New Razer Blade Pro (FHD / 1060)

https://www.razerzone.com/gaming-systems/razer-blade-pro

 

2300??? for gtx1060?

 

At least maybe it won't overheat

 

True, also 120Hz screen, no g sync, slotted RAM, ssd m.2 (not nvme) and HD and smaller battery.
Of course expensive but that is expected from Razer. For Razer fans it might be an option for those that want more screen real estate and willing to pay more.

 

Razer isn't selling price-to-performance. You never get that with Razer.

You're paying for design & build quality. Razer products are for people that want good-enough performance, but prioritize a thin and portable design, and want high-quality materials like aluminum for the chassis; and are willing to pay for that.

Can you get a 17" 1080p laptop with a GTX 1060 in for cheaper than $2300? Of course. Can you find one thinner or better-built than a Razer Blade Pro? That's harder to do. And some people are willing to pay for that.

 

As someone whose been in the market for and spending the last few months researching portable gaming laptops, I'm a bit confused by this product.

With the new laptop announcements at IFA from Acer and Asus, those companies seem to be on the tip of the spear in terms of incorporating and pushing new technology forward.

My impression of Razer is that they've stopped innovating, are resting on their laurels, and instead of pushing the envelope are putting out things that are mediocre. Another example, in addition to this Pro update is the last Stealth. Thin bezels are great but what would have been greater is if it also incorporated Nvidia's MX150 and Intel's new 8th generation CPU's. That would be an impressive ultrabook.

At any rate, I actually do like the Razer Blade (not pro) a lot and am always on the fence of just pulling the trigger and getting one. But, I then reminder the quality control issues and hold off.

 

to be honest, if you are looking to buy a razer blade 14, in my opinion, the most reliable iteration there is, is the 2015 touchscreen model with the 4720hq, 16gb ram, 970m 3gb version. The 2015 model has some corrections made for defects found in the 2013 and 2014 models. however, the 2016 model is a board redesign and some things seem to be for worse from there upwards unfortunately. Time will tell more, I'm just now starting to see the 2016 and 2017 show up here.

 

wow !!! great new !!!

One question, will there be a possibility to upgrade to a 1070gtx ? After looking on the games benchmarks i am afraid, a 1060 wont be enough for gaming even for FullHD

 

MXM is not used, and razer has never offered different gpu options for a specific model, so if it is coming with a 1060, theres no practical way to upgrade to 1070. What worries you that a 1060 wont be enough?

 

thanks! I guess you are right, i made a wrong research 1060 gtx

One more question, does the screen have touchscreen? What do you guys think when does it come out?

 

none of razers FHD models have touch, so I am guessing this one is no different.

 

The 1080p RBP17 won't have a touchscreen. Also, it's a good idea to wait till people like Henry get a look at the board to make sure it's okay. While the 4K version may be decent-ish, there's no guarantee that Razer didn't change basically everything as they've done in the past.

 

Thats some very bad news for me I really thought that i found my dream notebook with a touchscreen ...... I am waiting almost now so long time and still cant decide what notebook i should buy lol

 

I could be wrong but the Asus UX550 should have a touchscreen and a larger battery. If you can settle for a 1050 Ti (can still run all games at 1080p medium-high @60fps)

 

unfortunately its only 15,6 i would love to have a bigger size

 

The only 17" gaming laptop with touchscreen that I know of is the RBP with the 1080, which is certainly not worth it for the price and all the associated issues (thermals, power supply and performance). You should consider a 17" with no touchscreen if you want more options. Gamers in general don´t like the glossy screens that come with a touchscreen, so there are not readily available.

 

A difference of 3.5cm in screen size is not really a reason to jump on a much more expensive device, imo. It's really not going to be noticeable in most users' workflow.

 

Yes it is, you always say the same nonsense. That is clearly why there is a 15.6 and 17.3 market. Disregarding the fact about having more room for internals a 17.3 inch screen is preferable to a 15 in almost all aspects when using the desktop for actual work.

 

Instead of rushing to insults, why not consider it like it is. Paying about 800$ more for 3.5cm of screen size is absurd unless you don't care about money, in which case, congratz, you have more money than sense.

 

You do know some 17.3 laptops are the "SAME" if not $50 to $60 more then there 15.6 counterpart i.e. Alienware... Also more money then sense... XD I just have enough money to justify my correct sense. You are the same guy who would want sand rubbed in their eyes with 480P on a 15.6 screen!

 

Did you read the thread? We're talking about the RBP 17 FHD. A 2200$ 1060 machine. If we were talking GS63 vs GS73 - I have no issue with that. I am talking about spending 2200$ rather than 1500-1600$ for the RBP17 FHD.

