And it is announced - Razer Blade 2016

Considering a 2016 but wondering what people are thinking for a docking solution. Would need USB-C dock that is also a Display Port MST hub for two external monitors Does such a thing exist without breaking the bank?

 

Their Core is the logical solution. It's a little expensive but really the only thunderbolt 3 solution that includes a graphics card externally. There are thunderbolt 3 adapters on Amazon that are cheaper and provide hdmi, vga, USB and Ethernet outputs. I have no idea how well they work though.

 

But I don't need the core in the office for my two screens. I was just hoping for something a little more elegant that having a USB-C to Displayport dongle and then having it plugged into a MST hub all while having the USB mouse sticking out the other side of the laptop...

 

AHAHAHAHahaha

https://insider.razerzone.com/index.php?threads/blade-2016-delayed-again.13060/page-84

 

Not sure why you're so happy the 2016 Blade is delayed, that's mean.

 

Oh, I thought he was just laughing at how ridiculous that thread is getting. Seriously, after the MS store got them in stock everyone went berserk.

 

That thread is getting out of hand but still that's no reason to enjoy someone else's misery, recently Min said the delay was caused by the earthquake in Japan.
Not trying to make excuses for them but once the 2016 model is out in full force all this "delayed" talk will be long forgotten, don't people have patience anymore

 

It's just farcical at this point.

Also, I am mean.

 

What components are made in japan? Logic Board?

 

The camera. Apparently demand for the stealth was so great that they cannibalized their stock for the Blade to use on the stealth, and then couldn't get more. Of course that's only one excuse of many.

 

Units are slowly starting to ship so that's a good sign, of course not everyone will be happy especially those that ordered early but at least it's a good sign that they are finally being delivered.
@ Eason
You got to relax bro! No need to be mean, life is to short man

 

Received a 512GB version today from the MS Store. After setting it up a couple of first impressions:

• It really does seem like they used the keycaps from the Blade Stealth on the 2016 Blade. As compared to the Blade Stealth, I think the keycaps may be slightly more elevated, giving it slightly longer travel than the Blade Stealth, but noticeably shorter than the 2015 Blade. Visually when looking at the keycaps from an angle they appear very thin and almost identical to the ones used on the Blade Stealth.
  
  
• The right mouse button on my seems to stick when used... will see if this eases up over time but doesn't really do much for my confidence in Razer's build quality.
  
  
• This screen appears better than the 2015 Blade that I used with respect to colors. Not sure if its just better calibrated or if the 2015 Blade I used had a bad screen, but it does appear to look a bit nicer.

Will install some games on it while I'm at work and play around a bit when I get home. Very curious to see if there really were some thermal improvements made or if it's just more hot air (ha!) from Razer's marketing department.

 

I'm really interested to hear if the fans are quieter.

Sent from a 128th Legion Stormtrooper 6P

 

Can you try a prime 95 benchmark and check the CPU temps, plus one for firestrike peak temps? I saw temps go up to 92 CPU / 82 GPU on reddit (just from firestrike I think), which doesn't look great...

 

I am very interested to hear about the change in thermals as well. That is my primary gripe with my 2015 QHD+ Blade. I have it downclocked to max at 25W right now and that helps a lot but the thing could still fry an egg after an hour of playing just Diablo 3 (with all settings minimized but the resolution to try to lower the stress on GPU and the shared cooling apparatus). The body above the keyboard where the hot air is vented does get scorching hot.....The core ability is also really cool and if I was still in college I would be ALL OVER IT. As is I have a 4770k/GTX 980 Ti desktop that works fine for high power stuff - syncing files between the 2 systems is trivial with a networked file server.

Really Razer messed up majorly going with the 45W quad....they were just chasing a spec sheet for marketing and made a very poor design choice - since that CPU thermal throttles immediately with the stock clocks and power it is ridiculous.They should have gone with the 35W part that the Dell uses as it is plenty of CPU performance for gaming but would give a much better overall user experience. Other than the thermals and the lack of video outputs (DisplayPort would be nice as it is immensely more versatile than HDMI) I have been really happy with the laptop so far (replaced a loaded Dell M3800). They could stop wasting cost and weight on touchscreens though.....useless to me at least. Give me a good high DPI screen that is not touch enabled, PLEASE.

