So, now that the old blade is on sale for 1500...

Whelp, I've been lurking around these forums for a while now, figured I would make a post since I haven't found a topic close to this. Im sure many are well aware that with the launch of the new blade 14, the older 256gb configuration has now dropped down to 1500 on amazon.com. At this price point, do you guys think it's worth it, even with the screen / slower gpu? I do most of my serious gaming on a desktop, and I hear that the gtx 765m is equivalent to a desktop gtx 560. I currently run a gtx 570 in my desktop and have not found a single game i own to be taxed at 1920 x 1080. I'm amazed that a year old laptop has specs that rival my 2-3 year old desktop.

To be honest I'm really looking for a laptop to just have as essentially a toy...something i could bring over to occasionally lan with a few friends, something to hook up to the tv for some party games on steam (nidhogg, samurai gunn, towerfall). I also enjoy DOTA 2, Nether, 7 Days to Die, lots of steam indie games.

I'm kicking around the idea of buying a retina macbook pro or even a macbook air. I know these are not really that gaming centric (Im kinda interested in learning the OS and also final cut pro). I've seen videos of these handling games like DOTA 2, Diablo 3, and dark souls, with the graphics only tweaked a little. The idea of a macbook air is appealing due to size, weight, battery life, and heat management. I'm actually kinda impressed with what can be squeezed out of integrated graphics these days, and am wondering if anybody else had similar thoughts?

I dont really play battlefield or crysis, but if the desire arises I always have my desktop for the heavy stuff.

Anywho, any and all feedback would be great! My primary question for the forum though, is do you guys think that the old razer 14 is now a tempting choice given the new price drop on amazon for a 256gb model? I mean, that's a 700$ difference for the gpu and screen essentially when compared to the new 128gb version.

Thanks!

 

The 2013 Razer Blade is a great laptop if you can live with that screen. It will run all the games you mentioned without breaking a sweat. Just make sure you can return it if the screen makes you ill.

 

Well, I used to own an alienware m11x. The tn panel in that was pretty craptacular, but I could live with it. The performance however, was very poor after only a year. I had the very first version too (got burned with the R2). I wonder if it's any better or worse than that display.

 

I was in much of a similar situation and my parameters were: light gaming, portability, design. I really wanted the old razer - amazing battery life for gaming laptop, doesn't get hot, great design - but the screen was a deal breaker. Especially since you can find a lot better deals for the same price with comparable / better specs. It really depends on what you value though - battery?, screen?, graphics?, design?

Here are options to consider in this 14-15 inch portable category (excluding the heavy ones - and sample prices - you can find hirgher/lower if you look):
- MSI GS60: $1599 860m
- Gigabyte p34g cf1: $1349 760m
- Gigabyte p34g v2: $1499 860m
- Lenovo y40: r9 m270 - go to the shop, great deals now: $1099
- Lenovo y50: 860m - go to the shop, great deals now: $1149
- XPS 15: long shot - more for multimedia, 750m - $1599 - but cheaper in outlet ($1129)
- Gigabyte p35g v2: $1599 860m

There are others like Clevo or older models, but they are generally heavier and/or the desing utterly sucks. I needed professional looking laptop so I went with XPS15 - but if you are in for gaming, GS60 is a great choice or, if you like the way Gigabyte looks - that too (was deal-breaker for me). The Y40 and particularly 50 seem amazing and Im still considering them myself.

Lastly - the razor will probably have a lot better battery life than all of the mentioned above aside from the XPS15 if that is a concern for you.

 

Specs don`t really make a computer, for example, the p34g and w230st look like great laptops and in general they are, but they have all have a few flaws which detract from the experience, the build quality, the stiff or loose hinge, the unstable top lid, fan bursts, fan noise, throttling cpu or gpu on battery, poor speakers that diminish half the enjoyment you get out of that ips 1080p display that is so sought after, all these factors are often looked over in reviews and only owners or former owners can really comment on these little faults. The Razer Blade is almost a no compromise laptop at the expense of upgradibility. The screen is not so bad, but not great either. 900p scales really well with windows at this size anyway and the speakers are great with nice stereo separation. A massive plus is the ability to run at full bore on battery, i`m sure no other laptop in the adjacent size categories can do that and reviews don`t often test this if at all. It`s actually really bad since the throttling on battery negates the increases in specs you get anyway, meaning the Razer is often faster than its higher speced brethren.

