Good review - it answered most of the questions I had about this laptop. Hopefully when you guys get the 1080p version you will run it through the same benchmarks so we get comparable results.
No Europe again, huh? Also worth mentioning that the FHD one only has 8GB of ram, so it's not just the SSD and screen like the pricing in the table above suggests.
For the batter boost battery life comparison, was the 2015 test done with the same settings as the 2014 Blade, or with the settings that GForce Experience picked this year? Because I imagine that the higher the frame rate before battery boost, the greater the difference in battery life, and it might be more fair to run a 2015 battery test at 2014 settings.
Is the key travel better than the 15" rMBP? That's what bugs me most about the design of my machine. Not enough keyboard feedback leading to a lot of missed strokes.
I was pretty torn between the two systems, even though they're pretty different in intended use case. But selling my rMBP and getting this for around the same price would allow much more mobile gaming, which would be nice. Just not sure if I'd trade off the rest of what makes the MBP better for that.
as you already noticed, the blade is one inch smaller and the rmbp also comes with a 47w CPU, if i'm not mistaken. plus it has some serious battery capacity, so it's not all that surprising that the macbook is heavier.
I have the 2015 MacBook Pro 15" with the M370X and you certainly can game on a mac ;). I only game casually so I haven't tried all the latest and greatest games but I can play Elder Scrolls Online with everything turned up to full (except some lighting effects and shadows on medium) with 1440x900 resolution and I get 50-60 FPS with the occasional drop to 40 FPS. I installed some older games too like COD:MW2 and you can easily max out the settings. Probably with some of the newer, more demanding games you would have to turn the settings down to medium at 1440x900 but its still a very playable/enjoyable gaming experience. All games I've played have been in Mac OS X Yosemite. Aparently when El Capitan comes out with "Metal" we will see an immediate improvement in games. I'm excited :D
If you are after better key travel, have a look at MSI GS60 or GS70. + better performance then rMBP. + better keyboard (one of the best laptop keyboards that I ever typed on) with more travel +- depending on your preferences, available with matte option - battery life (4-5 hours when surfing)
Please tell me where you got the 4-5 hours battery life with the MSI GS60? I've owned four of them across the model lineup and none pulled in better than 3 hours tops.
One would hope that they would pick the one with the 750M since it's closer in price and specs to the one being reviewed, but that's not exactly clear here.
I don't have any high hopes that any impending rMBP update will make it better for gaming. It seems like the 750M is as good as it gets on the Apple side for now. Which is a shame because I almost always avoid playing any games on the built in retina display since the extra pixels end up taking a huge hit on the frame rates.
holy crap sensible people talking about macs and pcs and they don't want to bash each others faces in. I love this site ;-; fak toms hardware forever 0/10 never going back
Indeed, I have both Macs and PCs and can see the pros and cons of each. I'd love a more powerful GPU in the rMBP, but can't see it happening, maybe an 850M at best (an 860M or even a 965M would be much more interesting...)
I guess apple does it out of fear of receiving criticism for running hot or having a loud cooling system to tame the GPU? Maxwell doesn't run that hot so they should be able to keep it in check with at least a 965M but any higher would likely cause issues. They should at least include the option for a higher end mobile card.
The school I'm at has 2011 iMacs with a 6570D and they tank so hard when using spaces and mission control. (not to mention the magic mouse is awful)
Yep, I've been a lifelong PC guy, but I'm enjoying my 15" rMBP a lot. I just wish there was more GPU grunt for when I use Boot Camp for the occasional game.
one would think some kind of 960m should be in the cards, when the rmbp get upgraded and such a card is available from nvidia. that should be quite a bit faster than the current 750m, which is getting a bit old in the tooth, especially considering the machines price.
Nevermind, I reviewed the introduction over again.
I have an aversion to LiteOn SSDs. I have no experience with that model, but I have with Dell OEM Lite-On drives as they struggle with garbage collection when Bitlocker is installed (Windows 7). For Windows 8 Bitlocker I recommend only encrypting used space option.
Shame that it just has HDMI output. They should have put a DisplayPort (or two) outputs just like the MBP the body mimics. Can't even run an external WQHD screen, very lame.
Most of these tests were able to get 55Hz after setting a custom resolution. I tried once to get 2560x1440 60Hz out of a laptop with only HDMI and I couldn't do it whereas my laptops with DisplayPort I can just plug in and it works.
It doesn't mimic anything. It's just a good design. It's like saying that all cars mimic the Ford Model T or something. It is a shame indeed that it lack some connectivity but if they actually did study the market and most of their potential customers wanted this it sounds reasonable enough.
The body is almost identical to the rMBP and even the inside (fan positioning, soldered ram and location, speaker position, battery position) looks very similar to the rMPB. Maybe they didn't copy the rMBP but they certainly used it for inspiration :P
Why do people buy laptops with pricey gimped i7 CPUs, which cost the same as ungimped CPUs. They should make laptop with i5 desktop CPU which is much cheaper but it is not gimped and has the same performance.
What? Did you just start reading AT? They analyzed this not too long ago. http://www.anandtech.com/show/7287/analyzing-the-p... The higher end quad w/ht i7 laptop chips hold their own against any desktop i5... and at a much lower tdp. I'm not sure how you define gimped
Because at about the same TDP the mobile i7 is faster than the desktop i5. The 47W i7-4720m has a base of 2.6ghz and can turbo to 3.4-3.6. The 45W i5-4690T only has a base of 2.5GHz and tops out at 3.1-3.5 for turbo. The overall TDP between the two chips is closer because the desktop chipset is 4.1W vs 2.7 for the mobile one. To get faster than a baseline mobile i7 you need to go to the 65W S series i5s. Normal laptops don't do that because an extra 20W of TDP will give much better returns most of the time with a faster GPU. You'll occasionally see a desktop CPU it in an 18-19" luggable; but other than in form factor those machines don't really qualify as laptops because they're too big, too heavy, and have too little battery life even at idle to be usable away from a desk.
