The New Razer Blade: Thoroughly Reviewed
by Vivek Gowri on October 3, 2012 5:40 PM ESTRazer Blade (late 2012) - Final Thoughts
Though they are unwilling to release sales figures, Razer claims that the original Blade was an unqualified sales hit, with demand far outstripping supply in the first number of weeks after it went on sale. Undoubtedly, they weren’t manufacturing units in any huge volumes, but it’s safe to say that Razer themselves weren’t expecting the Blade to sell as fast as it did. But even though the original Blade was a success, it wasn’t really a hard product to follow up. It had a fair list of flaws, but an equal number of relatively obvious solutions. Jarred and Anand both mentioned that it probably would have made more sense for Razer to wait for Ivy Bridge/Kepler to launch the Blade, and from an end product standpoint I think they were right—the new Blade is a significant upgrade in almost every way.
But with that said, I think the original Blade was a very important product for Razer to launch from a process standpoint. The ability to launch a product successfully and support it post-sale was an important aspect for Razer to deliver on, and the original Blade allowed them to gain that experience while developing a superior followup. Now, this of course meant that the early adopters might feel jilted, and to that end, Razer decided to give a $500 discount to original Blade owners that wanted to pull the trigger on a new one.
The new Blade is a far more well rounded system than the original, with the computing power to match its looks and a far more robust hardware (thermal) and software platform to support it. They even gave it a price cut. Razer has really taken in the feedback they got from the media and their own customers to bring some significant improvements to the Blade. The only thing left that I really think is an important fix is the browsing experience in Switchblade. Based on what I know of the Switchblade UI computing backend, I’m not sure how feasible that is without a complete overhaul of the software platform (like a switch away from Windows CE6), but hopefully I’m wrong. I'd also like to see an optional SSD-only configuration, and perhaps an IPS display panel as well. Beyond that, there's hardly anything I would change with the new Blade.
I suspect that the Blade will remain a relatively niche product, as most notebooks in this price range tend to be—it’s still an expensive system, there is no doubt about that. But there are a grand total of three notebooks that I could see myself paying more than $2000 for, and the Blade is easily one of them. The others? The Retina MacBook Pro (I actually already did) and the M17x R4 with the GTX 680M. Obviously the Apple is a different story entirely, but between the Blade and the M17x, it really comes down to what you’re looking for in a gaming system and how much GPU horsepower you’re willing to give up for the sake of style and portability. That the Blade is actually part of this conversation is a testament to how far the new one has come.
If you're in for the highest gaming performance, it's still not the system for you—Alienware will give you a GTX 680M for the same price as the Blade, while Clevo and MSI can give you that GTX 680M for significantly less money. No matter how much compute and gaming performance have improved, the Blade still isn't a system that will win an out-and-out numbers game with the botique performance notebooks. The Blade is about more than that—it’s one of the most unique and interesting designs on the market, particularly in the world of mobile gaming systems. It's the best looking 17" notebook on the market, and it offers a portable gaming experience unlike any of its competitors. I used the term desirable to sum up the Blade last time around, and it's still probably the the best way to describe the new one as well. But this one has more performance to back up the style, and that just makes it all the more compelling.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
59 Comments
View All Comments
davos555 - Thursday, October 4, 2012 - link
As one of the 10% of left handed people, I couldn't use this. I much prefer the trackpad in the middle, as I draw with my left hand (use my finger) and click with the right hand. I couldn't use it comfortably where it is on this.Old_Fogie_Late_Bloomer - Thursday, October 4, 2012 - link
And I'm a righty, but I tend to mouse lefty when I'm not gaming to even the wear and tear on my wrists. Heck, at work I use my left hand almost exclusively. That trackpad just isn't a viable solution for me. :-\adityav - Thursday, October 4, 2012 - link
Its a problem for left handers like me. I am willing to buy this but that trackpad position won't work for me.tipoo - Wednesday, October 3, 2012 - link
As we all know, that was the first and only black laptop before this.Kidding, but I don't see much similarity beside that, I don't have to repeat that the chicklet keyboard isn't unique to the MB either.
tbutler - Thursday, October 4, 2012 - link
The 'form over function' slam is really irritating. This is a *laptop.* The entire point is being able to tote it around. (If desktop space is limited, an AIO or SFF will still give you more bang for the buck than a laptop if you're not going to be carrying it around.)Therefore, size and weight are FUNCTIONAL issues. Not fashion. Size/weight vs performance is still a valid discussion, but it's a choice between two different kinds of functionality - not form over function.
By the same token, case materials are a functional issue. Logo stickers, sculpted flanges, all that crap is form - but a solid metal build vs the kind of cheap plastic described in yesterday's Clevo review will definitely affect the laptop's operation. Again, goes back to portability; a well-built case is going to hold up better under the wear and tear portable systems experience, and do a better job of protecting the internal components.
Octopilion - Friday, October 5, 2012 - link
Your argument is pointless mac book pros don't even have these specs and cost about the same price and there's a ton of sheep buying themCaptainDoug - Wednesday, October 3, 2012 - link
I just wish that there was some way to just install the OS on the Msata and then have my hard drive for anything else. I really don't get caching. I get it, but it's lame. For me, this second revision makes it a much more serious contender but I think I'd still choose the HP ENVY 17t-3200 series. You get a msata port + 2x2.5" drives. The 7850M is only slightly worse than the 660M and it has amazing sound. True it is 1.28" thick instead of .88" but it's also $1000 less and comes with a blu-ray drive. I totally understand why someone would want this though. I'm not bashing on this laptop at all, it's just not everything i want. If the Razer Blade R2 was somehow user upgradeable/configurable, that's another story. 16GB of ram, and replacable hard drives isn't too much to ask is it? That being said, if I had money to blow, I'd get this for the coolness factor over the HP Envy.JarredWalton - Wednesday, October 3, 2012 - link
I wish Razer would offer a build with a 256GB mSATA SSD with the OS and apps, and then provide a 750GB/1TB HDD for mass storage. (Or just leave the 2.5" bay open and let users add something on their own if they need more storage.) I'd also be far happier with a traditional touchpad and save the money that it costs to put the Switchblade into the laptop.VivekGowri - Wednesday, October 3, 2012 - link
If you're willing to get intimate with the DataPlex software, you can theoretically uninstall it and set up the mSATA SSD as the boot/application drive. I'm not sure why Razer didn't go that route with it, I guess it was just cheaper for them to give a smaller caching drive?s2kpacifist - Wednesday, October 3, 2012 - link
This looks like a great second entry into the gaming laptop market, but I really wish if they had a 15" flavor of the Blade, sans Switchblade. Hell, maybe even a 17" version without the switchblade touchpad. The reason? Any serious gamer will undoubtedly be using high dpi mouse for the game they are playing. The whole concept of the Switchblade is innovative, but it's probably adding some unnecessary cost and features most gamers can do without. The buttons are okay, but until Razer can get the trackpad screen to out-do what most modern smartphones can do in terms of responsiveness, browsing experience, and dpi/resolution, I think Razer can do much better without Switchblade .