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Razer has been big on Star Wars gaming gear, but never quite like this. Enter a free contest and there’s a chance to win a completely unique Star Wars: The Old Republic version of Razer’s Blade gaming laptop. The winner sees the system’s normally black shell replaced with a matte, laser-etched aluminum gray and the green backlighting dropped in favor of a subtler yellow matched to the MMORPG logo. Anyone who brings out this portable at a bring-your-own-computer gaming party is inevitably going to be the center of attention, although we have a feeling some would almost prefer the second-place bundle of peripherals — at an estimated worth of $15,000, the Star Wars Blade might be too precious to carry for all but the most well-heeled of fans.

Filed under: Gaming, Laptops

Razer gives away custom Star Wars-themed Blade, may turn friends Imperial Guard red with envy originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Oct 2012 03:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In retrospect, the first Razer Blade only seemed insane because we’d gone down such a preposterous path with gaming laptops. Bigger, huger, less practical. Then Razer decided to bring premium gaming back to regular computers. Its first outing succeeded with looks, but choppy gameplay fell way short of “premium.” The new Blade is its stab at making that right. More »

Razer has made a habit of catching us off guard — breaking the mold as an accessory manufacturer by building laptops, prototype game handhelds and controller-toting tablets. Their Blade laptop cut through our expectations as well, featuring a beautiful aluminum shell and one of the thinnest profiles of any gaming rig on the market. It had some serious flaws, though: it was underpowered, had minor build issues and simply fell short in the audio department. Its maker, apparently, wasn’t deterred: mere months after the original Blade’s own debut, Razer is now introducing a successor.

Most of the changes are internal: this model swaps out the original’s Sandy Bridge CPU and last-generation NVIDIA graphics for a newly announced 2.2GHz Intel Core i7-3632QM processor and a Kepler-based GeForce GTX 660M GPU. It caught our interest — Razer had previously insisted its first laptop wasn’t built just for power, but for a premium experience. Now, the firm seems to be focusing on both (now that’s a premium experience we can get behind). So, is this upgrade enough to make up for the OG version’s shortcomings? Read on to find out.

Continue reading Razer Blade review (late 2012)

Filed under: Gaming, Laptops

Razer Blade review (late 2012) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 30 Sep 2012 03:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We have seen companies offer gaming laptops from time to time, and these tend to be huge behemoths in their own right. Well, they definitely are not to blame of course, considering the fact that you need enough physical space to be able to cram in all the necessary powerful parts and components of a gaming machine in a portable format. PAX Prime saw the rise of another next generation gaming laptop, continuing from where the original Razer Blade left off. This new model is said to sport extreme performance while coming in an ultra-portable form factor, where we will give it a closer scrutiny right after the jump.

When the original Razer Blade was revealed to the world in August last year, it basically blew expectations on what a gaming laptop should look and perform like. Well, this new model is set to break new ground as well, pushing performance limits without compromising on its ultra-thin form factor. Folks who are interested and have enough faith in Razer’s R&D team would be able to drop $2,499 for a pre-order of the machine, where shipping to folks living in North America will commence on September 30th.

In order to make sure the new Razer Blade will run nice and cool, it ditched the predecessor’s thermal system, went back to the drawing board and re-engineered what you see from custom-crafted parts with larger vents and specially designed heat pipes so that additional airflow will be able to make its way to the unit’s extreme components. Touted to carry one of the most innovative thermal solutions in the industry, we are talking about plenty of power crammed into an ultra-thin form factor that measures all of just 0.88” thin, now how about that? We are talking about more than 50% the thickness of traditional gaming laptops of comparable performance.

The entire shebang tips the scales at under seven pounds, including its ultra-slim power supply, also making it the lightest gaming laptop in its class. A more detailed breakdown of the hardware specifications can be seen below.

• Future platform with 3rd Generation Intel Core Processor
• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660M with NVIDIA Optimus Technology
• 2GB Dedicated GDDR5 Video Memory
• 8GB 1600 MHz DDR3 Memory
• 17.3-in. LED Backlit Display (1920×1080)
• Built-in HD Webcam
• Integrated 60Wh Battery
• 500GB 7200RPM HDD (Primary Storage)
• 64GB SATA III SSD with NVELO Dataplex Software (Cache Acceleration)
• Wireless Network 802.11 A/G/N + BT4.0

Press Release

[ Next generation Razer Blade offers cutting edge performance copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

The 17-inch behemoths that call themselves gaming notebooks are traditionally quite large, trading extreme performance for substantial bulk. These machines routinely flirt with double digit weigh-ins, and flaunt meaty 1.5-plus inch bezels. They represent a unwieldy reality in portable power that most gamers have learned to expect. Not Razer CEO Min-Liang Tan, however — he’s still chasing the dream: thin, powerful and sleek. Tan caught up with us this week to brief us on the next generation Razer Blade, a rig that still boldly claims to be the “world’s first true gaming laptop.”

Razer’s first laptop hit shelves earlier this year, packing a 2.8GHz Core i7-2650M CPU and a GeForce GT 555M GPU into a svelte 0.8-inch aluminum shell. Tan explained that the rig’s attractive hull hadn’t changed much, but its internals sure have. “The Blade was our first laptop, and we’ve taken feedback really seriously since then,” the CEO told us. “We’ve been listing to gamers and made a chart of all the pros to keep, and all the cons to address. Every single one of them.” That chart eventually mapped out the refreshed rig’s internals, which include an unannounced Core i7 processor, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660M graphics, 8GB of 1600MHz DDR3 RAM, a 500GB 7200RPM hard drive and 64GB of fast-booting solid state storage. All this comes in the same aluminum shell as the first Blade, of course, sporting a 17.3-inch high definition display and the firm’s exclusive multitouch LCD Switchblade interface. Tan says the new build addresses some of our own complaints too, noting that the sticky hinge that plagued our review unit has been tweaked to bend to a lighter touch. The machine’s internal speakers have been upgraded as well, and are said to be 250% louder with no distortion.

The new Blade’s sharpened specs will come with a price cut, ringing in at a penny under $2,500 — and gamers who picked up its predecessor (which will be getting its own price cut, to $2,299), we were told, can snag one for $500 less. Pre-orders are slated to start on September 2nd, and should ship within 30 days. The new laptop is being unveiled for the first time at PAX Prime this weekend. Not in Seattle for Labor Day? Check out the official press release after the break.

Continue reading Second generation Razer Blade laptop sharpens its edge with GTX 660M, unannounced Core i7 CPU

Filed under: Gaming, Laptops

Second generation Razer Blade laptop sharpens its edge with GTX 660M, unannounced Core i7 CPU originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Aug 2012 18:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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