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  • 1ceTr0n - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    but then I took a reality check arrow in the wallet
  • nathanddrews - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    Great review. Finally, a gaming notebook that looks like it was designed by adults.

    I have to say that I find the use a 1080p panel on a notebook (especially a gaming notebook) without the power to feed it as a wasted expense - no matter how beautiful it may be. Is there an option for a similarly gorgeous 1600x900 display instead?
  • Snotling - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    Seriously? have you ever looked at a 17" 1080p panel? it's the minimum acceptable resolution. below that you're in smartphone territory.
  • Flunk - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    The pixel density on high end smartphones horribly destroys even the most high end notebooks. The Galaxy Nexus has a 720 x 1280 (720p) screen that's 4.65" across. There isn't any competition there. 316 ppi vs 127 on the notebook.
  • aleyon - Monday, March 19, 2012 - link

    the gnexus has a pentile display, which, aside from sucking, doesn't possess quite as many real pixels as specified.

    you probably hate apple, but a truly high pixel density is the realm of the 4/4S/new iPad.
  • DareDevil01 - Monday, April 23, 2012 - link

    You seem to be forgetting The HTC Rezound & Sony Xperia S which both have 720p screens and are below 4.3"
    Excerpt from Xpereia Swiki page:
    "The capacitive touchscreen display measures 4.3 inches with a resolution of 1280 x 720 and at 342 ppi, is tied with the HTC Rezound for the highest pixel density in any mobile phone released."
  • Spunjji - Friday, July 13, 2012 - link

    No no no no no. Apple invented high resolution displays! Especially on laptops. Silly person! ;)

    Special people are special.
  • b3nzint - Thursday, March 22, 2012 - link

    yes, but if they use that high density into 14' that would increase the price way high, just dont sells!
  • drew_afx - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    well, i'm not sure if you thought about gaming on that laptop..
    all those high end games that will come out soon is gonna take
    more than GT555M, especially at 1080p
    you need enthusiast level of graphics to run 1080p smoothly on a laptop.
    CPU's definitely not the bottleneck, but the thermal requirement for
    that thin laptop is keeping Razer from using power sucking gpus
  • santiagodraco - Sunday, March 18, 2012 - link

    Adults that don't understand what gamers really want, performance first.

    Sure it looks great and has lot's of glitz and glamor, but I'll take my much better performing M17x R3 thank you very much.

    Now if Razer can figure out who to put proper performance hardware into that thin a package and keep it cool then I'll be impressed. Well at about 900 bucks less along with it.
  • niva - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    That system is indeed interesting. I'm really looking forward to seeing what other machines they'll put out in the future. I'm not interested in the Switchblade, but the design of this machine highly appeals to me. The usage of the black and green details, the glowing kb... very nice Razer. Now I wish I could afford something like this...
  • Thefinaleofseem - Friday, March 16, 2012 - link

    The most hilarious thing about this laptop? It's arguably more overpriced than a 17" Macbook Pro. Compare the specs. 6770M vs 555M. They're about the same. 1080p panels with the MBP arguably having a better panel, similar form factors and weight. The Blade actually went with a bloody dual core when the MBP has a quad that turbos to about the same frequency anyway. It does have an SSD, which is a welcome change over the laughable 320GB hard drive they used to have in there and actually gives it a solid edge. It does have 8GB of RAM, although if you buy RAM anywhere other than Apple, you can get 8GB for less than $40, so that's hardly an issue.

    That leaves the little touchpad and a few extra buttons. Sorry, but that screen is little more than a gimmick. A touchpad with no tactile feedback? Utterly useless in gaming, which is the market that Razer is looking to grab with this thing. Have fun looking away from the screen periodically to ensure that your fingers are in the right place. It might be somewhat useful in slower/turn-based games, but nothing even remotely fast paced will have a use for it.

    The only solid advantage it has is the SSD. The major disadvantage it has is the laughable dual core CPU. Really, in a game that can use perhaps only two cores, the difference will be minute if it's even visible at all. In games that can use a quad? The MBP will pull ahead easily, not to mention if you're running multiple other applications with your games or want to do something else, like media compression. That leaves the SSD, which is nice, but quite frankly, when you're about on the level of what many consider to be the poster boy for overpriced, then maybe you're charging too bloody much.
  • santiagodraco - Sunday, March 18, 2012 - link

    I agree with much of what's you've said and also agree that this thing has missed it's mark (but as a notebook per se it's very cool).

