WEBVTT 00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:07.680 I was in a dimly lit room in Vegas, CES 00:00:05.400 --> 00:00:12.320 2014. I was in the middle of a meeting with a shady character. Minlang Tan and 00:00:10.719 --> 00:00:18.640 I were sitting across from each other on couches. I had recently given the Razer 00:00:14.639 --> 00:00:21.439 Blade 14 2013 edition a mostly positive 00:00:18.640 --> 00:00:25.840 review, but I was in the middle of laying into him about how frustrating 00:00:24.000 --> 00:00:31.519 that notebook had been for me because I thought it was basically perfect if it 00:00:28.640 --> 00:00:35.520 wasn't for the TN screen. Midway through he kind of started smiling and then 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 00:00:37.760 --> 00:00:44.480 screen for you in the next iteration, you'll call it perfect on 00:00:42.440 --> 00:00:49.680 camera." Not being able to think of anything else I wanted changed, I 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 00:00:51.840 --> 00:00:54.480 2014 00:00:58.920 --> 00:01:05.760 perfect? With its power loss protection, affordability, and performance, the 00:01:03.359 --> 00:01:14.400 SP920 from Adata makes upgrading to an SSD remarkably safe and simple. So, here 00:01:09.119 --> 00:01:16.320 is my review of the 2014 Blade 14. And 00:01:14.400 --> 00:01:21.439 apart from my customary complaint that Razer really needs to fix their bloody 00:01:18.479 --> 00:01:28.400 product naming scheme, I may have to give this my first ever editor's choice 00:01:24.159 --> 00:01:30.640 award. It's expensive, but it's a truly 00:01:28.400 --> 00:01:34.400 remarkable piece of technology. On top of ditching the rubbish panel type, 00:01:32.400 --> 00:01:39.600 Razer quadrupled the pixel count to an extremely sharp 3200 by 1800, made it a 00:01:37.280 --> 00:01:43.360 10point multi-touch screen, and they improved the core specs of it as well. 00:01:41.840 --> 00:01:47.439 So, we're getting an upgrade to a fourth gen Core i7472HQ quad core with 00:01:45.680 --> 00:01:53.200 hyperthreading. We're getting an upgrade to a GTX 870M with 3 gigs of GDDDR5 00:01:51.439 --> 00:01:58.719 memory, which is remarkable given the form factor. That's anywhere from 60 to 00:01:55.360 --> 00:02:01.439 100% faster in realworld games versus 00:01:58.719 --> 00:02:05.119 the last gen Blade 14. And as long as it's running at full speed, which 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 00:02:07.759 --> 00:02:13.520 slightly boosted overbase 967 MHz on the 00:02:11.039 --> 00:02:18.800 GPU in heaven with the graphics core running at 82° and the CPU running at 00:02:16.120 --> 00:02:23.200 77°. On battery, these values dip a little bit down to around 875 MHz core 00:02:21.040 --> 00:02:27.840 and 2 GHz RAM. But I guess that's to help conserve battery life. Although I 00:02:25.440 --> 00:02:34.080 still got a very respectable, if not overwhelming, 45 minutes of continuous 00:02:30.800 --> 00:02:36.400 3D use out of it. Not bad considering 00:02:34.080 --> 00:02:40.640 its size. All right, so let's move on to the physical overview. The Power Brick 00:02:38.239 --> 00:02:43.920 is incredibly small for 150 W, just like last time. And that's about it for 00:02:42.000 --> 00:02:47.599 accessories. Onto the machine, it features an aluminum unibody 00:02:45.519 --> 00:02:51.760 construction that gives off a definite Apple would make notebooks like this if 00:02:49.440 --> 00:02:55.040 they were cool vibe. that also assists with cooling and keeps it extremely 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 00:02:57.280 --> 00:03:02.800 illuminated Razor logo on the back with subtle sort of accent bumps and 00:03:01.280 --> 00:03:07.440 basically it looks just like the Last Blade 14, which means it is still 00:03:05.360 --> 00:03:11.120 beautiful. The bottom has two cooling intakes and two rubber feet to keep the 00:03:09.280 --> 00:03:14.280 notebook from sliding around. Then moving to the left side, we've got power 00:03:12.640 --> 00:03:17.519 in, two USB 3 ports, and a headphone/microphone combo jack. 00:03:16.080 --> 00:03:22.400 Finally, on the right is a Kensington lock, an HDMI output, and another USB 3 00:03:19.840 --> 00:03:28.319 port, which brings us around to the top. The trackpad has a very pleasing finish 00:03:25.200 --> 00:03:30.480 and satisfyingly clicky, if a little bit 00:03:28.319 --> 00:03:35.599 narrow, dedicated left and right buttons. The speakers are unhindered by 00:03:33.200 --> 00:03:39.599 obstructions and sound loud, even if they're not particularly deep and 00:03:37.440 --> 00:03:44.560 boommy. The power button sits below the screen, above the exhaust that spits hot 00:03:41.680 --> 00:03:50.480 air out above the keyboard here. and that keyboard. Razer has outdone 00:03:47.840 --> 00:03:55.040 themselves here. The layout is spacious and nearly perfect. Every key is 00:03:53.120 --> 00:04:00.200 programmable. The backlight has an extravagant 20 levels of illumination. 