1 00:00:00,320 --> 00:00:07,680 I was in a dimly lit room in Vegas, CES 2 00:00:05,400 --> 00:00:12,320 2014. I was in the middle of a meeting with a shady character. Minlang Tan and 3 00:00:10,719 --> 00:00:18,640 I were sitting across from each other on couches. I had recently given the Razer 4 00:00:14,639 --> 00:00:21,439 Blade 14 2013 edition a mostly positive 5 00:00:18,640 --> 00:00:25,840 review, but I was in the middle of laying into him about how frustrating 6 00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:31,519 that notebook had been for me because I thought it was basically perfect if it 7 00:00:28,640 --> 00:00:35,520 wasn't for the TN screen. Midway through he kind of started smiling and then 8 00:00:33,120 --> 00:00:40,160 finally he said, "Okay, so Lionus, then what you're saying is that if I fix the 9 00:00:37,760 --> 00:00:44,480 screen for you in the next iteration, you'll call it perfect on 10 00:00:42,440 --> 00:00:49,680 camera." Not being able to think of anything else I wanted changed, I 11 00:00:47,079 --> 00:00:54,480 agreed. Let's find out if I held up my end of the bargain. Is the Razer Blade 12 00:00:51,840 --> 00:00:54,480 2014 13 00:00:58,920 --> 00:01:05,760 perfect? With its power loss protection, affordability, and performance, the 14 00:01:03,359 --> 00:01:14,400 SP920 from Adata makes upgrading to an SSD remarkably safe and simple. So, here 15 00:01:09,119 --> 00:01:16,320 is my review of the 2014 Blade 14. And 16 00:01:14,400 --> 00:01:21,439 apart from my customary complaint that Razer really needs to fix their bloody 17 00:01:18,479 --> 00:01:28,400 product naming scheme, I may have to give this my first ever editor's choice 18 00:01:24,159 --> 00:01:30,640 award. It's expensive, but it's a truly 19 00:01:28,400 --> 00:01:34,400 remarkable piece of technology. On top of ditching the rubbish panel type, 20 00:01:32,400 --> 00:01:39,600 Razer quadrupled the pixel count to an extremely sharp 3200 by 1800, made it a 21 00:01:37,280 --> 00:01:43,360 10point multi-touch screen, and they improved the core specs of it as well. 22 00:01:41,840 --> 00:01:47,439 So, we're getting an upgrade to a fourth gen Core i7472HQ quad core with 23 00:01:45,680 --> 00:01:53,200 hyperthreading. We're getting an upgrade to a GTX 870M with 3 gigs of GDDDR5 24 00:01:51,439 --> 00:01:58,719 memory, which is remarkable given the form factor. That's anywhere from 60 to 25 00:01:55,360 --> 00:02:01,439 100% faster in realworld games versus 26 00:01:58,719 --> 00:02:05,119 the last gen Blade 14. And as long as it's running at full speed, which 27 00:02:02,799 --> 00:02:11,039 amazingly on a flat surface it does, we're getting 2.5 GHz on the VRAMm and a 28 00:02:07,759 --> 00:02:13,520 slightly boosted overbase 967 MHz on the 29 00:02:11,039 --> 00:02:18,800 GPU in heaven with the graphics core running at 82° and the CPU running at 30 00:02:16,120 --> 00:02:23,200 77°. On battery, these values dip a little bit down to around 875 MHz core 31 00:02:21,040 --> 00:02:27,840 and 2 GHz RAM. But I guess that's to help conserve battery life. Although I 32 00:02:25,440 --> 00:02:34,080 still got a very respectable, if not overwhelming, 45 minutes of continuous 33 00:02:30,800 --> 00:02:36,400 3D use out of it. Not bad considering 34 00:02:34,080 --> 00:02:40,640 its size. All right, so let's move on to the physical overview. The Power Brick 35 00:02:38,239 --> 00:02:43,920 is incredibly small for 150 W, just like last time. And that's about it for 36 00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:47,599 accessories. Onto the machine, it features an aluminum unibody 37 00:02:45,519 --> 00:02:51,760 construction that gives off a definite Apple would make notebooks like this if 38 00:02:49,440 --> 00:02:55,040 they were cool vibe. that also assists with cooling and keeps it extremely 39 00:02:53,360 --> 00:02:59,200 light at just under four and a half pounds or about 2 kilos. It's got an 40 00:02:57,280 --> 00:03:02,800 illuminated Razor logo on the back with subtle sort of accent bumps and 41 00:03:01,280 --> 00:03:07,440 basically it looks just like the Last Blade 14, which means it is still 42 00:03:05,360 --> 00:03:11,120 beautiful. The bottom has two cooling intakes and two rubber feet to keep the 43 00:03:09,280 --> 00:03:14,280 notebook from sliding around. Then moving to the left side, we've got power 44 00:03:12,640 --> 00:03:17,519 in, two USB 3 ports, and a headphone/microphone combo jack. 45 00:03:16,080 --> 00:03:22,400 Finally, on the right is a Kensington lock, an HDMI output, and another USB 3 46 00:03:19,840 --> 00:03:28,319 port, which brings us around to the top. The trackpad has a very pleasing finish 47 00:03:25,200 --> 00:03:30,480 and satisfyingly clicky, if a little bit 48 00:03:28,319 --> 00:03:35,599 narrow, dedicated left and right buttons. The speakers are unhindered by 49 00:03:33,200 --> 00:03:39,599 obstructions and sound loud, even if they're not particularly deep and 50 00:03:37,440 --> 00:03:44,560 boommy. The power button sits below the screen, above the exhaust that spits hot 51 00:03:41,680 --> 00:03:50,480 air out above the keyboard here. and that keyboard. Razer has outdone 52 00:03:47,840 --> 00:03:55,040 themselves here. The layout is spacious and nearly perfect. Every key is 53 00:03:53,120 --> 00:04:00,200 programmable. The backlight has an extravagant 20 levels of illumination. 54 00:03:57,680 --> 00:04:04,959 And the keys have a satisfying tactile clickiness that is 55 00:04:02,879 --> 00:04:08,040 unlike any other chicklet type notebook that I have ever used. It is 56 00:04:06,480 --> 00:04:12,159 outstanding. Now, I know I already kind of awarded it 57 00:04:10,560 --> 00:04:16,799 an editor's choice, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to ask for a few things to be improved in the next 58 00:04:14,640 --> 00:04:21,120 revision. And number one is actually related to the next stop in our tour, 59 00:04:18,799 --> 00:04:25,520 the screen. The resolution makes it super sharp whenever text scales 60 00:04:23,280 --> 00:04:30,160 correctly, and colors and viewing angles of the screen are much better than the 61 00:04:27,840 --> 00:04:33,680 last chip, like worlds better. But there's still a noticeable color shift 62 00:04:31,919 --> 00:04:36,880 when viewing offc center. And although it makes up for it somewhat with an 63 00:04:35,360 --> 00:04:41,520 incredibly bright backlight and therefore a very solid contrast ratio, 64 00:04:39,280 --> 00:04:48,080 black levels of this screen are not as deep as I'd like, especially for use in 65 00:04:43,840 --> 00:04:50,560 a dimly lit room. Number two, Razer, the 66 00:04:48,080 --> 00:04:55,360 memory is soldered on and you only gave us 8 gigs. That's good enough for today, 67 00:04:53,040 --> 00:05:00,160 but what about tomorrow? I regularly use 6 gigs of RAM on my desktop just 68 00:04:57,040 --> 00:05:02,400 browsing the web. The 256 gig skew and 69 00:05:00,160 --> 00:05:07,440 up need to have 16 gigs of RAM for this machine to last long enough to justify 70 00:05:04,960 --> 00:05:12,880 the sticker price, especially if it's not going to be upgradeable. And number 71 00:05:10,120 --> 00:05:17,919 three, well, I think we got just enough USB3 ports. And while I appreciate the 72 00:05:15,199 --> 00:05:21,759 upgrade to Intel's solid 7260 AC wireless solution, I don't think a 73 00:05:19,520 --> 00:05:24,880 gaming machine is complete without an Ethernet port, even if it requires an 74 00:05:23,440 --> 00:05:30,639 adapter or something. And then while we're at it, I would have much rather seen mini DisplayPort