    As for the trackpad... well that's really a non issue as anyone who calls themselves a gamer wouldn't be caught dead using a trackpad, they'll have a mouse in the bag. So from that perspective the trackpad is very cool as an information display but nothing else.
  • Hrel - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    How can you claim to be about gamers when you put a GT540 in a 17" Chassis? Psh, doesn't even count. With that price tag I expected AT LEAST a GTX560, if not GTX570. Don't get me wrong, I like the idea of trying to make this type of laptop less cumbersome. But right now I can't imagine playing on anything less than the GTX560M, which I have currently in my Clevo. Overall I'm very happy with it, but I'd pay an extra 500 bucks to have a second hdd bay and cut the bulk by half. As for the specs this is as low as I'm willing to go. Get rid of the cd rom drive, fine. I honestly couldn't care any less about that. But the GT540M is unacceptable; I'm sorry. It's nice that this is thin, but I'll put up with a little extra bulk and weight to have a GPU I can actually use. If you have to do that by putting the GPU in an external "caddie" or docking station I'm fine with that too. As I don't ever game on battery power, only when it's plugged in.

    Razer, I say develop a docking station using Intels lighpeak connection and some good ol USB 3.0, and make that dock compatible with every single laptop you release, period. THAT! My friends will garner some serious customer loyalty.
  • Hrel - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    I look forward to the day when I can just slide my smartphone into my laptop, where that touchpad is now. One concern though, I have a friend who because of a skin condition cannot use anything that's capacitive touch. I'm sure this is a small segment of their target customers but every time I see capacative touch on stuff I think of that now.
  • Hrel - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    hm, see that's another things, especially for this much money, I expect to work properly. Noise, I never notice the noise of my Clevo P151. If I listen for it I can hear it, but I do not ever notice it. I paid 1100 bucks for this thing, then put a Seagate Hyrbrid drive in it. Beautiful 1080p screen. For nearly 3 times that I expect everything to be better in every single way. The physical size of the laptop just doesn't matter if it means sacraficing anything else at all about the laptop. I'd rather have a 20lb monster that runs everything I play at 1080p and doesn't make a peep than a 6lb pansy that can't even play Mass Effect 1 at 1080p smoothly. Like the SSD, ok, load times are low. That's nice. That's why I have the hybrid drive. But really I care much more about the performance IN THE application that I do how long it takes to load that application. It's a luxury item, like the size of the laptop, nice to have and I'm one of those people who are willing to pay extra for that kind of thing; I have the means. I'm just not willing to sacrafice another area of the laptop to get it. I do like the design elements and apparent attention to detail quite a lot. This looks like an excellent first try, they just got too ambititious and sacraficed on fundamentals; in my opinion. Also the price seems about 800 too high given the specs. And that's assuming noise was a non-issue.
  • owan - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    We get it. You want gaming performance, you're willing to carry around a desktop with a screen bolted on. Thats great, but you're not who this laptop is for. I agree that their marketing department made a mistake saying this was "for gamers" but you don't have to harp on it.
  • Immentus - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    Sure it is. It's aimed very much for him - it's a gaming laptop. Many of his points are valid considerations. Maybe you should focus on educating yourself rather than trying make your skittle fan boy comments sound valid.
  • Hrel - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    Lol, you sir just made my day! Thank you.
  • tim851 - Friday, March 16, 2012 - link

    Not every gaming laptop is aimed at every gamer. That would be nigh impossible.

    Hrel is obviously looking for a desktop replacement, something you don't lug around every day. That's why he can live with the drawbacks, i.e. size and weight.

    Just because other gamers put more emphasis on portability and are willing to sacrifice top performance for it doesn't make them less of a gamer or a solution aimed at them less of a gaming laptop.

    There are still people playing competitive Counter-Strike or StarCraft (1) and let's not forget the millions of people living in World of Warcraft or other online games. These people are gamers, yet don't need the utmost performance.

    And some might welcome the style appeal in the Blade, which is obviously meant for people who like the MacBook Pro's design, but for whatever reason don't want one or a clone.
    So here you get the same form factor and internals in a surprisingly discrete and different design.
  • Meaker10 - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    What are you talking about, its aGT 555M, a more potent GT555M I might add, very similar to the base graphics card in the alienware small desktop PC.

