Razer Blade Pro Reviews

If I could give the Razer Blade a score based solely on using it as a mobile gaming platform, I'd probably give it a 4 (out of our maximum 5.) The unique Switchblade UI is pretty cool, and performance is generally adequate or better for most games, though you'll still want to dial back detail levels a bit for best frame rates. However, we review all laptops, not just gaming systems. As a general purpose laptop, the Razer Blade doesn't quite measure up. The keyboard is a mess for normal typing, and the overall LCD quality falls short for video or photo editing. Requiring a mouse when you fire up the Switchblade UI is a bit of an annoyance, as is the need to be connected to the Internet to make maximum use of the Synapse programming tool. So if you're a LAN party aficionado looking for something lighter than the usual massive gaming laptops, Razer's Blade is a sleek system that will turn heads. But if you're looking to acquire a thin, light 17-inch laptop as a tool for photography or other general use, you'll want something else.

So where does Razer's first foray into the PC realm leave us? On the one hand, this is one beautiful, well-made, powerful, impossibly thin laptop. On the other, you'll need a stack of cash to the tune of $2,799. No matter how you slice it, that's a lot of dough to shell on a computer from a company that's just getting its feet wet in the category. Frankly, you wouldn't be crazy to sit this one out, with flaws like abysmal audio, a disobedient hinge and the indisputable fact that most of the latest gaming titles give this guy a run for its money. Additionally, there's that LCD-trackpad, which despite oozing cool, is destined to be more of a gimmick than must-have, at least until Razer invests in some better widgets.

The word desirable is one I try to stay away from, because it tends to be frequently overused. But it describes one specific concept very well, that of being worth having or seeking as by being useful, advantageous, or pleasing. And that definition fits the Blade to a T; I can find no better word to use for it as a descriptor. The Blade is, quite simply, a highly desirable notebook, and it comes with a pricetag to match. If that sounds up your alley, you'll love it.

Razer's first laptop, the Razer Blade, is a thin gaming computer with some futuristic design touches, but a high price means you're paying for design -- and for the second-screen signature Switchblade UI interface that doesn't do as much as we hoped it would...yet.

I want to buy Razer's vision of a new kind of gaming PC very, very badly. I'm not so sure I'd buy the Blade though, even if it is very clearly the first step toward that vision. It's not that the Blade is bad, either. I just have a gut feeling that the next version is going to be so much better you're going to feel kind of sad if you buy this one.