00:03:57.680 --> 00:04:04.959 And the keys have a satisfying tactile clickiness that is 00:04:02.879 --> 00:04:08.040 unlike any other chicklet type notebook that I have ever used. It is 00:04:06.480 --> 00:04:12.159 outstanding. Now, I know I already kind of awarded it 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 00:04:14.640 --> 00:04:21.120 revision. And number one is actually related to the next stop in our tour, 00:04:18.799 --> 00:04:25.520 the screen. The resolution makes it super sharp whenever text scales 00:04:23.280 --> 00:04:30.160 correctly, and colors and viewing angles of the screen are much better than the 00:04:27.840 --> 00:04:33.680 last chip, like worlds better. But there's still a noticeable color shift 00:04:31.919 --> 00:04:36.880 when viewing offc center. And although it makes up for it somewhat with an 00:04:35.360 --> 00:04:41.520 incredibly bright backlight and therefore a very solid contrast ratio, 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 00:04:43.840 --> 00:04:50.560 a dimly lit room. Number two, Razer, the 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, 00:04:53.040 --> 00:05:00.160 but what about tomorrow? I regularly use 6 gigs of RAM on my desktop just 00:04:57.040 --> 00:05:02.400 browsing the web. The 256 gig skew and 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 00:05:04.960 --> 00:05:12.880 the sticker price, especially if it's not going to be upgradeable. And number 00:05:10.120 --> 00:05:17.919 three, well, I think we got just enough USB3 ports. And while I appreciate the 00:05:15.199 --> 00:05:21.759 upgrade to Intel's solid 7260 AC wireless solution, I don't think a 00:05:19.520 --> 00:05:24.880 gaming machine is complete without an Ethernet port, even if it requires an 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 00:05:28.240 --> 00:05:36.160 HDMI out due to its higher resolution support and ability to be inexpensively 00:05:32.639 --> 00:05:37.919 adapted to anything else. But that's it. 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 00:05:40.560 --> 00:05:46.240 complaints, one of them could have been resolved with a $25 USB Ethernet 00:05:44.320 --> 00:05:51.160 adapter. A trivial amount of money for anyone buying a Blade 14. Which I guess 00:05:48.800 --> 00:05:54.560 leads into one more like extra bonus criticism. One that's very different 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. 00:05:57.039 --> 00:06:02.160 The Blade 14 is very, very expensive. I 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 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 00:06:09.039 --> 00:06:14.479 512 gig model. For the same price, you 00:06:12.560 --> 00:06:19.039 can of course get a much more powerful gaming desktop or even a much more 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. 00:06:21.759 --> 00:06:28.160 So, someone has to pay those engineers and that's why it costs this much. 00:06:25.280 --> 00:06:32.400 Sadly, it's too expensive for my tastes. But for affluent gamers who want 00:06:30.479 --> 00:06:36.960 something beautifully crafted that they can take on the road with them, this 00:06:34.319 --> 00:06:41.680 notebook will absolutely annihilate similarly crafted machines like Apple's 00:06:39.120 --> 00:06:45.919 13-inch MacBook Pro. So, here's the conclusion. With network streaming 00:06:44.000 --> 00:06:50.720 gaming technology advancing so quickly right now, how longived thin and light 00:06:48.800 --> 00:06:55.199 gaming notebooks will be as a category remains to be seen. But one thing's for 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 00:06:57.280 --> 00:07:03.599 afford one, I wholeheartedly recommend the Blade 14 2014. Nothing is perfect, 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 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 00:07:11.280 --> 00:07:18.000 compromise in any way. It's thin, light, beautiful, and powerful, and it's my new 00:07:15.680 --> 00:07:21.039 favorite. Well done, Razer. Thank you guys very much for watching. Like this 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 00:07:23.840 --> 00:07:29.919 the Razer Blade 2014. If you think that Razer should really let me keep this 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 00:07:31.599 --> 00:07:36.000 I try to finish this review. Anyway, in 00:07:34.639 --> 00:07:39.199 the video description, you can check out the support link, guys, where you can 00:07:37.680 --> 00:07:43.199 buy cool t-shirts like this to maybe help me afford a Razer Blade 2014. You 00:07:41.280 --> 00:07:46.639 can also give us a monthly contribution if you love our content. And if you 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 00:07:49.520 --> 00:07:55.599 affiliate code. We'll get a small kickback whenever you buy stuff that you already would have been buying anyway. 00:07:54.160 --> 00:07:58.479 So, that's another awesome way of helping us out, and we appreciate it. 00:07:57.199 --> 00:08:03.780 Thank you very much for watching once more. And as always, don't forget to subscribe to Linus Tech Tips if you 00:08:01.759 --> 00:08:14.249 haven't already.