming Mouse by Razer"
rz002bdev.inf:72:Razer002B.DeviceDesc = "SWTOR Gaming Keyboard by Razer"
rz002cdev.inf:72:Razer002c.DeviceDesc = "SWTOR Gaming Headset by Razer"
rz002edev.inf:72:Razer002E.DeviceDesc = "Razer Naga"
rz002fdev.inf:72:Razer002F.DeviceDesc = "Razer Imperator"
rz0031dev.inf:72:Razer0031.DeviceDesc = "SWTOR Gaming Mouse Dock by Razer"
rz0032dev.inf:72:Razer0032.DeviceDesc = "Razer Ouroboros"
rz0033dev.inf:72:Razer0033.DeviceDesc = "Razer Ouroboros Gaming Dock"
rz0034dev.inf:72:Razer0034.DeviceDesc = "Razer Taipan"
rz0035dev.inf:72:Razer0035.DeviceDesc = "Razer Krait"
rz0036dev.inf:73:Razer0036.DeviceDesc = "Razer Naga Hex"
rz0037dev.inf:72:Razer0037.DeviceDesc = "Razer DeathAdder"
rz0038dev.inf:72:Razer0038.DeviceDesc = "Razer DeathAdder 1800"
rz0039bdev.inf:77:Razer0039B.DeviceDesc = "Razer Orochi Bluetooth"
rz0039dev.inf:72:Razer0039.DeviceDesc = "Razer Orochi"
rz003cdev.inf:72:Razer003C.DeviceDesc = "Razer Abyssus 1800"
rz003edev.inf:74:Razer003E.DeviceDesc = "Razer Naga"
rz003edev.inf:75:Razer003F.DeviceDesc = "Razer Naga"
rz0040dev.inf:72:Razer0040.DeviceDesc = "Razer Naga"
rz0041dev.inf:72:Razer0041.DeviceDesc = "Razer Naga Hex"
rz0042dev.inf:72:Razer0042.DeviceDesc = "Razer Abyssus"
rz0109dev.inf:73:Razer0109.DeviceDesc = "Razer Lycosa"
rz010bdev.inf:72:Razer010B.DeviceDesc = "Razer Arctosa"
rz010ddev.inf:72:Razer010D.DeviceDesc = "Razer BlackWidow Ultimate"
rz010edev.inf:72:Razer010E.DeviceDesc = "Razer BlackWidow"
rz010fdev.inf:72:Razer010F.DeviceDesc = "Razer Anansi"
rz0110dev.inf:72:Razer0110.DeviceDesc = "Razer Cyclosa"
rz0111dev.inf:72:Razer0111.DeviceDesc = "Razer Nostromo"
rz0113dev.inf:72:Razer0113.DeviceDesc = "Razer Orbweaver"
rz0114dev.inf:72:Razer0114.DeviceDesc = "Razer DeathStalker Ultimate"
rz0116dev.inf:72:Razer0116.DeviceDesc = "Razer Blade"
rz0118dev.inf:72:Razer0118.DeviceDesc = "Razer DeathStalker"
rz0119dev.inf:72:Razer0119.DeviceDesc = "Razer DeathStalker"
rz011adev.inf:72:Razer011A.DeviceDesc = "Razer BlackWidow Ultimate"
rz011bdev.inf:72:Razer011B.DeviceDesc = "Razer BlackWidow"
rz011cdev.inf:72:Razer011C.DeviceDesc = "Razer BlackWidow"
rz011ddev.inf:72:Razer011D.DeviceDesc = "Razer Blade"
rz011edev.inf:72:Razer011E.DeviceDesc = "Razer Edge Keyboard"
rz011fdev.inf:72:Razer011F.DeviceDesc = "Razer DeathStalker"
rz0201dev.inf:72:Razer0201.DeviceDesc = "Razer Tartarus"
rz0202dev.inf:72:Razer0202.DeviceDesc = "Razer DeathStalker"
rz0501dev.inf:72:Razer0501.DeviceDesc = "Razer Kraken 7.1"
rz0502dev.inf:72:Razer0502.DeviceDesc = "Razer Kraken"

Digging into the .exe included it looks like it has something to do with Synapse as well.

 

Yeah, it's funny. I also got it on my desktop, where I am using a Mamba, though it's called "Razer Inc - Other hardware - Razer Mamba Dock". Fun stuffs.

 

Been busy or I would have posted sooner. My razer died yesterday, no response from the power button except for a cycling of the keyboard lights, I should have a new one next week. As far as temps go they didn't *seem* any different but I didn't do much before/after testing. Running a load test seemed to bring it up to the same temps with or without the voltage tweaks but again, I didn't do much testing. I'll try again with the new one and see if I can come up with some real numbers!

 

Well that sucks! Any idea what went wrong?
Good luck with the new Razer.

 

Mine has the same exact thing kind of annoying

 

I noticed I have a very little white spot on my screen I don't think its a stuck or dead pixel :< its not noticeable on black/dark colors oh well must resist looking at it lol... anyway anyone playing far cry 3 on their RB's?? the screen is hella small when playing on 1920x1080 resolution

 

Hi guys! Wanna buy this perfect laptop. Please tell me, does it come with Win 8 Single Language or Pro version? I'm not kinda bored about having ENG version of Win 8(I want to order it from Amazon), but I'm from Russia, so I prefer having Rus language installed

 

Just a quick couple of question. What wifi drivers is every body on?

Also, i keep getting a low memory message off windows when i crank up the setting in some games, does everyone get this, is there a work around?

Other than that,awesome machine so far, loving it!

 

Please, can you look in settings-about this computer, which version of Win 8 are you using? Pro or Single Language?

 

Please, can you look in settings-about this computer, which version of Win 8 are you using? Pro or Single Language?
If you are not sure, please, try to change language in control panel. You will save a lot of my time if you try this

 

it just says 8.1, unless im doing it wrong? whatever comes with the razer i suppose.

Edit, deffo not pro, as if i hit the upgrade button pro is the option i get.

Double edit, yeah i can change the language, no problem

 

Can you change language through control panel? Whole system language?
Edit
To change your Windows display language (that's the language you see most often in Windows and apps), first add a language, download and install the language pack, and then follow these steps.

Swipe in from the right edge of the screen, tap Settings, and then tap Change PC settings.
(If you're using a mouse, point to the lower-right corner of the screen, move the mouse pointer up, click Settings, and then click Change PC settings.)

Tap or click Time and language, and then tap or click Region and language.

Tap or click the language that you want to set as your display language.

Tap or click Set as primary to move the language to the top of the list. If the language can become your Windows display language, you'll see Will be display language after next sign-in appear under the language.

Sign out and then sign back in to finish.

P.S.THANK YOU!!))

 

yeah just tried changing to french; no worries

 

Thank you very much, now I'm definitely buying this laptop)

 

no worries, great machine. you wont be dissapointed.

Think the low mem was due to old intel HD drivers seems ok now

 

I get the low memory error every time I play, I have not found a good solution to it. I think it does it less if I change my desktop resolution to the game resolution, but I am not going to do that every time as I go in and out of games all the time. I'm almost certain it still does it anyway even with matching resolutions. Super annoying and obviously widespread issue. If you try googling it you find tons of others with the same.

Last I heard it was being blamed on Intel drivers, which I'm still using the stock ones and really don't want to play around with changing unless I know they will fix it. With optimus I don't want to mess things up as everything is working good right now.