And even at that, in turbo mode the top end end mobile 47W i7-4980HQ is faster than the 88w desktop i5.
I thought you generally have laptop plugged in when playing games. And when you do not play games for few hours, you can use a CPU with little higher TDP.
It's not about battery life. You have to get the heat out. On a desktop PC, the headsink and fan combo is 3-4 times thicker than the entire laptop. Next, look at the cooling solution on a GTX 970 desktop part and then look at the laptop.
Does anyone know how difficult it is to access the interior for a drive upgrade? At $200 for the 256, and an additional $300 for the 512, it's just not worth it to go with any of Razer's SSD upgrades. Might as well just go with the 128GB option and purchase a 512GB M.2 separately.
If my memory serves me right, the 2015 model should feature a very similar back cover to the 2014 Blade, maybe this member-contributed iFixit teardown might provide some insight?
I've bought the 2014 version, and in order to replace the SSD you need to remove the T4 torx screws on the bottom, remove the back cover, disconnect a display connector, two ribbon cables, and remove one Phillips screw to remove the SSD. It's a trivial task that takes around half an hour at most.
Although I agree that most people prefer HDMI over DP, I would argue that for a computer that can competently push 4K should have the ability to output it at 60hz.
That aside, this is probably the first ever laptop I am seriously considering buying.
Personally, I don't get the attraction of cramped little keyboard, cramped little screen, too much heat and noise, and not enough battery for way too much money.
Maybe if Razor, in their infinite wisdom, deigned to build a 17" model with a full size keyboard and a 980m ... then I'd be willing to consider it.
I have a 13" Macbook Air currently, which is even smaller, and don't find the keyboard cramped at all - I think that's a non-issue unless you have huge hands. Also a 14" screen actually offers a reasonable amount of screen real estate for a portable machine. Those 15.6" laptops with numpad keyboards really aren't that portable, which is the point of a notebook!
Battery life is even decent in this for a gaming laptop.
is the stock SSD is user-replaceable or (even better) is there is a spare M2 slot? Might be cheaper to get the 128GB SSD model and to buy a larger SSD from elsewhere...
The SSD is replaceable (it's just M.2 SATA) but there is no extra slot for another SSD on this or the 2014 model. Possibly the 2013 model but I have not seen that one.
I didn't consider this possibility. That would be pretty awful.
I wish with some of these small laptops that temperature testing would be done with the lid closed and using an external monitor. That would be my main use case when gaming.
I don't believe it either, but it exists in some earlier laptops. Either way, the HDMI is hardwired to the IGP. Then comes Optimus, rendering faster with the nvidia, but pasting the frames in the IGP buffer instead of the nvidia buffer.
I'm guessing it would be the same as the internal display - the discreet GPU just poops its output into the integrated GPUs memory so it can be output to the monitor, which only has one physical connection to the internal GPU.
This would be great for my application, except the Intel mobile chipsets don't support the number of devices I need from the USB3 controller. You'd be lucky to get more than 10 external devices working off the xHCI controller before the dreaded Not enough USB controller resources error. http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/forum/s...
For what it's worth, I find DisplayPort preferable over HDMI because DP is more flexible for splitting to multiple monitors.
The accepted answers on that link cite the problem as one of maximum power the port can put out; just because the port can address 127 devices doesn't mean it can provide them all with power. Non-charging USB3 ports are limited to 0.9 amps of 5v current; which ports (if any) get extra power for charging stuff is upto the motherboard OEM to decide if they want to provide extra power to it or not.
Unfortunately the accepted answer on that thread isn't the issue. The error is due to the limited number of USB devices/endpoints supported by the Intel xHCI controller. I'm curious if more devices are supported on the Broadwell chipsets, but don't have one to test yet.
I dont believe whole conclusion.. if this is truth: " When the fans are running though, the laptop is very loud. We measured 55.0 dBA at 1 inch from the system after one hour of gaming. It is very loud, and very noticeable. In my opinion, any gaming on the Razer Blade would necessitate headphones.."
For me it means that whole laptop design failed - too much hoursepower for cooling system, good experience and performance only on paper or for deaf people..
This looks so great. I wish they would have actually gone with a lower power CPU to get better battery life. I also wish that there would be DP in addition to HDMI. These are relatively minor gripes. Now to come up with $2700 for this...
Again, why don't y'all ever look at Sager laptops? The Sager NP8651 is less than an inch thick, packs a dual-fan-cooled 970m, the same quad-core i7 CPU, but has a starting price of $1,225 as opposed to $2k. Essentially, the Sager offers the same performance, while only spending a little over 60%?
Even when adding an SSD to the Sager and Windows, you're still substantially cheaper.
I have had my NP8652 (980m model) for about a month now and it is awesome. All said an done, the same price as this here Razer, but with a 4k Sharp screen, 2x 512gb SSDs, 1tb HDD, and the chaise is not that thick. Like .2-.3" more, for way better internals, and I still have one more m.2 slot and 2 empty sodimm slots.
I did strongly consider the 2014 Blade, but couldn't swallow the 870m for that price, this new one feels much of the same.
I'd like one with a Broadwell processor and 980m. I know 4 core Broadwell isn't out yet, but I'd rather wait OR get a 2 core U CPU. For gaming, wouldn't that be better? Glad they have a 1080p option. We are still a ways off from being able to do 4k gaming, and anything in between 1080p and 4k just doesn't make sense to me from a media standpoint.
Thank you guys. This is sorely missing from most laptop reviews. I'll be sure to add Anandtech to the list of who to go to now if I want to look into a laptop.
