1 00:00:05,839 --> 00:00:12,080 Adata XPG V2 memory kits are optimized for the latest Intel gaming platforms. 2 00:00:10,639 --> 00:00:17,840 Check the link in the video description for more details. Welcome to my unboxing 3 00:00:14,960 --> 00:00:22,880 and overview of the Razer Blade 14 from well, Razer. So, first of all, it comes 4 00:00:20,640 --> 00:00:25,600 packed in soft foam. So, it's already my favorite notebook ever. No, I'm just 5 00:00:24,080 --> 00:00:29,439 kidding. Okay, it does compact in soft foam, but it doesn't get too many points 6 00:00:27,680 --> 00:00:33,520 for that because it's an extremely expensive notebook. For a 256 gig 7 00:00:32,079 --> 00:00:38,480 configuration, you're looking at about 2Gs, putting it right up there in the 8 00:00:36,160 --> 00:00:42,480 Apple echelon in terms of pricing. But the real question is, does it deserve to 9 00:00:40,239 --> 00:00:45,600 be there? In terms of the unboxing experience, we're going to do a very, 10 00:00:43,840 --> 00:00:50,800 very short version of it. This is what the box looks like. Foam, typical green, 11 00:00:48,800 --> 00:00:53,840 beautiful razor packaging as we've come to expect from them. And other than 12 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:58,960 that, there's not a whole lot in here. So, there's a little bundle of what you 13 00:00:56,879 --> 00:01:03,280 typically come to expect. So, you get a couple of razor stickers as well as a 14 00:01:01,520 --> 00:01:07,280 microfiber cloth. Honestly, it's not going to do you a whole lot of good. The 15 00:01:04,960 --> 00:01:12,720 black finish is absolutely beautiful, but you can never get it quite perfect 16 00:01:10,159 --> 00:01:16,640 as far as I can tell. I even tried uh using some alcohol in order to get it 17 00:01:14,640 --> 00:01:20,560 off, but honestly, it really isn't that bad either. At least it's black, unlike 18 00:01:18,720 --> 00:01:24,080 these silver finishes that the fingerprints really do show up on. And 19 00:01:22,240 --> 00:01:27,200 you also get a letter from the CEO and chief gamer of Razer, as well as a quick 20 00:01:25,680 --> 00:01:32,320 start guide. Not going to worry too much about any of that. Other than that, all 21 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:37,280 you'll find in the box is their very sleek, very sexy power brick. This is 22 00:01:34,720 --> 00:01:42,079 150 W power brick, but as you can see from my traditional phone size 23 00:01:39,439 --> 00:01:48,560 comparison. Here's an HTC1. Is extremely small for 150 W brick. Razer claims they 24 00:01:45,600 --> 00:01:52,240 spent several times as much as most manufacturers will on a power brick in 25 00:01:50,880 --> 00:01:57,040 order to have it fit in this form factor. This was extremely important to them because they were going for 26 00:01:55,280 --> 00:02:01,040 portability as well as gaming performance with this particular 27 00:01:58,719 --> 00:02:05,520 machine. So, speaking of portability, it is only 0.66 in thick. So, we're going 28 00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:10,239 to go ahead and give you a look at it physically. Here's that phone comparison 29 00:02:07,360 --> 00:02:17,360 for you again. It weighs only 4.1 lb. It is 14 in. And it is not an ultrabook 30 00:02:13,920 --> 00:02:18,879 because it has well not because but it 31 00:02:17,360 --> 00:02:22,879 has much more performance than an ultrabook. In spite of the fact that the 32 00:02:20,800 --> 00:02:29,360 form factor looks an awful lot like an ultrabook. This has a full-fledged GTX 33 00:02:26,360 --> 00:02:31,920 765M. Razer has done nothing in terms of 34 00:02:29,360 --> 00:02:37,440 downclocking that graphics card. It also has a Core i7 quad core processor. So 35 00:02:35,599 --> 00:02:43,440 that my friends is what makes this not an ultrabook. It is a 472 HQ which means 36 00:02:40,239 --> 00:02:44,560 it runs at 2.2 2 GHz base, 3.2 GHz 37 00:02:43,440 --> 00:02:48,959 boost. So you can see we're running Crisis 1 right now. So the answer is, 38 