New gaming laptop with innovative UI by Razer
arstechnica.com
arstechnica.com
This laptop only misgiving is the fact it does not have an SSD. However, it is competitively priced in comparison to its competition and with a sleek sexy design this is a very interesting entry into the market.
And this is the first one. If this succeeds with the high end people (you know those that spend $4000 on a gaming pc), then the price will come down.
This is the best thing I've seen in long time.
Others spend a lot on hardware to eke out as much performance as possible. The Razer laptop will fail miserably with these people, because the specs obtained for the cost are abyssmal.
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Razer at $2800:
2.8GHz Intel® CoreTM i7 2640M Processor
8GB 1333MHz DDR3 Memory
NVIDIA GeForce® GT 555M (2GB VRAM)
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Sager/Clevo at around $2700 (using xoticpc).
3.2-3.46GHz Intel® Core™ i7-960 8MB L3 Cache
ATI Radeon DUAL (2) HD6990M's (4GB VRAM)
12GB - DDR3 1333MHz Dual Channel Memory
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The GT 555M's 3DMark 06 score is 10586.3. The Dual HD6690M has a score of 23292, more than double. I would have honestly expected at least a single GTX 570M (preferably 580) from a cutting-edge gaming laptop housing an NVIDIA card.
The Sager will be a bulkier laptop, but my experience (with dragging an Asus G73 to and from university and work) is that carrying bags/backpacks mitigate the weight issue, and that bulk is never a factor. An inferior gaming experience due to weaker hardware, however, is.
Sources:
http://xoticpc.com (for configuring/pricing a Sager/Clevo laptop)
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Graphics-Cards-Benchmark... (for video card benchmarks)
$2880 Razer "gaming" computer - GT 555M Bad Company 2 Ultra Settings - 17-20 FPS $1799 Alienware M17X with single 6990M - Bad Company 2 Ultra Settings - 57-59 FPS $2499 Alienware M18X with dual 6990Ms - Bad Company 2 Ultra Settings - 110 FPS
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Comparison-of-Laptop-Graphics-C...
http://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Radeon-HD-6990M-Crossfire.5...
So price/performance wise, the Razer laptop offers about $550 worth of gaming performance, but it is lighter and also has a $2200 dollar trackpad that no one in their right mind would use to play a real video game.
Hell, I about broke my back trying to lug my Alienware around a conference. I'll never do that again. I'd pay quite a bit for the ability to actually have my notebook computer be portable, and yet still able to play games.
There might not be a lot of power in the Air but there is a market. Specifically, for people where mobility is more important than power, but able to get actual work done.
I bought one when I was hauling around my ThinkPad to school, work, coffeeshops, and everywhere else around the city. Since I didn't have a car, it meant it was one my shoulders the whole time. I considered getting a netbook, but after using a friend's for a little while, I realized it wasn't going to work (tiny keyboard, not enough power.)
The Air, on the other hand, has a full-size keyboard. I don't remember what the processor is, but it was more powerful than an Atom. RAM was short but you can survive.
I used it for primarily writing my thesis, making presentations, coding in TextMate, and work in Matlab. I didn't need power, and I definitely didn't want weight. That was lighter and easier to hold than a textbook, and could actually perform the duties I needed to.
So, regardless of what you'd like to think, there is a market for them outside of people who want shiny things.
$1199 ($50/100 off if you're a student) as configured. Show me another laptop with it's form factor and capabilities for that price? Hell, show me another laptop with it's form factor and capabilities?
$1000 for some so convenient is a STEAL, especially if you actually make money using it.
That being said, in my opinion no other ultra-portable comes close to the Macbook Air. If I could justify having two laptops I would be ordering one right now instead of typing this.
1- Shell - I love the idea of having a gaming laptop with apple's build quality, but its hard to fit a decent GPU and cooling system in such a slim, stylish case. Gamers know this and are generally willing to compromise. While I hate the way alienware computers look, many reviewers gush about their excellent build quality.
2.-Battery - High-end GPUs use a lot of power. Unfortunately, current technology only allows for the battery to act as a glorified UPS. This is unfortunate but anyone who is purchasing a gaming computer should understand the limitations of such hardware.
3.-The keyboard is very important. Alienware keyboards aren't the very best keyboards, but they are better than the overwhelming majority. On the other hand the Razer has a "chiclet" keyboard which is considered by many to be inferior to traditional laptop keyboards.