I second all of the above in the review. I just received my Razer yesterday. I ran the Monster Hunter Online benchmark at 1920x1080 and it scored more than twice as fast as my old 17" Alienware M17x R3 with GTX580M it was replacing. I still love that old laptop but it's time has passed. When I bought that years ago, i also clicked all the highest CPU and GPU settings I could get on that model. How time flies.
"Razer has told me that their data shows that more people prefer HDMI at this time, so they are sticking with this over DisplayPort for the external monitor connection."
Who are these people? Would it really hurt to put both?
3200x1800 is an extremely poor screen res choice for any single GPU, mobile or not, and at a meager 14", the loss in frame rates would far outweigh the gain in pixels (over a 1080p panel).
For me 14" is the perfect size, not too big, not too small. 15.6" laptops have become even more bloated these days, as everyone seems to add a pointless numpad to them
Is "only" 8GB of RAM really a problem? What % of people that buy these machines ever get close to utilising anywhere near that amount? These are gaming machines, i'm sure the odd graphics designer buys one for 3d rendering but i'm sure that 99% of people that spec the 16GB haven't got a clue that it does nothing to speed up BF4 and facebook.
Well, I was to buy a laptop a couple of weeks ago, and did not buy the Razer because it did not have a 16 GB option. Part of my decision was based on the price (at this price, 16 GB is a must) and, more important, due to my usage of the laptop (I'm always running at least one VM, a app server, ide and db server, so 16 GB do come in handy).
."...$2700 for 512 GB. It is a lot of money for a 14” gaming laptop. Luckily the quality of the components really are top notch. For the money, you get a great display," Personal preferences aside, I don't believe the kind of gaming experience for which this laptop is built can be savored on a 14" high-rez screen...So many people use their laptops as desktop replacements, I just can't imagine the experience of the game on an itsby-bitsy weeny-teeny screen with all those powerful components aside. I game on a 55" LG and the experience is thrilling. My notebook is 17.3" Asus ROG and that is about the limit for screen real estate, resolution issues aside. I'm not a fan of razer products, nor their marketing strategy...Now let's wait for a similar review for the new iteration coming in February of 2016.
This laptop is obviously a niche product, and whilst you have selected a 17" as your choice, I'm sure there are others that this laptop would suit better. I've had a 17" gamin laptop, and it's hardly what you would call portable for a day to day role. Additionally the size of a 15" laptop can be a drawback also in terms of specific size requirements for carriage, in my example, I don't want to carry around a larger backpack just to facilitate the size of my laptop. The 14" size for me is great. In my view this laptop fits into what I would like in a laptop, the ability to casually play the latest AAA games at night whilst I'm on the road, combined with just enough battery to facilitate my work needs during the day. Combined with the build quality, tiny PSU and the fact it isn't a Mac makes this one of two laptops I am currently considering purchasing. I think I would prefer the 1080p version, especially it provides slightly longer battery life, although as with all gaming laptops I am not expecting to be able to game whilst unplugged... you can't even do that in a 17" example...
When can we expect to find this on Amazon? I have $200 in gift cards I'd like to apply to purchasing one of these but all I see is the 2014 model currently.
This review has me thinking about getting a Razer Blade Pro when they release an updated version of that. A 14" screen is too small for me but the Pro is also missing the QHD+ screen so it's a tough choice. In the 17" range, Alienware might be a better deal too, they come with most of the same stuff and a 1TB HDD plus the optional GTX 980M for around the same as the 2014 Blade Pro
1- No HDMI 2.0 ? 2- no PCIe SSD ? 3- No Killer LAN ? No Killer WLAN with Class one Bluetooth (100m range) many people miss the 100m Bluetooth part , Intel is 10m Range only and 100m range headsets Exist and are wonderful. 4- No Mechanical Keyboard ? 5- No Docking Station with Dedicated High End Card.
I own a 2013 Razer Blade 14". Does anyone know if there is an option whether from Razer or some source for upgrading the built-in LCD panel (extremely crappy 1600x900 TN) to 1080p IPS? My laptop is already out of warranty, so voiding warranty is not concern. Thanks! Fingers-crossed hoping for a miracle.
Of course the major hurdle is to get a high quality 1080P IPS matte screen version of the laptop at a reasonable price. Yeah, QHD checks some marketing checkboxes, but it isn't something that 90% of the buyers would actually prefer (at least not if they could use both for gaming and compare).
Blame Microsoft for not solving the scaling issue. At least if it was quad full hd 3840x2160 (ah who are we kidding, it should be 3840x2400), you could scale it back to a usable 1080P for gaming and non-gaming both, and have it remain sharp. But even then, scaling would be a bugger of a problem in a lot of programs/websites. Nope, imho, it should only be offered with an excellent 1080P, non-touch screen. At least until Microsoft catches up to Apple on scaling abilities.
So I'm thinking of ditching my main pc/gaming rig and replacing it with the Razer Blade. About 90% of the time, I'd hook it up to a HDTV/monitor and would like to use my mechanical keyboard and gaming mouse. The other 10% I'd take it with me while traveling/vacationing. Is this feasible? I'm curious if anyone can comment on performance when hooked up to an external monitor. Would the performance suffer? Thanks!
Is the battery removable? So we can carry a additional battery with us n if yes what will be the price of the battery? Or an extra source so that it can last longer without any electric ports near by ......... Please help really curious
Can the SSD's be upgraded? That way one could buy the 256GB version today, and upgrade to bigger SSD's later once available (at a good price point).
I'm also trying to decide between this laptop and the MSI GS60 GHOST PRO 4K-079 15.6-Inch... Both have the same GPU, close to the same thickness (MSI is thicker) and weight. I'll be using the laptop for more work tasks (VMware Workstation, Photoshop CS6) and maybe get into some video production tasks (not sure how much of that I'll be doing). I could see getting into gaming on the PC again with this system. Of course, I'll also want to upgrade the video card in my tower if that's the case.