 

Yeah, i've researched the crap out of those too. Honestly, I was almost completely sold on the gs60 ghost, but i've heard about a lot of QA issues with the keyboard and track pad. Also, it has a large foot print, even though it is so thin. The y50 actually looks nice, but something about it just doesnt do it for me...(now i feel shallow! lol). I've never cared about design before, and I've always kinda scoffed at mac...maybe it's because im getting old but im starting to care more now.

I really wish razer had gone with a 1920 x 1080 igzo display at a lower price point! =D I'm capped a bit at budget, because im actually spending some gift cards I won at work during a promotion we were having (about 1400!).

 

Oh good god, the hinge on my m11x was AWFUL. TBH the resolution of the display doesn't really bother me, the colors kinda do though. Then again im on tn panels right now (high refresh rate 120hz and 144hz....as much for the windows experience as the gaming lol)

 

Agreed - specs are not all. That is why I quickly discarded Gigabyte and Clevo. The y40/50 and GS60 though are another story. Yes the razer will have a better overall build quality, but both Lenovo and MSI did really good job with these two/three models. The ghost pro overheats, but the one with 860m is fine. As far as Lenovo - early reports have been great, but naturally we have nothing to test yet - so we will see .

In regards to gaming on battery - I see very little point in that personally. You are going to game for 45m to an hour and your battery is dead (both this year and last year Razer). It is a matter of preference though - for me it is not at all important - for others, maybe.

 

Haha - don't we all? 1920 x 1080 last year /or this year Razer is what most of the people here crave. I know the feeling though - I just cant stand laptops that are either too bulky or remind me of these models that we saw 10 years ago - and bezels, o how I don't like those. Which is why the XPS. But Y50 does it for me too

 

Gaming battery doesn't really matter to me, however I plan to use it for more than just gaming. Part me of me just wants to say "screw it, get a macbook air, it's got ridonculous battery life and you can probably run dota 2 on medium with it and all your silly indie games". The other part of me says "well that's 1100, but for 400 more you can have a gtx765 and a real i7....stop being a mac hipster wannabe...i mean cmon... you already brew your own beer, if you buy a mac you might as well move to Seattle, grow a beard, and wear a fedora (tongue planted firmly in cheek)".

I actually used to dislike razer products. I had several go bad, but there was some point where the company really turned around and started making some really quality stuff.

I wonder how well the blades will stand the test of time and resale value. Mac seems pretty solid in that respect. My biggest fear was i'd run into the problems with the M11X, that basically made it useless in 6 months. I think that product was too ambitious for the technology that was available at the time...and now it all seems much more feasible.

 

If you disregarded all the above and its just between the Air and the Razer 14 I would not even think about that - these two are not in the same category. If you want to game at all go for Razer. The display on the air is not higher ress (yet) and while it is better quality its not a heaven and hell type of scenario. The performance is incomparable

I still feel GS60/y40/50 will be a better pick here, but Air is a joke compared to any of these. And its not even that slim/light. Compared to most new 13.3" ultrabooks its bulky and frankly looks old (to me) - the only thing going for it is the battery. You might consider MBP 13" with Iris graphics - its not phenomenal, but it can play most of recent games on low/medium settins on lower res.

 

Heh, mine was useless inside a week.

Alienware made a terrible screen choice. The 2013 Blade's screen is better than the garbage Alienware put in the M11x.

The big downside to the 2013 model is the 1600x900 resolution. If what you're doing is fine at that resolution, go for it.

 

Thanks for all the replies! So my wife and I went to Best Buy to pick out a laptop for her mother (just a lower cost basic laptop. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/toshiba...lver/3336005.p?id=1219090456895&skuId=3336005 ). I got some time to scope out the macbook air and pro, and much to my luck they had an open box razer blade on display! From a build quality standpoint I'm impressed, and the panel was not as bad as I imagined. Not astounding, but totally useable. I'm probably going to go for last years blade. I just can't justify 2300 for the new one. 800 more for the GPU and screen is a new desktop in coat for me. I wish I could find an msi gs60 in person though. Its 100 more with the 860m. Im just really concerned about build quality and size.

 

There are bunch of reviews online that you can look at as far as GS60. And I wouldn't be concerned about the size. The weight is similiar 4.4lbs and you get larger (17" is perhaps too much for portable, but 15.6" is better than 14" imho), better quality screen on top of the 860m. The only thing going for Razer is better battery (about double of GS60) and perhaps looks.

For me, those two are very important - but so are the grahpics so I'm stuck with the new Razer option. Getting something that can bring up the details in games and getting bad screen with it kind of defeat the purpose.

