Razer Blade (2014) Owner's Lounge

That kind of report is what scares me into worrying it is a latent hardware defect. So you're using the latest NVidia and intel video drivers and have no wake/sleep troubles?

Do you use the HDMI port? Part of me suspects it has something to do with the HDMI port too.

N

 

Yea I'm assuming I don't have this "Gray screen" issue. I've connected my device to a TV before with no issues and it only happened once last night when i clicked the mouse to wake it up and the screen stayed black. Probably just an issue with it being connected via hdmi. Then again I could be completely wrong and I do have the issue...lol

 

To jump off of this topic, I am trying to connect to a tv and the video is fine but the audio does not work. I trouble shot it, looked for the digital audio in the playback device screen and it is not even there. Any advice?

 

I plugged in my TV - it magically added and switched the audio playback device for me without any issues. You might want to go into the playback device control panel and right click in the field where it lists the devices - check "show disabled devices" and "show disconnected devices" and see if it's not properly being enabled. you can manually enable it to troubleshoot if it is present.

 

Update to my "gray screen" issue, now that I'm using the replacement machine:

Someone up-thread mentioned that I hadn't checked in about my replacement, so I thought I'd give a quick rundown:

The new machine has functioned nearly flawlessly, and I haven't experienced a gray screen so far at all. I've been using the machine very heavily, and driving the graphics card mercilessly with a new sandbox game I'm getting into (I may post separately about that later, but it's called "Space Engine" and it's free to download - recommend you Google it and try it - it's awesome, and you won't find better eye candy for this machine, no matter how hard you look - I rate it 10/10).

I'll mention three things that happened with the new machine:

1. The power adapter was bad (swapped it with my original before I sent that one back - does that make me a bad person?) - It was making quite audible "cricket" noises continuously. With my ear up close to it, it sounded like electrical snapping and popping inside the power adapter casing. My original power adapter is dead silent, and I am keeping it.

2. Weird chirping noise from keyboard when playing a game using the Intel adapter. Switching to the NVidia adapter stopped it. This happened twice, and the game was Bethesda's Morrowind (Elder Scrolls III). Don't know what to make of this one - I've tried a couple of other games with the Intel adapter, and the chirping noise does not happen - I've only heard it while using Morrowind on the Intel adapter - weird.

3. One time only - I woke the machine up and the screen was *not* gray, but the image was slightly shifted to yellow/green. Not to the point where the screen was unusable, but very definitely noticeable. A reboot fixed this, and so far it has not re-occurred.

I have not updated the Intel driver, and currently have the Windows Update version hidden. Eventually, I suppose I'll probably get an unwanted update since I have automatic updates enabled, but I guess I'll cross that bridge when I come to it...

I did allow the GeForce Experience software to update, and also allowed it to update to the latest (non-beta) NVidia driver. So far, as I said above, no gray screens. The problems I mentioned above all occurred before I updated the NVidia driver, so none of them could have been caused by this update.

 

Thanks for the update on the grey screen issue. Due to your experience and comments from others who've had no problems, I've ordered an exchange unit.

N


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

Regarding my gray screen isdues. I sent my blade back. It arrives to Razer today. I will let you know what they say. Hopefully they will simply replace it.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

 

It doesn't look quite the same (to me) as it would if, for example, a program was running which intentionally displayed an image consisting of all-gray pixels. The best I can describe it is this:

Imagine if your computer is on, the screen is lit up by the backlight, but the display card is simply not sending any video image to the screen at all. It's obvious that the screen is energized, since the backlight is noticeably on, but there isn't an image on the screen.

I know it seems like the scenario I'm describing would result in a screen similar to displaying an all-black image, but it's not quite the same as that to my eyes, so I've taken to calling it the "gray-screen" issue, for lack of a better or more technically accurate term.

in any case, I really don't think the problem you experienced with your TV and your machine's HDMI port is the same issue as I was having.

My personal opinion is that HDMI signaling is really complicated, and different mixes of manufacturer's standards and implementations often result in an experience that is less than ideal. I've personally had a number of televisions and surround-sound setups, both with and without video, both with and without computers as a signal source, and I can say that sometimes things work extremely well, and sometimes they don't. Troubleshooting can be difficult, and specific information about standards supported and implementation-specific details about a particular piece of hardware can be nearly impossible to get.

That said, if you continue to experience problems with your Blade and your TV, the best resource I've found on the web for troubleshooting and help is an enthusiast forum called the AVS forum: AVS Forum

There are specific sub-forums there that you can post on if you're having trouble getting an HDMI television to work properly with a PC.

 

Yikes about all of those gray screen issues....