Anyone who buys a macbook pro to use as a gaming machine needs a good slap around the head with a large slimy trout... Be good to see how much more battery life the 1080 spec gets? Who needs 2k on a 14" screen? shame about only having the 8gb memory option...
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geniekid - Wednesday, February 11, 2015 - link
Good review - it answered most of the questions I had about this laptop. Hopefully when you guys get the 1080p version you will run it through the same benchmarks so we get comparable results.close - Thursday, February 12, 2015 - link
No Europe again, huh? Also worth mentioning that the FHD one only has 8GB of ram, so it's not just the SSD and screen like the pricing in the table above suggests.Hrel - Thursday, February 12, 2015 - link
Assuming the RAM is upgradeable here, so that wouldn't be a problem. 8GB of RAM is like $50.Brett Howse - Thursday, February 12, 2015 - link
It's not upgradable unfortunately, unless you are really good with the soldering iron.Dusk_Star - Wednesday, February 11, 2015 - link
For the batter boost battery life comparison, was the 2015 test done with the same settings as the 2014 Blade, or with the settings that GForce Experience picked this year? Because I imagine that the higher the frame rate before battery boost, the greater the difference in battery life, and it might be more fair to run a 2015 battery test at 2014 settings.Brett Howse - Wednesday, February 11, 2015 - link
The 2014 settings were used. The only difference was post processing enabled/disabled, but that has a big impact on framerate.tipoo - Wednesday, February 11, 2015 - link
Is the key travel better than the 15" rMBP? That's what bugs me most about the design of my machine. Not enough keyboard feedback leading to a lot of missed strokes.I was pretty torn between the two systems, even though they're pretty different in intended use case. But selling my rMBP and getting this for around the same price would allow much more mobile gaming, which would be nice. Just not sure if I'd trade off the rest of what makes the MBP better for that.
tipoo - Wednesday, February 11, 2015 - link
Huh, didn't expect it to weigh less with all the added specs either. 4.19 pounds vs 4.46.tipoo - Wednesday, February 11, 2015 - link
Never mind, that's the 14". So, when is that edit button coming along? :Pfokka - Wednesday, February 11, 2015 - link
as you already noticed, the blade is one inch smaller and the rmbp also comes with a 47w CPU, if i'm not mistaken. plus it has some serious battery capacity, so it's not all that surprising that the macbook is heavier.Oxford_Guy - Thursday, February 12, 2015 - link
Do mean the weight compared to the 15" rMBP or to last years Razer Blade?douglord - Thursday, February 12, 2015 - link
Can you game on a Mac?tipoo - Thursday, February 12, 2015 - link
Yes, and especially under Windows. The Iris Pro 5200 isn't surer great, but it manages 1440x900 on low-med in most games out this year.Jaisah - Thursday, September 3, 2015 - link
I have the 2015 MacBook Pro 15" with the M370X and you certainly can game on a mac ;). I only game casually so I haven't tried all the latest and greatest games but I can play Elder Scrolls Online with everything turned up to full (except some lighting effects and shadows on medium) with 1440x900 resolution and I get 50-60 FPS with the occasional drop to 40 FPS. I installed some older games too like COD:MW2 and you can easily max out the settings. Probably with some of the newer, more demanding games you would have to turn the settings down to medium at 1440x900 but its still a very playable/enjoyable gaming experience. All games I've played have been in Mac OS X Yosemite. Aparently when El Capitan comes out with "Metal" we will see an immediate improvement in games. I'm excited :Dlurwas - Saturday, February 14, 2015 - link
If you are after better key travel, have a look at MSI GS60 or GS70.+ better performance then rMBP.
+ better keyboard (one of the best laptop keyboards that I ever typed on) with more travel
+- depending on your preferences, available with matte option
- battery life (4-5 hours when surfing)
cc2096 - Saturday, February 14, 2015 - link
Please tell me where you got the 4-5 hours battery life with the MSI GS60? I've owned four of them across the model lineup and none pulled in better than 3 hours tops.tipoo - Wednesday, February 11, 2015 - link
Is that mid 2014 MBP the 750M or the Iris Pro 5200?dmunsie - Wednesday, February 11, 2015 - link
One would hope that they would pick the one with the 750M since it's closer in price and specs to the one being reviewed, but that's not exactly clear here.I don't have any high hopes that any impending rMBP update will make it better for gaming. It seems like the 750M is as good as it gets on the Apple side for now. Which is a shame because I almost always avoid playing any games on the built in retina display since the extra pixels end up taking a huge hit on the frame rates.
dovah-chan - Wednesday, February 11, 2015 - link
holy crap sensible people talking about macs and pcs and they don't want to bash each others faces in. I love this site ;-; fak toms hardware forever 0/10 never going backOxford_Guy - Thursday, February 12, 2015 - link
Indeed, I have both Macs and PCs and can see the pros and cons of each. I'd love a more powerful GPU in the rMBP, but can't see it happening, maybe an 850M at best (an 860M or even a 965M would be much more interesting...)dovah-chan - Thursday, February 12, 2015 - link
I guess apple does it out of fear of receiving criticism for running hot or having a loud cooling system to tame the GPU? Maxwell doesn't run that hot so they should be able to keep it in check with at least a 965M but any higher would likely cause issues. They should at least include the option for a higher end mobile card.The school I'm at has 2011 iMacs with a 6570D and they tank so hard when using spaces and mission control. (not to mention the magic mouse is awful)
TheinsanegamerN - Tuesday, February 17, 2015 - link
given the 750m's TDP, nothing higher than the 850m would be feasible. the 965m draws way too much power for that machine to handle.tipoo - Thursday, February 12, 2015 - link
Yep, I've been a lifelong PC guy, but I'm enjoying my 15" rMBP a lot. I just wish there was more GPU grunt for when I use Boot Camp for the occasional game.fokka - Wednesday, February 11, 2015 - link
one would think some kind of 960m should be in the cards, when the rmbp get upgraded and such a card is available from nvidia. that should be quite a bit faster than the current 750m, which is getting a bit old in the tooth, especially considering the machines price.tipoo - Sunday, February 15, 2015 - link
Brett? Anyone? Beuller?eanazag - Wednesday, February 11, 2015 - link
Is the SSD an mSATA or 2.5"?eanazag - Wednesday, February 11, 2015 - link
Nevermind, I reviewed the introduction over again.I have an aversion to LiteOn SSDs. I have no experience with that model, but I have with Dell OEM Lite-On drives as they struggle with garbage collection when Bitlocker is installed (Windows 7). For Windows 8 Bitlocker I recommend only encrypting used space option.
