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The new Razer Blade - 2019

maflynn

maflynn

macrumors Haswell
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May 3, 2009
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jrichards1408 said:
o dear. the base model runs much cooler and faster then then the advanced model lol

Click to expand...
One thing I noticed that the base model has an unpainted vapor chamber, where as the advance model has a painted one. I bring that because Razer went to an unpainted vapor chamber in December. I bet the advanced model is an older Razer and thus isn't enjoying the optimum cooling that the base has. Add in the fact that the base is running off a 1060 vs. the 1070 and it stands to reason why the base is running cooler.

That was one of my reasons why I opted for a 1060 based Razer this past summer, I figured it would run cooler.
 
GoldfishRT

GoldfishRT

macrumors 6502a
Jul 24, 2014
611
350
Somewhere
So from some cleaning the unfished part of the speaker grill must have just been adhesive or something, that's gone.

However the bezel still bugs me. Call me obsessive but man, retail for this machine is $2199.They couldn't afford better glue?
 
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maflynn

maflynn

macrumors Haswell
Original poster
May 3, 2009
73,682
43,740
Looks like NoteBookCheck has their review out for the RTX 2070 Razerblade.

Performance didn't seem all that great in the review. Obviously they didn't undervolt it, but I wonder if they changed the settings from balanced or used the chroma app to for gaming performance. Either way there is some throttling occurring.
Processor
All Blade 15 SKUs as of this writing utilize the same Core i7-8750H CPU. Unfortunately, multi-thread performance on our Razer is 10 percent slower than the average i7-8750H in our database taken from 60 other laptops. The Alienware m15 with the exact same CPU, for example, outscores our Razer by 22 percent in the same CineBench benchmark. In fact, overall multi-core performance is closer to a Core i5-8300H. These disappointing results are due to poor Turbo Boost sustainability as detailed in our Stress Test section.

We can observe the effects of CPU throttling by running CineBench R15 Multi-Thread in a loop and recording the results as shown below. The initial score of 999 points drops to 825 points by the second loop. In comparison, the Alienware m15 is able to maintain higher scores averaging 1164 points. None of this is new as detailed on our comparison page here.
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Looks like GPU performance definitely better, but given the higher price does it make sense to spend that much money?
GPU Performance
So, how much graphics performance can users expect when compared to the original Blade 15 GTX 1070 Max-Q? According to 3DMark Fire Strike and Time Spy, the new RTX 2070 Max-Q is about 15 percent faster to be essentially identical to the last generation GTX 1080 Max-Q. Meanwhile, ray-tracing performance in the new Port Royal benchmark is roughly 20 percent better than the standard RTX 2060 for laptops. The gen-to-gen improvement from Pascal to Turing is definitely smaller when compared to Kepler to Pascal in terms of raw gaming prowess. Users interested in the RTX 2070 Max-Q are encouraged to utilize its ray-tracing capabilities to make the most of the new GPU architecture.
Click to expand...

Temps don't seem all that different then the prior model, the article shows very high temps near the function keys which was also the case for the 2018 model.

This review certainly helps cement the idea that I picked the right computer for my needs. I think the Razer is a fantastic computer but it is pricey.
 
SDColorado

SDColorado

macrumors 601
Nov 6, 2011
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Highlands Ranch, CO
maflynn said:
Looks like NoteBookCheck has their review out for the RTX 2070 Razerblade.

Performance didn't seem all that great in the review. Obviously they didn't undervolt it, but I wonder if they changed the settings from balanced or used the chroma app to for gaming performance. Either way there is some throttling occurring.



Looks like GPU performance definitely better, but given the higher price does it make sense to spend that much money?


Temps don't seem all that different then the prior model, the article shows very high temps near the function keys which was also the case for the 2018 model.

This review certainly helps cement the idea that I picked the right computer for my needs. I think the Razer is a fantastic computer but it is pricey.
Click to expand...

As appealing as that RTX 2070 Razerblade was on paper, I knew that had to be a computer you definitely wanted to wait to see the reviews on first. I think maybe David Lee was right, best to avoid the RTX machines until the next iteration or two.
 
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maflynn

maflynn

macrumors Haswell
Original poster
May 3, 2009
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SDColorado said:
As appealing as that RTX 2070 Razerblade was on paper, I knew that had to be a computer you definitely wanted to wait to see the reviews on first. I think maybe David Lee was right, best to avoid the RTX machines until the next iteration or two.
Click to expand...
I like his logic in that the RTX really cannot spread its wings on a FHD display and that's all we have currently. Couple that with the lack of ray traced games and it does make sense.

Here's the breakdown as I see it, I configured the Razer as close as I could with the Thinkpad and the price difference is stark. I was called out on not mentioning the the 30% coupon code, so I'll put that the 2286 is what I paid for the X1E. I didn't include the 3yr extended warranty, but that price was huge as well Lenovo 86 vs. razer's 370.
upload_2019-2-7_9-51-36.png
 
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jrichards1408

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Nov 4, 2016
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maflynn said:
I like his logic in that the RTX really cannot spread its wings on a FHD display and that's all we have currently. Couple that with the lack of ray traced games and it does make sense.

Here's the breakdown as I see it, I configured the Razer as close as I could with the Thinkpad and the price difference is stark. I was called out on not mentioning the the 30% coupon code, so I'll put that the 2286 is what I paid for the X1E. I didn't include the 3yr extended warranty, but that price was huge as well Lenovo 86 vs. razer's 370.
View attachment 820439
Click to expand...
The equivalent spec here in UK is higher then that! Over 3k for that x1!
 