 

The RBP with the the 1080p is 2299. The Asus UX550VE, that @don_svetlio recommended is 15.6" touchscreen and 1050Ti is $1749. Razer always has a premium price, so comparing the RBP FHD to the RB 14 might be more adequate. The cheapest RB14 with 256Gb 1899.99 while the 512Gb 2099.99. Hard to compare apples to oranges because of the difference in storage options, but from that RBP FullHD is about $200 more, main difference being the 17" 120Hz screen, upgradable RAM and storage (PCIe M.2 and Sata 2.5").

 

Razer Blade 1080p 256G ($1900): https://www.razerzone.com/gaming-systems/razer-blade
Razer Blade Pro 1080p 256G ($2300): https://www.razerzone.com/gaming-systems/razer-blade-pro

$2300 - $1900 = $400
It's a $400 difference not $200.

To put this in perspective (Assuming both 15inch and 17inch have the same spec):

The price difference between the Alienware 15 and the Alienware 17: ~$150
The price difference between the GS63 and GS73: ~$100
The price difference between the Aorus x5 and Aorus x7: ~$100
The price difference between the Macbook 13 and Macbook 15**: ~$100
The price difference between a Dell Precision 15 and Precision 17: ~$400

** comparing the dual core 3.1GHz vs quad-core 2.2 ghz model: Since they both have touchbar and Iris Graphics. It was the closest comparison

 

That's a 400$ when comparing to the already overpriced RB14. If we take a better 1060 laptop as an example (say the MSI GS43 or GS63/73), then the difference is closer to 600$

 

Yeah I agree. If you want to drop $2300 on a GTX 1060 notebook that is ~7 lbs you might as well just purchase a the 17' Precision Notebook. Longer battery life(Highly likely), better build quality, business class dell support and can extend warranty.

 

Or save a good chunk of money and get either the MSI GS73 or Asus GL703

 

The only downside to that choice would be the battery life of the GS73 / GL703. Would be interesting if the 1060 blade pro has a 6-7 hr battery life. If it is then it will one of the few if the not the only GTX 1060 17" laptop with good battery life. But I think it's highly unlikely and we just have to wait and see for reviews to come in.

 

Depends on what you go with for the 703. The 503's non-G-sync model gets a good 6-7 hours already. If you can get the 703 without G-sync, that should rise to 7-8 since it's a larger battery IIRC.

 

I mentioned $200 difference between the 512GB RB 14 and the RBP FHD because although it has 256GB SSD it does come with a 2TB HD. But yes I agree, both are overpriced and there are plenty of other options offering better performance at a lower cost.

 

It appears the 1060 Blade Pro has Optimus on board, so battery life could be decent. The switch to a 70wh battery was surely made to compensate for the 2.5" HDD they added--much like was done on the XPS 15. A swap was possible in the XPS 15 from smaller battery to larger once the HDD was removed...I wonder if the same is possible here.

I'll have a demo of the 1060 Blade Pro arriving later this week to tinker with for a little while. I plan on taking some internal pictures, confirming battery life / fitment, etc.

Obviously the cost of this machine is much greater than similarly spec'd devices from other companies. It is a niche and if its not your thing, no big deal. No need to insult each other's decisions or opinions.

 

Wonder what tricks they pulled to get Optimus?

As far as I am aware; no 120hz panel has Optimus because they are driven by dGPU.

 

Good question--I was under the same impression. A reddit user reported having optimus on their 1060 RBP and getting 6 hours of battery life. The GT73VR is also an odd duck in this space...no optimus, but the 120hz display works when manually switching to the iGPU.

I will find out for sure tomorrow. Picking up the 1060RBP in the morning.

 

Just picked it up and powered it on. I can confirm optimus is working. Display runs at 120hz with both Intel and Nvidia GPU. This alone makes the 1060RBP pretty unique.

I'm going to take a look at the internals and battery situation later on today. Replacing the stock 70wh battery with the 99wh version would easily make this the only 17" laptop with GTX1060 and 120hz display that can get 7+ hours of battery life.

 

Any chance you can give us a quick first impressions?

Really interested in fan noise and heat. Also really interested in screen quality.
Thanks in advance

 

For those who are interested:

• 99wh battery does not seem compatible. The insides of the 1060RBP are pretty different from the 1080RBP.
• 256gb SSD is a Samsung PM951
• 2tb HDD is a Seagate Barracuda
• 16gb ram is 2x8gb Samsung 2400
• Display is reported as an AUO169D (B173HAN01.6) To my eyes, it looks very similar to the GT73VR 120hz display. Same matte finish and viewing angles
• I used it all afternoon in a quiet office setting things up and doing some writing in MS office. Fans are super quiet when they run, and they are off most of the time. Even when the fans are on, the HDD drowns out the fans. Overall, it is a very similar sound profile to the 1080RBP, but the tone of the fans is improved. The most annoying sound from the machine is the 2TB HDD...Which I just ripped out and replaced with a 1TB SSD that has all my benchmarking software. Been typing with it on my lap for 40 minutes now and the fans have been deactivated. I haven't tried anything stressful yet, so I can't comment on fan noise at load.
• IMO, the keyboard is MUCH better than the mechanical keyboard on the 1080RBP for a typist. Trackpad is without question the best Windows trackpad I have tried in recent memory with the XPS 15 being a close second. Its location is a proverbial middle finger to lefties. Volume wheel and media keys are fantastic, as is the lighting.
• Initial build quality is fantastic, even compared to the other 4 Razer devices I have sampled. The GL702VM in my possession feels extremely cheap by comparison. I would certainly hope so though... This Blade pro is nearly $1,000 more than the GL702 for the same hardware.

