Razer Blade (2016) Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET

Every year, I’m tempted to buy a Razer Blade gaming notebook. I haven’t yet. Though Razer is the only company consistently making a high-quality, high-performance ultraportable laptop, the high price has always held me back. I just can’t bring myself to pay $2,000+ for a computer that won’t run next year’s games well.

But Razer’s new Blade has an answer to my conundrum. Just like the 12.5-inch Razer Blade Stealth that wowed us last month, the new 14-inch Blade is effectively future-proof. If you need more graphical horsepower — say, in a year or four — you’ll be able to buy a Thunderbolt 3 docking station that adds the full muscle of a desktop graphics card. It lets you easily swap in a new graphics card, whenever you like, without even needing a screwdriver.

The Razer Core (sold separately) lets you choose which graphics card to add. Just flip open the handle, pull, and the tray slides right out.

Sean Hollister/CNET

And while that external graphics station is the coolest thing about the Razer Blade, it’s far from the only improvement. First off, unlike the Razer Blade Stealth, the new Blade 14 should actually be able to play games on its own thanks to a built-in Nvidia 970M graphics chip.

But it’s also advanced compared to last year’s 14-inch Blade. That Nvidia chip comes with double the video memory, and the Intel Core i7 processor is two whole generations newer. There’s also a faster solid-state storage drive and an improved fan design that should keep the internal components a little cooler. Plus, the entire laptop is nearly a quarter-pound lighter despite keeping the same battery capacity.

The Razer Blade’s Chroma keyboard.

Josh Miller/CNET

Then there’s the snazziest new part of the 14-inch Blade: the Chroma keyboard. Another carryover from the Razer Blade Stealth, it’s a fully programmable anti-ghosting keyboard with individual RGB LEDs under each and every key, so it can have lights dance in every color of the rainbow as you type or game. You can download profiles to have it display a pattern (say, a country’s flag), animation, or even react to your character getting shot or powering up in a game.

How much do these new improvements cost? Spec for spec, it’s $400 cheaper than last year’s laptop. Sadly, there won’t be a model with a 1080p screen anymore, which might make the new Blade seem a bit pricier at first — with a 1080p screen, 128GB of storage and 8GB of memory, you could once buy a Blade for as low as $1,799. But at $1,999, the new Blade gives you double the storage, double the memory and a higher-res 3,200×1,800-pixel display.

This gaming laptop is just 0.7 inches (18mm) thick. Here, you can see the new Thunderbolt 3/USB-C port that makes external graphics possible.

Josh Miller/CNET

To be honest, I’m still not sure I’ll buy a Blade. As much as I love its solid construction and perfectly weighted hinge, I need to see how long the battery lasts. I also generally prefer laptops with 1080p screens. (Games generally run more smoothly on lower-resolution displays.) But I also don’t see a lot of gaming desktops in my future — not now that external graphics are a thing.

While you wait for our full review of the new 14-inch Blade, here are all the specs for the US model:

• Display: 14-inch IGZO, 16:9 ratio, 3,200×1,800 pixels, with LED backlight and capacitive multi-touch
• Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 970M (6GB GDDR5 VRAM, Optimus technology)
• Processor: Intel Core i7-6700HQ quad-core processor with hyper-threading 2.6GHz or 3.5GHz (base/turbo)
• Memory: 16GB dual-channel onboard memory (DDR4, 2,133MHz)
• Operating system: Windows 10 (64-Bit)
• Storage: 256GB SSD (PCIe M.2) or 512GB SSD (PCIe M.2)
• Communication: Killer Wireless-AC 1535 (802.11a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.1)
• Multi-point touchscreen interface
• Built-in webcam (2 megapixel)
• Anti-ghosting keyboard with Chroma backlighting
• Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C)
• Three USB 3.0 ports (SuperSpeed)
• HDMI 1.4b video and audio output
• 3.5mm headphone/microphone combo port
• Built-in stereo speakers and array microphone
• Programmable Chroma keyboard, trackpad, backlighting and fan control
• Kensington Security Slot
• Trusted Platform Module (TPM 2.0) security chip embedded
• Compact 165W power adapter
• Built-in 70Wh rechargeable lithium-ion polymer battery
• Size: 13.6 by 9.3 by 0.7 inches (345 by 235 by 18mm)
• Weight 4.25 pounds (1.93 kg)