Razer Blade (2014) Owner's Lounge

Look at the unevenness of the TIM on the flat surface of the pipe, let alone the crevices between the pipes themselves. This is why i'd be hesitant to repaste a RB2014 or any device with heatpipes directly on die. High performance TIMs like IC or AS are designed to be used in high precision tolerances (a very thin layer between a die and a lapped heatsink for example). I wouldn't be surprised if the metal plates are actually holding the heatpipes above the dies rather than providing a downward force as most HSF assemblies are supposed to)

This just doesn't seem like a very robust/safe mounting solution.

 

I have had 5 RB14's and 3 of them have had terribly uneven backlights. The top was cool, blueish and the bottom would be warm, yellowish. Two were fairly consistent but totally different temperatures - one had warm, yellowish colors (but even across the whole screen) and the other has cool, blueish colors (again, even across the screen). There seems to be a wide disparity in quality control on these screens. I'm pretty sure I'm going to quit trying and stick with my AW14.

N

 

Well it looks like the same 2 sellers from before now have "refurbished" 512gb models on eBay for $2400. Anyone going to bite?

 

That is terrible pricing. You can that new for around 2700 I believe. The 256gb was a savings of over $1000

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A bit of hope for hackintosh-ers:

http://www.tonymacx86.com/mavericks...raphics-qhd-built-display-need-some-help.html

Read the entire thread.

TL;DR good news: He got the 3200x1800 display on a Dell XPS 15 working, with full graphics acceleration in OS X.

TL;DR bad news: it requires a BIOS mod.

 

So with those gaps in the heatpipes while repasting should I still let the mounting pressure do the work or would it actually be beneficial to completely coat the CPU/GPU manually?

 

Uh oh. This is precisely what worries me. Is this a 2014 RB? Can anyone else confirm display inconsistency? Maybe I will just do a refund instead of exchange. Damn shame that with today's technology this sort of deficiency is considered acceptable.

Funny thing is that I'm not a gamer. This is actually more of a business personal laptop. One of the requirements is a 14" screen with a minimum of 1080p. This alone weeds out a lot of options.The other requirement is superb build quality - where the RB 14 definitely delivers. On paper, the P34G v2 looks like a winner, but the fit and finish leaves much to be desired. The AHVA screen was even more problematic than the RB. I can go without touch, but the biggest - and most difficult - requirement is an even consistent display in lighting and coloring. Apparently none of the current high end laptops seem to provide stellar display qualities. The glow / bleed issues should be yesterday's problem. Whoever can develop display technology free of such defects - even to the most discerning eyes - is bound to hit a gold mine! I'd rather even support AMOLED laptop displays if it means no more backlight glow / bleed.

There's not many options in the 14" category with superior build, nonetheless defect-free display technology. Oh yeah, under 5 lbs is a must as well!

Maybe I'll take a look at the HP z-book. The Fujitsu U904 also uses the same display as the RB 14 so that's out of the question. The Dell Latitude is too heavy. Sager, Gigabyte, Alienware are all out of the question. Is there one I'm missing?

Regardless of size, what other high-end laptops have a high percentage of defect-free displays? IPS technology seems to be a double edge sword. Unfortunately the trade-off for superior viewing angles is unacceptable. I'd even consider 13" laptops, but the display has to be uniform throughout.

Thanks for listening!

 

Yes, these were all the 2014 models. I should clarify that I'm a bit of snob when it comes to screens I can't stand it when the color shifts as something scrolls up the screen. If it's white at the bottom, it should at least be the same shade of white at the top.

N


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Any one have an idea how to make the Fn key always enabled, so when we press the F buttons ( eg Volume up ), it does it without pressing Fn each time
I searched in the BIOS for Enable Action mode key , but no option is found in the razer blade

any ideas?

 

I just used Synapse to map the F keys to their function. Makes it so I can't use the F keys for their actual purpose but I think it's worth it.

 

Unbelievably, this is exactly what has happened. Screen is awesome, no dead pixels or blemishes. Logo lights perfectly. All keys and touchpad are perfect.

Go figure. It is a 256gb and was made back in March, every unit with a defect was a 512gb made in May. I have no idea....


