{"video_id":"iXX4Uh3RQkQ","title":"Razer Neutered the Blade.","channel":"Linus Tech Tips","show":"Linus Tech Tips","published_at":"2019-05-06T14:53:29Z","duration_s":438,"segments":[{"start_s":0.16,"end_s":7.919,"text":"now it's hardly a secret that i like the razer blade their 2018 model addressed","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":5.2,"end_s":14.0,"text":"almost every previous problem except the price at 2400 us dollars it","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":11.84,"end_s":18.56,"text":"is darn expensive but","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":15.44,"end_s":20.4,"text":"what if you could save a buck by cutting","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":18.56,"end_s":26.48,"text":"that's some razor humor there some of the bells and whistles well razer had","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":22.72,"end_s":28.88,"text":"the same idea this is the base version","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":26.48,"end_s":33.36,"text":"of the razer blade a slightly lower powered slightly thicker model with a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":31.199,"end_s":36.32,"text":"significant price cut but has this made the blade more","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":35.04,"end_s":40.239,"text":"accessible or just worse well you guys are smart","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":38.8,"end_s":42.96,"text":"kids who read the title before you click a video so i guess you already know the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":41.84,"end_s":51.039,"text":"answer","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":51.039,"end_s":57.6,"text":"compared to the advanced version of the blade the most obvious change is the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":55.28,"end_s":62.64,"text":"thickness but in return we ditch the proprietary power connector and we get","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":60.399,"end_s":68.08,"text":"gigabit Ethernet and that's on top of the blade's already very solid i o and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":65.92,"end_s":73.76,"text":"i'm happy to say that the base version has actually kept Thunderbolt 3 support","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":71.2,"end_s":78.96,"text":"but the extra thickness does take away some of the sex appeal and while the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":75.76,"end_s":79.92,"text":"overall look and feel is still pretty","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":78.96,"end_s":85.92,"text":"good the bottom feels a lot more plasticky","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":82.96,"end_s":91.04,"text":"and cheap CPU performance also stays solid though thanks to a six core core","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":87.68,"end_s":94.0,"text":"i7 processor and the addition of two","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":91.04,"end_s":99.04,"text":"terabytes of spinning storage on top of the 240 gig boot SSD means that you'll","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":96.88,"end_s":104.4,"text":"be able to bring a massive game library with you on the go and there's even more","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":101.04,"end_s":107.04,"text":"good news for years razer blades were","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":104.4,"end_s":111.439,"text":"known for sounding like an f1 car mating with a leaf blower and although the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":108.72,"end_s":116.56,"text":"basic blade does get a bit louder than the advanced model it is much better","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":114.24,"end_s":121.439,"text":"than the older rounded versions so far so good","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":118.719,"end_s":127.04,"text":"until now the real sacrifice that was made for the base blade was in the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":124.479,"end_s":133.68,"text":"graphics department the reduction to a gtx 1060 max-q leaves some gaming","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":131.12,"end_s":138.72,"text":"performance to be desired now it's quite a competent 1080p gaming","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":136.319,"end_s":141.599,"text":"experience and in a vacuum this machine would be getting a stellar","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":140.56,"end_s":145.84,"text":"review but the issue is that other computer","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":144.0,"end_s":152.72,"text":"makers exist ASUS zephyrus leaves the basic blade in","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":149.04,"end_s":154.959,"text":"the dust with its gtx 1070 max-q","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":152.72,"end_s":160.239,"text":"and this thing isn't even an outlier making matters worse the extra FPS","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":157.44,"end_s":166.319,"text":"wouldn't even help us much because the basic is only available with a 1080p","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":163.36,"end_s":171.68,"text":"60hz display which is a real bummer if they at least offered maybe for like a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":169.2,"end_s":178.16,"text":"hundred dollars more or something a 120 hertz or a 144 hertz screen option they","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":176.08,"end_s":182.159,"text":"could make a real play for esports gamers with this machine titles like","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":180.239,"end_s":186.08,"text":"overwatch and league of legends would easily run at that frame rate on a 1060","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":184.4,"end_s":189.12,"text":"max q so once again","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":187.76,"end_s":195.92,"text":"the zephyrus whops the base blade's butt with a 144","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":192.72,"end_s":197.84,"text":"hertz display on top of its better specs","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":195.92,"end_s":202.0,"text":"and then adding insult to injury the webcam on the zephyrus also pawns the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":200.0,"end_s":206.8,"text":"blade basic another thing that got a considerable downgrade from the advance","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":204.239,"end_s":211.44,"text":"q so that means that the blade basic is now a tough sell for performance","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":208.4,"end_s":212.72,"text":"enthusiasts esports players and for game","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":211.44,"end_s":217.36,"text":"streamers that's rough but the thing is that while","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":215.28,"end_s":222.64,"text":"the zephyrus does punt the base blade out of the park when it comes to gaming","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":220.72,"end_s":228.159,"text":"like have you ever looked at this thing it has its own issues if you try to use","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":225.36,"end_s":233.68,"text":"it as a lap top like on your lap it just doesn't work between","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":231.519,"end_s":238.319,"text":"the flappy doodle thing at the bottom and the keyboard being so close to you","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":235.76,"end_s":242.799,"text":"there is absolutely no way to get comfortable and while the minuscule","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":240.56,"end_s":248.08,"text":"track pad crammed over on the right here is more usable than you might expect the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":245.439,"end_s":251.76,"text":"blades is one of the best on the market it's large","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":249.36,"end_s":255.92,"text":"accurate and really my go-to example for how track pads should be done on a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":254.0,"end_s":259.04,"text":"Windows machine too bad i can't say the same about the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":257.919,"end_s":263.759,"text":"keyboard so while the basic blade wins for gaming","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":261.84,"end_s":267.68,"text":"on the go i'm really disappointed that they didn't manage to keep the same key","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":265.36,"end_s":272.88,"text":"switches as the advanced model trading them for a considerably mushier","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":269.919,"end_s":277.12,"text":"alternative they're bad enough that if you can find a desk it's safe to say","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":275.04,"end_s":281.28,"text":"that typing and gaming would be more enjoyable on the zephyrus at least until","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":279.52,"end_s":287.04,"text":"the battery dies so one of the greatest strengths of the new 2018 blade is its","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":284.4,"end_s":290.56,"text":"massive battery uh","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":288.24,"end_s":295.52,"text":"but hold on a moment remember how the base blade got a two terabyte hard drive","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":294.0,"end_s":298.96,"text":"why isn't this available on the much more expensive advanced blade","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":298.16,"end_s":305.36,"text":"well you don't save enough space for something like that magically and when","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":302.8,"end_s":308.96,"text":"we did open up the base blade we were greeted with","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":306.72,"end_s":314.0,"text":"well the man behind the curtain so to speak","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":312.4,"end_s":320.0,"text":"there it is so we have swapped out the 80 watt hour","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":316.56,"end_s":322.24,"text":"battery in the advanced for a 65 watt","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":320.0,"end_s":324.88,"text":"hour in order to make room for this hard drive","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":323.12,"end_s":330.639,"text":"on a more positive note at least the upgradability is solid in here with both","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":327.039,"end_s":333.12,"text":"our m.2 drive and our ddr4 sodiums","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":330.639,"end_s":335.6,"text":"easily accessible along with their wi-fi card if you're into that sort of thing","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":334.72,"end_s":340.0,"text":"so we've talked a lot about the zephyrus in","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":338.08,"end_s":345.12,"text":"this video almost as much as the base blade and that's because in many ways it","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":342.56,"end_s":348.96,"text":"is the clearly better laptop if you're looking to do a fair bit of gaming the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":346.8,"end_s":353.28,"text":"better display and graphics card make the zephyrus the easy choice","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":351.68,"end_s":356.24,"text":"but what about the folks who only occasionally game","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":354.88,"end_s":362.72,"text":"well for you guys honestly i don't think i can really recommend the basic blade either not in","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":359.919,"end_s":368.319,"text":"a world where the dell xps 15 exists for the same price it does cost you a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":365.759,"end_s":372.96,"text":"substantial graphics downgrade to a gtx 1050 ti","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":370.0,"end_s":378.319,"text":"but the much better screen keyboard general build quality and massive 97","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":375.919,"end_s":382.56,"text":"watt hour battery make it superior in pretty much every other scenario with","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":380.319,"end_s":389.199,"text":"the advanced version of the razer blade 2018 we loved razer's no compromises","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":386.8,"end_s":393.919,"text":"approach it's a great gaming machine but it's also usable day-to-day","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":391.44,"end_s":396.8,"text":"then with the basic what we realized was that once razer started making","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":395.52,"end_s":401.28,"text":"compromises while still commanding a relatively high","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":398.96,"end_s":405.039,"text":"price tag they opened themselves up to competition from all sides making this","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":404.08,"end_s":409.759,"text":"machine still good like just to be very clear","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":408.16,"end_s":413.36,"text":"it's still good it's just harder to recommend so thanks","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":412.0,"end_s":416.88,"text":"for watching guys if you disliked this video you can hit that button but if you liked it hit like get subscribed or","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":415.84,"end_s":420.4,"text":"maybe consider checking out where to buy this sophie featured at the link in the video description also down there so i'm","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":419.199,"end_s":425.44,"text":"ready to show you closer like this one on our community forum which you should totally join","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":423.759,"end_s":429.039,"text":"what i just want to be respectful of the viewers time they don't want to sit through that","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":427.52,"end_s":432.72,"text":"but they have to anyway it's like 25 seconds or something","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":431.12,"end_s":435.96,"text":"they don't have to we can't force them to do anything","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":436.0,"end_s":439.36,"text":"or can we","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0}],"full_text":"now it's hardly a secret that i like the razer blade their 2018 model addressed almost every previous problem except the price at 2400 us dollars it is darn expensive but what if you could save a buck by cutting that's some razor humor there some of the bells and whistles well razer had the same idea this is the base version of the razer blade a slightly lower powered slightly thicker model with a significant price cut but has this made the blade more accessible or just worse well you guys are smart kids who read the title before you click a video so i guess you already know the answer compared to the advanced version of the blade the most obvious change is the thickness but in return we ditch the proprietary power connector and we get gigabit Ethernet and that's on top of the blade's already very solid i o and i'm happy to say that the base version has actually kept Thunderbolt 3 support but the extra thickness does take away some of the sex appeal and while the overall look and feel is still pretty good the bottom feels a lot more plasticky and cheap CPU performance also stays solid though thanks to a six core core i7 processor and the addition of two terabytes of spinning storage on top of the 240 gig boot SSD means that you'll be able to bring a massive game library with you on the go and there's even more good news for years razer blades were known for sounding like an f1 car mating with a leaf blower and although the basic blade does get a bit louder than the advanced model it is much better than the older rounded versions so far so good until now the real sacrifice that was made for the base blade was in the graphics department the reduction to a gtx 1060 max-q leaves some gaming performance to be desired now it's quite a competent 1080p gaming experience and in a vacuum this machine would be getting a stellar review but the issue is that other computer makers exist ASUS zephyrus leaves the basic blade in the dust with its gtx 1070 max-q and this thing isn't even an outlier making matters worse the extra FPS wouldn't even help us much because the basic is only available with a 1080p 60hz display which is a real bummer if they at least offered maybe for like a hundred dollars more or something a 120 hertz or a 144 hertz screen option they could make a real play for esports gamers with this machine titles like overwatch and league of legends would easily run at that frame rate on a 1060 max q so once again the zephyrus whops the base blade's butt with a 144 hertz display on top of its better specs and then adding insult to injury the webcam on the zephyrus also pawns the blade basic another thing that got a considerable downgrade from the advance q so that means that the blade basic is now a tough sell for performance enthusiasts esports players and for game streamers that's rough but the thing is that while the zephyrus does punt the base blade out of the park when it comes to gaming like have you ever looked at this thing it has its own issues if you try to use it as a lap top like on your lap it just doesn't work between the flappy doodle thing at the bottom and the keyboard being so close to you there is absolutely no way to get comfortable and while the minuscule track pad crammed over on the right here is more usable than you might expect the blades is one of the best on the market it's large accurate and really my go-to example for how track pads should be done on a Windows machine too bad i can't say the same about the keyboard so while the basic blade wins for gaming on the go i'm really disappointed that they didn't manage to keep the same key switches as the advanced model trading them for a considerably mushier alternative they're bad enough that if you can find a desk it's safe to say that typing and gaming would be more enjoyable on the zephyrus at least until the battery dies so one of the greatest strengths of the new 2018 blade is its massive battery uh but hold on a moment remember how the base blade got a two terabyte hard drive why isn't this available on the much more expensive advanced blade well you don't save enough space for something like that magically and when we did open up the base blade we were greeted with well the man behind the curtain so to speak there it is so we have swapped out the 80 watt hour battery in the advanced for a 65 watt hour in order to make room for this hard drive on a more positive note at least the upgradability is solid in here with both our m.2 drive and our ddr4 sodiums easily accessible along with their wi-fi card if you're into that sort of thing so we've talked a lot about the zephyrus in this video almost as much as the base blade and that's because in many ways it is the clearly better laptop if you're looking to do a fair bit of gaming the better display and graphics card make the zephyrus the easy choice but what about the folks who only occasionally game well for you guys honestly i don't think i can really recommend the basic blade either not in a world where the dell xps 15 exists for the same price it does cost you a substantial graphics downgrade to a gtx 1050 ti but the much better screen keyboard general build quality and massive 97 watt hour battery make it superior in pretty much every other scenario with the advanced version of the razer blade 2018 we loved razer's no compromises approach it's a great gaming machine but it's also usable day-to-day then with the basic what we realized was that once razer started making compromises while still commanding a relatively high price tag they opened themselves up to competition from all sides making this machine still good like just to be very clear it's still good it's just harder to recommend so thanks for watching guys if you disliked this video you can hit that button but if you liked it hit like get subscribed or maybe consider checking out where to buy this sophie featured at the link in the video description also down there so i'm ready to show you closer like this one on our community forum which you should totally join what i just want to be respectful of the viewers time they don't want to sit through that but they have to anyway it's like 25 seconds or something they don't have to we can't force them to do anything or can we"}