    A GTS450 with a shader cluster disabled basically.
  • VivekGowri - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    A GTX 560M would have been nice, basically the same as the GT 555M they have in it right now, except without the disabled shader cluster and a 192bit memory bus...Or they could have pushed release back a month or so and shipped it with a GT/GTX 6xxM part; Kepler would have definitely increased the performance envelope without throwing the thermals out of whack.
  • Parhel - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    Ivy Bridge would have probably allowed for some some additional heat coming from the GPU side as well. This is a really sweet notebook, but in the end, I'm left thinking the same thing I thought after reading your Dell XPS 13 review the other day. Why spend invest in a premium ultrabook type system today when Ivy and Kepler are right around the corner?
  • perpetualdark - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    Yes, for gamers. A gamer has a powerful desktop system, and if he/she wants to take it mobile, something powerful enough to game on, yet MOBILE and PORTABLE it what we look for. Something that can dual as a second "box" when at home.. See, to me, that is what the definition of a "gamer" is.. Not someone looking for a powerful desktop replacement with a docking station. That is what YOU are looking for - an all in one solution that fits every situation.

    I recently purchased a gaming laptop because I was going to be travelling a lot more for work. I chose the Asus 15" gaming laptop after a LOT of research. In the beginning, I wanted performance, lightweight, and inexpensive. I didn't need a powerhouse with dual graphics cards and the biggest screen you can get, I wanted enough power to run my games effectively while still being a mobile solution. One I had to carry through miles of airports, and still fit under my seat once I was on the plane. One I could open on a plane without having to be seated in an exit row. I also wanted something that would have enough battery to game for a few hours, or watch a movie on.

    The problem was, it was not out there. Nobody made something like that. My choices were a super expensive powerhouse that weighed over 10 lbs, a cheap plastic generic laptop with good specs, a portable solution with a wimpy graphics card, and a decently specced and decently priced laptop with poor battery life but very bulky for a 15". I went with the last option. It weighs a ton and the battery life is crap, but it is small enough to fit my needs, performs great with a 560M, the display is awesome, and it can run at 100% for 6 hours straight and be cooler than most laptops are in sleep mode. It didn't fit my criteria perfectly, so it was a tradeoff.

    This razer fits what I wanted much more closely, and is a step in the right direction. I would be willing to drop to a 555m from the 560 if the battery life were better and the weight and blukiness was substantially lower. If they made this in a 15" model and got the price down to about $1700, I would have jumped on it in a second. I don't want a 17" laptop because the whole point of a laptop is portability. Too many 17" laptops, especially the "gaming" ones, are bulkier than my desktop, and the only thing that sets them apart from a desktop is they can be moved easier from room to room. That is not the intent of a laptop, and some companies are selling these things without batteries for that very reason.

    I do question heat on a laptop like this.. can you run this thing wide open for an hour while it sits on your lap, without cooking your legs? Does it have to have micro fans that run at a million RPM and put a jet engine to shame? These aren't "deal breakers", just concerns.

    Bottom line though, is it fills a niche in the gaming market that I believe the trend is leaning toward. With the miniaturization of everything in life, why are gamers stuck with 10+ pound beasts that will put you in the hospital after the 10th flight segment in a week.. ? Make it just powerful enough to run the games we want. You don't need 200fps to play it, you need more than 30 all the time and you are good. If you want more, it is to satisfy your desire for a big epeen, not to have a mobile gaming alternative to your main gaming rig.
  • Hrel - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    I agree with you. I just think a dock would be a good thing because then I wouldn't even really need a desktop. A dock is something you leave at home so they could just put a desktop GTX560 in it. Then I connect my bluetooth keyboard and mouse, run and HDMI cable to the tv and BAM! Laptop turned desktop. That is what I want. I don't want to build another desktop, I feel like it's unnecessary. Right now my laptop is faster than my desktop in every department except the GPU. A dock could fix that problem and I wouldn't need a desktop anymore.

    Like I said, fix the noise issue. Fix any heat issues and correct the keyboard layout and this would be great. I agree 15" would be better, I'd be ok with upping the thickness to a whopping ONE INCH!!!! If that's what it takes to have proper noise and thermals. But you literally don't have to change a thing about this laptop to offer a dock too. I just really want more docks. I would much rather pay 400 bucks for a good gaming dock to keep at home than 1200 on another desktop. Hell, a dock plus laptop would even be easier to take to a friends house if I just had to be able to max everything out in a game for some reason. It would also offer a possible upgrade path when that non-swappable integrated laptop GPU starts getting dated.
  • nafhan - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    They're definitely targeting a specific niche, which it sounds like you are not in. The real question is: are enough people in that niche for this to be a viable product?

