Razer Blade Pro 17" (1080 GPU/late 2016) Owner's Lounge

I feel like you might not be talking about the Blade Pro. I've never heard anybody say it has a poor screen or say anything about chassis heat on it. Battery life seems pretty good considering it doesn't have Optimus. I've seen people saying it gets 3-4 hours on wifi. My Gigabyte got about 4 when it was new and it has Optimus. The only thing concerning me is the QC and the claims of poor customer support from Razer. I don't want to have the Raid issues many seem to be having and then be stuck without a laptop for awhile.

 

To be fair, poor QC, non existent support, and denial of problems are all pretty valid.

Then on the normal Blade the 1800p screen is pretty bad. The 1080p IPS one is much better for colors and viewing angles.

 

Being that this is a thread for the RBP 2016 I would rate the QC as excellent. I have not owned older Razer systems but the battery life for this size of laptop is great and the screen, thermals are much better than expected for a laptop that is less than an inch thick.

 

So Eason, I take it that you have some experience with them to support your allegations?

 

I do. I have the OG Blade Pro that throttled to all hell untill I re did the whole cooling system .
I bought a stealth for my sister, and the first one had fan grinding issues. Instantly returned it, took them a month a half to return the money.

 

I went through three RBS and two RB 14 last year. All had various issues. As for the QHD screen on the RB14, I back him up completely. It was decent a few years ago but unacceptable for today's standards. As for the pro, someone on this thread went through 4 RBP before getting a good one. I'd say the quality control dept needs some work.

I've never had issues with getting replacements though. It just takes a long time to get it if you go directly through them. If that bothers you, just buy off Amazon or Microsoft and test the crap out of it in the first couple weeks.

 

I don't have experience with the 2016 Pro--I was specifically talking about the 14" with regard to heat, battery, and screen, and their products in general with QC.

Of course. I had a 2015 QHD+ RB, the early 2016 stealth, razer core, and a number of peripherals. Their treatment of customers is abhorrent.

 

I was the one who went through 4 RBPs to get an acceptable one. Then I found another dead pixel that was stuck on white. I gave up on thin and light and bought the monster in my signature for 5000, lol. Again, money not mattering to me when buying a system. The RBP is really amazing, IF you get a perfect one.

 

Many people have the same criticisms of Dell/Alienware though the greater majority have nothing but good to say about their support and products. I am one of those people that has owned dozens of Alienware computers and only had one hinge issue which Dell promptly repaired. I have owned one Razer Blade laptop, 2014 14 and I never had any problems with it. So far the RBP is working wonderfully. Every single manufactured product will have bugs and problematical issues to be worked out as it is the nature of man made things.

 

Most OEM CS varies from country to country. For example, Asus is usually not great in US but here, in Bulgaria, they took less than a week to replace me motherboard and have my laptop back in my hands. Same with Dell - slightly longer but I got a new unit a while back. Razer don't even have customer support for us - their offices don't support Blades.

 

Actually in the US I've always had fast turnaround from Asus, and the work was completed correctly as requested and as quoted before they did it.

There are horror stories from all regions for most vendors, it's the luck of the draw when you get a bad experience, but as long as you don't go mental with Asus in email / on the phone, and remain calm and respectful, they will work out even the bad situations.

There are double and triple return failure horror stories from some Asus regions, it's been a while otherwise I'd mention which one(s) I have seen, but so far not in the US or Europe...

So far AW, Razer, top the charts for multiple returns to fix the same problem, and still not have it fixed. AW is pretty good about 3 strikes and you get a replacement, but not so for Razer - although I have heard most Razer stories eventually turn out resolved - after the main value of the laptop is lost to depreciation...

Don't open up and mess around with such problems yourself, as you might buy it long term and have to go through those horrible support experiences too, instead return it immediately as soon as you know it's not up to your acceptance standards, and move on to another brand.

 

I'm one of the ones that never got solved.

 

Aluminum build, Apple quality laptop. Beyond any reasonable amount? Beyond any reasonable amount you may be able to afford, possibly.

10-15% slower ... Lol exactly I want 10 to 15% more performance then you. That's 10% to 15% faster I'll be going then you.

