The Razer Edge Review
by Vivek Gowri on March 28, 2013 11:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Tablets
- Mobile
- Razer
- Razer Edge
Display
The display was always a key part of the gaming tablet idea, and I was glad to see Razer spec a 1366x768 IPS panel, sourced from LG Display. The lack of 1080p is initially a disappointment given the price point, but I’ve discussed the reasons for a 1080p panel being unnecessary. The emphasis on display panel quality in the tablet market has been great to see, since it’s led to the widespread adoption of various wide-angle panel types. When Razer first talked to me about the Edge, I was told it had a TN panel. I basically threw a fit about the display choice, but when the preproduction units were shown at CES, they were clearly using IPS panels. Whether I was initially misinformed by Razer by accident or if the panel actually changed between early December and CES, I am not sure, but either way, it worked out.
Performance is pretty good – the contrast ratio is solid at 708:1, while the maximum brightness of 358 nits is also competitive. The uncalibrated colour temperature is a pretty neutral 6600K. I’d like to see lower black levels, but that’s the next step. The IPS panel offers the standard 178 degree viewing angles, which are very useful when gaming on the go. It also means people can crowd around you and see what you’re doing, so any embarrassing deaths or crashes will be for public consumption, as I found out when playing Half-Life 2 on the Edge with a group of my friends.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
89 Comments
View All Comments
A5 - Thursday, March 28, 2013 - link
It seems like the 2nd generation of this will be way better, if what half of Intel is saying about Haswell and GT3e is true.VivekGowri - Thursday, March 28, 2013 - link
That's something I wanted to touch on in the conclusion but ran out of time/forgot: GT3e will make the second generation of this really, really interesting. Haswell/GT3e is going to be an awesome combination, but like Anand tweeted, it'll be a while (14nm in 2015) until we get a real best of both worlds solution.A5 - Thursday, March 28, 2013 - link
Yeah, it seems that way. Thanks for the reply.tech.noob.fella - Friday, March 29, 2013 - link
isnt gt3 only for desktops?? i thought gt2 was for portables like this machine...not sure thoughKristian Vättö - Friday, March 29, 2013 - link
GT3 is for laptops too (and even the GT3e). Intel has always focused the best IGPs to mobile CPUs because those systems are the most likely to only feature integrated graphics. Desktops often have a dGPU because there's no heat/space/battery issue, especially if the system is geared towards something graphics intensive (IGPs, even lower-end ones, are fine for basic use).TerdFerguson - Thursday, March 28, 2013 - link
I find this review to be overly generous. Hardware should be reviewed on its merits, not on whether or not you approve of the concept. Asking nearly $2k for this monstrosity is utterly unreasonable.VivekGowri - Thursday, March 28, 2013 - link
It starts at $999, and the most reasonable configuration is $1499 - this honestly isn't that much more than Surface Pro or any of the other high-end Windows 8 tablets. I'd much, much rather pay $1499 for Edge Pro + gamepad than $1199 for the ATIV Smart PC Pro + laptop dock. Surface Pro plus Type Cover for $1139 is probably an equally decent value, but significantly slower (i5/HD4000/4GB vs i7/GT640MLE/8GB) and plays in a completely different market.andrewaggb - Thursday, March 28, 2013 - link
The docks are still the killers for me. At a desk I want to run 2 monitors at 1080p each minimum, preferrably with both 1920x1200 or better. And a usb keyboard and mouse. I could have a dock setup like that at the work office and home office and just drop the tablet in wherever I'm at. Wouldn't care if the tablet screen was disabled when docked running 2 external displays.I would also like a transformer style keyboard dock so I could use it as a laptop.
When I can do all that, with an i7/8gb/256gb+ ssd, it will be sweet. It sucks because I'm sure it could be done now and nobody seems to have done it. Hopefully with haswell... but everybody keeps talking about haswell like it's the second coming, I'm worried it's not going to live up to our expectations.
zanon - Thursday, March 28, 2013 - link
Vivek mentioned Tb, and what you describe is one of the few areas where it'd be really interesting. The dock could itself have a standard graphics card, and thus drive multiple large screens and more powerful gaming while still allowing the tablet part to get away with much less graphics power.15th Warlock - Thursday, March 28, 2013 - link
I have to agree with Terd, while $999 may be the prize of entrance for the Edge experience, the review doesn't actually test the default battery configuration (regardless of it being the pro or non pro version).What this review shows us is a best scenario, using the $250 gamepad attachment and $70 extra battery, that's $320 over the original MSRP, so, even in this scenario you only get 2 hrs of gaming when not plugged to the wall.
The review fails to mention that out of the box this tablet offers only one hour of gaming, and perhaps, less than 3 hrs. of regular use, if razer offered the extra battery with the gamepad attachment it would be a more tolerable proposal, but nickel and diming gamers for the privilege to play for two hrs is way too much, not even Apple limits the user experience in such a way with their overpriced toys...