If you have specific questions, ask away. I'll try to help where possible.

 

For the record, the determining factor for optimus is whether or not the unit has Gsync. The two are mutually exclusive: you can have one or the other, not both.

 

Can I get a nice pic of the screen and keyboard? Thanks. I'm thinking about picking one up with my bonus check not sure though.

 

All I want to know is whether its much quieter/cooler-to-touch than the GTX 1080 4K version.

Gizmodo review was a joke.

 

It would be great if @alaskajoel could post temperatures under stress tests and games for reference, since there are no reviews yet that do so.

 

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Razer...00HQ-GTX-1060-FHD-Laptop-Review.258872.0.html
Temperatures are pretty good for a Razer a laptop, but then again they put a GTX1060 in there, they should have at least gone for a 1070MQ.

 

For a 1600-1700$ machine - good. For a 2200$ machine - not impressive.

 

Then again, it is also the only 17" laptop on the market with:
120 Hz Screen, GTX 1060, Optimus and good battery life that is thin

I think 2200 is a fair price if Razer ever achieve dell level of customer support.

 

Not really. I believe the GL703 is aiming for those same criteria at about 1700-1800$. The MSI GS73 is also an option and it's notably smaller in overall size and quieter too.

 

impressive review. It never even hits 90C, and maintains full turbo, even with the vents blocked by the hinge cover.

Maybe the 17" case has more room for airflow, but my GL502 will reach 100C 100% of the time if stressed with furmark and prime95 simultaneously, and throttle.

 

Looks like notebookcheck has some good photos of everything and good comments on performance. Sorry I'm slow to comment.

Just a couple other observations having used it full time for the last week:

• Build quality of the blade pro really can't compare to the GL702 series. It pays for it in the extra pound of weight, but I find it worth it. I'm sure others feel otherwise.
  
  
• I've had 6-8 hours of battery life consistently. 6 hours when doing lots of work (data related.) 8 Hours when browsing the web on power saving mode with low brightness and the screen turned to 60hz. It's the only 17" device with 120hz screen and optimus, period. No other 17" laptop with 1060 and 120hz display lasts this long. The GL702 I have in my possession can't even get to 5 hours reliably.
  
  
• Notebook check says the fans are always running, but when you set them to quiet mode in Synapse and set the machine to power saving, the fans have literally never come on. In performance mode, they run continuously but they are VERY quiet. Like the previous generation Macbook pro silent. I cannot hear them in an otherwise silent room. I also don't have any coil while on my machine.
  
  
• The cooling on this machine is over built compared to so many other 17" machines with the same specifications. Playing games or running 3dmark's firestrike stress test has never raised temperatures above 78 on CPU or GPU. You can get into low 80s with an unrealistic load (Prime95 and Furmark.) It could easily accommodate a 1070 max-Q IMO, but it would surely cost another several hundred dollars from Razer's markup.

 

Just as a heads up for anyone who's been considering pulling the trigger on one, they've discounted the FHD blade pro on their website by $300.

 

AT 1900$ I can actually see the RBP FHD 1060 make some sense. If they bring it down to 1600$ it will be a, dare I say, good option.

 

I'd honestly be fine with the price, but for that kind of money I want a 1070 max-q and that 99 whr battery. And preferably gsync, but I could go either way for that.

 

For that kind of price I want good customer support and a product without glaring design flaws in the power delivery

 

I purchased this at the recent sale and with further credit card discounts and promotions, it was pretty reasonable.
I won't say cheap. But, reasonable.

Overall, its an excellent product but you really have to know what you are buying and what you are buying it for and then make a decision whether it meets your needs.

From a value perspective, this is certainly not the most value for money.
Is it the most powerful laptop you can buy? Not by far.

But, for this combination of looks, quality of build (all aluminum unibody), bling and acceptable gaming credentials, i think it can't be beat. The 120hz screen is real nice except for minor light bleed on the right side of my screen. But, it's not really noticeable so i am fine with it.

I threw out the nonsense 2TB mechanical hard disk and popped in a 1TB 2.5" SSD (also bought at black friday sale) and its more or less perfect for me.