 

While I agree with your point any rational person would understand that buying a 21 inch screen on any laptop that is not 4K with the horse power to use it is insane. There is no benefit for a 21 inch 1080p screen except for your eyes to see pixels all day every day.

 

You should join the Razer marketing team. Also their engineering team. Also a 1080p screen in a top end machine? There is no rational reason to have a 1080p screen in this day and age with a machine that can handle them?

Scratch that, people have a stigma for wanting stuff that they understand. When a lot of people are going to say "there is no difference from 1080p to 4K" same people who say there is no difference for 10 to 15% more performance. Lmao.

 

You've got it half right: There is no difference in 10-15% more performance above 60FPS [unless playing FPS]

I'll tell anyone here that'll read it though: STAY AWAY FROM THIS MACHINE. I'm now on my third unit and having to plead with them for a return because their return policy is a paltry 2 weeks from date of original purchase. Three machines, all with hardware defects [warped chassis and improperly installed screens among them] The machine WILL NOT play Heroes of the Storm for extended periods without randomly shutting down [not a power or heat issue, it'll run intel burn test+ cinemark just fine for hours]

And mind you, that was on three completely different laptops. .. the last one all I did was install and run the game and it didn't even make it into the first match without shutting down.

It is the most beautiful machine I've ever seen, the most comfortable machine I've ever touched. . .and now I have to find the closest thing to, because the thing JUST DOESN'T WORK. Add to that all the jerking around support has given me [advanced replacement, but I have to temporarily PAY for it?! Sorry guys, BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE after 3 failed machines--you could always back bill me if I didn't return] It's JUST NOT worth the risk!

Sorry for venting. For $4,000 I don't expect it to make me breakfast in bed, but I do expect it to run lower end gaming software without eating itself.

....What a waste.

 

Considering the extent you defended them earlier in this thread, that's a huge statement.

 

Sorry for your experience. I had people warn me from purchasing Alienware machines yet 12 of them later nary a problem. So while I do understand your frustrations, I am hopeful that you were just one of the unlucky few that has to experience that with the RBP. I have had mine for a month now and so far no issues. How long do you consider an extended session, 2 hours? 4? a day?

 

$4,000 is a huge investment in a laptop. At this point they've had my machines longer than *I* have, and every new machine they send me is WORSE than the last one. I can actually accept that. But to tell me I have to essentially BUY a second one or wait another week and a half without a machine? That's the customer service blunder that broke the camel's back.

Providing they condescend to give me a refund, I have NO IDEA what I'm going to replace it with. . but it won't be Razer.

--Which sucks, because I can't stand non glossy screens and plastic bezels ><

 

Yeah, there aren't any glossy 17" screens that I know of actually. What panel did they use in the RBP? Did anyone pull the model number?

 

Sharp SHP145A

 

That's the monitor ID. The part number is in Hwinfo. I'm just curious if that panel is compatible with the other 17" laptops.

 

Sorry to hear that man. My friend is having the same problem
Weird thing is another colleague at work has had nothing but stellar RMA experience from the same regions customer support.

 

I'm not saying remove the top end config, I said offer a cheaper entry-level one so as to get more people to purchase it and thus expand the user base and get more people talking about it/recommending it.

As for 1080p - what's wrong with it exactly? Please don't try and tell me that it's poor on a 17' screen - people use it on 24-25' screens with 0 issues and most laptops nowadays are 1080p. If not 1080p, then maybe 1440p? It would improve battery life and still be cheaper. 4K is just overkill for a base config, especially at 17' or lower.

 

What's wrong with it? Nothing. However it's old, it's outdated, it's not retina quality (you can see pixels out the ass) now I can understand if you are on a budget. But this machine is not for those on a budget. That's why I have two machines. This is the monster that is portable for more money then I paid for the monster that sits on my desk.

4K is the future as is every other resolution increase. You want 1080p fine, but it's a product that is outdated and simply not as good. By the maths, the physics, and the pixel density. Who cares what people say " 1080p looks fine to me " great, but the technology of 4k is far superior as it is a higher pixel density.

17inch or lower, are you wanting to buy a 21inch screen laptop lmao? That model doesn't even have 4K and is $9,000 that my friend is a rip off XD.





