A new 17″ Blade Pro also revealed
[Update: Razer also announced a new version of their 17″ Razer Pro series, detailed below.]
Razer have unveiled an ultra-slim, gaming laptop called the Razer Blade. The specs are seriously impressive; a 14″ HD screen, a 4th generation Intel processor, and a NVIDIA GeForce 765 graphics processor. That’s some serious horsepower for a gaming laptop.
Also included is 8GB of DDR3 – 1600Mhz RAM and 128GB SSD drive, which can be upgraded to either 256GB or 512GB. It’s the form factor that’s most impressive to me; I really like my Samsung despite it’s bulky frame but I do wish I had a more svelte laptop. Considering it’s tiny dimensions, it’s impressive that Razer have fitted so much in there.
Our esteemed Dale North was really impressed with the 2012 model of the Razer Blade but he realized the price was out of the range of most gamers. Starting at $1,799, the Razer Blade 14″ might be a bit more palatable but still out of the range of some gamers. However, it might be the perfect sweet spot between portability and performance.
Razer also announced a new 17″ version of the laptop that Dale reviewed last year. Aimed at combining gaming with audio/visual work. The Pro features a touchpad that can be loaded with apps for software like Photoshop, Maya and GIMP. The specs are roughly similar to the 14″ Razer Blade, but a much more powerful Intel Processor is installed and as expected the price is higher, starting at $2,299.
Razer Blade 14″ features:
- Future 4th gen Intel® Core™ processor (formerly codename ‘Haswell’)
- 8 GB Onboard Memory (DDR3L – 1600 MHz)
- NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 765M (2 GB GDDR5) & Intel HD4600
- Windows® 8 64 Bit
- 128 GB SSD, with optional 256/512 GB SSD (mSATA)
- Qualcomm® Killer™ NIC N1202 (802.11a/b/g/n + Bluetooth® 4.0)
- 14.0 in. HD+ 16:9 Ratio, 1600 x 900, with LED backlight
- Built-in stereo speakers
- 3.5 mm audio microphone/headphone combo jack
- Array microphone
- (3x) USB 3.0 port (SuperSpeed)
- HDMI 1.4a audio and video output
- Dolby® Home Theater® v4
- 7.1 Codec support (via HDMI)
- Built-in full HD webcam (1.3 MP)
- Compact 150 W Power Adapter
- Built-in 70 Wh Rechargeable lithium ion polymer battery
- Razer™ Anti-Ghosting Keyboard (with adjustable backlight)
- Razer™ Synapse 2.0 Enabled
- Kensington Lock
- 13.6 in. / 345 mm (Width) x 0.66 in. / 16.8 mm (Height) x 9.3 in. / 235 mm (Depth)
- 4.135 lbs. / 1.876 kg
Razer Blade Pro features:
- Future 4th gen Intel® Core™ processor (formerly codename ‘Haswell’)
- 8 GB DDR3L (2 x 4 GB 1600MHz)
- NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 765M (2 GB GDDR5) & Intel HD4600
- Windows 8 64 Bit
- 128 GB SSD, with optional 256/512 GB SSD (mSATA)
- Qualcomm® Killer™ NIC N1202 (802.11a/b/g/n + Bluetooth® 4.0)
- 17.3-in. Full HD 16:9 Ratio, 1920 x 1080, with LED backlight
- Stereo 2.0 speakers
- 3.5 mm audio microphone/headphone combo jack
- HD Webcam (front-facing, 2.0 MP)
- Array microphones
- (3x) USB 3.0 port (SuperSpeed)
- Codec supports 7.1 (via HDMI 1.4)
- Dolby® Home Theater® v4
- Razer™ Anti-Ghosting Keyboard (with adjustable backlight)
- Razer™ Switchblade User Interface
- Razer™ Synapse 2.0 Enabled
- Built-in 74 Wh Rechargeable lithium ion polymer battery
- Kensington Lock
- 16.8 in. / 427 mm (Width) x 0.88 in. / 22.4 mm (Height) x 10.9 in. / 277 mm (Depth)
- 6.58 lbs. / 2.98 kg