For those disappointed in the lack of HDMI 2.0 - that is required to maintain the Optimus support as the Intel iGPU does not support HDMI 2.0 on its own yet (requires Alpine Ridge TB3 and some special stuff to do HDMI 2.0). You get HDMI 2.0 or auto switching GPUs, not both. If they went the HDMI 2.0 route then you would have to reboot to swap between iGPU and dGPU like many of the (older?) Alienwares had (at least if you had an SLI laptop).

 

I played an hour or so of Diablo 3 with some friends earlier with video settings maxed. The fan is loud as hell, definitely not any quieter than the 2015 Blade. I'll see if I can find some time tomorrow night to run some benchmarks.

 

Sounds like the marketing stuff about the Blade 2016's temps was just blowing smoke up everyone's ass (I ran out of hot jokes)

also- that's what I assumed they meant by "readjusting the fan curve". The 2015 blade wouldn't hit max RPMs until 90C or so, which was way too late, so the fan would rev up and down and up and down. They probably adjusted it so it would trigger earlier

 

Random aside- I found that my account on razer insider forum was being targeted for failed loading/server errors so I had to make a new one. I thought it was a server-side error that was persisting for a couple weeks, but I noticed that when I used incognito mode and didn't log in, everything loaded lightning fast and there were no errors. Side by side confirmed with one window logged in and the other window logged out.

Maybe I was being too critical of them? Don't think so though, definitely not the most critical of the people there by a long shot. I'm certainly going to be a lot more cynical regarding their practices now, though.

Pretty ****ing shady, Razer. Not a good look to use the same techniques as the Chinese government to discourage people from talking.

 

It's also highly likely a logged in user makes backend db/api calls that a user that is not logged in doesn't make to render the page. Have you tried actually asking their web support before leveling wild claims?

Sent from a 128th Legion Stormtrooper 6P

 

No- it works fine on my new account. It is only my old account which will be unable to load pages.

I used a curse word in their forum, which a mod found offensive and warned me that I could not curse again or, quote, my "access to the forum may be limited". I didn't curse after that, yet sure enough after that, my access to the website became subtly limited, so subtly that I couldn't believe it was related to my account until it persisted over 2 weeks on multiple computers and connections so long as my account as logged in.

While I suppose it is rather circumstantial that it happened after a mod warned me about cursing (why not censor the forum, like nbr, then?) and only that account was affected, it's enough for me to make the connection.

 

OK well that would be harsh, but profanity is a good reason for the problem. Keep trucking with your new account and keep it civil and you'll be fine.

I doubt they'll ban you just for a a negative opinion stated with maturity.

At that, i would expect to get banned HERE if I started dropping the F-bomb.

Sent from a 128th Legion Stormtrooper 6P

 

Sure- my issues are
1. Other people dropped the occasional f***-word after me and their posts were not deleted, so I assume they weren't selected for moderation
2. If you warn someone not to do something again, you're supposed to wait for them to do it again
3. Disrupting someone's connection with no message or explanation is shady as

 

Yeah agreed, seems inconsistent

Sent from a 128th Legion Stormtrooper 6P

 

they use xenforo which has an option to "limit" users instead of banning them. Essentially it makes using the site super difficult so they leave on their own.

edit: heres some more info on it:

 

Yeah. Pretty scummy confirmed. And I am pretty it had something to do with me not defending all their delays and excuses. But whatever.

 

Well, that's disappointing that their statement about the fan noise being tuned to not be as obtrusive turned out to be an unnoticeable difference.

I'm still happy with my 870M, I'm going to hold out for the next iteration, hopefully a 1070M by then. Most likely Spring next year I suppose.