peterfares - Wednesday, February 11, 2015 - link
Shame that it just has HDMI output. They should have put a DisplayPort (or two) outputs just like the MBP the body mimics. Can't even run an external WQHD screen, very lame.BillyONeal - Wednesday, February 11, 2015 - link
This is literally the only reason I have not bought one yet. :/fokka - Wednesday, February 11, 2015 - link
it has hdmi 1.4a, which should be good for 1600p/60p or 4k/30p according to wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDMI#Version_compari...peterfares - Thursday, February 12, 2015 - link
There are lots of issues with HDMI 1.4 and 2560x1440. Most don't seem to be able to do 2560x1440 at 60Hz.http://www.notebookcheck.net/2560x1440-or-2560x160...
Most of these tests were able to get 55Hz after setting a custom resolution. I tried once to get 2560x1440 60Hz out of a laptop with only HDMI and I couldn't do it whereas my laptops with DisplayPort I can just plug in and it works.
close - Thursday, February 12, 2015 - link
It doesn't mimic anything. It's just a good design. It's like saying that all cars mimic the Ford Model T or something. It is a shame indeed that it lack some connectivity but if they actually did study the market and most of their potential customers wanted this it sounds reasonable enough.Jaisah - Thursday, September 3, 2015 - link
The body is almost identical to the rMBP and even the inside (fan positioning, soldered ram and location, speaker position, battery position) looks very similar to the rMPB. Maybe they didn't copy the rMBP but they certainly used it for inspiration :PUplink10 - Wednesday, February 11, 2015 - link
Why do people buy laptops with pricey gimped i7 CPUs, which cost the same as ungimped CPUs. They should make laptop with i5 desktop CPU which is much cheaper but it is not gimped and has the same performance.dragonsqrrl - Wednesday, February 11, 2015 - link
... and a far higher TDP.Oh and the answer to your question: TDP (probably package size as well)
anactoraaron - Wednesday, February 11, 2015 - link
What? Did you just start reading AT? They analyzed this not too long ago. http://www.anandtech.com/show/7287/analyzing-the-p... The higher end quad w/ht i7 laptop chips hold their own against any desktop i5... and at a much lower tdp. I'm not sure how you define gimpedUplink10 - Wednesday, February 11, 2015 - link
They could have higher clocks but also a little higher TDP.DanNeely - Thursday, February 12, 2015 - link
Because at about the same TDP the mobile i7 is faster than the desktop i5. The 47W i7-4720m has a base of 2.6ghz and can turbo to 3.4-3.6. The 45W i5-4690T only has a base of 2.5GHz and tops out at 3.1-3.5 for turbo. The overall TDP between the two chips is closer because the desktop chipset is 4.1W vs 2.7 for the mobile one. To get faster than a baseline mobile i7 you need to go to the 65W S series i5s. Normal laptops don't do that because an extra 20W of TDP will give much better returns most of the time with a faster GPU. You'll occasionally see a desktop CPU it in an 18-19" luggable; but other than in form factor those machines don't really qualify as laptops because they're too big, too heavy, and have too little battery life even at idle to be usable away from a desk.And even at that, in turbo mode the top end end mobile 47W i7-4980HQ is faster than the 88w desktop i5.
Uplink10 - Thursday, February 12, 2015 - link
I thought you generally have laptop plugged in when playing games. And when you do not play games for few hours, you can use a CPU with little higher TDP.Brett Howse - Thursday, February 12, 2015 - link
It's not about battery life. You have to get the heat out. On a desktop PC, the headsink and fan combo is 3-4 times thicker than the entire laptop. Next, look at the cooling solution on a GTX 970 desktop part and then look at the laptop.Jaisah - Thursday, September 3, 2015 - link
What is a "gimped" CPU? I have the 2.5 GHz i7 4870HQ turbo to 3.7GHz, it performs pretty well in all the tasks I've put it up to ;)dragonsqrrl - Wednesday, February 11, 2015 - link
Does anyone know how difficult it is to access the interior for a drive upgrade? At $200 for the 256, and an additional $300 for the 512, it's just not worth it to go with any of Razer's SSD upgrades. Might as well just go with the 128GB option and purchase a 512GB M.2 separately.lpjz290 - Wednesday, February 11, 2015 - link
If my memory serves me right, the 2015 model should feature a very similar back cover to the 2014 Blade, maybe this member-contributed iFixit teardown might provide some insight?https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Razer+Blade+14+%28...
dragonsqrrl - Thursday, February 12, 2015 - link
Actually looks pretty accessible based on the images.JoshHo - Wednesday, February 11, 2015 - link
I've bought the 2014 version, and in order to replace the SSD you need to remove the T4 torx screws on the bottom, remove the back cover, disconnect a display connector, two ribbon cables, and remove one Phillips screw to remove the SSD. It's a trivial task that takes around half an hour at most.dragonsqrrl - Thursday, February 12, 2015 - link
Thanks for the infoDanNeely - Thursday, February 12, 2015 - link
As fragile as connectors for laptop ribbon cables are, I wouldn't call any job that requires touching them trivial.hfm - Saturday, February 21, 2015 - link
http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/cloning-th...Tunnah - Wednesday, February 11, 2015 - link
Although I agree that most people prefer HDMI over DP, I would argue that for a computer that can competently push 4K should have the ability to output it at 60hz.That aside, this is probably the first ever laptop I am seriously considering buying.