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Hey Papa, My synapse wont allow me to use the Fn ,, it wont appear when i press it

 

Anyone? Don't wanna mess this up

 

That's cool man. Mine has been out for delivery all day and the wait is killing me lol.

 

I received my refurb this afternoon. The exterior box was really beat up, but the interior box was in decent shape. The system itself was pretty dirty, but otherwise scratch and scuff free. The screen is pretty good in terms of backlight bleed and no dead/stuck pixels. The only issue I discovered during my initial assessment was that there appears to be two small specks of dust under the screen. There were close enough to the black border that I tried to push them up, but so far no go.

The previous owner of this system apparently had a Razer Orochi because the manual was in the box and when I accidentally dropped the box I found the Orochi pouch with cable, but sadly no mouse.

I'm still on the fence on whether or not I am going to keep it. I believe there is a restocking fee via the eBay seller. If so, I may keep it and just try to sell it once something else (i.e. Aorus X3) is available.

 

I also got my refurb and I was surprised to see that the box was not sealed at all. It was basically the brown Razer box with no tape or anything holding the it closed.Someone could have easily opened it and took out the laptop but fortunately, it made it all the way from Indiana without that happening. All the original manuals and charger were intact and the system was clean with no dead pixels. The laptop was reset to it's factory configuration but I did need to enter the Windows key from the bottom. I'm putting it through its paces now but I must say that this is one beast. I have a 15 inch rMBP that I planned to keep but I'm seriously considering getting of it and just using the Razer full time.

I have a few questions though. How much free space should I have? After Windows booted up, I had 216GB free. I thought I should have more since Razer doesn't keep the recovery image on the drive. Also, what tests should I run to make sure it's stable? There have been times that I bought a new product and by the time I tested it a few weeks later, I realized there were major problems. I have 30 days to return it and I'm already downloading some games to test out the 870M tonight.

 

Congrats. Mine was delivered unsealed as well.

I would download and run 3DMark 2013 and run Firestrike a half dozen times. Try the other benches like Catzilla, Unigine Heaven/Valley, Resident Evil 6, Final Fantasy XIV... all free to download benchmarks. You are actually best to run at 1600x900 or 1920x1080 because it will stress the sytem more because it's pushing more frames. If you own Battlefield 4 then play multiplayer for a couple of hours, that will stress any system to the max.

I hope you have better luck than I did.

Regarding free space 217GB seems about right. Actual amount is 256 GiB which equates to about 238GB total usable. With OS, page file, and hibernate, 217GB seems about right.

 

I do have bf4 and I'm installing that now along with titanfall. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that everything works fine because I'm really falling in love with this system lol.

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Just my 2 cents with these laptops. We got 3 for the office, from ebay. I tested 2 of 3, so far, no issues with the screen, or fn functions. I had to install the razer software manually, synapse and the audio utility, sound is amazing for such a small laptop. Now, the heat is quite distracting, we use heavy software to render stuff, and we need to use coolers because the temps are constantly high. Keyboard and palm rest are hot, compared to a Alienware 14 2014 with a 860 gtx and i7. Aside from that, the screen is amazing, color are rich, beyond what I've seen in macbook pros. Battery life is fair for the specs it carry, bare in mind it does have the intel 4600 which for common tasks does the job. Wifi card is ok. I was wondering why did killer wireless manager came installed on 2, when the wifi card is Intel and the is no lan card. For testing intentions ?. Anyway, beautiful laptop, for the price I will be a fool to complain Now I just got to figure out a safe way to really lower those temps, be it by repasting or a bios update from razor. (Id rather have the vents running at higher speeds, and making some noise)

 

Htwingnut how did you apply the paste during your repaste? Just a small blob on the CPU and the GPU and let the mounting pressure do the work?

Running arkham origins today my gpu hit 90 and CPU 93. The pch was at a blazing 102°C...

 

Yeah, I really appreciate if you could just clarify how did you do it, I might need to do the same.

 

That's really hot, I'm sure broadwell and maybe a maxwell GPU should lower the temps quite a bit right? I think I'm just going to wait on a 2015 model

 

Anyone else with display "issues"?