Another topic: There a few programs that I need to use regularly that don't scale well at native resolution. Too many elements end up being very small.

I find myself switching my resolution and scaling options fairly regularly. It's a three or more step process of having to change resolution, change the size of text and other items, signing out, signing back in every time I need to do this. It's mildly frustrating process. I'd rather change the entire resolution than using the using the Magnifier tool.

Is there a way to create some type of shortcut that would change the resolution and scaling options in a click or two? I understand that I'd still need to sign out and back in.

Ideally, more developers will update their apps to support these great high DPI displays, but it's just not the case yet.

 

Replied on Youtube - I can hear the same thing, but its audible during the load. Also, after a week of usage - I started getting audible coil whine from the system when the screen dimmed. Refresh sovled that issue. I agree that it is not the most that audible (certainly its heaven compared to XPS 15 that I had) - but when the CPU spikes during the general use, and I hear it - it shouldn't be there - not in $3000 laptop .

 

I was told the same thing but i went to the store and told a salesman that it was out of my price range, but I will buy if i get both the discounts and they did them both lol
Finally price before tax for 256gb was like $2050ish.

 

My ac power adapter makes a lot of noise, sometimse it goes awy when laptop is awake and comes back when screen shuts off. Going to RMA for a new ac adapter..

 

Were you able to get Space Engine running at 3200x1800? Whenever I try to change the resolution, everything is super zoomed in and it isn't functional.

 

Yes - I should have mentioned that. SE is not HiDPi-aware (like so many programs today). Therefore, Windows automatically detects this, and runs it at quadruple-size. For instance, when running at a windowed 1280x800, the actual screen size on the Razer desktop woud be 2560x1600. Therefore, when you switch it to full-screen 3200x1800, the screen is similarly pixel-doubled in size.

A work-around to run SE at 3200x1800 in full-screen mode:

- Use Explorer to find the executable (for example: C:\Games\SpaceEngine 0.971\system\SpaceEngine.exe) and right-click on it, choosing "Properties".
- Select the "Compatibility" tab, and check the box labeled "Disable display scaling on high DPI settings".
- Click the "Apply" button and then the "OK" button.

This will prevent Windows from pixel-doubling the game, and allow true 3200x1800 display in full-screen.

Now for the bad news: If you do this, the controls and UI of the game will become tiny, since they use rasterized bitmaps rather than adapting to the high-DPI screen. The game's procedurally-generated graphics will be glorious to behold at this resolution, but the UI text and controls will be very small.

One other caveat for SE: The Optimus software did not auto-assign SE to run on the NVidia adapter for me. I had to go into NVidia display properties and set a custom entry for the SpaceEngine.exe file, forcing it to run on the NVidia card. If you do this, I recommend you uninstall the game and delete any files remaining in its install folder, and then do a reinstall. I had some problems after forcing it to the NVidia card until I did this - I think it compiles some graphic-specific stuff the first time it runs, and if that gets generated for the Intel card, things can be a bit wonky when run on the NVidia card.

Also, do not do like I did the first time, and force the game to install to C:\Program Files (86)\whatvever. Let it install to C:\Games\.... as it suggests. It wants to be able to write data into files in its install folder as it runs, and I had a lot of weird crashes until I figured that out (most user processes don't normally have permission to write to stuff in C:\Program Files (x86) without a privilege elevation).

 

Thanks for such a detailed response! I got it to run well! Also, what does the FOD setting mean? Can't find the answer on their forums? Also, any key settings I should turn up for maximum eye candy / planetary terrain detail?

 

Hey i m sure someone already asked this but i cant seem to find the answer .
has anyone tried too add more ssd to their RB128gb? and was there an extra slot for it?
i dont wanna open it and void my warranty and find out there are no slots available.
i read some forums and they believe it may not have an extra slot for the 128 gb RB.

 

There is no second slot. If you open up your blade, it will void the warranty. If you wanted to upgrade it though, its an M.2 SSD (which are pretty expensive)

 

i know they average around $300-$600. well then, any good external drives that i could use too save and play games off them ? with minimal lag?

 

i know they average around $300-$600. well then, any good external drives that i could use too save and play games off them ? with minimal lag?

 

Great Googly Moogly... just got mine today and this thing is amazing. Just got off a quick Diablo 3 and Borderlands 2 session and the games are phenomenal. Will definitely get into undervolting soon.

 

To anybody following along on the "grey screen" issue; I got my replacement unit today from the MS store and so far it's been fine. I updated all drivers, including Intel and NVidia to the latest. I've put it to sleep and wake at least 25-30 times just to test and its resumed fine every single time. So far it seems I had a defective unit.