4.-The LCD - If you purchased a gaming computer, would you rather play a game at 17 FPS on a beautiful screen or play the same game at 60 FPS on a computer possessing a marginally worse panel.
When you are talking about a gaming computer, the GPU is pretty much the only thing that matters. If you want battery power, a nice shell, and a nice LCD you can get a SAMSUNG laptop with the same specs as the Razer for 2k cheaper.
If I'm going to push 60fps in Crysis 2 on a laptop I want good screen contrast, proper color rendition, proper brightness, no light leaks from the edges, etc. What is the point of the world's most powerful mobile GPU if it feels like I'm looking at the game world through a bad Photoshop filter?
There are as many different philosophies to how and what to buy as there are gamers. On one end of the spectrum people track pricing trends and chase the best possible value/performance and build it all themselves. On the other end people pay a premium for an innovative case or component or a name brand. This is clearly on the far end of the spectrum, including the expected premium price to get anything Razer.
In the end it's purely for the sport of it. You are right that there are better deals. But there is definitely a segment of people that are more than willing to pay a premium to get an awesome case with a ultra new innovative component like this. Bring a laptop like this to a gaming night at a local coop and everyone will be oogling it and checking it out... That's what it's all about.
I think Google should invest in this thing. Include an SSD, and leverage the unique UI elements for Chrome OS. In this case, it wouldn't be just for gaming. Instead it would be a powerful and compelling alternative to the iPad for the end-user browse/email/word process crowd. If it's also a killer platform for MMOs and casual games, then it would have a powerful draw for college students.
At more than five times the price? I'm not so sure.
Completely true. For example Lenovo/Thinkpad stopped producing the 4:3 screens that all their business users loved. Too hard/expensive to produce, 16:9 screens are the future, etc.
Until Apple produces millions and millions of 4:3 iPad displays. Now can we reopen the discussion?
I don't think Razer's expensive hardware and new UI is the answer, but that doesn't mean every PC laptop needs to ship with a just a shitty touchpad and 2 buttons. How about a 3rd button? A mousewheel? Start small and build from there.
The part I really don't understand is how the PC mouse industry is so innovative/over-the-top. 7 buttons, independent DPI controls, lazer tracking, ergonomic designs, etc. But then every laptop has the same terrible small touchpad and two badly-designed buttons. Seems like adding a 30-cent mousewheel to your case would instantly differentiate you from all your competitors.
The Dell Precision laptops have two sets of three mouse buttons (above and below the trackpad). I still plug in a real mouse, though.
Why there isn't any innovation in laptop input devices I'm without a clue. It seems like there are so many better ways to input data than a touchpad and two buttons.
Heck, the most popular PC game at the moment (World of Warcraft) can be played on relatively cheap laptops already.
I'm glad they have the courage to try this. Outside of Apple, most computer companies stopped innovating a long time ago. They're happy to fight over scraps in a commodity market. HP finally got sick of it and are betting their business on a major shift in strategy.
When it comes down to it, you get what you pay for. With computer taking over more-and-more tasks in our lives, it's worth it to spend a little more on a system that better suits your needs.
But who am I to argue with someone that thinks any advancement in HCI over the ancient keyboard-and-mouse is a "gimmick"?
Oh yeah, it also includes a CD/DVD drive and a decent GPU (although it is external only).
For instance, this laptop can't manage to hit the MacBook Pro price point, and it's in a plastic case, as opposed to a single-piece slab of aluminum. Which do you think will hold up better? Who would you rather deal with for warranty repairs and replacement? Which company is more likely to still be alive at the end of the machine's life?
If you configure a 17'' MacBook Pro to have similar specs as this, the MacBook Pro costs a little more.
On the other hand, the Razer will offer a much better GPU and will be $150 cheaper than the high-end MPB 17".
It's hard to compare machines built for such different specs, but I'd say the $150 premium on the MBP is more than justified.
Ultimately they serve two different needs and therefore two different markets. For one person the Macbook is a no-brainer, but for someone else, the Razer laptop is a better choice.
