New Razer Blade (2015)

So, Razer just announced the new iteration of their popular Razer Blade line. Physically, nothing has changed. Inside, however, things are getting much beefier. The memory has been doubled to 16GB and the video card has been upgraded to the Nvidia 970M. Also, there are now two options of displays (3200x1800 w/ touch vs. 1920x1080 w/o touch). Pricing seems consistent with last year's release pricing.

Find out more here:

http://www.razerzone.com/gaming-systems/razer-blade

So, what do you guys think? Did it meet/surpass/fail your expectations?

PS - They are offering $300 off the 2014 models.

 

Seems like the video card only yields a slight boost in performance in comparison to last year's 870M. I would definitively appreciate the additional RAM though.

http://gpuboss.com/gpus/GeForce-GTX-970M-vs-GeForce-GTX-870M

 

Nice job catching the update.

This is getting ridiculous. A >$2000 laptop with a maximum storage capacity of 512 GB? I'm sorry, the sheer form factor wowed us three years ago, but with ultraportable gaming notebooks popping up left and right nowadays, this is simply unacceptable. And no, the build quality and branding is not enough consolation. If the 1080p model isn't competitively priced to compete with the Gigabyte P34W V3, I can't see why this notebook would be even worth considering unless you have money to burn.

On an unrelated note, I really hope they fit the the Blade Pro with a 970M (or 980M...mmmm) and not skimp on the power like they did last gen.

Take GPUBoss with a grain of salt. The 970M is immensely superior to the 870M. It even outperforms an 880M.

 

A slight boost? I'd go check reviews and look at benchmarks. The 970 is a significant improvement over the 870.

 

apple ahem, rmbp ahem

 

I've actively hated Apple for a very long time.

 

You're right. FPS in gaming does have solid boosts. Crazy considering it's only one generation newer.

I would be all over this system if the pricing was so steep. I had a hard time justifying the 2014 (256GB) version that I got during the CES Appreciation Sale for $1490. I couldn't imagine paying $2399 for a laptop, ever! Maybe next year they'll have a similar CES sale?

 

lol seriously??? the 970m wipes the floor with the 870m the 970m is 20% faster then the gtx 880m and is 10% slower then the desktop gtx 970 so its a huge improvement plus it should run cooler then the 870m so the system should be cooler which was the Achilles heel of last years model

 

they don't make 1tb data m.2 yet thats why there is a limitation its not anyones fault its just the way the drives are made

 

They should've redesigned it to go with mSATA. mSATA drives are cheaper to upgrade too.

 

yea agreed but it makes it slimmer i believe all the 14" has sat m.2 didn't they?

jeez i really hate the new layout of this site its atrocious....

 

Really love this computer but the $$ is just too hard to believe....

 

Nope the first model had 2 msata slots

If it was still used we could have 2tb of storage

 

It looks like it's pretty much the 2014 model with the requisite internal upgrades and a few requested features like the 1080p option.
Feeling pretty good about my 2014 purchase right now.
I'm wondering if Razer is likely to follow the Apple (phone/tablet, not laptop) cadence and do a major upgrade every two years with a minor one on the off-years.
I wouldn't mind that - the design of the laptop is already fantastic and all I really want is more battery life.
Though I certainly won't say no to more performance.

 

I would like to know if they fixed the quality control issues that seemed to affect the 2014 model. I had multiple (like 5) units with screens that would randomly refuse to return from sleep, several of which wouldn't even come back from a cold reset. Has anybody had this problem recently?

N

 

Have you seen the benchmark comparisons between the video cards though? I was feeling better about my 2014 purchase until I saw the different in FPSes. I did purchase it for 30% off during CES Appreciation Sale so it's more manageable to tolerate it considering how much cheaper I got it for.

 

Its really commendable how Razer actively listened to user feedback in this new model. The 1080p option, 16GB ram, better processor, and 970m really worked, and they didn't raise prices at all. Yet.... the price still seems a little steep. I mean, the markup for the 512gb SSD costs more than what a 512GB SSD alone costs for most users, so I really hope it is upgradeable at least, so that we are stuck with Razer's high markups. And at 2700$ for the 512gb model (256gb or less for a gaming laptop is what, 25 games? that's not even including the OS anything else, or OP'ing, etc.) is really the only option. If their pricing isn't so high, I might've been interested.

Edit: concerning the HDMI1.4, imo its definitely not as good as mini display port or HDMI2.0, but its not really something that could've been changed. Intel's i7's iGPU doesn't support HDMI2.0 and razer can't be expected to remake their chassis just to change one port on the laptop. Still though, a bummer.

 

Since when does a premium laptop vendor not seriously mark up an upgrade?

 

the problem with the markup is its more expensive then just buying the 128gb option and buying the drive yourself...

 

What I'm saying is that's ALWAYS going to be true.

 

There are two roumors:
- board and internals are made by Gigabyte based on p34 v3, hopefully with some fine-tunning of the cooling system (I doubt though);
- 1080p IPS panel is the same as the one in p34 v3.

Logical question, why paying significantly more for the same thing with zero upgrade possibilities? (aluminum chassis perhaps?)

Edit: If p34 v3 is 15" than the rumour is apparently wrong.

 

The p34w v3 is 14". There is also a p35 and p37, being 15" and 17" respectively. Even if the rumors aren't true I think the p34w v3 is still the better choice.

 

Sure, $500+ difference of the New Blade for what? Aluminum chassis and 1/2 of the necessary video memory? We should wait for the tests I suppose, but Razor will probably be within the same digits as the 2014 edition of Blade in terms of heat management.