    If money were not an object, I'd probably buy one of these as a compliment to a very high powered gaming desktop.
  • Jedi2155 - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    I got my Volt...working on getting a house. This will compliment my gaming system quite nicely.
  • Jedi2155 - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    Once they get Ivy Bridge and a Kepler GPU on there of course. Current performance is too anemic to replace my 3 year old Gateway FX with a 9800M GTS.
  • Hrel - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    On the first page you list a GT540M, then when you get to the benchmarks you say it has a GT555M; not much better but definitely a step up. Which is correct?
  • Hrel - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    you say GT555 in the table below comparing notebooks too. Assuming your correct on the number of "cuda cores" I'll assume it has the GT555, not the GT540, which has only 96 Cuda Cores.
  • JarredWalton - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    GT 555M; sorry for the error.
  • VivekGowri - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    Yeah, sorry guys - I copied the table from a different review; I changed all the GPU specs but forgot to change the GPU title itself. This is most definitely a GT 555M, the text references it numerous times (Google Docs tells me it appears in the text 16 times).
  • Articuno - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    And it's because putting a heat source almost TRIPLE that of your natural body heat on your lap destroys your sperm faster than you can blink. There's a reason why human males have external testicles, people, and it's because *34* degrees Celsius is too much for your sperm.
  • piroroadkill - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    Who cares. We've got too many people as it is.
  • shriganesh - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    why? Are you going to bask your balls on ur brand new laptop?
  • bennyg - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    Use a ten buck cooler bro. Then you can have it lap-top for as long as you like.
  • abscode - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    Santorum to soon push for outlawing such computers.
  • Granseth - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    I really like how the dare do something different. And hope the mouse and shortcut buttons catches on even though it's expensive now, it might get installed in cheaper models in time.
  • Hrel - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    Maybe I'm wrong but I was under the impression if you're main intent for a display is gaming, where response time matters most, that IPS displays were worse than TN Panels. Since they have signficantly high response times. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought IPS was pretty much only useful for professional image editors, for pictures and video and the like. Things where color accuracy is of the highest importance.
  • RoninX - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    I have a Dell Ultrasharp IPS monitor with my desktop gaming rig (i7-2700k + GTX 570), and I don't notice any lag in response time at all...
  • JarredWalton - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    It's funny how we have all these 3D HDTVs with IPS displays, but somehow the only 120Hz computer displays are TN panels. I suppose maybe the HDTVs only have to deal with HDMI input so they're really only doing 3D with 48Hz (Blu-ray) or 60 Hz (HDTV broadcasts). Anyway, IPS can be very good, though there are people that prefer TN because on paper the specs look better. Look at our IPS display reviews lately, and you'll see that in our real-world testing some TN panels are about 10ms faster "input lag" than IPS:
    http://www.anandtech.com/show/5550/dell-u2412m-16-...

    I'd still go IPS given the choice.
  • erple2 - Thursday, March 22, 2012 - link

    Wait. Are there ANY IPS based HDTVs abailable? When did that happen?
  • shatteredx - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    I play fast paced shooters like ut and cs and there's no noticeable input lag or blurring on my dell u2312hm or 2007wpf. I did notice a bit of blurring on my 2007wpf for about the first week after switching from a CRT back in 2006 but my brain adjusted to it quickly.

    I can't stand the bad viewing angles on tn panels (which are exacerbated on laptops due to variable desk height) and my next laptop will surely have an ips panel.

    I just wish a 120hz ips panel would get developed.
  • Dustin Sklavos - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    I personally love my Alienware M17x R3. It's a couple pounds heavier than the Razer Blade, sure, but it's usable. What good is a thin and light form factor for a gaming machine when the thing is obscenely noisy under load, running so hot that out of the box the processor is already near boiling, and features a keyboard that's next to impossible to type on? And then the notebook has problems with sleep mode, AND one of its major selling points is crash prone?

    I'm sorry, but as an alternate take, from what I've read here I can't agree with the recommendation. Looks are nothing without substance behind them.
  • weiran - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    Personally I can't see myself ever wanted to carry an Alienware M17x anywhere off my desk, and in that case I may you may as well get a desktop. Razor has attempted to make a gaming laptop that's really portable, and have done a very good job. In fact is there even a lighter 17" or even 15" laptop?

    I think Razor is realising that being just another competitor producing gaming slabs that compete only on spec and price makes no sense; they will have razor (ha) thin margins and just be another player in the game. By creating their own sub-category of device, appealing to a reasonable niche of gamers who want an ultraportable laptop that still has a good discrete GPU, they're in their own market with no direct competition.

    I'm glad there's at least one PC manufacturer making something different, and pulling it off.
  • Dustin Sklavos - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    The problem is that if you want something lighter and more portable, the Alienware M14x offers roughly as much performance for half the price. You have to go down to a 1600x900 screen, but that resolution is also better suited to the GT 555M.
  • Penti - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    Yup, that would be better and more what I would be inclined to if I where in the market for a gaming laptop. For me GT555M is bare essential minimum here. I don't like the 17" laptops at all and the DTR-models usually just fails. The cheap 1080p panels aren't really to prefer and the graphics aren't powerful enough to drive that in games any way. So I was looking at the M14x closely when it came out and do like it more. I would basically need GT555M or better, and certainly a display above 1366x768 here.

    Also the M14x is about 1000-1500 USD cheaper so there is really no choice here. Why spend the extra money to get something looking kinda awful and not really have any better performance. Even as gaming laptops goes it look awful. The touchpad-thing is just despicable and just something useless a company like razor could come up with.
  • bennyg - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    I think my P150HM is quite portable. It happily goes from home to office every day and fits in my reasonably-sized backpack. Its under 4kgs, looks like a Thinkpad (!!!), and has a SB quaddy and 580M in it with a cooling design that keeps the laptop cool. And has a fantastic screen (upgrade option 95% gamut matte)

    When you think how little you add in size and weight the m14x looks silly in comparison as a "gaming" notebook. New refresh model looks like it will add Optimus (for 580M, yes) and backlit keyboard which are really the only two weaknesses. Along with the monstrous poowerbrick... but in the office a 90W 19V does the job.

    I don't know what Razer were thinking with this laptop to be honest, it just looks compromised in so many ways. Looks like a gamer-ised MBP that ate a smartphone, Borg-style.
  • piroroadkill - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    I think it's actually fantastic, and I don't have the same complaint about the keyboard layout - it looks reasonable enough to me.

    I love the changeable keys and the touchscreen touchpad on the right.. it means when you're gaming on the built in keyboard, you won't rest your wrist on the classic touchpad position.

    The CPU choice is great, the screen choice is perfectly fine, the thickness is stunning.. Even the battery life is half decent.

    The only low point is the slightly inadequete GPU. I'm no Razer fan, I think they make flashy gaming hardware that has sub-par build quality and poor support.. BUT that said, this is a fantastic looking machine, offering some genuinely fresh features into a stagnant market. Shoe-horn a slightly better GPU in there, look at some way to offer it at a cut price (maybe stick a Barracuda XT 750GB in it?), and you have an extremely compelling product.
  • gostan - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    this review is just so sad at so many levels. let's build a supercar, let's fit it with tiny wheels, and let's charge a lot of money for it. then let's get a media to justify the wheel selection..
  • Swirlser - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    Looks pretty, but really any "gamer" that drops several grand on a laptop on the eve of both a gpu and cpu shrink has far more money than sense.

    Didnt read full article - but if its available now, order it *immediately*, coz if you wait a few weeks its going to be officially past its sell by date on its very first boot up ;-p (not a great start for the "World's first true gaming laptop" o.O)
  • DelicateThunder - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    On the first page, "6.4 lbs 1.36kg". Seems more like 2.9kg for me.
  • Death666Angel - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    A lot of gimmicks that are not necessarily wanted by gamers, mediocre hardware for the money and for gaming, a price tag that has to compete with more powerful offers and a thinness that I don't think gamers really need.... So who is this thing for?
  • Xuvial - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    So basically this is aimed at people who are willing to shell out stupid amounts of money just so they can get their hands on something that LOOKS different.
    Got it.
  • bryanlarsen - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    Lots of haters here in the comments, but I think it's a fabulous design.

    What I'm looking for:

    - good portability
    - great screen
    - excellent CPU performance for work
    - nice design that's not exactly the same as every other laptop in the coffee shop
    - enough performance to adequately play the occasional game of Skyrim or Civ5.

