And also test out the reliability of the hinges. Complex mechanical setups are more prone to failure. It would be interesting to see this in motion but I couldn't find any video of it.
Seeing how bulky the "screen" part of the laptop becomes I wonder what happens when you push the screen to far back and how usable is it in that position regardless of whether the "wings" are extended.
That too. On the subject of wings, if you can't use just one you'd better have three movies ready to go if you don't want to be the least popular person on the whole plane.
Though if you did have three movies ready to go and a way to play separate audio through dedicated jacks... you'd be the most popular person on the plane :P
I don't think Gaming is the right application for this technology, I doubt there will be a GPU that will fit in a laptop that size that can drive 3 4K screens for a long time. I can, however, see this as being useful on a content creation machine like a mobile workstation (Thinkpad, Elitebook, Precision, etc.). It's a shame Razer doesn't make those.
Lenovo tried something similar ~9 years ago with the W700ds but with only one smaller screen and no "motorized hinges". This meant the already bulky laptop didn't end up looking like a suitcase. I used to have one but seeing how the next models didn't feature this I assume it wasn't a very popular option or the need wasn't there at that time.
The point that any current GPU will be unable to drive three 4K screens and maintain a reasonable framerate in games stands. A 1080, although the current top end, isn't going to be able to do it. I expect even SLI 1080 wouldn't cut it in current games let alone things that will invariably come out in the near future that drive system requirements up. Sure it'll be okay for things like MS Word and e-mail, but Razer's target market has historically been gamers. People looking for multi monitor support for more mundane tasks will do so with cheaper desktop monitors rather than "gaming" notebooks.
I can't say much about a SLI setup but I can tell you that a single 1080 with a triple 4K screen setup the performance was unbearable :). I expect a second card would help a lot but I wouldn't expect anything close or above 30FPS in games except for those that are really not demanding. I had around 10-15FPS in most of the popular games unless i really dropped quality which would make it an exercise in futility anyway.
Is there even any desktop GPU that can handle 3 4K screens smoothly? I guess you always have the option of gaming at a lower resolution or with just one screen. This thing would be a beastly mobile workstation.
Most PC hardcore simulators and racing games do 3 x 4K screens really smoothly. Many times I've seen them on youtube for 3 x 4K screens with a gtx 960 to 980ti. Almost all simulation racing games don't have most graphic intensive.
That's one scenario of many that a gaming-oriented computer will be subjected to and while it's a valid point (probably anyway...I haven't bothered looking into the idea of a 9x0 GPU driving three 4k displays) it's not the only scenario. Simulators that attempt to accurately portray something like say flying an aircraft and racing games are a subset of a larger software library and if something like this system of Razer's does go into production, there will be an expectation it can run other more mainstream titles that will result in poor performance. As suggested in another post below this, 1080p makes a lot more sense and would probably be a better overall experience for the person on the keyboard. 4K resolutions, while better, approach the point of diminishing returns on smaller screens anyway so there's not as much value in the increased resolution over 1080 as 1080 is over something like 720.
Then why wouldn't a single GTX 1080 be able to handle it? Every benchmark I've seen on the 10 series pegs it SUBSTANTIALLY better than the 9 series--and the laptop cards being virtually identical to their desktop counterparts in performance.
Despite what the dirty philistines say, 1080p would be woefully underwheliming. Even if I had to run "moderate" graphic settings on my games, I'd rather do that at the 4k resolution--than "ultra" at 1080p.
If this thing makes it to retail channels with its current specifications, no one here will stop you from purchasing one to find out for yourself if a 1080 is substantially better enough to give you a satisfactory experience. I'm certainly curious about how it would turn out, but I don't expect this will end up going on sale so I'll defer to close's post which already describes an inadequate gaming experience using a desktop 1080 and three 4K screens.
Interesting concept, but for on the go office use I wouldn't use a gaming laptop plus I like serviceability. Maybe Lenovo are interested in reviving the ThinkPad W701ds dual-screen laptop (although dual in this case meant a 17" 1200P screen with a 768*1280 side screen)? http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Category:w701ds
A lot of the recent computer announcements have been coming out of CES or are being done as a result of competitors making announcements there. CES is sort of like a 1950's era house of tomorrow exhibit that shows off a large number of conceptual toys that likely won't go into full production or ever really make it as retail products. Things like this Razer laptop are basically slinging mud at the proverbial wall to see what, if anything, happens to stick to it. I wouldn't take a lot of it seriously at this point.
For gaming, it would make more sense if the screens were 1920x1080 instead of 4K. 3*3840*2160 = 24,88 megapixels. 3*1920*1080 = 6,22 megapixels. Modern games could actually run at acceptable frame rates on medium settings.
Maybe this is just the prototype to gauge customer interest in creating a 13.3" FHD version. Could easily drive that with a less powerful GPU and shoot for the portable productivity market.
Sign me up! This would make for an awesome mobile development environment. But, it better come with some extended battery life options... not too common in gaming machines...