Now that I think about it, if Apple ends up doing something utterly fantastic with their 15" RMBP refresh I might have to take a look at that, but I'm still happy with my 13" RMBP for work purposes.

 

If only the XPS 15 had a 970m, I would have made that decision months ago.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

Their telling mine won't ship until the 27th. Should I take the chance they will ship it then or just buy a refurb 2015?

 

Wow, my new account got banned for nothing again. Nice work, Razer|Technokat, you're a big man!

I've spent 4,000 USD + on Razer products, but their behavior since the core/blade release is ****ed up. I defended them when the core was $500, but if I like someone's post when they complain about being treated badly, I get banned. Just because someone won't swallow your BS doesn't mean they're a troll. Go **** yourselves. I'm done.

 

27th is only 6 days...

Sent from a 128th Legion Stormtrooper 6P

 

A few updates after a week of using the 2016 Blade:

-Gaming performance is decent. Doom seems to show a range from 50-80fps on 1080p High with framerate drops happening only during wide open parts of the map.
-From a purely subjective feel, thermals feel well managed. System has shown no indications of throttling during 1-2 hour sessions of straight gaming and I don't feel any particular part of the chassis that I interact with while playing gets too hot to the touch. Fans are still loud but they seem less obtrusive than I initially thought.
-Build quality is solid, although I did notice that my system wobbled a little when placed on a flat surface initially. Removing the bottom plate and re-attaching it has fixed that.
-Right click button on the touchpad still sticks when pressing it and this has not resolved. Seems that I just got a bad unit in this regard.
-Screen is really sub-par. I'm amazed that this is not something they sought to update considering the selection of panels out there today. Viewing angles are too narrow as the color shift seems to come on almost as soon as you take your eyes off dead center.

 

Sounds like probably the same panel as the 2014 and 2015, which I don't mind. I like that you're noticing the fan pitch and thermals are better. I still think I'll stick with my 2014 to see what they come up with next spring.

Sent from a 128th Legion Stormtrooper 6P

 

[edit doublepost]

 

Lol dave 2D has his review up and the only thing changed about the thermals is that they flipped the cooling heatpipes with a heatspreader instead on top not touching the GPU/CPU die to on the bottom so that there isnt a gap between the heatpipes and the GPU/CPU die anymore but thats about it. Fan noise is still a lot higher than competition nearing 60db under load and the temperature on the outside of the laptop near the vents is 55c, a retina mbp 51c and an AW15R2 40c.

Dont let their marketing talk fool you! Its still a damn hot machine under load and I wonder how durable those batteries are this time. They seem to use a new "Betty" battery pack.

Also Asus leaked some Pascal GPU benchmark results and the model they leaked is performing on par with a Titan X in a laptop. I think it is very unwise now to spend a large sum of money on a 970M equipped machine which is performing about half of the new upcoming Pascal mobile generation.

How is that even possible. Reviews on 970M machiens say medium settings are kinda mandatory for Doom. a 980M even with settings on high is hovering around 60 with some dips.

 

The link, for reference.

I don't think last year's blade had that issue with scratches- I'm not sure though, since I never scratched it.

Looks like the display uses PWM

The CPU throttles (looked like it throttled at 84C though?)

And surprised at the heatsink being flipped upside down! Min-liang Tan told us that last year's method was a much improved thermal solution over a heat-spreader. Maybe he misspoke, and this year's thermal solution is the really good way?

 

Not sure if it matters, but my experience with Doom has been solely in multiplayer mode. Runs 50-80 fps on High settings at 1080p. Always low 50s on the wide open maps and big firefights, jumps to around 70-80 when in a corridor. Temperatures topping out around 75C with CPU undervolted ~150mV... was hitting 83C using stock voltage.

 

Sorry I should have linked it.

THe heatsink part made me giggle. I would love to hear Mi liang his opinion about this . I saw some of his comments on the Razer forum like "We are the first to do this an d everybody copies us now" comments. Then I am only thinking like cut the bullcrap Sony, Clevo, Gigabyte etc all did high performance small laptops before

Ah that explains it. The MP is a lot easier to run than the single player.