    That trackpad design is absolutely brilliant. Trackpad on the right makes so much more sense than below the keyboard. Topped with a bunch of macro keys in a very convenient location (when your right hand is using the trackpad: most of the time, in other words).

    What's turning me off:

    - crappy keyboard for work
    - irritating fan noise
    - lack of Linux support (assumption, but probably a safe one)

    looking forward to the ivy bridge / kepler refresh
  • aferox - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    I do like some of the things Razer has done with this, especially the weight. However, the Razer Blade was obviously designed by right-handed individuals for right-handed individuals. As a leftie, I would consider this design impossible to use. My mouse would be on the left, where all of those ports and that hot air come out. That touchpad on the right? Exactly where I don't want it. Most designs do not really cater to left handers, but they can be used without too much fuss. Not this.
  • snide23 - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    I'm with you. I know quite of few of us leftie gamers who wouldn't consider this setup. But apparently we are a minority.
  • KaRRiLLioN - Wednesday, March 21, 2012 - link

    I'm a leftie, but I've always moused with my right hand.
  • pyrthas - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    I understand the complaint, but for gaming, I'd much rather have it on the right, so that I have the extra key under my left hand.
  • piroroadkill - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    Yes, exactly. I think the Fn placement is no cause for concern at all.
  • geniekid - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    I will echo the general sentiment that this thing is both overpriced and inadequate for gaming, but at the same time it's nice to see a company really try and increase the overall build quality of a laptop.

    The problem is when you take big risks like this you have to get it right the first time, or you have to have enough resources in reserve (and enough faith from the powers on high) to iteratively improve the product until it's good enough. I hope Razer gets into the latter category and succeeds.
  • kenyee - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    Cost unfortunately is too high. And what's with only 2 memory slots on a giant 17" laptop?
    The rest actually looks pretty cool. If Apple released something like this, their fanboys would be all over it, despite the price ;-)

    Hopefully high res displays will drop in price and ivy bridge/kepler will make this a lot more interesting...
  • Felix_Ram - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    I can't help but think that Razer is out too early on the market, and that they have the wrong cpu company in their machine. Their concept is good, it's just not competitive enough.

    If they were launched with the coming AMD APU, the topline trinity, and they at the same time managed to crossfire the APU with an AMD GPU, without changing the machines design, they might have a much more competitive product on their hand.
  • JarredWalton - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    No way. Trinity very likely won't even be as fast as Sandy Bridge for CPU tasks, the APU graphics won't be as fast as a GT 555M by a long shot (about 33% slower I'd wager, though I could be wrong), and AMD's switchable graphics and dual graphics still has serious driver issues in my experience. You don't spend basically $1500 on the industrial design and build quality only to ship it with a slower CPU and GPU.
  • VivekGowri - Friday, March 16, 2012 - link

    Agree with the "too early to market", disagree with everything else. If they had waited a couple of months, this could have Ivy Bridge and Kepler, and they could have used the extra month or two to fix some of the more pressing stability issues that plagued Switchblade at launch. It's a bit of a pity that they didn't, actually.
  • tonyn84 - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    I really, really like the form factor of this, I think moving the trackpad to the right side is brilliant (sorry lefties) and really hope to see this in future gaming laptops. The price though, I can't even get close to justifying for the performance. With any luck though they'll be able to have a couple different models at some point after ivy bridge is available. If they can get is closer to $1500 I'd seriously consider it, even with slightly less bells and whistles.
  • Bees - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    What I'd like to know is why the facts that the keyboard and touchpad can both go unresponsive on their own wasn't treated in this review like the showstopping bugs they are. I've seen it firsthand with someone else's Blade, it's ridiculous that something so widespread (according to the support staff on the phone) made it past QC on such an expensive piece of tech.
  • JarredWalton - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    I don't know if Vivek ever had this happen, but I certainly didn't encounter that problem in the several days of testing I did. Most likely it is a QC bug and your friend got bit, or else something else is going on. That said, I do not like the keyboard or touchpad at all. Vivek had more time to adapt so I left that to him to discuss, but I found the touchpad to be an expensive gimmick.
  • IKeelU - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    Finally a company willing to invest in portability, good design and quality, that isn't called Apple. I would buy this without even thinking of it as a gaming laptop, if only they could reduce the noise level.

    Considering how many actually spend 2k+ on Macbooks, I'm astonished that it took a peripheral company to invent such a desirable high-end laptop. I hope this sells well, and I hope Dell, HP et al. take note.
  • FormulaRedline - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    This product is an early April fools joke, right? I saw "Gaming" and "1080p" followed shortly by "555m" and basically stopped reading. That is until I saw the almost $3k price tag...then I had to post.

    You can pretend Marketing screwed this up by claiming it to be a top of the line gaming product when it's really more a 17" ultrbook/MPB -like machine, but Razer is SUPPOSED to be high end gaming. 555m's belong in sub-$1000 machines that can do some gaming on the side at lower resolutions.

    Meanwhile, it's got a great processor. Oh good, now we can bottleneck the @#*$ out of it. Has anyone at Razer ever even built a computer?
  • ezmo85 - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    This sort of reminds me of the launch of the original iPad:
    -very well built
    -sleek and stylish
    -extreme attention to and focus on optimization for use-case
    -potential trend setter for a new category of computing

    But there is one key difference that will prevent the Razer Blade from reaching anywhere near the iPad's success: pricing.

    When the iPad launched, people were estimating it would land in the $1000+ range, which Apple very well could have done (especially given their record up to that point), dooming it to a small, niche market. Instead the pricing started at half that, and now 2 years later no one can deny its overwhelming success--even in the mainstream. In the case of the Razer Blade, I'm afraid this will remain a niche product until they can drastically lower the price.

    I personally would love to own a Razer Blade; it would be the perfect compliment to my overpowered desktop. When I'm on the go I don't need the video settings cranked to the max, I just want the games to be playable, and the computer itself to be... well, a laptop. Something comfortable to carry around, with enough battery life to get me through a plane ride, coffee shop browsing session, class or two of note-taking, etc. This product meets that use case quite well, and I don't think I'm alone in these desires.

    But there's no way I'm spending upwards of $3000 for this. Even on a higher-than-average salary, I just can't afford that. Cut that price by half... or even, dare I say, 2/3? At $1500, I'd be hard pressed not to at least make it a near-future purchase. At $1000, I'd buy it today (if the wife let me).

    But I know those prices are pipe dreams... for now.
  • Anchen - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    Isn't this in a lot of ways like a Macbook pro, with some interesting design ideas? If this wasn't marketed as a "true gaming laptop" but just as a high end laptop I wonder what people's comments would be. Especially if say Apple was the one making these ideas. On a minor note, I would love the function key to be on the right side of my keyboard personally. I personally don't use it much , and if I do it's to fiddle with brightness, or to swap what the video is going out to. In other words it's something I don't mind digging a second for as opposed to touching by accident while gaming instead of ctrl.

    That said at it's price range it's not a product I'd buy, same for the macbook pro. Switchblade is neat but ultimately I think if they saved some money with a normal trackpad there they probably would have been better served. I really do like the design and aesthetic though.
  • Malih - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    I always wonder when there will ever be a 15" or 17" laptop with consumer-respecting display resolution that are THIN and have good design will come out. And here's one, it's gaming grade laptop too.

    I won't mind spending a bit over $2,500 for it (that is if I have the money to spare, which I don't right now, but if I do), I'd grab this laptop right away, that's how desirable it is... for me, cause I always respect a good display coupled with good design.
  • assmode - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    really, $2700 for this?

    a fancy lighted computer and a lcd touch pad.

    sorry but that's a subpar computer with a low end graphics card, does it even have an SSD ?

    Go with msi GT783, its got a nVidia GTX580m, 16gigs of ram and 256gb SSD in it atleast and for 500$ less.
  • assmode - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    and of course much better cpu.

    and going by the table here in the intro page, the GT780 is a much better deal than a lesser Alienware, lmao.
  • ThreeDee912 - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    People keep throwing out specs and prices, but the GT783 is over 2" thick and almost 9lbs.

    This isn't a desktop replacement, this is meant to actually be portable, not a semi-portable slab.
  • KoolAidMan1 - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    The 17" Macbook Pro costs less, has a faster GPU, all while still managing a slim chassis and excellent battery life.