Uplink10 - Wednesday, February 11, 2015 - link
Does it have Mobile PCI Express Module (MXM) or is GTX 970M directly on motherboard?fokka - Wednesday, February 11, 2015 - link
i don't think the GPU is swappable on a slim machine like this. afaik, MXM is mostly used in configurable machines like clevo and similar brands.JoshHo - Wednesday, February 11, 2015 - link
The module is integrated into the board and cannot be upgraded or replaced.forwardbias - Wednesday, February 11, 2015 - link
Is the temperature test underload? What about normal usage? Idle?Oxford_Guy - Thursday, February 12, 2015 - link
Under torture-test load, from the sound of itboeush - Thursday, February 12, 2015 - link
Personally, I don't get the attraction of cramped little keyboard, cramped little screen, too much heat and noise, and not enough battery for way too much money.Maybe if Razor, in their infinite wisdom, deigned to build a 17" model with a full size keyboard and a 980m ... then I'd be willing to consider it.
Oxford_Guy - Thursday, February 12, 2015 - link
I have a 13" Macbook Air currently, which is even smaller, and don't find the keyboard cramped at all - I think that's a non-issue unless you have huge hands. Also a 14" screen actually offers a reasonable amount of screen real estate for a portable machine. Those 15.6" laptops with numpad keyboards really aren't that portable, which is the point of a notebook!Battery life is even decent in this for a gaming laptop.
Heat and noise *are* still concerns, however...
sviola - Thursday, February 12, 2015 - link
Razer does have a 17" laptop. It's called the Razer Blade Prohfm - Saturday, February 21, 2015 - link
The keyboard on the Blade is awesome. Not cramped. My guess by your comment is that you're just not the target for their systems. I love it.gtrenchev - Thursday, February 12, 2015 - link
If it wasn't for the stupid logo :)Seriously Razer, it's just childish and tasteless. The only detail that repels me.
Oxford_Guy - Thursday, February 12, 2015 - link
It's not as bad as Alienware and MSI's gaming machines...Oxford_Guy - Thursday, February 12, 2015 - link
is the stock SSD is user-replaceable or (even better) is there is a spare M2 slot? Might be cheaper to get the 128GB SSD model and to buy a larger SSD from elsewhere...close - Thursday, February 12, 2015 - link
For the 2014 one the SSD was user replaceable and there was another slot to add an extra SSD.Brett Howse - Thursday, February 12, 2015 - link
The SSD is replaceable (it's just M.2 SATA) but there is no extra slot for another SSD on this or the 2014 model. Possibly the 2013 model but I have not seen that one.hfm - Saturday, February 21, 2015 - link
http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/cloning-th...Anirudh Suresh - Thursday, February 12, 2015 - link
So can we upgrade ran on the 1080p variant?Anirudh Suresh - Thursday, February 12, 2015 - link
*RAMclose - Thursday, February 12, 2015 - link
No RAM upgrades. It's soldered on the motherboard.gtrenchev - Thursday, February 12, 2015 - link
Can you use the nvidia card for gaming on an external monitor? I mean, the HDMI is probably hardwired to IGP.ingwe - Thursday, February 12, 2015 - link
I didn't consider this possibility. That would be pretty awful.I wish with some of these small laptops that temperature testing would be done with the lid closed and using an external monitor. That would be my main use case when gaming.
gtrenchev - Thursday, February 12, 2015 - link
I don't believe it either, but it exists in some earlier laptops. Either way, the HDMI is hardwired to the IGP. Then comes Optimus, rendering faster with the nvidia, but pasting the frames in the IGP buffer instead of the nvidia buffer.tipoo - Thursday, February 12, 2015 - link
I'm guessing it would be the same as the internal display - the discreet GPU just poops its output into the integrated GPUs memory so it can be output to the monitor, which only has one physical connection to the internal GPU.voicequal - Thursday, February 12, 2015 - link
This would be great for my application, except the Intel mobile chipsets don't support the number of devices I need from the USB3 controller. You'd be lucky to get more than 10 external devices working off the xHCI controller before the dreaded Not enough USB controller resources error. http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/forum/s...For what it's worth, I find DisplayPort preferable over HDMI because DP is more flexible for splitting to multiple monitors.
DanNeely - Thursday, February 12, 2015 - link
The accepted answers on that link cite the problem as one of maximum power the port can put out; just because the port can address 127 devices doesn't mean it can provide them all with power. Non-charging USB3 ports are limited to 0.9 amps of 5v current; which ports (if any) get extra power for charging stuff is upto the motherboard OEM to decide if they want to provide extra power to it or not.voicequal - Thursday, February 12, 2015 - link
Unfortunately the accepted answer on that thread isn't the issue. The error is due to the limited number of USB devices/endpoints supported by the Intel xHCI controller. I'm curious if more devices are supported on the Broadwell chipsets, but don't have one to test yet.ruthan - Thursday, February 12, 2015 - link
I dont believe whole conclusion.. if this is truth:" When the fans are running though, the laptop is very loud. We measured 55.0 dBA at 1 inch from the system after one hour of gaming. It is very loud, and very noticeable. In my opinion, any gaming on the Razer Blade would necessitate headphones.."
For me it means that whole laptop design failed - too much hoursepower for cooling system, good experience and performance only on paper or for deaf people..
