I was considering on buying the new Blade 14" that has the 4K UHD IGZO display for this year's refresh. The form factor seems a lot nicer than what I used to have in my old XPS and its more powerful and just as bright.
But is the QA control really that bad this year? I visited their website, their customer service is open a lot, and they have live chat and phone options.
I am deciding between a Blade and MacBook Pro.
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Hey there;
As someone who has had a Blade Pro 2013, Blade Pro 2014, Blade 14 2015, Blade 14 Early-2016, and a Blade Stealth Late-2016, I have only had a QA issue once with the Blade Stealth which had a rattling fan.
While I believe the build quality is excellent and unmatched, and if you can bear the noise while gaming - they *do* get loud, even the Stealth -, I must say that my experiences with customer service was less than stellar.
I am waiting for the Blade Stealth refresh with an 8th gen i7, but I sure as heck won't buy it from Razer; probably Microsoft or Amazon.saturnotaku and Vistar Shook like this. -
don_svetlio In the Pipe, Five by Five.
Their QA/QC and customer support are probably the worst in the industry in my opinion. I'd suggest buying from HIDevolution or any other good intermediary otherwise you run the risk of ending up with an expensive paperweight several months down the line. I mean, the simple fact that Razer do not offer any insurance or extended warranty past 1 year shows you how much faith they have in that device - the bare minimum required by laws in order for it to be sold.
Eason likes this. -
The blade 14's did have design flaws and poorly made heatsinks. If it would affect you is another matter, if yuo do not stress your systems too often it will porbably will run fine for a few years (if you dont get battery issues). But if you woul duse it like I use my laptop for sometimes even 16 hours a day with 8 hours of load. Well prepare for a world of hurt then. The sizing of those laptops are compromising the thermals and cant defy laws of physics. Bigger laptops offer bigger cooling and heat at the biggest laptop killers these days.
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Avoid Best Buy- they monitor returns and use the TRE which could get you banned for a year. Buy from Microsoft or Amazon. Good luck with your purchase if you decide to go for it.Vistar Shook and Terreos like this. -
I've had two bad experiences with Razer Support. They're long winded and I'm not sure you'd want to read a novel so here's the short version.
Case 1
I had a 970m razer blade 14 that would not charge and I did not buy it from Razer. Bought it off ebay. It was in warranty but because I was not the original owner they would not honor it. I sent the laptop in to be repaired and the motherboard was replaced and was charged $700. I got the unit back and it still would not charge. I complained and they sent a new AC Adapter. Problem solved. So I was cheated out of $700 on a laptop I paid $2000 for.
Case 2
I ordered an extra ac adapter and a razer back pack from the razer store. I was told my identity needed to be verified so they wanted a photo copy of my drivers license and a copy of a bank statement or utility bill showing my address. I refused to give that to them because I told them that would put my identity at risk. So I am now BANNED from buying on the Razer Store.
Update 11 / 3 / 2017
So the Razer Store I.D. is something I'm currently dealing with. So I actually have an update for you.
Today I got a call from Razer Support. I asked to speak with a manager. And I was promised to get a call from a manager. I just got a call from a regular support member. And they simply repeated what has been told to me atleast a dozen times now. "We need an image of your photo I.D. and legal document proving you are who you are." I respond and tell them no. I don't want them to have that. They assure me it won't be leak and it's safe with them. I told them that Sony and Microsoft had information leaked in the past and they have a much larger budget than Razer. I told them I don't believe them and want another solution.
The solution was to buy from one of their certified retailers. But, I can't buy the Razer Power adapter from anywhere but directly Razer. So I ask how is this a solution? I get another apology and am asked if there is anything else that they can help me with.
. . .
If only i could reach through the phone and smack them. . .Last edited: Nov 3, 2017jlp0209 and don_svetlio like this. -
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https://techcrunch.com/2017/10/31/razer-looks-to-raise-up-to-550m/
Vistar Shook likes this. -
Razer sells on the name alone. And alot of people that buy them are younger. So they just don't care and just care about looks. And I hope in due time there are alot more thin and light laptops from Asus, EVGA, Acer, and MSI. Portability is key for me, but I need something better than a Netbook. lolVasudev likes this. -
The powersupply arrived within two days and the Notebook was sent, fixed and sent back within around 12 days iirc.