How many people, the ones that tell me 4K is just the same. Sit almost 3ft away from there screen when playing on it? If they do they are using this more like a tv then.

 

1080p would be quite unacceptable on a 17' screen. I have a 65" TV, which is only a little more than 5', and I can tell the difference between 1080p and 4k on it. I'd definitely be able to tell on a 17' screen.

 

That logic is the inverse. Also to match your sarcasm, do you watch 4K content on it compared to 1080p content? Notice the clarity? I bet you do.

 

Got this from HWInfo under Display, any idea where the model no. is displayed?

 

There's usually a part number under the id like in this picture. Sometimes it doesn't display though.

http://cdn.ultrabookreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/hwinfo-1.jpg

 

Do they still have their high restocking fees?

 

I actually wasn't being sarcastic. I was being extremely literal, and poking fun at the people who don't know the difference between ' and ". People keep saying 17' which is 17 feet, when they mean 17", or 17 inches. Scale matters.

I'm with you, though. I'd prefer to have a 4k screen on a 17" laptop.

 

17.3"

 

I spilled my coffee reading this.

Sent from my SM-N900 using Tapatalk

 

When the quad core ULV Kaby Lake processors come, a laptop that may fulfill your needs is the Surface Book Performance Base. Assuming it has TB3.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

 

yes mine is, ive had mine since nov 23. https://www.twitch.tv/johnnyyflyy/videos/all i run games with msi afterburner on and play about 4-5 sesssions. sorry to hear you guys with the bad experience :\

ive been able to travel from houston-dallas with mine with no problems at all. had a few shutdowns but they only were happening at the beginning with the ship with graphics drivers but ive been on 376.20 and it works fine.

 

I do have to ask - is that the best argument at the moment? Nitpicking at the imperial sign? If so, just admit that 1080p vs 1440p vs 4K on a 17.3 inch device is simply user preference and that all 3 are perfectly usable. In fact, a LOT of users would prefer a 1080p or 1440p screen over a 4K screen because that not only allows for better performance, but also results in an increase in battery life while still retaining most of the fidelity. Additionally, depending on the software you use, 4K may create a myriad of scaling issues.

 

So I finally got my RBP a few days ago, been busy at work but finally was able to sit down and play with it. I don't bunk I'm qualified to write a review but I will say I love this thing.

It's faster in game than my desktop with a GTX 980. I played division on high and 4K and got about 45-50 fps but it seems to have a lot of input lag so I bumped it down to 1080p and ultra and it looks phenomenal. Played a few hours and max CPU was 83 C and max GPU was 76 C.

Only two bad things I've found: one of the fan sites made a grinding noise for about five seconds the first time I turned it on and then once again the other day. Not sure if there is something in the fan, I may try to blow it out. Second thing is while gaming after an hour or so I would get 60 fps solid but occanssionally it would drop to exactly 30 fps for maybe five seconds. Thought maybe thermal throttling but it doesn't make sense based on the temps. Second thought is maybe g-sync. Gonna try with it off and see.

Sorry for those with bad machines. The build quality is amazing and this thing is FAST!

 

Those are edge cases at this point. 3 years ago it was still a huge issue on Windows. Hell not even chrome supported hidpi when I first got my 2014 blade. It's a non-issue at this point for all but the most esoteric and fly by night apps. By now every dev worth their salt should have fixed their apps to use the new APIs. Hi DPI is t̶h̶e̶ ̶f̶u̶t̶u̶r̶e̶ NOW. Apps and browsing look so much better it's a joke. Games like Gwent beta look so good in hidpi. I can tell the difference no problem on my 14. Never going back.

Sent from a 128th Legion Stormtrooper 6P

 

As I said - personal preference mainly. I've failed to notice a tangible difference going from 1080p to 1440p on a 15.6' so I personally don't view 4K as worthwhile. I, and my other users, would like the OPTION to buy a lower-res screen and improve battery life somewhat. Again, the OPTION to do so. People act as if I were saying 1080p should be the standard and 4K shouldn't exist.

 

I am able to play all the games with the same performance as my desktop which has a 1080 and both play at 1440p to the same external monitor.