 

I would still have a lot more respect for Razer if they just cut the ********. It reminds me of the things Apple/Mac users were saying back when Apple was stuck with 500mhz g3 and g4 chips in computers that cost 2 grand. I remember because I was one of those brainwashed kids who didn't know any better.

"The screen in the blade stealth is small because we wanted it to be the best screen. There are no panels that size with high color accuracy and slim bezels" ********, you got a cheap deal on those 12.5" screens and that's why the bezels are big: so you could sell at an aggressive price-point. It's like Apple saying "we could only fit one port because it's so thin. We had to have this horrible keyboard because it's so thin." No, those were your own choices, live with them and fix it next year.

Just tell the truth.

 

While they just could use in the same frame the bezelless panesl that are also used in some Samsung and Dell laptops which are one of the best panels out there.

 

It's like they all have their drawbacks, this one is bulkier and heavier, this one has a weaker GPU, this one has a louder fan even on idle, this one doesn't have the best panel, this one's build quality isn't as good, this one has a junk trackpad. It's about which compromises fit your needs, desires and budget.

And if you think Min, or any CEO, is going to talk about their system like it's weak in some area you are going to be waiting a long time. Unless it's total garbage and breaks all the time, which the Blade definitely is not, it's never going to happen. Not from Min. Not from any head of a company.

Sent from a 128th Legion Stormtrooper 6P

 

Easy way to check for CPU throttling, start Intel XTU and play a game, alt-tab back and see if there was throttling - on the 2015 blade it is pretty apparent. I had to back the CPU down a LOT to make the throttling go away, the fan noise dropped correspondingly.

 

Yeah, i got an email from Razer explaining the bezels after I wrote my review. I didn't believe it at all. It's pretty apparent to me that the bezels are that way out of convenience to cut costs. The footprint of the laptop is driven by the keyboard and fitting a 13.3" probably cost too much in order to get the components too fit right. Still, I would have paid the 4k cost for a 13.3" qhd normal gamut option. They could have removed the webcam for all I cared.

 

I have the new blade if anyone is interested in any benchmarks. There's not much to tell though... It's pretty much the blade 2015 with a worse keyboard(my opinion). Same exact screen with the same crummy viewing angles. Skylake is not all that much better than Haswell.

It's still a great laptop though and the $400 price cut was a great move. I just hope next year they do something more significant with the improvements. I should have a review done by the end of the week.

I'm actually more interested in the core which I hopefully will have this week. My credit card got charged today so fingers crossed.

 

Want to swap? I'll send you my stealth + $1000 for your blade

 

Heh, I'll pass. This will be a keeper if the core is what it's cracked up to be. I got my shipping confirmation for the core last night so I'll have it Friday.

 

I think it'll be a while before my HIDEvolution pre-order ships. Your duty is to run benchmarks and compare to desktops asap!

 

Only problem is I need to get more games that can tax the 970 good enough to provide a good comparison. Fallout 4 is the most intensive game I own atm. I have QHD 96Hz monitors so that might be enough for some older titles. I might have to buy Witcher 3 sooner than I thought.

 

Check your email

 

My review of the Razer Blade 2016 is up: http://www.ultrabookreview.com/10704-razer-blade-14-2016-review/

The keyboard is growing on me. I've committed most of the secondary symbols to memory now.

 

Great review! Yeah, new keyboards are about muscle memory. Same with new phones. It's better to judge them after a month of usage.

Since they finally added 16GB default, switched to pcie (better selection of ~1TB drives), added usb-c, and refined the cooling, I'm hopeful they'll refine further next year with better panel. Truthfully I really like the panel on my 2014. The times I'm not looking straight at it are edge cases and even then it's not THAT BAD. Bottom line 970M isn't enough of a bump, hopefully 1070M comes out later this summer or fall and we'll see it in the 2017 blade.

Sent from a 128th Legion Stormtrooper 6P