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A refresh of the Razer Blade brings QHD touchscreen and a better GPU

by: John -
More On: Razer Blade

The Razer Blade is a hell of a laptop and today, a refresh of the thin yet powerful laptop is being released.

Available for order today, the new Blade sports a 14" 3200x1800 IGZO touchscreen that's LED backlit. Driving that display will be a NIDIA GeForce GTX 970M with 3GB of GDDR VRAM. the 970M is built on the latest Maxwell architecture, which gives you more graphical power while not consuming as much power.

16GB of RAM along with options in 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB SSD storage are available with the Blade. All of this comes in a package that weighs 4.47 lbs. No word on how the battery life is yet though.

This package starts at $2,199. 

If that's too much for you, you can opt for a 1920x1080 touchscreen and 8GB of RAM. That configuration also weights less at 4.19 lbs with a 256GB SSD and comes in at $1,999.

The Razer Blade looks like a pretty awesome setup for gaming on the go and one that I'm actually considering upgrading to for my development machine as well. 

RAZER BLADE GAMING LAPTOP NOW MORE POWERFUL THAN EVER

Updated GPU, CPU, and doubled system memory take the latest in the line of award-winning gaming laptops to the next level

For Release on Feb. 3, 2015:

CARLSBAD, Calif. – Razer™, a world leader in connected devices and software for gamers, today unveiled its new gaming laptop. The Razer Blade, the world’s thinnest and lightest 14-inch gaming notebook, is now packed with the latest processors from Intel® and NVIDIA®, more memory and a stunning best-in-class QHD+ display.

The new Razer Blade comes with the latest NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX™ 970M (3GB GDDR5 VRAM) and state-of-the-art IGZO (Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide) display panel technology providing unmatched color and image quality. The ultra-portable laptop features 16GB of fast 1600MHz DDR3L memory and includes solid-state storage with options for up to 512GB. With speeds of up to four times faster than traditional notebook hard drives, the system boots quicker and launches games faster.

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M with 3GB VRAM is powered by the next-generation NVIDIA Maxwell™ architecture, which delivers increased performance, advanced graphics technologies and improved power management. With NVIDIA Optimus™ Technology the Razer Blade automatically transitions between NVIDIA graphics and Intel HD Graphics 4600, seamlessly and in the background, improving performance and battery life.

The Intel Core™ i7-4720HQ processor, typically found in larger notebooks, gives the 14-inch Razer Blade 2.6GHz of quad-core processing power and Turbo Boost speeds, which automatically increases the speed of active cores up to 3.6GHz. The Hyper-Threading technology provides eight virtual cores for improved gaming performance.

“When we debuted the Razer Blade in 2013, we set the benchmark for gaming laptops – and other companies worldwide have followed in our footsteps,” says Min-Liang Tan, Razer co-founder and CEO. “We continue to listen as gamer needs evolve and the new Razer Blade again sets the industry standard by which gaming laptops are measured.”

The Razer Blade’s performance is driven by the engineering principles of localized heating. Dedicated thermal engineers at Razer designed the Blade to direct heat away from the main touch surfaces, sending it to areas that can dissipate heat quickly and are not commonly touched. This allows the Blade to pack in the highest performance possible in a notebook that is thinner than a dime.

Housed in a precision-cut CNC aluminum chassis, the Razer Blade features a custom-designed track pad and backlit gaming-grade keyboard that has anti-ghosting capabilities and programmable keys powered by Razer’s revolutionary Synapse software.

The 14-inch Razer Blade embodies Razer’s continuing drive to design the world’s best gaming laptops for those that need insanely powerful performance, the thinnest form factor and the highest resolution screen to game anywhere, anytime. The Razer Blade is now available for order online from Razer Store or Microsoft Stores, and will be available in select Microsoft Stores on February 16th. For more information, visit www.razerzone.com/blade.

 

Product features (QHD+ Model):

  •       Intel® Core i7-4720HQ Quad Core Processor (2.6GHz / 3.6GHz)
  •       NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX™ 970M (3GB GDDR5 VRAM)
  •       16GB System Memory (DDR3L-1600MHz)
  •       Windows® 8.1 64-Bit
  •       128/256/512GB SSD (SATA M.2) options
  •       14.0" IGZO QHD+ 16:9 Ratio, 3200x1800, with LED backlight, capacitive multi-touch
  •       Intel® Wireless-AC 7260HMW (802.11a/b/g/n/ac + Bluetooth® 4.0)
  •       (3x) USB 3.0 port (SuperSpeed)
  •       HDMI 1.4a audio and video output
  •       Dolby® Digital Plus Home Theater Edition
  •       Built-in stereo speakers
  •       3.5 mm microphone/headphone combo jack
  •       Array microphone
  •       7.1 Codec support (via HDMI)
  •       Built-in full-HD webcam (2.0 MP)
  •       TPM 2.0 (Trusted Platform Module)
  •       Compact 150W Power Adapter
  •       Built-in 70Wh Rechargeable lithium ion polymer battery
  •       Razer Anti-Ghosting Keyboard (with adjustable backlight)
  •       Razer Synapse Enabled
  •       Kensington™ Lock interface
  •       13.6 in. (345 mm) Width x 0.70 in. (17.8 mm) Height x 9.3 in. (235 mm) Depth
  •       4.47 lbs. / 2.03 kg