I would liken the gaming PC to an audiophile hi-fi setup, almost no one expects it to fit in a messenger bag and run off a battery. For the connoisseur, no portable setup will fulfill all of their needs, and in all likelihood, they'll have setups to cater to each use case. But what if you can have a machine that's ultra-portable, but could also be docked to a setup that allows for high frame rate/high res gameplay? Some people already do this on laptops with express card bridges to external PCI-E sockets. Works pretty well. Here's an example of one such build, although I've seen better:
http://www.techradar.com/news/computing-components/graphics-...
The use of a dual-core CPU instead of a quad-core CPU should cover most of the cost of the GPU upgrade, which means that either Razer's trying to make a lot more profit per machine than Apple's flagship laptop, or Razer's getting screwed on the cost of a bunch of commodity components.
For me, the real $150 premium that makes the MacBook Pro justified is the fact that it runs OS X. For hardcore gamers, that's not really a plus. Also, the optical drive is a "meh" at best.
Edit: ooh - feel the downvotes! Go to apple.com and count the number of mentions of 'notebooks' vs. the number of mentions of 'laptops'. The only place you really see the word 'laptop' is in quotes in the customer success stories.
I use a laptop cooler on my desk and lapdesk on the couch.
(Quoting from https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/ThinkPad#Leno...)
The following are some of the changes that have been made to the ThinkPad line:
Added Magnesium-alloy chassis roll cage to reduce motherboard flex caused by holding the laptop one handed on a corner.
Added Magnesium-alloy lid roll cage for a sturdier lid while replacing the lid material from magnesium-alloy to plastic for better wireless signal reception.[12]
Added Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic to 15 in (380 mm) ThinkPad Models.*Able to and want to are definitely different when gaming on MacBooks.
Were they just doing that as a test? Because there's a Mac version of WoW...
Hold better against what? Parachute drops? I have a laptop with a plastic case and I take on trips and use it at home, never had anything happen to it when I was thinking "man, I wish this thing was built out of a single-piece slab of aluminum to hold up better"
> Who would you rather deal with for warranty repairs and replacement?
A company that is passionate about their customers...?
> Which company is more likely to still be alive at the end of the machine's life?
What does that matter. I'll just review whatever else is new and suitable for me and buy that (It could be a different company).
Not plastic.
My Lenovo T400 has taken a lot of abuse, and it's still kicking.
> Who would you rather deal with for warranty repairs and replacement?
In the PC world, each manufacturer contracts this sort of thing out. Apple does it in-house, sure, but that's not how it works outside that ecosystem. I've had no problems dealing with the Lenovo warranty people, and it's fairly likely that it would be the exact same people.
> Which company is more likely to still be alive at the end of the machine's life?
I don't need them to be alive at the end of the machine's life. I just need them to live through (or insure) the manufacturer warranty; then, I can just get any repairs directly or do them myself.
I would be very surprised if this laptop manages to bankrupt Razer within the term of the warranty, even if they did bet the company on this thing.
Having the trackpad on the right makes a lot of sense, hopefully we start seeing more laptops that do this.
As a hacker rather than a gamer, the concept of a programmable set of LCD keys next to the standard keyboard is extremely interesting for native app development. I hope that particular feature is copied into a subsequent Macbook Pro release.
It's really bringing the innovations pioneered by the iPhone (programmable UI rather than built-in keyboard) back to the laptop.
Among other things, you could have custom glowing save/search/email keys within Word to increase the accessibility for the average joe. They might not be able to find control-F, but they can see the key in their top 10 list.
For Mail.app, Keynote, etc. you'd have different sets of keys (show presentation, download attachments, etc.)
It could get even more interesting if different keys are available in different modes within the same app, like tooltips to the nth degree. For example, each new emacs mode could light up 10 hotkeys for useful functions associated with the mode (compile, jump to, view in browser, and so on).
tl;dr: programmable LCD keys are a very interesting way to combine the best of iPhone-style programmable UI and keyboard-style haptic feedback.
If you are a developer and you want programmable keys, don't sit around waiting for an expensive keyboard, reprogram the ones you've already got in front of you. As far as I know, all major OSes can already arbitrarily remap keys to any keystroke you like, and it's easy to pick up software to turn any keystroke into any action you like.
Are you really using PrintScreen, or SysRq, or ALT-PrintScreen, or any of the other combinations you've got unmapped and waiting to serve you?
People have this huge blind spot around their keyboards for some reason. Every keyboard is "programmable" nowadays. The symbols on the keycaps are only suggestions. Don't pine, do.
