Razer Blade 2013 Pro Reviews

If you look at the Razer Blade strictly as a high-end notebook and compare it to similarly priced devices from other manufacturers, it is just a common gaming device with average performance. But the Blade is also pretty small and surprisingly light, and the result is an impressive piece of hardware. The GTX 765M benefits from the moderate resolution and most current games can be played with high details. Intel's Core i7-4702HQ is also a good choice: The performance is just slightly behind the i7-4700MQ, which can be seen in the comparison with the bulky Alienware 14 (also GTX 765M). All this is combined with the great build quality: The Razer Blade is one of the best multimedia and gaming notebooks, even some ultrabooks cannot keep up with this performance. The biggest drawback is certainly the display. Considering the high price, we would have expected a high-quality display, but the viewing angle stability is a bad joke and the color accuracy is not very good, either. It is at least sufficiently bright and has a matte surface, so you can use the Blade outdoors. However, outdoor capabilities or not: A better display and a more comprehensive port variety would have improved the rating of the Blade. Another small drawback is the availability; the device is currently only available in the United States and Canada. Potential buyers from other parts of the world will have to import the notebook and use an appropriate power adaptor. Still, we really like the Blade. It offers an almost perfect combination of an ultrabook and a high-end device, obviously apart from the display. A lot of performance, good mobility and high build quality - that is how it should be. But please, use a good display next time.

It was a close match, but the Alienware 14 emerged triumphant, winning five rounds and tying in one (performance) versus the Razer Blade 14, which secured four rounds. The Razer Blade 14 offers gamers a truly mobile solution that is sleek and lightweight. Despite its lean looks, Razer found a way to cram an Intel Core i7 processor and discrete Nvidia graphics. The cloud-based Synapse software lets players access their favorite profiles from anywhere. And eight hours of battery life is nothing to sneeze at, either. The Alienware 14 is ultimately the better value. You get a striking redesign, a sharper and more colorful 1080p display, excellent audio quality, and the lighting customization that fans have come to know and love. Plus, the Alienware offered better gaming performance in our tests. Last but not least, the Alienware 14 has a more budget-friendly price, so gamers can walk away with a respectable set of specs without selling any body parts. Overall, the Razer Blade 14 is the notebook we’d like to carry, but the Alienware 14 is the one we enjoy gaming on the most.

Razer's 14-inch Blade is almost everything we wanted out of the company's first gaming laptop: a smaller, less-expensive machine with longer battery life, more power and a shockingly attractive chassis. These elements lift the machine's stature, defining it not only as a solid gaming machine, but also as a great Windows laptop in general. It's an enthusiast laptop, yes, but one we'd feel comfortable recommending to non-gamers, too. That said, the Blade is still a tough sell for gamers on a budget. Think of it as the Chromebook Pixel of PC gaming -- it represents an ideal machine, but as a luxury item it's not a reasonable choice for the average consumer. This issue is compounded further by the fact that its internals ride the edge of modern gaming's maximum visual requirements, making it not only more expensive than its direct competition, but less future-proof, too. Even so, the Razer's 14-inch Blade is its best gaming laptop yet, and if you can stomach the above caveats, it's a completely worthwhile machine.

The third time was clearly the charm for Razer. In the sixteen months since the original Blade launched, the company has gone from PC industry newcomer to producing a product we actually want, and one we could really recommend to those who need a do-it-all laptop at any cost. There aren’t many laptops as pricy as the Razer Blade, and the few that are (MacBook Pro with Retina display, Asus Zenbook Prime UX51vz) have far better displays if that’s what you want. For the sometimes gamer, the ones for whom creature comforts trump guaranteed framerates, those laptops still make oh-so-slightly more sense than a Blade purchase. And when those machines get upgraded with the latest Intel Haswell processors and discrete graphics, perhaps they’ll perform similarly anyhow. Still, as of today, there’s nothing that can game, then get up and go, quite like the 14-inch Blade.

If the Blade couldn't quite slug it out with the big rigs in raw speed, it got its revenge when it came to battery testing, lasting more than twice as long as the next best system and more than three times as long as the CyberPower in our video playback challenge. We continue to be delighted by the battery-stretching aptitude of Intel's fourth-generation Core CPUs. As we said at the beginning, the Razer Blade isn't the only 14-inch gaming laptop around. The MSI GE40 2OC-009US is a bargain hunter's alternative at $1,399 with a 128GB SSD plus 750GB hard drive and fractionally slower GTX 760M graphics. The Alienware 14 is two pounds heavier than the Blade, but $250 cheaper with a 1080p screen and Blu-ray reader.But if you seek genuine gaming power in a genuinely lap-compatible package with MacBook-like styling, fit, and finish, the Razer is a premium choice that's hard to pass up.

Goofy green glow and its TN panel aside, the Blade is the most practical laptop Razer has ever made. Like the 17-inch Pro, it functions equally well as a gaming laptop or a high-powered Windows 8 work machine, but the 14-inch Blade has the advantage of being small enough to use in a coffee shop or on an airplane (we measured battery life at more than 4.5 hours) without irritating your neighbors. And while it doesn’t sport the touchscreen or the funky peripherals of the Razer Edge Pro, the Blade is more powerful and far more comfortable to use than Razer’s Windows 8 gaming tablet.

The oh-so-portable 14-inch Razer Blade has got you covered when you want to take your gaming on the road, with an Intel Haswell processor and the latest Nvidia graphics.

Yes. The standard line for Razer hardware has usually been, “Hahaha, NO. Unless you lactate liquid gold.” Here, though, the price is still steep, but not insanely steeper than its peers. Toshiba’s KiraBook starts at $1700; the Blade at $1800, and the comparison isn’t even close. A 15-inch MacBook Pro non-retina with an inferior graphics card and less RAM costs the same $1800. The Blade isn’t perfect—it’s really hard to forget how awful those trackpad buttons are, and that screen is going to be regrettable in a year or to, if it isn't already—but it’s a freaking awesome computer that is somehow also a decent value. Get it if you’re looking at getting a nice laptop to game on that you can use for just about anything else, too, without breaking your back or your bank account.

Ditching gimmicks and delivering on function, Razer’s slim 14-inch gaming laptop marries true power and good battery life into an excellent PC. All it lacks a stellar display.

The original Blade was interesting, but it fell short in performance and portability, making it more of a curiosity than a strong choice for consumers. Now, thanks to new hardware and a new design, Razer fulfilled its original vision. This gaming laptop can handle most games at high detail, yet it provides battery life that’s just a tad above an average Ultrabook. The Blade cuts through expectations to deliver a uniquely powerful Ultrabook. Our one serious complaint is the display, which lacks contrast and vibrancy. Premium Ultrabooks and gaming laptops offer better quality on average, and this flaw hurts the subjective look of games played on the Blade. Its display is the only barrier between this laptop and an Editor’s Choice award. Price is another obstacle, but it’s not insurmountable. Two grand is not unusual for a premium gaming system; and while competitors that sell for the same are a bit quicker, they’re usually at least an inch thick and weigh five to nine pounds. This leaves gamers with a choice. Big laptops like the Asus G-Series and Samsung Series 7 Gamer offer a better display and somewhat quicker hardware, yet the Blade is more portable and more usable as a day-to-day PC. Neither option is obviously superior, but at least Razer’s laptop presents a strong alternative for those who don’t want to lug around a brick.