    When a 17" MBP, a professional laptop that is excessive even among the Macbook Pro line, can beat the Razer Blade in specs and price then you know something is off.
  • Malih - Friday, March 16, 2012 - link

    Now that I think about it, you're absolutely right. The only plus is the touchpad, which is not really a plus for me.
  • ananduser - Friday, March 16, 2012 - link

    No KooldAidMan, it's not about the specs, its the "experience"; you should understand that. MB cannot offer you what this Blade can, while the Blade can offer the mundane computing of a MB.
  • ameetkumarmaharana - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    My budget is Rs.1,00,000 INR. Which laptop should I go for? Please suggest the best one within the price range.
  • will54 - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    This seems like its more suited for MMO gamers on the go. From the trackpad and programmable buttons to the specs this seems like it would be perfect for WOW , SW TOR or Guild Wars.
  • Roland00Address - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link

    1) This laptop is for a person who has a lot of money
    2) Wants to play on ultra
    3) Wants a big screen
    4) While keeping the weight down
    5) For other games this person does not care about, or is willing to play those games on mainstream settings even though this laptop costs over 2.5k

    Or maybe I am wrong, maybe the laptop is for people who want to have a pure sexy laptop and don't care what is inside of it?
  • Roland00Address - Friday, March 16, 2012 - link

    (sigh, I would kill for an edit button)
  • ShieTar - Friday, March 16, 2012 - link

    All the images in this article show the keyboard being backlit. Can this be switched off?

    I already hate that my current notebook has two LEDs that are always on, they really annoy me when I want to watch a movie on it, because they get really distracting at dark scenes.

    I can not imagine watching anything on a notebook that has constantly backlit keys.
  • kevith - Friday, March 16, 2012 - link

    A 2800$ notebook, very expensive indeed.

    But what are these people thinking? You pull out this, almost sexy thing. It looks like a million dollars, unique, black, thin and simple, yet advanced.

    And everybody goes "Wow" and envy you. And then, as you turn it on, it sounds like a f... hairdryer?!

    We could forgive the lack of real gaming-power.

    But this is simply not good enough at this pricepoint! Boooh, Razer.

    Thanks for reviewing it, because it looks SO stunning, that I would be very tempted to buy it.

    But not anymore.
  • Silma - Friday, March 16, 2012 - link

    The razer blade looks like a great laptop but not for true gaming. Or perhaps Sudoku or Angry Birds.

    I'm not buying a laptop to play at anything lower than 1080p and the blade can't do.

    In my experience no thin laptop can adequately overcome the heat generated by hours of playing.

    That's why I finally purchased an Alienware M17x R2. Yes it's big. Yes it's heavy. But I can play @1920x1200 for hours on end at truly decent fps (>30). It's been 2 years and I don't regret it. Nowadays I would either buy an Alienware or an Asus G but there are very few truly gamers laptop out there.
  • hotsacoman - Friday, March 16, 2012 - link

    How do I win this????
  • jigglywiggly - Saturday, March 17, 2012 - link

    lack of 120hz is dissapointing
    otherwise i wud care
    also 17in too big for the weak gpu
  • silverblue - Saturday, March 17, 2012 - link

    Wasn't that Interplay's slogan back in the day?
  • Notmyusualid - Saturday, March 17, 2012 - link

    So many people here are right, Ivy Bridge & Kepler, and this thing is going to rock.

    I'm in the market for a new gaming laptop, so I'll be watching this one very closely.

    Basically it is the most beautiful laptop I've seen...
  • The Ugly Truth - Saturday, March 17, 2012 - link

    http://www.change.org/petitions/anandtech-forum-en...

    Freedom of expression and freedom to have an online life outside of AT forums reach is all we ask.
  • santiagodraco - Sunday, March 18, 2012 - link

    I'm very dissapointed in one aspect of this review. It seems that you were actually trying to protect the Razer from looking bad by not including the Alienware M17x in the review. You post it in the matrix, at almost 900 less, but don't compare it?

    I'd think your readers would be very interested in seeing the top gaming notebook on the market compared to this new Razer.
  • Rogie - Sunday, March 18, 2012 - link

    Got wrong numbers for Razer's relative battery life for idle and h.264.
    5.35 and 3.28.
    That, or the actual minutes are wrong.
  • KaRRiLLioN - Wednesday, March 21, 2012 - link

    I think the form of this thing is sweet. The touchscreen/touchpad stuff is a bit gadgety and I'm no fan of chiclet keyboards, but I might snag one of these things just because it looks so cool.

    At the very least, it'll be better for typing/web browsing than my Dell Latitude 13--and people will probably think I'm a hitman.
  • asdfzxh - Friday, June 14, 2013 - link

    idts

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