Just tried 4K with the laptop screen only and am blown away at the smooth performance, however even with gsync and a steady 60fps you need to make sure Vsync or Vertical Sync is also enabled and then you will see some buttery smooth performance.

While my expectations have been exceeded with the RBP I still can't believe it can play some games with no fan noise at all (CSGO at 4K/2K) as I have never seen a laptop game without at least some fan noise.

With the RBP there are three fan levels, the first is not noticeable and the second is slightly louder with the third being the loudest. If I set the fan mode to quiet while gaming it never goes past the second fan setting and is also very quiet with good temps.

Another design element worth mentioning are the laptops feet. With them running the entire width of the machine I find the laptop is very stable on many surfaces. I have had issues with other laptops that only have feet in each corner, especially with laptop coolers.

 

There's a huge difference from 1080p to 4K lol

 

Hey david; make sure you're running in windowed or full screen. Was reading issues with g sync running in border less windowed for some games. Also make share v sync is enabled in the nvidia control panel and off in game. Lastly; make sure you have disabled battery boost in GeForce experience

 

True - but on a 15.6 inch screen I did not notice enough of a difference to justify the sacrificed battery life, performance and price difference. Again, I will restate what I have been repeating for the past 3 pages. This is all personal preference. Hence why I said there should be OPTIONS. Having a CHOICE is what I am asking, rather than being forced into 4K. It took them 3 years to give in and give us a 1080p Blade 14. I imagine it will take another 2 at least till we get a RBP 1440p.

 

In the Nvidia control panel do you set Vertical Sync to On or Fast?

 

This is the razer blade pro forum keep your wish list for the razer blade in its own forum

 

If we were talking in person I'd ask if I had stuttered but I have CLEARLY written that my posts are regarding the RBP. When you're going to attempt to be cheeky, at least have the proper decency of reading the post till the end.

 

Tangible difference: you'd probably like the option to buy a 720p as well to save some money as there is no difference from it going to 1080p.

You do need realize that you are bringing up about a 15.6 not a 17.3. This is a 17.3 screen? Also for the record you are talking about 1440p not 4K. Lol if we were talking in person I would say check your logic.

 

This post. You are the man. Everything that takes advantage of higher scaling looks night and day compared to 1080p.

 

It seems there are a few more people speaking to having no issues with their RBP's lately. I hope this is the trend, and that the people who aren't having problems have just been too busy gaming to come on the forums. To those who have been having no issues, what kind of battery life have you been getting for web surfing?

I'm a little worried about the problems and would like to have a little better battery life than the one or two things I've read, but I keep coming back to it for the quality display (I'd prefer matte, but oh well), the G-sync, keyboard, trackpad, etc. If they add Core support at some point in the next couple years, it would add some additional time to the unit's lifespan for me, which would make it easier for me to justify the $4k price tag. Hopefully since they seem to run relatively cool compared to other thin gaming laptops, the battery will last longer, unlike my Gigabyte P37 which is two years old and only lasts about an hour now, almost surely because of how warm it gets when gaming. It gets very uncomfortable sitting on my lap when I game on the couch.

I've also gone back to the Alienware 17 even though it's a decent amount bigger, but it's really not that much cheaper. When spec'd with the 1070, 32GB of ram, 1TB SSD, and 4k display, it's in the $3200 range. The only positives compared to the RBP for me would be that it would get better battery life due to Optimus and that it has space for an HDD so I could put movies and stuff on it.

 

If we were talking about a 12 inch display, yes. I would not mind 720p as it would still be usable. But I'd also like the OPTION to buy a 1080p screen or higher.

I meantioned 15.6 as that is what I have experience with and can speak from using it first hand. Though I've also used 1080p on a 20 inch display without issues so I'd say 17.3 inch is also perfectly usable. Additionally, I said that there should be OPTIONS. O P T I O N S. Again, you are acting as if I am forcing 1080p down your throat. You want 4K? Fine by me, buy 4K. Should there be a lower priced base config? Why not? What is the harm in having a 1440p OR 1080p base config? How will that ruin YOUR experience? Please, explain WHY having options is bad and why having only one single option is always better to having difference configurations to choose from depending on the amount you are willing to spend. Please, explain that logic to me. Cause currently, it seems quite frankly absurd.