I will post further if anything changes (fingers crossed it stays fine LOL)

N

 

Hi there,
I found something interesting and wanted to find out, whether it's a defect of my unit or just a battery saving feature:

When the AC adapter is plugged in and the battery level is between 95 % and 100 %, the battery won't charge and Windows claims 'plugged in, not charging'.
If the AC adapter is plugged in and the battery is below the 95 %, it will fully charge the battery to 100 %. Can you confirm that?
(I measured the AC adapter under load to check its functionality and it was able to provide 150 W (, although the voltage drops to 8.9 V from foreseen 9.4 V, which shouldn't be a problem.)

Is it possible that Windows 8.1 doesn't show the remaining time anymore, when working on battery?

Thanks for your help!

 

That's normal behavior for not only the RB, but most (if not all) mobile PC's. I believe it's to prevent overcharge and/or reduce wear and tear on the battery.

 

I created a thread... but people seem to pay attention better in here. What external display resolution should I purchase for the new razer blade 14 inch? Thanks.

 

Depends on what refresh rate you're comfortable with. If you're okay with 30hz, you can get anything up to 4k. If you want 60hz, you're pretty much stuck with 1080p. Scaling across the displays is a pain if you're extending the desktop. I spent some time last night working with it but haven't figured it out.

 

Here is what I found my Razer could do over HDMI to a 4k display, maybe it will help you pick a display resolution. I only deal with 16:9 displays because I don't want to deal with different games handling 16:10 or the super wide screen resolutions. 2560x1440 may be the sweet spot if you want 60hz.

3840x2160 33 hz
3200x1800 37 hz
2560x1440 60 hz
1920x1080 85 hz

You may want to read my thread for more info

http://forum.notebookreview.com/razer/753327-razer-blade-14-2014-4k-display-results-review.html

 

A couple of questions for owners:
1) For those who've used the decals to protect the blade, now that it's been out for a while, any issues with heat dissipation? Been thinking of getting the decalrus decals because I'm terrified of smudging or scratching my blade. I am however, worried about the internal temps going up significantly since they'd be covering the underside an the palm rest (I would NOT put a decal over the no-touch-zone).
2) Any issues gaming with the blade lid closed (i.e. hooked up to an external monitor with the external as the primary desktop)? My big concern is that the no-touch-zone is almost touching the glass screen and I don't know if that'll cause any damage/temp runoffs. For doing work at home, I figured I could have a wireless KB, wireless Mouse and the blade hooked up to a monitor just for the larger screen size.

 

How did you deal with desktop scaling when extending over the external desktop? It was such a pain because I can't seem to independently have it scale. When I dragged a screen from the blade to the external and brought it back, the text was enlarged and it looked cartoony. Also, 60hz at 2560 isn't officially supported by HDMI 1.4a is it? Isn't that a YMMV?

 

I don't use extended desktop, never have, sorry I can't help with that. I prefer a single desktop across multiple monitors (like eyefinity or surround) or I stick to one display only. I always play games at fullscreen too, not windowed where an extra display could be handy.

No idea what is officially supported, but I can tell you with two different laptops they both worked fine at 60 at that resolution by default. Wikipedia says 1.3 supports 2560x1600@75 which is a lot higher than 1440@60, but I could be reading that wrong I suppose.

 

Hey,

1) i got one from decalrus, but only used it for the underside and lid of the blade, so far so good, no change in temps and my blade looks really swanky now from the outside as well as protected from scratches until i sell it for a newer model in a couple of years, win win i think

2) dunno sorry never tried that.

Enjoy!

 

Hi guys, I've had my blade for a few weeks now and I'm thoroughly impressed with it.

Ever since last night I've had a fan noise issue though.

The laptop has been making a constant buzz as if one of the fans is in contact with the casing (it seems to be coming from the left palm rest? it could be the top left but it seems more along the lower left.)

If I hold the laptop at certain angles, the buzzing goes away completely.

I'm currently based in a country that has no RB services whatsoever and I'm tempted to simply open it up and see if something is in the way of the fan?

it seems to be causing drag on the fan which can lead to temperature issues so I need this fixed asap - has anyone had an issue with this?

 

No issues with any fan noise, but if your comfortable with it your best bet is to open it up and see if you can find the problem.

 

I had a similar issue - One of my fans made grinding sound frequently and occasionally a scraping sound like it was touching something. Before I sent it back I took a thorough look at the fans with the bottom off and inspected the design - There's no way the fan could be actually scraping anything with how it's been designed. It's definitely a problem internal to the fan.

 

Ah okay thanks for that - I guess I'll just wait until I go back to the US in a few months or so rather than opening it up. Hopefully its just noise, but maybe it's best if I don't void the warranty.

