With the launch of its new Blade Stealth in January, Razer has raised the bar on how thin and light a gaming laptop can be, by creating an easy solution for adding desktop-class graphics hardware as an expansion, instead of relying on internal mobile-class components.
Today, the company has unveiled an updated version of its 2015 Razer Blade, an evolution that is not limited to internals, but also covers price. Razer has chosen to go with the same overall design recipe; that is, a solid body of machined "aircraft-grade" aluminum with a matte black finish, retaining the same thickness of 17.9mm, but also managing to shave off a bit of weight, going from 2.03kg to 1.92Kg.
What differs this time around is that the new Razer Blade has a USB Type-C port with Thunderbolt 3 support, and sure enough it does support the Razer Core graphics dock showcased at CES 2016. Razer has also integrated its signature Chroma lighting into the anti-ghosting keyboard, which offers you a wide range of color customization options and cool light effects through the Razer Synapse software.
Moving on to the display, Razer offers a 14-inch Sharp 3200x1800 IGZO QHD+ touch display as the only option, whereas you could opt for a non-touch 1080p with the 2015 version. It doesn"t have the thin bezels of Dell"s XPS 13, but it has enough pixel density to potentially make everything look great, from web browsing to gaming, and should offer decent clarity and color accuracy.
For the internals, Razer has replaced the Haswell Core i7-4720HQ with the Skylake Core i7-6700HQ (2.6Ghz base clock, 3.5Ghz turbo), which should offer a mild performance boost within the same thermal envelope of 47W. Whereas 16GB of DDR3L RAM was an upper-tier option for the last year Blade, it is now the default in the 2016 version, and comes in a DDR4-2133 flavor.
The 2016 Razer Blade packs an Nvidia GTX 970M GPU backed by 6GB of GDDR5, which should allow you to play AAA titles at medium or medium-high settings at the native resolution of its display. As for where you"ll store the games, you can choose from two PCIe M.2 SSD options, either with 256 GB or 512 GB.
In terms of connectivity, it still has 3 USB 3.0 Type-A ports and 3.5 mm headphone/microphone combo port like the 2015 Blade, but the HDMI-out port is now version 1.4b (which sadly doesn"t support output 4K 60Hz, like version 2.0), and now there"s a USB Type-C port with Thunderbolt 3 support. However, charging the 70W battery is still done via a DC-IN port, using a 165 W power brick.
The pricing structure is one of the big changes as part of the new line-up. The entry-level 2015 Razer Blade was $1999 for the 128 GB 1080p non-touch model with the 256GB QHD+ touch version selling for $2399. The 2016 refresh offers better internals at a better price point, with the entry level 256GB QHD+ touch version costing you $1999, and the 512GB one setting you back "just" $2,199.
For you - the consumer - Razer"s aggressive pricing with the Razer Blade 2016 means you can get your hands on better hardware than the 2015 version at $400 less if you buy the 256GB version, and even $500 less if you spring for the 512GB one.
Source: Razer