Razer jumps the gun and presents the third generation of its thin gaming rig Blade. Razer Blade builds on the coming Intel Haswell architecture and unites the new processor circuits with a capable graphics circuit from Nvidia, Geforce GTX 765M, in a thin format.
The new Razer Blade follows in the footsteps of the previous models, a thin and clean notebook with a focus on gaming and performance. The computer will come in two versions, the newcomer in a 14″ former, and the older and larger 17″ Razer Blade Pro format. The former gets a resolution of 1,600 x 900 pixels and an aluminum case only 17 mm thick. That hasn’t hindered Razer from fitting it with powerful components like a Haswell processor and Nvidia’s Geforce GTX 765M GPU.
”Designed from the ground up, the 14-inch Razer™ Blade gaming laptop is designed and engineered to fit both form and function. With a 0.66-in. ultra-thin profile, crafted from aluminum, and the best gaming performance in its class, the Razer Blade sets a new benchmark for gaming laptops. Do more, game more, anywhere, anytime.”
Razer Blade comes with 8 GB DDR3L-1600 memory, 2 GB dedicated GDDR5 graphics memory, 128 GB SSD and a dedicated network processor from Qualcomm in the form of Killer NIC N1202.
Razer Blade specifications:
- 4th gen Intel® Core™ processor (in development, code name ”Haswell”)
- 8 GB integrated memory (DDR3L – 1 600 MHz)
- NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 765M (2 GB GDDR5) and Intel HD4600
- Windows® 8, 64-bit
- 128 GB SSD, with 256/512 GB SSD (mSATA) as option
- Qualcomm® Killer™ NIC N1202 (802.11a/b/g/n + Bluetooth® 4.0)
- 14″ HD+, 16:9-bild, 1600 x 900, LED backlighting
- Integrated stereo speakers
- 3.5 mm combined microphone and headphone jack
- Array microphone
- 3 USB 3.0 ports (SuperSpeed)
- HDMI 1.4a audio and video output
- Dolby® Home Theater® v4
- Support for 7.1 codec (via HDMI)
- Integrated full HD web camera (1.3 MP)
- Compact 150 W power adapter
- Integrated, rechargeable lithium polymer battery, 70 Wh
- Razer™ keyboard with anti-ghosting (and adjustable backlighting)
- Razer™ Synapse 2.0 compatible
- Kensington lock
- 345 mm x 16,8 mm x 235 mm WxHxD
- 1.876 kg
Razer writes that Blade will offer up to six hour of battery time, but with a a processor and graphics circuit that can consume over 100 watt at full load that time could be cut short fast. How Razer has managed to squeeze in such powerful components in a small and thin format remains to be seen. Prices start at 1,799 dollar for the 14″ model without the characteristic touchscreen, Switchblade UI, that only fits in the larger 17″ Razer Blade Pro.
Razer Blade Pro comes with a 17.3″ 1080p screen, Haswell processor, Geforce GTX 765M GPU and similar memory and storage configurations. Here prices start at 2,299 dollar with a 128 GB SSD.
Razer will take pre-orders for the new Razer Blade from June 3rd in USA and Canada. When and if the Haswell-endowed Razer Blade comes to Europe we don’t know.
Razer continues to work on thin and convenient gaming machines where besides the Blade notebook series there is also the gaming tablet Razer Edge. It will be exciting to see if Intel’s new Haswell architecture could be the key to success for similar systems where energy efficiency is said to be one of Intel’s most powerful leads.
Razer Blade 14 is the latest laptop from this company with good keyboard and touchpad. It has impressive gaming performance. All versions come with 1,600×900 pixels screen, quad core 2.2 GHz Core i7-4702 HQ chip inside, 8GB DDR3 RAM, and 2 GB Nvidia Ge Force GTX 765M Optimus GPU.