This reminds me of a Kickstarter campaign I saw about a year ago. It's called Slidenjoy (https://slidenjoy.com/en/) and allow you to add an additional display (or two) to a standard laptop.
Having the additional screens integrated into the laptop rather than magnetically attached is pretty slick though.
For those of you who carry an iPad around with your laptop, the Duet Display App has been working well for me for the last few months.
I've been waiting for someone to wake up to this idea. If they can do it with 15", keep the 4k displays, and get the price down to the $3,000 range, I'm in. But I have much more faith in Asus or MSI doing it than razer. Razer's offering will not only be overpriced, but probably more fragile. A 2" thick gaming laptop doesn't bother me--if it means 3x 4k beauty & GPU power to justify it.
Laptop gamers are special on their own, but this... I can only shake my head. But I guess Razer has a lot of special customers, if they still are able to successfully sell their overpriced stuff that breaks right after the warranty is over.
currently using a mbp 15" with two Asus MB169C+, totalling ~3.6 kg. it's more flexible, but a bit fiddly (needs a big table, mostly unusable in a coffee shop)... then again it's lighter than my old mbp 17"!
so if they can reduce the weight to 3-4 kg i might be sold... no need for a gtx1080 though, as that would be strictly for work...
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MajGenRelativity - Thursday, January 5, 2017 - link
This is interesting, but will become more/less interesting when I see prices.close - Thursday, January 5, 2017 - link
And also test out the reliability of the hinges. Complex mechanical setups are more prone to failure. It would be interesting to see this in motion but I couldn't find any video of it.xthetenth - Thursday, January 5, 2017 - link
Does it work with only one monitor as well? That seems like the obvious sticking point if you can't use it without room for the whole wingspan.close - Thursday, January 5, 2017 - link
Seeing how bulky the "screen" part of the laptop becomes I wonder what happens when you push the screen to far back and how usable is it in that position regardless of whether the "wings" are extended.xthetenth - Thursday, January 5, 2017 - link
That too. On the subject of wings, if you can't use just one you'd better have three movies ready to go if you don't want to be the least popular person on the whole plane.FalcomPSX - Thursday, January 5, 2017 - link
Though if you did have three movies ready to go and a way to play separate audio through dedicated jacks... you'd be the most popular person on the plane :PEleveneleven - Thursday, January 5, 2017 - link
That would probably be illegal to use anything outside of personal (just you) use if you're showing any copyrighted content.Flunk - Thursday, January 5, 2017 - link
I don't think Gaming is the right application for this technology, I doubt there will be a GPU that will fit in a laptop that size that can drive 3 4K screens for a long time. I can, however, see this as being useful on a content creation machine like a mobile workstation (Thinkpad, Elitebook, Precision, etc.). It's a shame Razer doesn't make those.close - Thursday, January 5, 2017 - link
Lenovo tried something similar ~9 years ago with the W700ds but with only one smaller screen and no "motorized hinges". This meant the already bulky laptop didn't end up looking like a suitcase. I used to have one but seeing how the next models didn't feature this I assume it wasn't a very popular option or the need wasn't there at that time.Bucu - Thursday, January 5, 2017 - link
NVIDIA GTX 1080 GPUDid you read the article? Come on.
BrokenCrayons - Thursday, January 5, 2017 - link
The point that any current GPU will be unable to drive three 4K screens and maintain a reasonable framerate in games stands. A 1080, although the current top end, isn't going to be able to do it. I expect even SLI 1080 wouldn't cut it in current games let alone things that will invariably come out in the near future that drive system requirements up. Sure it'll be okay for things like MS Word and e-mail, but Razer's target market has historically been gamers. People looking for multi monitor support for more mundane tasks will do so with cheaper desktop monitors rather than "gaming" notebooks.close - Thursday, January 5, 2017 - link
I can't say much about a SLI setup but I can tell you that a single 1080 with a triple 4K screen setup the performance was unbearable :). I expect a second card would help a lot but I wouldn't expect anything close or above 30FPS in games except for those that are really not demanding.I had around 10-15FPS in most of the popular games unless i really dropped quality which would make it an exercise in futility anyway.
peterfares - Thursday, January 5, 2017 - link
Is there even any desktop GPU that can handle 3 4K screens smoothly?I guess you always have the option of gaming at a lower resolution or with just one screen. This thing would be a beastly mobile workstation.