 

How much was the bestbuy open box? Someone locally has offered me a 2013 model (256GB) for $1200 and I'm thinking about jumping on it. Of course, I would like the new model but that would be an extra $1k

 

1600! Talk about a ripoff. They were basing it off the 1799 price a razee though.

 

Yeah I've researched them a lot. I originally wanted the ghost pro, but it's a bit out of range now. I've just heard complaints about the back lighting being uneven, one person in a forum had their shift key break off, bad track pad, the 15in is almost as big as the 17 in blade in comparison pics. I actually like the 14 in size, as this is more a toy / supplementary computer, not a main.

Tbh the new Razer is the epitome of what I wanted, its just too damn expensive for something I don't really need. I don't really even need a laptop in general, I just got this awesome gift card from work and wanted to treat myself to something nice with it. (First world problems amirite?). I just have a thing for gaming laptops =D. I guess I could just save it until I have enough for the 2015 blade lol.

 

If you don't need something, wait. Technology takes pretty big leaps and bounds and the longer you wait, the better position you will normally be in when you need to make the purchase.

 

Then we get to the problem of infinite waiting because the technology never stops (well unless we make the silicon so small and powerful that it will melt - and not reach quantum computing or something along the lines; even than there will be advances in other fields though).

 

True - but same can be said about any laptop - including the Razer. Go to their forum and you will find tons of people complaining about this and that. Some laptops are generally well build and have less people complaining, some don't. This is still hard to judge though because you never know how many people actually bought the laptop in the first place - hence you don't know what percentage is actually complaining. Unfortunately, there is no perfect laptop yet . I think you can't go wrong with either - they are both splendid and it just depends on which disadvantages are you willing to live with.

 

Last few words are important... "when you need to make the purchase."

Your criteria only fits when you don't need to make the purchase... then it's just all fluff and subjective to when the person wants to buy something...

I guess I read the original post incorrectly now that I'm looking at it. Your criteria fits better :thumbsup:

 

Hah, technology is always about planned obsolescence! There will always be something newer and better as long as Moore's Law continues to hold true. Maybe I should spend some time in the MSI forum too. I mean, the gift cards wont expire, though the sale at amazon might... =\

 

soooo I just found out I can get around $450 off a lenovo y50 due to where i work. More research u_u

 

The lack of expand-ability of the new Blade is what made me look elsewhere. I am pretty sure I will be picking up a Gigabyte P34v2 cf2 next month. I work overseas so having a laptop is a must for travel and I need more space than 512 GB. Saving over $1000 is nice too

 

Ugh, im still really tempted by last year's blade being 1500. I think i can live with the screen....now im more concerned about the performance between the gtx765 and the gtx870. Im thinking about selling my xbox one and hooking up the blade to my tv with a laptop cooler to replace it. almost every game for the xbox one is pretty much coming to pc....or already on pc. Hilariously enough, i could buy an original blade and the cheapest macbook air for almost the same price as the new blade. XD

 

So as of just moments ago, Amazon's $1499.99 2013 Razer Blade 14 256GB is *poof* gone. Replaced by a third party seller offering it for $1899.99.

I broke down and ordered one not 24 hours ago, right after my Gigabyte P34Gv2 arrived with all sorts of problems (now headed back for a refund). Was debating on waiting to see if the 2013 RB14 would get even cheaper, but decided to just grab it while it was there.

Wonder what will happen to this model? Out of production? Come back again, even cheaper?

EDIT: Back in stock May 29 at $1499. Guess they still produce them.
EDIT2: Scratch that, they're gone.
EDIT3: They now have the 512GB for $1699, interesting.

 

I am considering an old RB due to price and screen issues of a new one.

Just found some used RB2013 at amazon for 1393$ - Amazon.com: Buying Choices: Razer Blade 14 Inch Gaming Laptop 256GB - Windows 8.1

If an item has the following description : Used - Very Good, All accessories are present and undamaged. Does it mean that the laptop itself is ok?

I really wonder if it's worth it

 

Well the key thing is the warranty. If you buy it new, you get Razer's limited 1-year warranty, but that probably doesn't apply if it's used. You should check the fine print on what happens to a laptop through Amazon's warehouse deals. You might only have 30 days to return it. You might be lucky and get one with no problems, but if something goes wrong with it after a few months, what is covered? This is important to consider when spending this much on a computer, especially if it's used...

I saw the cheaper used ones but bought it new, because if I decide to keep it more than 30 days, I want to be covered if something happens. Also, I don't like how vague and anonymous their used listings are. You can't see pictures of what you're getting. The accessories are undamaged - does that mean there is minor damage on the chassis?