in the place of 75 00:05:28,240 --> 00:05:36,160 HDMI out due to its higher resolution support and ability to be inexpensively 76 00:05:32,639 --> 00:05:37,919 adapted to anything else. But that's it. 77 00:05:36,160 --> 00:05:42,080 It's all I got. It's an engineering marvel. I mean, out of my measly four 78 00:05:40,560 --> 00:05:46,240 complaints, one of them could have been resolved with a $25 USB Ethernet 79 00:05:44,320 --> 00:05:51,160 adapter. A trivial amount of money for anyone buying a Blade 14. Which I guess 80 00:05:48,800 --> 00:05:54,560 leads into one more like extra bonus criticism. One that's very different 81 00:05:53,120 --> 00:06:00,639 from the others. and that I don't expect Razer to be able to fix it anytime soon. 82 00:05:57,039 --> 00:06:02,160 The Blade 14 is very, very expensive. I 83 00:06:00,639 --> 00:06:06,400 don't have to like it, but I do understand it. And that's the reason why 84 00:06:04,160 --> 00:06:12,560 I'm not taking its editor's choice award away for costing as much as my car for a 85 00:06:09,039 --> 00:06:14,479 512 gig model. For the same price, you 86 00:06:12,560 --> 00:06:19,039 can of course get a much more powerful gaming desktop or even a much more 87 00:06:16,560 --> 00:06:23,680 powerful gaming notebook. But this is a luxury item that a lot of R&D went into. 88 00:06:21,759 --> 00:06:28,160 So, someone has to pay those engineers and that's why it costs this much. 89 00:06:25,280 --> 00:06:32,400 Sadly, it's too expensive for my tastes. But for affluent gamers who want 90 00:06:30,479 --> 00:06:36,960 something beautifully crafted that they can take on the road with them, this 91 00:06:34,319 --> 00:06:41,680 notebook will absolutely annihilate similarly crafted machines like Apple's 92 00:06:39,120 --> 00:06:45,919 13-inch MacBook Pro. So, here's the conclusion. With network streaming 93 00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:50,720 gaming technology advancing so quickly right now, how longived thin and light 94 00:06:48,800 --> 00:06:55,199 gaming notebooks will be as a category remains to be seen. But one thing's for 95 00:06:52,800 --> 00:06:58,960 sure in my mind. Right now it's alive and this one rules the roost. If you can 96 00:06:57,280 --> 00:07:03,599 afford one, I wholeheartedly recommend the Blade 14 2014. Nothing is perfect, 97 00:07:01,759 --> 00:07:08,639 so I'm reneggging on that deal where I have to call it perfect. But I will say 98 00:07:06,160 --> 00:07:13,840 it's the first notebook I've ever seen that just plain doesn't feel like a 99 00:07:11,280 --> 00:07:18,000 compromise in any way. It's thin, light, beautiful, and powerful, and it's my new 100 00:07:15,680 --> 00:07:21,039 favorite. Well done, Razer. Thank you guys very much for watching. Like this 101 00:07:19,599 --> 00:07:26,240 video if you liked it, dislike it if you disliked it. Leave a comment under the video letting me know what you think of 102 00:07:23,840 --> 00:07:29,919 the Razer Blade 2014. If you think that Razer should really let me keep this 103 00:07:27,759 --> 00:07:34,639 instead of making me send it back, which is making me very, very sad right now as 104 00:07:31,599 --> 00:07:36,000 I try to finish this review. Anyway, in 105 00:07:34,639 --> 00:07:39,199 the video description, you can check out the support link, guys, where you can 106 00:07:37,680 --> 00:07:43,199 buy cool t-shirts like this to maybe help me afford a Razer Blade 2014. You 107 00:07:41,280 --> 00:07:46,639 can also give us a monthly contribution if you love our content. And if you 108 00:07:45,280 --> 00:07:50,560 don't want to give us anything directly, which is great. You can change your Amazon bookmark to one with our 109 00:07:49,520 --> 00:07:55,599 affiliate code. 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