 

Received mine today from that ebay seller. Came well packaged and in brand new condition. Very happy that I scored this laptop for 1199.

 

Mine was also delivered unsealed, got it for $1199 from eBay. All looked well though!


Does anyone have a solution to the fingerprint attraction?

 

i dont think you can do anything about the fingerprints honestly. i would say that is the only negative that i have found thus far.

 

Hmm would a skin be an idea? Or does that hinder the heat transfer abilities of the case itself?


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display quality?

 

Is there a way to force 2560x1440 using the onboard display settings? Only 3200x1800 and 1080p are available options. Thanks.

 

display quality on mine is excellent. zero dead pixels and very uniform color. guess I got pretty lucky.

 

Just a line down the middle.

 

I have a skin on mine, no issues whatsoever. It helps a lot with fingerprints as well as great protection from scratches.

 

Can you please share what skin you used and where you purchased it from? Thank you

 

From Decalrus. They have a website but I got it from eBay (so I can pay with PayPal). I got metallic black skin. I couldn't find it between the 100+ skins. Their quality is great. And they have skins for razer blade. Worth the $30, in my opinion.

 

ok great. I found them on amazon too. I will purchase it now. Thanks!

 

What kind of skin do you have and where did you get it?

I usually like the clear skins from Best Skins Ever, Ghost Armor, etc. But have not found one for the Razer Blade yet.

 

So I registered my razer blade 2014s warranty via the Synapse 2.0 and it stated "Congratulations! You have successfully registered your Razer Device." "Your proof of purchase is not required for warranty claims on this product"

Is this true or will they ask if I ever need a warranty claim? Thanks guys.

 

Pretty sure someone confirmed that that doesn't mean anything and they will ask for proof of purchase if you file for warranty

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I was debating getting a square trade warranty but all they do is reimburse you for the purchase price on ebay which was 1200 in my case. The warranty is 300. Wonder if its just worth the risk not purchasing the Squaretrade warranty.

 

Through the course of owning multiple Razer Blades I've noticed that some power bricks are made in China and others are from Taiwan. Have you guys noticed any difference in quality?

My Taiwan power brick makes a clicking noise only when not plugged into the laptop, but it doesn't seem to have any issues so far. Should I just replace it with my Chinese one?

 

Same here, I'm in love with the panel.

 

Lucky! Razerone is reviewing the laptop and will have an answer for me soon (hopefully).

 

Those after market/extended warranties are just gambling that you will have issues and that the issue resolution cost would be more than the warranty costs. They make mad bank on those things or they wouldn't be doing it.

 

There are two (okay three) reasons that I got a warranty.

1. 90 days warranty isn't enough for a purchase that big for me. If one thing breaks on the laptop, I'd probably exceed the cost of the warranty.
2. The warranty is transferable, so if I sell it in the future that adds value to the laptop rather than trying to sell it and telling people it has zero warranty.
and 3. If you look on eBay you can usually find someone selling a SquareTrade 40% coupon with NO MAX. I bought one for $20 and my warranty for two years went down to $162. $90 a year isn't too bad for a warranty from a reputable company.

 

ya for 162$ for 2 years I would jump on it. do i just call square trade? because when i click "add a warranty" in ebay it brings me to some random page that has nothing to do with purchasing a warranty...

 

it looks like square trade doesn't have an accidental warranty for this laptop. I called and asked. I wouldn't mind getting a warranty if it covered spills, etc.

 

2560 x 1440 possible?

 

2560x1440 isnt an available option in windows. 2048X1536 is.

 

Unfortunately they only seem to offer ADH on new devices. I got the coupon and then ordered through their website. The eBay link was broken for me also.

As for accidental damage, I have a renter's policy that will cover it.

 

Has anyone else who ordered a new unit from Microsoft Store noticed that the original factory seal appears to have been opened and then re-sealed over? I'm assuming this is normal as Microsoft gets the sealed units from Razer, opens them to install their custom Microsoft Signature drive image, and then reseals them as new.

https://i.imgur.com/rvcCU1j.jpg