(And before anybody brings up the usual objection that your customizations travel to other people's machines poorly, bear in mind that today we're discussing a custom hardware keyboard. Software keyboard configurations travel better than that.)
I'd say that's unimportant compared to other people traveling to your machine's configuration poorly, when the displayed UI does not reflect the actual result. Imagine, if you will, someone sitting down at a keyboard configured as anything not QWERTY, but still labeled in QWERTY. They're going to ask how to fix it. In contrast, an accurately labeled keyboard will at least allow them to hunt-n-peck.
Even Apple's customizations of the trackpad travel poorly to other users. A familiar scene: a user taps it several times, then has to ask the owner how to click.
Even accurate UI needs careful design. The standard bad example is Microsoft's menus that automatically "simplified" themselves by hiding infrequently used items, making life more complex for everyone.
As you might guess, I'm speaking from experience. I don't need to "imagine" or theorize, I'm living it.
It also turns out that if you really want to, it's easy to make your keyboard flip back and forth between QWERTY and whatever customizations you like. (In my environment, "setxkbmap us" and "jerf_keyboard" (setxkbmap dvorak & an xmodmap) does it. Bind a key to it if you like. I used to use xosd to pop up which mode just turned on when I was sharing a computer with my wife.)
I reiterate, people have a huge blind spot here and are so busy hypothesizing about how it might not work that they miss out on the fact that it does work, and there's no need to wait for fancy keyboards... that, by the way, your coworkers will still be intimidated by, so it's not as if your argument actually affects anything in any direction anyhow. Reap the benefits of these keyboards now, if you like.
What I found interesting is the potential of LCD keys to make program features more discoverable for first time users and more accessible to the masses.
When my MBP hits the two-year-old mark, I would really like to replace it with something along these lines and finally get back to running Linux natively on some respectable hardware.
One more thing, I really liked the magnesium alloy case on my Actius MM10 - wish I could have that on a full-size machine. Maybe we'll get there if this thing sees some sales.
I have my laptop _on my lap_ working/playing games etc on the couch instead of watching TV.
It's difficult to play many games in this situation.
Solution: a $5 polypropylene cutting board, still in its shrink wrap, wrapped in patterned contact paper. It's rigid enough to sit on a couch cushion or (wide) chair arm and provides a nice big mousing surface.
http://www.razerzone.com/swtor/keyboard
At around $200 this is a lot more likely to sell.
Serious gamers actually flesh out a lot of money on their setups. And I don't know much about any scenes except Starcraft 2, but I know those tournaments give out products from certain companies who sponsor the event as prizes, I could see this computer fitting in that way. SC2 game "casters" have been doing the same thing on their own, and it's normally equipment of this sort of high end pricing.
The question here is can the gamers who build their own custom set-ups piece by piece be convinced to buy this kind of all-in-one package instead?
The GT 555M is a mainstream consumer video card. It can be found on laptops around $700 and I doubt it will run BF3 well at anything higher than medium settings. As a $3000 gaming machine that hasn't even been released yet, it should have a 6990M or a GTX 580M.
Finally, what kind of gamer who is willing to spend $3000 on a laptop is even going to use a trackpad? I wonder how much this ridiculous, unnecessary addition adds to the price of the system.
To put things in perspective, an Alienware M17x with a 6990M starts at 1799, and an identical clevo/sager would run about 1600.
Looks cool, doesn't seem practical to replace a gaming rig.
I hope it's easy for programs to change the look of the multitouch display buttons. It almost bring the Optimus keyboard into the mobile realm!
Go Razer! Glad they're the only PC company out there will the balls to compete on quality and innovation.
That's absurdly unfair, companies like RIM didn't even think the iPhone was possible before it came out [1]. The iPad completely changed the "slate" market in an unimaginable way. People may or may not be wrong about a post-PC era, but its undeniably closely related to the iPad and its predecessor the iPhone (especially given Android's UI before and after the iPhone [2]). If your comment referred specifically to the laptop/desktop market, go back to the original Macintosh GUI, unibody design, the high battery life and relatively low cost of the Macbook Air (sure, they existed in the 90s as slim as an MBA but not with equivalent design or battery--and the rest of the market was into netbooks when the MBA came out anyway), touchpad gestures, and MagSafe. And when other companies announce these features, like Razer here, it usually ends with a $2800 Sure, you can name prior art on alot of these innovations but having 'balls' is PART of innovation--execution is just as important as the idea.