virtuastro - Thursday, January 5, 2017 - link
Most PC hardcore simulators and racing games do 3 x 4K screens really smoothly. Many times I've seen them on youtube for 3 x 4K screens with a gtx 960 to 980ti. Almost all simulation racing games don't have most graphic intensive.BrokenCrayons - Thursday, January 5, 2017 - link
That's one scenario of many that a gaming-oriented computer will be subjected to and while it's a valid point (probably anyway...I haven't bothered looking into the idea of a 9x0 GPU driving three 4k displays) it's not the only scenario. Simulators that attempt to accurately portray something like say flying an aircraft and racing games are a subset of a larger software library and if something like this system of Razer's does go into production, there will be an expectation it can run other more mainstream titles that will result in poor performance. As suggested in another post below this, 1080p makes a lot more sense and would probably be a better overall experience for the person on the keyboard. 4K resolutions, while better, approach the point of diminishing returns on smaller screens anyway so there's not as much value in the increased resolution over 1080 as 1080 is over something like 720.inperfectdarkness - Friday, January 6, 2017 - link
Then why wouldn't a single GTX 1080 be able to handle it? Every benchmark I've seen on the 10 series pegs it SUBSTANTIALLY better than the 9 series--and the laptop cards being virtually identical to their desktop counterparts in performance.Despite what the dirty philistines say, 1080p would be woefully underwheliming. Even if I had to run "moderate" graphic settings on my games, I'd rather do that at the 4k resolution--than "ultra" at 1080p.
BrokenCrayons - Sunday, January 8, 2017 - link
If this thing makes it to retail channels with its current specifications, no one here will stop you from purchasing one to find out for yourself if a 1080 is substantially better enough to give you a satisfactory experience. I'm certainly curious about how it would turn out, but I don't expect this will end up going on sale so I'll defer to close's post which already describes an inadequate gaming experience using a desktop 1080 and three 4K screens.KompuKare - Thursday, January 5, 2017 - link
Interesting concept, but for on the go office use I wouldn't use a gaming laptop plus I like serviceability.Maybe Lenovo are interested in reviving the ThinkPad W701ds dual-screen laptop (although dual in this case meant a 17" 1200P screen with a 768*1280 side screen)?
http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Category:w701ds
jwcalla - Thursday, January 5, 2017 - link
The tech industry has gone full retard.Michael Bay - Thursday, January 5, 2017 - link
Yep, and then you can always count on Razer for the oneupping of the trend!BrokenCrayons - Thursday, January 5, 2017 - link
A lot of the recent computer announcements have been coming out of CES or are being done as a result of competitors making announcements there. CES is sort of like a 1950's era house of tomorrow exhibit that shows off a large number of conceptual toys that likely won't go into full production or ever really make it as retail products. Things like this Razer laptop are basically slinging mud at the proverbial wall to see what, if anything, happens to stick to it. I wouldn't take a lot of it seriously at this point.Kepe - Thursday, January 5, 2017 - link
For gaming, it would make more sense if the screens were 1920x1080 instead of 4K.3*3840*2160 = 24,88 megapixels.
3*1920*1080 = 6,22 megapixels.
Modern games could actually run at acceptable frame rates on medium settings.
Kevin G - Thursday, January 5, 2017 - link
I'd like to see one of these deployed in a middle coach seat on a plane. Worth wise known as how to make people hate you.NXTwoThou - Thursday, January 5, 2017 - link
Maybe this is just the prototype to gauge customer interest in creating a 13.3" FHD version. Could easily drive that with a less powerful GPU and shoot for the portable productivity market.hammer256 - Thursday, January 5, 2017 - link
A triple monitor laptop would be amazing for programming on the go... once you go triple, you don't go back ;)tbonepro - Friday, January 6, 2017 - link
Sign me up! This would make for an awesome mobile development environment. But, it better come with some extended battery life options... not too common in gaming machines...Alex75 - Friday, January 6, 2017 - link
This reminds me of a Kickstarter campaign I saw about a year ago. It's called Slidenjoy (https://slidenjoy.com/en/) and allow you to add an additional display (or two) to a standard laptop.Having the additional screens integrated into the laptop rather than magnetically attached is pretty slick though.
For those of you who carry an iPad around with your laptop, the Duet Display App has been working well for me for the last few months.
bernstein - Monday, January 9, 2017 - link
thxinperfectdarkness - Friday, January 6, 2017 - link
I've been waiting for someone to wake up to this idea. If they can do it with 15", keep the 4k displays, and get the price down to the $3,000 range, I'm in. But I have much more faith in Asus or MSI doing it than razer. Razer's offering will not only be overpriced, but probably more fragile. A 2" thick gaming laptop doesn't bother me--if it means 3x 4k beauty & GPU power to justify it.Beaver M. - Sunday, January 8, 2017 - link
Laptop gamers are special on their own, but this...I can only shake my head. But I guess Razer has a lot of special customers, if they still are able to successfully sell their overpriced stuff that breaks right after the warranty is over.
bernstein - Monday, January 9, 2017 - link
currently using a mbp 15" with two Asus MB169C+, totalling ~3.6 kg. it's more flexible, but a bit fiddly (needs a big table, mostly unusable in a coffee shop)... then again it's lighter than my old mbp 17"!so if they can reduce the weight to 3-4 kg i might be sold... no need for a gtx1080 though, as that would be strictly for work...
deptiarora0 - Monday, March 6, 2017 - link
Really Great Concept , Really Like It