TheinsanegamerN - Tuesday, February 17, 2015 - link
agreed. They should have stuck with the 37 watt i7 and put the 965m in instead.ingwe - Thursday, February 12, 2015 - link
This looks so great. I wish they would have actually gone with a lower power CPU to get better battery life. I also wish that there would be DP in addition to HDMI. These are relatively minor gripes. Now to come up with $2700 for this...HiTechObsessed - Thursday, February 12, 2015 - link
Again, why don't y'all ever look at Sager laptops? The Sager NP8651 is less than an inch thick, packs a dual-fan-cooled 970m, the same quad-core i7 CPU, but has a starting price of $1,225 as opposed to $2k. Essentially, the Sager offers the same performance, while only spending a little over 60%?Even when adding an SSD to the Sager and Windows, you're still substantially cheaper.
awlllwa - Thursday, February 12, 2015 - link
I have had my NP8652 (980m model) for about a month now and it is awesome. All said an done, the same price as this here Razer, but with a 4k Sharp screen, 2x 512gb SSDs, 1tb HDD, and the chaise is not that thick. Like .2-.3" more, for way better internals, and I still have one more m.2 slot and 2 empty sodimm slots.I did strongly consider the 2014 Blade, but couldn't swallow the 870m for that price, this new one feels much of the same.
DanNeely - Thursday, February 12, 2015 - link
Because neither Sager, nor anyone who rebadges Sager laptops and sells them under their name is willing to send a review sample.awlllwa - Tuesday, February 17, 2015 - link
completely forgot about that.douglord - Thursday, February 12, 2015 - link
I'd like one with a Broadwell processor and 980m. I know 4 core Broadwell isn't out yet, but I'd rather wait OR get a 2 core U CPU. For gaming, wouldn't that be better? Glad they have a 1080p option. We are still a ways off from being able to do 4k gaming, and anything in between 1080p and 4k just doesn't make sense to me from a media standpoint.xenol - Thursday, February 12, 2015 - link
Yes! An heat mapping of the chassis!Thank you guys. This is sorely missing from most laptop reviews. I'll be sure to add Anandtech to the list of who to go to now if I want to look into a laptop.
warezme - Thursday, February 12, 2015 - link
I second all of the above in the review. I just received my Razer yesterday. I ran the Monster Hunter Online benchmark at 1920x1080 and it scored more than twice as fast as my old 17" Alienware M17x R3 with GTX580M it was replacing. I still love that old laptop but it's time has passed. When I bought that years ago, i also clicked all the highest CPU and GPU settings I could get on that model. How time flies.dragonsqrrl - Thursday, February 12, 2015 - link
"Razer has told me that their data shows that more people prefer HDMI at this time, so they are sticking with this over DisplayPort for the external monitor connection."Who are these people? Would it really hurt to put both?
sviola - Thursday, February 12, 2015 - link
Probably people that plugs it into TVs.Oxford_Guy - Sunday, February 15, 2015 - link
But it's such a simple thing to get a miniDisplay Port to HDMI cable...D. Lister - Thursday, February 12, 2015 - link
3200x1800 is an extremely poor screen res choice for any single GPU, mobile or not, and at a meager 14", the loss in frame rates would far outweigh the gain in pixels (over a 1080p panel).TheinsanegamerN - Tuesday, February 17, 2015 - link
Ideally, since 3200x1800 is exactly double 1600x900, you would run the games at 1600x900, and the desktop at 32001800 with 200% dpi.faster - Thursday, February 12, 2015 - link
$2000.00+ for a 14" laptop? No thanks.I wouldn't want a 14" laptop at any price.
Oxford_Guy - Friday, February 13, 2015 - link
For me 14" is the perfect size, not too big, not too small. 15.6" laptops have become even more bloated these days, as everyone seems to add a pointless numpad to thempuppies - Friday, February 13, 2015 - link
Is "only" 8GB of RAM really a problem? What % of people that buy these machines ever get close to utilising anywhere near that amount? These are gaming machines, i'm sure the odd graphics designer buys one for 3d rendering but i'm sure that 99% of people that spec the 16GB haven't got a clue that it does nothing to speed up BF4 and facebook.sviola - Sunday, February 15, 2015 - link
Well, I was to buy a laptop a couple of weeks ago, and did not buy the Razer because it did not have a 16 GB option. Part of my decision was based on the price (at this price, 16 GB is a must) and, more important, due to my usage of the laptop (I'm always running at least one VM, a app server, ide and db server, so 16 GB do come in handy).MGSMiami - Saturday, February 14, 2015 - link
."...$2700 for 512 GB. It is a lot of money for a 14” gaming laptop. Luckily the quality of the components really are top notch. For the money, you get a great display," Personal preferences aside, I don't believe the kind of gaming experience for which this laptop is built can be savored on a 14" high-rez screen...So many people use their laptops as desktop replacements, I just can't imagine the experience of the game on an itsby-bitsy weeny-teeny screen with all those powerful components aside. I game on a 55" LG and the experience is thrilling. My notebook is 17.3" Asus ROG and that is about the limit for screen real estate, resolution issues aside. I'm not a fan of razer products, nor their marketing strategy...Now let's wait for a similar review for the new iteration coming in February of 2016.DanB1 - Sunday, February 15, 2015 - link
This laptop is obviously a niche product, and whilst you have selected a 17" as your choice, I'm sure there are others that this laptop would suit better. I've had a 17" gamin laptop, and it's hardly what you would call portable for a day to day role. Additionally the size of a 15" laptop can be a drawback also in terms of specific size requirements for carriage, in my example, I don't want to carry around a larger backpack just to facilitate the size of my laptop. The 14" size for me is great. In my view this laptop fits into what I would like in a laptop, the ability to casually play the latest AAA games at night whilst I'm on the road, combined with just enough battery to facilitate my work needs during the day. Combined with the build quality, tiny PSU and the fact it isn't a Mac makes this one of two laptops I am currently considering purchasing. I think I would prefer the 1080p version, especially it provides slightly longer battery life, although as with all gaming laptops I am not expecting to be able to game whilst unplugged... you can't even do that in a 17" example...GekkePrutser - Saturday, February 14, 2015 - link
One thing I really don't get: why didn't they go for Broadwell??Brett Howse - Sunday, February 15, 2015 - link
The quad-core Broadwell CPUs are not out yet. Just the dual-core 15w versions.Shadowmaster625 - Monday, February 16, 2015 - link
$2199.99 for 128GB QHD+ Model$2399.99 for 256GB QHD+ Model
WTF Why are companies still pulling this kind of crap in 2015? Two hundred dollars for 128GB?
