Razer always has their own way to surprise
us – making a breakthrough as a manufacturer by introducing laptops, game
consoles and controller-toting tablets. The brand new laptop – Razer Blade –
has been an amazing product that goes beyond our expectation. Along with the
shiny, polished, beautiful case, the Blade is one of the thinnest laptop for
gamers in the world. However, there are still some major problems with the
machine such as weak, tiny mistakes in design, and bad sound system. It is
clear in this case that the company never gives up on anything; just a few
months after the establishment of the original laptop, Razer is going to
publish the next generation of the Blade.
The majority of the upgrades are inside the
laptop’s system: it now uses the new Intel Core i7-3632QM 2.2GHz processor and
a Kepler-based GeForce GTX 660M GPU. The laptop itself has made a big
impression to the users around the world – the Razer Company once said that
they would only concentrate on making a machine that could bring us to a
different level of using laptop, rather than making the most powerful one. Up
until now, it can be seen that they are working on not just one but both of the
above aspects (which is highly acceptable). So, can this next generation of the
Blade overcome all of the mistakes of its ancestor? Let’s find out.
Late
2012 Razer Blade
Design and Feel
The more things
change, the more they stay the same - an old French proverb, the lyrics to a Bon Jovi song, the Razer Blade gaming laptop. If you saw the
original version, you would have also seen the latest version. We would like to
talk more about the system’s upgrades later on, but now is the time to have a
look again on the laptop’s design: Blade is a gorgeous machine. Because of the
thin 0.8inch light aluminum case, the design brings us a wonderful experience
that other 17 inch gaming laptops cannot afford. Also, the overall design is a
bit similar to the Apple MacBook Pro. The CEO, Min-Liang Tan, of the Razer
Company made a funny quote that the Blade could fill up the gap, which was left
behind by the 17 inch MBP, on the market. Despite the respect to the MBP, Razer
has implemented to the Blade some wonderful aspects such as the company's triple-snake logo, a subtly ridged chassis and green USB
3.0 slots. The trio of USB plugs that adorn the rig's left side (now all USB
3.0, as opposed to the original Blade's mix-and-match affair) are flanked by
HDMI, Ethernet and a power socket to their left, with a solitary audio jack on
the right. The rest of the machine’s edges are left empty, however, still a
pair of vents and a Kensington lock slot. This design may not be a good idea for people; those are hanging on to their optical media: Blade
still does not have any optical drive, which might be because the company
wanted to keep the laptop as thin as possible. Along with the slim case is a
trim power core, it is only half the size of the other gamming laptops on the
market.
Along
with the slim case is a trim power core, it is only half the size of the other
gamming laptops on the market.
A huge, flashing
power button separates the laptop's keyboard from the speaker bar riding along
the hinge. This looks very nice but may not be the best choice – the power
button should have been moved to the other edge of the laptop to higher the
keyboard so that the users can have more space to place their hands – this does
not mean the machine is not comfortable to use but it would have been rated
better if they had done so.
The world’s thinnest gaming laptop
As we are talking about the bad side of the
design, there was one complaint we specified in the original Blade that's worth
revisiting: the hinge. The old unit's base had a nasty habit of lifting off the
table whenever we lifted the lid. Before sending out a machine for testing,
Razer's CEO personally ensured that the problem had been solved. We'll admit,
the very first time we opened the Razer's screen, its body stick along - but
every opening afterwards has gone by the book, with the base staying safe and
sound on the desk where it should be. That is more than enough for us to say we
are satisfied.