[1] http://www.razorianfly.com/2010/12/28/rim-we-thought-apple-w... [2] http://random.andrewwarner.com/what-googles-android-looked-l...
On the flip side, a 17" display means you have room to keep both on the screen at once, negating the extra display. 15" model please?
random result for "emacs pedal": http://www.cb1.com/~john/computing/emacs/handsfree/pedals.ht...
You're right it's not for a casual gamer but all Razer's products are not for casual gamers and somehow they can make living.
Thank you!
If you want to spend $400 and play games, buy a console. You're not the target market for pc games.
Alienware made a name for itself selling $5k gaming rigs. They were incredibly successful at it. Since Dell bought them, their products have gotten crappier and crappier. If Razer wants to fill that void, more power to them.
The Razer Blade may be a fairly blatant MBP ripoff, but at least it looks good. Alienware seems to be pursuing the clunky F117-inspired look, complete with superfluous LEDs. This is, unfortunately, not unique to Alienware. Asus teamed up with Lamborghini to offer the VX7: http://rumors.automobilemag.com/files/2011/04/asus-vx7-lambo...
Lamborghini makes beautiful cars, but I'm not keen on plopping one on my desk in the middle of class. The Razer looks like something I'd actually feel good about being seen with.
Games could already hook up to the pocket-sized multitouch high-res color screens that we all carry with us already. Why not start with that and, if there are actually some usages that work well, then consider building it into the device itself?
Innovation != just stick another screen on there.
Heck, make the whole keyboard dynamic. Then when you're playing a game, instead of an alphanumeric symbol on the key being displayed, the action it's bound to can be displayed.
Quality is obviously important. A $400 Dell laptop's trackpad would've been awful. Interestingly, a $5 optical mouse is a nearly optimal setup, which is why I doubt there is much attention on trackpads which cost much more.
Perhaps there are slower paced games where this makes sense, though.
I'm imagining being able to manipulate a CAD model in isolation, freely rotating items in PowerPoint, redistributing power among throttle/lasers/shields using sliding bars (X-wing, anyone?)...I'm sure there are many more.
I'd almost argue to keep a normal track pad for dedicated cursor navigation and have the awesome set of touchscreens as a peripheral. Then have an amazing API for software developers to do creative things with it, and have an amazing UI for the layman to create their own mappings. That might get adoption for this type of thing going faster.
Probably cheaper, as well.
What about fiberglass then ? I even saw a show on TV, where they remade a car chassis by handfilling fiberglass filaments and the resulting could withstand sledgehammer blows.
does fiberglass/carbon-fiber affect laptop cooling ?
I would imagine carbon fiber wouldn't conduct heat quite as well as aluminum, but I don't have any data on that.
same ballpark pricing ~2000 USD. Is unibody aluminium that commonplace a manufacturing process that it is much more feasible than carbon fiber ?
- 13" gaming laptops (really? Those are lighter?)
- a popular 17" laptop that lacks in gaming power
Why the snark?
i still want one. but the price point was just crazy.
Guys: I can buy a Sony Playstation 3 for a little over $200. Call it $300.
I can then buy an large television for $1000, and a solid set of speakers for $200.
That's $1500 all-in, for something that will play every single PS3 game flawlessly.
Why would I spend $2800 on this? What I am getting for $1300?
If it's the variety of PC games like minecraft, I can throw an additional $500 at a low-end gaming PC, hook it to my television, and play console and PC games.
A gaming laptop? Why?
I'd be interested to know where you found that, though. Newegg has exactly five laptops with 15.3"+ 1920x1080 screens with CPUs clocked for at least 2.5GHz. All are $1560+, which is about $200 more than 900 Euro. Two are out-of-stock Toughbooks, two are recertified MBPs, and one is an absolute beast of an Asus that still has substantially lower specs than this thing. You may have found me my next laptop, assuming it will ship to someone I know.
Most of them unfortunately have a reputation for being enormously heavy and bulky, and for generating inferno levels of heat. But people do still buy them. If this thing really does have competitive performance to the current top end gaming laptops and is as thin and nice looking as those pictures make it seem, I think they've got a real winner on their hands.
http://www.engadget.com/photos/razer-blade-0/
That is Apple's industrial design language. They could have made it look like anything and they chose to ape apple, that's lazy.