Coldkilla - Tuesday, February 17, 2015 - link
When can we expect to find this on Amazon? I have $200 in gift cards I'd like to apply to purchasing one of these but all I see is the 2014 model currently.colint13 - Tuesday, February 17, 2015 - link
Will there be a review of the Gigabyte P34W v3? Similar specs as the 1080p 2015 Blade but for $300 less.cptcolo - Wednesday, February 18, 2015 - link
Please make a 15" version similar to the MacBook Proj5689 - Sunday, February 22, 2015 - link
This review has me thinking about getting a Razer Blade Pro when they release an updated version of that. A 14" screen is too small for me but the Pro is also missing the QHD+ screen so it's a tough choice. In the 17" range, Alienware might be a better deal too, they come with most of the same stuff and a 1TB HDD plus the optional GTX 980M for around the same as the 2014 Blade Prosna1970 - Thursday, February 26, 2015 - link
1- No HDMI 2.0 ?2- no PCIe SSD ?
3- No Killer LAN ? No Killer WLAN with Class one Bluetooth (100m range) many people miss the 100m Bluetooth part , Intel is 10m Range only and 100m range headsets Exist and are wonderful.
4- No Mechanical Keyboard ?
5- No Docking Station with Dedicated High End Card.
ummm Razer are being lazy lately.
SourDo - Thursday, February 26, 2015 - link
I own a 2013 Razer Blade 14". Does anyone know if there is an option whether from Razer or some source for upgrading the built-in LCD panel (extremely crappy 1600x900 TN) to 1080p IPS? My laptop is already out of warranty, so voiding warranty is not concern. Thanks! Fingers-crossed hoping for a miracle.deeps6x - Wednesday, March 4, 2015 - link
Of course the major hurdle is to get a high quality 1080P IPS matte screen version of the laptop at a reasonable price. Yeah, QHD checks some marketing checkboxes, but it isn't something that 90% of the buyers would actually prefer (at least not if they could use both for gaming and compare).Blame Microsoft for not solving the scaling issue. At least if it was quad full hd 3840x2160 (ah who are we kidding, it should be 3840x2400), you could scale it back to a usable 1080P for gaming and non-gaming both, and have it remain sharp. But even then, scaling would be a bugger of a problem in a lot of programs/websites. Nope, imho, it should only be offered with an excellent 1080P, non-touch screen. At least until Microsoft catches up to Apple on scaling abilities.
My two bits. Otherwise, nice laptop.
nasqb112 - Thursday, March 5, 2015 - link
So I'm thinking of ditching my main pc/gaming rig and replacing it with the Razer Blade. About 90% of the time, I'd hook it up to a HDTV/monitor and would like to use my mechanical keyboard and gaming mouse. The other 10% I'd take it with me while traveling/vacationing. Is this feasible? I'm curious if anyone can comment on performance when hooked up to an external monitor. Would the performance suffer? Thanks!Majeh3363 - Saturday, March 7, 2015 - link
Is the battery removable? So we can carry a additional battery with us n if yes what will be the price of the battery? Or an extra source so that it can last longer without any electric ports near by ......... Please help really curiousGolddiggie - Sunday, March 8, 2015 - link
Can the SSD's be upgraded? That way one could buy the 256GB version today, and upgrade to bigger SSD's later once available (at a good price point).I'm also trying to decide between this laptop and the MSI GS60 GHOST PRO 4K-079 15.6-Inch... Both have the same GPU, close to the same thickness (MSI is thicker) and weight. I'll be using the laptop for more work tasks (VMware Workstation, Photoshop CS6) and maybe get into some video production tasks (not sure how much of that I'll be doing). I could see getting into gaming on the PC again with this system. Of course, I'll also want to upgrade the video card in my tower if that's the case.
Wask - Sunday, March 22, 2015 - link
Anyone who buys a macbook pro to use as a gaming machine needs a good slap around the head with a large slimy trout... Be good to see how much more battery life the 1080 spec gets? Who needs 2k on a 14" screen? shame about only having the 8gb memory option...LordSnow55 - Friday, May 1, 2015 - link
There's a free giveaway for a Razer Blade going on right now. Only takes a second to enter http://bit.ly/1I34DRFJohnSmith123321 - Monday, May 25, 2015 - link
This is how to upgrade the SSD in the Razer Blade 2015https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjM-ByOE0fQ
JohnSmith123321 - Tuesday, May 26, 2015 - link
If you want to see how the Razer Blade 2015 970m Benchmarks against a 980 Zotac AMP Desktop check out his video https://www.youtube.com/watch?JohnSmith123321 - Tuesday, May 26, 2015 - link
If you want to see how the Razer Blade 2015 970m Benchmarks against a 980 Zotac AMP Desktop check out this videohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lP7da2RE6Qk
JohnSmith123321 - Wednesday, December 2, 2015 - link
To upgrade your razer blade 2015 SSD follow this tutorial. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjM-ByOE0fQaiyub - Friday, June 24, 2016 - link
Can you game on a Mac<a href="http://www.aiydriver.com">aiyub</a>
aiyub - Friday, June 24, 2016 - link
Can you game on a Machttp://www.aiydriver.com