They improved so much that there's nothing which matters anymore from past facts, imho.
I've posted here quite a few times reporting issues, but you could simply ingor my posts now, I guess, to get yourself an opinion about current state.Vistar Shook and Vasudev like this. -
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http://www.hkexnews.hk/APP/SEHK/2017/2017062803/Documents/SEHK201706290041.pdf
If you are weird like me, and want to wade through 345 pages of lawyerly jiggery pokery, you can find some interesting tid bits of information, for example:
"Returns and warranties .... In 2014, 2015, and 2016, returns represented approximately 3.3%, 5.0%, and 4.8% of revenue, respectively."
And here is a breakdown of the sales of all three Blade models over the previous three years:
Blade Stealth:
Revenue (US$ in thousands)
2014 -
2015 -
2016 - 36,612
# Units Sold:
2014 -
2015 -
2016 - 31,816
Blade 14":
Revenue (US$ in thousands)
2014 - 28,603
2015 - 30,274
2016 - 45,356
# Units Sold:
2014 - 14,799
2015 - 14,745
2016 - 23,701
Blade Pro:
Revenue (US$ in thousands)
2014 - 12,307
2015 - 6,603
2016 - 3,077
# Units Sold:
2014 - 5,016
2015 - 3,194
2016 - 974Vistar Shook and Vasudev like this. -
Also, today another Razer product I owned died. My razer kraken headset -___-.Vistar Shook, Vasudev and don_svetlio like this. -
don_svetlio In the Pipe, Five by Five.
Sorry for your loss but if I'd be lying if I said that it comes as a surprise.
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Vasudev and don_svetlio like this. -
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Terreos and don_svetlio like this.
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I personally am done with them. I’m hoping to sell my current laptop from them and move onto a new company. Who will get my business next is still to be determined. Lolrinneh and don_svetlio like this. -
Razer is big on industrial design and branding. Since the ID is integral to the design, not just a skin, then Razer provides the bulk of the design while BYD handles tooling, manufacturing processes, testing, and most of EE design, layout, and component selection.Vistar Shook and rinneh like this. -
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don_svetlio In the Pipe, Five by Five.
The chassis only "appear" premium - the actual build quality is light years behind Apple (the products they *tried* to copy). It's extremely easy to bend, bruise or batter a Razer laptop. As for internals - heat is the least of their worries - overloaded power delivery, BIOS chips under the heatsink, poor component choice - it has a LOT of issues. Issues that are reminiscent of the early 2000s when everyone was just starting to figure out what doesn't make electronics die.
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The internals of the Razer Blade 14 currently are rather well done. Build quality is actually really nice. But, I agree with don_svetlio. Apples laptops are a lot better built and a lot more premium than Razer. I’ve owned and used both brands.Vistar Shook likes this. -
I know people complain about the thermals, and yes the Blades do have higher skin temperatures than other notebooks, but the thermal design is actually quite advanced. The reason some people may run at a nice 50C while others run at 80C (all else being equal) has more to do with manufacturing quality and consistency than it does design. Resistance to innovation of the thermal solution is one of the major things that has kept other manufacturers from even trying to do what Razer has done.Vistar Shook likes this. -
I think with the state of hardware now it is kinda impossible to get more out of it without increasing the noise to even higher levels or accept high thermals.
The blade 14 would be a better product if they would turn it into a 15inch laptop. That extra inch in size could make the heatsinks so much larger.Last edited: Nov 8, 2017Vistar Shook, don_svetlio and ThatOldGuy like this. -
ThatOldGuy Notebook Virtuoso
I am having trouble trying to decipher your third sentence... Typing too early in the morning?Vistar Shook, Eason, rinneh and 1 other person like this. -
ThatOldGuy likes this.
Is Razer QA really that bad?
Discussion in 'Razer' started by AnnekeVanG, Oct 11, 2017.