 

Why would you assume that? Maxwell is more efficient than Kepler, and according to Razer their new cooking system directs heat away from the keyboard and palm rest. But Like you said, let's wait for reviews to if it's true or just hot air. (Pun wholeheartedly intended)

 

If the Blade's thermal performance is better, than the P34W's will be, too.

 

The problem with the P34W is the very loud fans under load.
It's a very nice spec bump for the RB.
If I didn't have the 2014 model this model would be very tempting.

 

FML. Seriously. F M L!

 

@LVNeptune , I thought I'd see a comment like that from you. I placed my order for the 2015 razor blade qhd+ yesterday, right after I canceled my pre-order for the gigabyte p34w v3. I am very lucky that XoticPC still has not received their stock.

At least you seem really happy with your Aoros!

 

Why did you choose the Blade over the P34W?

 

Dat aluminum chassis tho! At least, that's my excuse.

 

I still don't understand why they sell this in Asia, Australia and the US, but not Europe, crazy! :-(

 

CEO is from Singapore. No idea about Australia. They're a US company and well it's the US.

 

They're also the only ones who seem to care about battery life. For me thin and light makes no sense without good battery life. The P35XV3 got close but the build quality is disappointing.

 

why choose the p34w at all its ugly? and the 2014 blade was the perfect gaming laptop it could play anything i could throw at it and non gaming was a pleasure as well the only issue was it could be used as a griddle while i was gaming, that being said if this new thermal layout fixes that then there is nothing stopping this from being the best portable gaming pc money can buy.

If your ballin on a budget then i would have to say go with the msi gs60 ghost because that runs $1700 and has the same specs across the board with better expandability options and 4k screen instead of 3k also has a 1080p option thats even cheaper

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...52693R&cm_re=msi_gs60-_-34-152-693R-_-Product

i would go with this over the p34w v3 anyway mis also has better warranty and has a overall better product, the one i have above is a open box so its slightly cheaper then the new one but they always have them online is its relevant to my post, they also have a lot of other options available including the 6gb gtx 970m model and a 17" model so i would really look into the msi s60 ghost pro if you want power thats so far the cheapest at the form factor that i have seen that comes with 2 year warranty, and has great reviews.

 

It was always my first choice, if and only if they updated the gpu and added 16gb. I don't care about display port or some of the other "caveats". I wasn't going to be stuck with 8gb in 2018/19!

Like @LVNeptune said, "dat aluminum chasis...". It's an engineering marvel. Finally a windows pc with a body like that! Asus has some nice ones too, but not in such a thin and powerful machine.

I saw the Razer Blade at CES and I couldn't stop thinking about it. To me the 2014 version is like that really hot model you want to be with, but she is kinda crazy. Crazy referring to the heat of the 870m and that she doesn't have all the brains you wish she had (memory).

The 2015 version is the "perfect" woman!

 

What's that going to make the 2016 then? Can't wait for PCIe storage.

 

My 1080p model will arrive tomorrow. I'll report back on the screen, performance and cooling

 

1080p model only comes with 8GB RAM and 256GB SSD? Meh.

Why not consider the MSI Ghost Pro that weighs the same, is as thin, has two *user upgradable* mSATA slots plus one *user upgradable* 2.5" SATA bay, two actual *user upgradable* SoDIMM slots and a 15.6" high quality IPS screen, plus has HDMI 1.4 AND DisplyPort for $200 less (and has been available for the last six months). Only thing Blade may have going for it is the better battery life. Not sure how much better it will be though.

 

It's battery life and build quality/looks really. Not much else. The ghost pro would otherwise be the better deal as you're saying. But when battery life is important it really is. The ghost pro's battery life is horrible and the bezels are the best looking ones around. No user upgradabilty sucks and no displayport makes no sense but for some of us it's the best device out.

 

Debating on returning my Aorus now since the 2015 model is out. Decisions, decisions. I would keep both but the wife ain't approving of that one

 

I'm so sad I've waited so long for the specs of this refresh and its a big let down. I love the look of the Razer but >$2000 price tag for 256 m.2 and only 3GB of VRAM, thats just robbery! Mike keep the Aorus.

They should have opened up more options for the matte version with upgrade able ram and storage options... grr..

 

The RB is really cool but to expensive
I'll keep an eye on the new Asus G501

http://rog.asus.com/399392015/g-ser...light-15-inch-gaming-laptop-with-4k-pcie-ssd/

 

I'm holding out for the Asus G510, as the Razer Blade will not be available in Europe

 

I saw that too but I think it's gonna have a 960m if they're still not releasing it. The gap between the 970m and 960m is too large. But for not too demanding games, the 960m will hold its own.

 

Might be a 965M - isn't that meant to be better than a 960M? To be honest, if the 965m/960m is going to be less problematic cooling-wise than a 970M, I could manage with one of them. just hope they don't nerf the 1080p model like Razer has (i.e. I still want 16GB RAM and a 512Gb SSD).

 

Yeah Razer dropped the ball there. They should have made the same laptop with different panels. The 965m is already out as far as I know. There has already been quite a few laptops announced with it. Unless they're not done designing the laptop, I don't see why they'd delay the announcement and even a 965m is quite a bit weaker than a 970m but it's not a bad card.

 

They better not put a less powerful card in the bigger version like last gen. It doesn't matter if the smaller one has a higher res, the bigger one can actually handle the thermals and is more expensive.

 

Nice !
Would be great if you can post temps under load/gaming.
It will be intersting to see how this upgraded runs.

 

Still like my Aorus x3 v3 after i seen those specs. 970m with the same screen but only 3gb of vram to drive that high res screen. The Aorus has 6gb and extra Msata slot for more storage that i just added and it has the same screen ill keep mine thanks.

 

It has arrived: