clarifying the value of razer blade

I ordered the new razer blade pro yesterday, and i have been comparing it to other laptops such as the asus g750. It would seem that there are other laptops that have the same or better internals than a 2014 razer blade or blade pro, but are half the price. So what we are paying for essentially is the form factor and brand, right? Just curious.

 

The only notebook that comes close to the blade specs is the MSI ghost pro which I don't know the price but if the ghost (with fhd screen and 860m) is 1700 I bet the pro ( with 3k display and 870m) will cost pretty close to the blade. For factor is a very important matter in notebooks smaller = more expensive. But of course some of their profit is for the branding and premium positioning alone. And btw value is not the same as cost, value is an individuals cost (it is personal), like for some people it's value is more than worthy it for some it is not if you know what I mean. Cheers

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The Blades are all about the design, build quality, and extra features. Yea, you can get a crappy plastic case laptop with a creaky keyboard and poor build quality with better internals for half the price. You cannot get anything near the Blades for half the price. Heck, the Blade is unique right now with the screen and 870m. It is a portable laptop with a top-end GPU and the highest res 14 inch screen available. The XPS 15 is the only thing that comes close and it is nearly the same price with a much worse GPU.

The Pro is less exciting, but it also doesn't have much competition. A thin and light 17 inch with top quality build and components. There are a few out there that are within $300 on price but lack Switchblade, and tend to make sacrifices in other areas. Once you use a Blade you will understand, you can count on one hand the electronics that have the same build quality and feel.

 

Pretty much the design, size and weight. You have to decide for yourself what your priorities are. Also the blade pro has the switchblade UI if you care about that at all.

My priorities are:
1. Weight
2. Fan noise under gaming load
3. Performance
4. Build quality
5. Panel quality
6. Price

Hence if the Blade 14 is not super annoying under load it knocks the first 5 out of the park.

 

The engineering put into the product determines the form factor, so you're paying for engineering. Brand? Razer has a very short systems track record. You're not paying for brand.

I have a friend with an Asus he got last year. It has a 2lbs power brick and the notebook itself is around 8-10lbs. He rarely used it because of the form factor. He picked up a 2013 14" Blade about a month ago when it dropped in price to $1800, just for the form factor - from 10-12lbs down to 5lbs. From huge case down to something manageable.

There are plenty of systems that are "close" to a Blade (even a MBP running Windows). To me, they aren't as well designed as a Blade. They cut corners. They add things I don't need. They have big power bricks. They use plastic. They're just not the same.

 

Yeah, value is personal. But while I can appreciate the quality and engineering that has gone into the product, they still gouge customers with upgrades. 128GB stock SSD for a gaming notebook that you can't update yourself (without voiding warranty)? Really? Then charge $500 more for a 512GB SSD that is a more usable size? Sorry.

As far as form factor, thin and light there is more engineering, but in the end, the total cost of the product should be much less. Everything's sodlered, so there's no CPU connectors, no GPU modules, no RAM slots even, no CTO options (well SSD only). So it should be cheaper to manufacture. I'd be OK with a $2200 for a 256GB start price, but 128GB is a bit silly imho.

That being said, to answer OP, yes you pay more for the form factor, period. Of course you can get similar/same overall specs in a laptop that's larger and likely costs much less.

 

As I said the ghost pro is up for pre order and it's price configured as close as possible to the blade is 2200. So a 200 dollars is not a big difference, just the "brand cost". Most important nowhere near half the price that is impossible to happen

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Ghost Pro also comes stock with 256GB (2x128GB) SSD + 1TB HDD storage and 16GB RAM.

 

@HTWingNut I configured the 3k pro with 8gb and 260 ssd no hd on the Gentechpc page and it came out 2200. By the way it has the 4700 and not the 4702 cpu and no touchscreen. Overall it is the closest to the blade I think. And that is just to show OP no such thing as half the price same specs...

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True. But one thing I like about the Ghost and Ghost Pro is that you can opt for a 1080p screen or 860m plus get two m.2 SATA slots and one 2.5" HDD/SSD. 1080p/860m IMHO is the better option for such a device. Just the Blade is a little smaller and has a higher res 3k plus touch screen.

There is no half price for sure, unless you go much bigger.

But based on the MSI GhostPro eval from GenTech 87C for 870m just with 3DMark11, where games typically tend to run 8-10C hotter than what 3DMark11 can throw at it.

 

I agree having options for configuring as you wish is always good.

I just wish they had a 14" and maybe a maxwell, portability for me is number 1 so even though it is impressive portable for a 15" it is still a 15" and it will take precious space on my luggage, and as an airline pilot every inch and weight I save is worthy it. Or if I could just remove the battery from the Razer just like the MSI it would be awesome too.

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Weight is the same for both (4.5 lbs) and haven't seen dims for the msi yet either, but it seems they are within an inch of each other.

Beamed from my G2 Tricorder

 

NRB- 13.6 x 9.3 x .7 and 4.5lbs
Ghost Pro- 15.4 x 10.5 x .8 and 4.5lbs
Cheers

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Liking those proportions. Can't wait!

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There's a big enough difference between them that I would not consider the Ghost to be a direct competitor to the Blade if size is important.

The Blade is within half of inch from my Sony SVS13 and even thinner so it would be a worthy replacement (packing roughly 3x more powerful GPU and that is after overclocking the 640M LE to roughly 650M levels).

 

Agreed, although if you're splitting hairs Ghost is 4.36lbs, weighs less actually. Ghost Pro has more storage, more RAM, larger screen, user configurable, and probably better cooling just due to size (although still TBD). So I guess it gets down to smaller, more expensive, no user upgrade, vs a bit larger, more expansion, and less expensive, well and styling too. Although they're both sleek and sexy, whatever floats your boat. They both have a market, obviously.

 

I guess the 4.36lbs is without battery isn't it?

For me the size wins over the customization due to frequently flying around.

But they both have market for sure.

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LOL. No idea but that's what the specs say. I'm sure that's with the battery.

Beamed from my G2 Tricorder

 

It's definitely with the battery. It's still under 6lb with the power adapter. Like 5lb 13oz.

 

I can confirm the MSI Ghost is 4.36 lbs. with the battery. Battery isn't removable without unscrewing the bottom panel same as the Razer. These machines are getting impressively light.

I was torn between the two but went Ghost for reasons stated above plus I needed a numpad for productivity. An extra inch in size was more than worth it for my personal needs, but the Razer looks fantastic!

Excited to read reviews... the 870m is quite a bit warmer than the 860m in the Ghost chassis, excited to see what Razer has done with cooling.