 

Are you sure it's a fan noise? I had a similar noise issue, but mine ought to be the bad coil whine.

 

I got my Razer Blade today from the Microsoft Store, and I really like it except for the fact that towards the right of the screen it has a dime sized area where the screen is noticeably brighter. This is particularly obvious when the entire area is one solid color to see the contrast between the lighter spot and the rest of the screen, but is also noticeable when watching videos.

I don't know if anyone else has experienced this with the Blade, but it is incredibly frustrating to get a laptop in large part due to its beautiful screen, only to get an annoying bright spot on it

Just thought I would poke around to see if anyone has any thoughts. I would love to exchange it under warranty, but I fully expect the Microsoft Store to deny me an exchange since screen issues are entirely subjective based on who is looking at them and for how long.

I have attached a picture so you can feel my pain. The spot is towards the right in the middle, and the picture doesn't do it justice, it quite a bit more visible in reality. But the fact that you can see it in a crappy cell phone picture should give you an idea of how annoying it is to me.



Ultimately I may just end up returning it, taking the $250 hit for the restocking fee and trying again. My only concern is getting a similar issue again and simply being out ~$250, so I wanted to see if anyone else has had similar problems so I know if the gamble is worth it.

Regards

 

Mine definitely doesn't have a spot like that, nor have I seen/read anyone else with that going on

 

Nope, no spot for me either. Yeah just return it they should exchange it hassle free.

 

Microsoft Store does not charge restocking fees for opened computers.

I clarified the policy with them. What they mean is that the computer case could not be opened and modified and then returned. Then they would charge a restocking fee if that were the case.

 

Just wanted to provide an epilogue to my Gray screen issues. Sent it back to Razer central for repair and after the six business days they overnighted a replacement, new system. Curious what the underlying issue was but I am admittedly relieved I got a new device.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

 

Diablo III performance test.

 

Alright, so this thread still seems pretty alive. I would post on another more relevant thread, but all of them seem dead.

Has anyone been able to figure out how to create a hackintosh out of the blade 14 yet? Hoping for a dual boot scenario, maybe with installed OSX on an external SSD.

 

Mate, I'm really, really sorry to break it to you but it's not going to work, unless you're willing to sacrifice your 1800p screen for something that's lower resolution. I doubt a screenshot replacement can occur with this laptop, so it's going to be really hard, unless you're willing to rewrite a couple of Apple's graphics drivers, nearly from scratch. The current drivers just don't want to recognise the 1800p screen, and nobody knows why.

Sorry, man.

 

Well, I just spent money I shouldn't have. I've been drooling over these since the 2013 model, and saw they have 2014 refurbs on eBay (8/256) for $1200!! I couldn't pass it up.

I'm pretty sure they will send me the old model, but no problem, I paid with PayPal and they offer 30 days returns. Seller is manufacturer_certified. They have 32k feedback and 98.8%. Not perfect, but not too bad.

Says model number RZ09-0116 and while it doesn't mention many specs, it does mention the QHD+ touchscreen. (The old one had a 1600x900 screen, right?) Seller describes it as, "This item comes fully refurbished and in excellent cosmetic condition. It will function like a new machine."

I will be nervous until I see I received the correct machine, but then again my wallet will be happy if I don't. ;-)

EDIT: Wow, maybe it is legit... Found another place selling them for that same price. This can't be right...

RAZAR Razer Blade 14" Touchscreen Gaming Laptop RZ09-0116 - 256GB : Laptops

EDIT 2: Actually the descriptions are very similar. Same company?

EDIT 3: I contacted the eBay seller and they just replied back with the same limited specs/description.

Last edit: Both eBay and Secondipity now say sold out.

 

Just got my 2014 in. I'm a little nervous in that whenever I close the screen (even carefully on the bezel) i see pixels distorted in the middle like they are under pressure. Is this just what happens with a thin display, or is there an issue with my lid?

 

If they can't even spell Razer correctly be warned. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.

 

Just bought refurb 2014 Razer 14 256GB from eBay $1200: Razer Blade 14 034 Touchscreen Gaming Laptop RZ09 0116 256GB | eBay

 

If these cheap as hell Razer blades aren't a scam of some sort there will soon be a lot of more active users in this thread lol

 

I actually bought the same item today. Thing is,the UPC for the item sold is 811254021914. Checking on google, I get the laptop with the GTX 870. I hope its true. Will keep you posted when I get it.

 

Yep, I checked on the same thing before I bought it, it's the 2014 version with 256GB SSD and QHD+ screen. This company must have bulk purchased a bunch of return/refurbed units from Razer for cheap. I can't imagine them selling for so cheap unless they bought them for < $800 each.