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SDColorado

SDColorado

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jrichards1408 said:
Nope doesn't work. Tried that and no joy
Click to expand...

Bummer. I don't know if you have ever tried the "Honey" extension for your browser. It may only work for browsers that can support Chrome extensions. But Honey is what has always found those Lenovo codes for me on Lenovo's site. It tries a bunch of them and finds the best discount. It may only work with US codes though? I am not sure.

Edit: THINKSPECIAL still works in the US though:

Order Subtotal
$3,149.00
eCoupon: THINKSPECIAL
-$944.70
Estimated total:
$2,204.30
 
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maflynn

maflynn

macrumors Haswell
Original poster
May 3, 2009
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David Lee is out with his Review of the Razer Blade

No surprises to what he stated and he also mentioned the 2060 version has being the best bang for your buck which I thought it was as well.
 
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Queen6

Queen6

macrumors G4
Dec 11, 2008
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Flying over the rainforest at dawn - Priceless
maflynn said:
David Lee is out with his Review of the Razer Blade

No surprises to what he stated and he also mentioned the 2060 version has being the best bang for your buck which I thought it was as well.
Click to expand...

1080/2020 is a big power hog, for me 1070/2070 is where's it's at as you get a lot of performance and reasonable thermals and maintain a decent level of portability.

Q-6
 
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c0ppo

c0ppo

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Feb 11, 2013
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@maflynn

You had Blade (2018) for a short period of time. How where the thermals? Fans? If I could take 2mins of your time, I would appreciate it. My friend is interested in Blade 2019 (2070 MaxQ), and I'm trying to help him out. I already spoke with him about Razer QC and service, but he seems not to care at all.

Only thing concerning him are the fans when he's doing regular work, not gaming. Where the fans audible on your device? Besides gaming he won't do much, just regular email, MS office, surfing the web, etc. So basically, a complete overkill for him. But he plans on doing a lot of gaming (recently divorced :D ), so there is that.

I never saw Blade in person, so I can't help him out there. And every review is focused on performance and benchmarks. No one is mentioning fans on low power tasks at all :)
 
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maflynn

maflynn

macrumors Haswell
Original poster
May 3, 2009
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c0ppo said:
You had Blade (2018) for a short period of time. How where the thermals? Fans? If I could take 2mins of your time, I would appreciate it. My friend is interested in Blade 2019 (2070 MaxQ), and I'm trying to help him out. I already spoke with him about Razer QC and service, but he seems not to care at all.
Click to expand...
I had the GTX 1060 model, with the thinking that it would run cooler and thus be a bit quieter. Overall I really liked the Razer but I did struggle to get the laptop to run w/o much fan noise. Normal usage, the fans were running fairly often, and while setting the laptop to passively cooled and the power mode set to better battery, they still spun up much too much.

Battery life was another negative, being a gaming machine battery life just isn't a priority. If memory serves me, I think I was able to squeeze 5 maybe 6 hours (closer to 5).

Overall the fans were on much of the time, and that was something I hadn't really considered when looking/buying a laptop. I love the design, and the keyboard looked beautiful with the chroma lighting effects. With the Thinkpad in hand now for a couple of weeks, I have zero temptation to return, nor am I tempted to buy the Razer but it is a nice machine.

My concern I had when I sold my MBP was about support a year or so later, with Lenovo I had a piece of mind, but with Razer there were questions and concerns based on what I heard.
 
c0ppo

c0ppo

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Feb 11, 2013
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@maflynn

Thanks for the input. Battery life isn't that important, it's a gaming laptop after all.
I will give your remarks to my friend, hopefully he won't go for razer. Build quality is obviously great, and the laptop looks amazing, I will give them that. But to many issues, and their support isn't that great.

X1E isn't an option for him, since he wants to game. I never even considered Razer, since that much power in such thin chassis isn't that good. X1E on the other hand is a true gem. Only other laptop besides X1E I would even consider is MBP with fixed keyboard and issues, but that won't happen. So basically, X3E or X4E will probably be my next laptop.

Until then this sturdy little thing from Lenovo will continue to serve me well I guess :)
 
J

jrichards1408

macrumors 6502a
Nov 4, 2016
615
194
c0ppo said:
@maflynn

Thanks for the input. Battery life isn't that important, it's a gaming laptop after all.
I will give your remarks to my friend, hopefully he won't go for razer. Build quality is obviously great, and the laptop looks amazing, I will give them that. But to many issues, and their support isn't that great.

X1E isn't an option for him, since he wants to game. I never even considered Razer, since that much power in such thin chassis isn't that good. X1E on the other hand is a true gem. Only other laptop besides X1E I would even consider is MBP with fixed keyboard and issues, but that won't happen. So basically, X3E or X4E will probably be my next laptop.

Until then this sturdy little thing from Lenovo will continue to serve me well I guess :)
Click to expand...
You can game a bit on 1050 ti
 
maflynn

maflynn

macrumors Haswell
Original poster
May 3, 2009
73,682
43,740
jrichards1408 said:
And u can always use a igpu at home
Click to expand...
I think you mean eGPU and yeah that's a good point. I forgot about that. With the MBP you're really limited with that, but now I can buy any number of them if I so choose.
 
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