00:02:46,480 --> 00:02:54,319 can it run Crisis? Yes, I'm running at very high 1600 my 900 at the native 39 00:02:51,599 --> 00:02:58,680 resolution. The keyboard is quite well spaced out considering that this is a 40 00:02:55,760 --> 00:03:03,440 14-inch notebook. speakers are quite loud. Although, as with most notebook 41 00:03:01,120 --> 00:03:06,879 sound, it's not the most, you know, rich, gorgeous sound you've ever heard, 42 00:03:05,440 --> 00:03:10,000 but it is certainly functional for gaming, even in an environment where 43 00:03:08,480 --> 00:03:14,400 there's a fair amount of ambient noise, such as at a land party. So, back to the 44 00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:18,159 keyboard here. There are 20 different incremental steps for the keyboard 45 00:03:16,480 --> 00:03:22,000 backlight, all the way from completely off to an extremely vibrant green that 46 00:03:20,239 --> 00:03:25,760 reminds me of the Black Widow Ultimate 2013. The keyboard is also fully 47 00:03:24,159 --> 00:03:30,319 compatible with Synapse 2.0, know, meaning you can remap every key to 48 00:03:27,360 --> 00:03:33,680 whatever you want and program advanced macros. I wish there was a number pad, 49 00:03:32,319 --> 00:03:38,480 but given that they would have had to sacrifice the spacing of it, and it is 50 00:03:35,760 --> 00:03:41,920 actually quite a satisfying tactile keyboard. You can hear there's a bit of 51 00:03:40,080 --> 00:03:46,799 a click. The one key that I would or the two keys I would really complain about 52 00:03:43,519 --> 00:03:49,280 are the space bar has a bit of a tiny 53 00:03:46,799 --> 00:03:53,120 sort of um plasticky feel to it. And then I don't really like arrow pad 54 00:03:51,599 --> 00:03:57,120 configurations like this, but I don't really find myself using the arrow keys 55 00:03:54,720 --> 00:03:59,840 much. these days. The touchpad I've seen other people complain about, but I 56 00:03:58,640 --> 00:04:04,560 personally didn't find it that obnoxious. Um, people were saying they 57 00:04:01,920 --> 00:04:07,519 prefer a clicky touchpad. I don't. I prefer dedicated buttons at the bottom, 58 00:04:06,080 --> 00:04:11,680 and that is exactly what you find with the Razer Blade 14. However, there was a 59 00:04:10,080 --> 00:04:15,680 little bit of glitchiness in fine movements sometimes when selecting icons 60 00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:20,160 and then clicking by touching the touchpad. It's shown up a couple times 61 00:04:17,680 --> 00:04:24,160 for me, but not a ton. And hopefully this is something that they can fix in 62 00:04:22,079 --> 00:04:28,440 sort of a silent revision after the review units go out. This is a review 63 00:04:25,919 --> 00:04:32,479 unit, not a finished one. For physicality, it's very bare bones. So 64 00:04:31,199 --> 00:04:37,440 along the right hand side of the notebook, we find USB 3, HDMI, and a 65 00:04:35,440 --> 00:04:42,080 security lock. On the back of the notebook, Whoa, there's nothing. Where 66 00:04:39,919 --> 00:04:45,520 are all the air vents? I'll show you that later. Don't worry, guys. On the 67 00:04:43,759 --> 00:04:50,479 left side of the notebook, we find power in. It fits very snugly. This is a huge 68 00:04:48,160 --> 00:04:53,440 oversight on one of my notebooks, an MSI gaming notebook I got a few years back. 69 00:04:52,160 --> 00:04:57,520 I think they've addressed it now, but the power plug just slips out a lot of 70 00:04:55,840 --> 00:05:02,160 the time. So, I do like to see a snug power plug. Would prefer magnetic. Two 71 00:04:59,680 --> 00:05:06,639 USB 3.0 ports on this side as well as a headphone microphone combo jack. Then on 72 00:05:04,639 --> 00:05:10,240 the front, we find a whole lot more of nothing. The hinge is very easy to open. 73 00:05:08,960 --> 00:05:15,199 So, I mean, I guess this is kind of unfair to it, but even holding it up in the air, I can get that separated. You 74 00:05:13,680 --> 00:05:19,360 don't have to wedge two fingers in there in order to get it open. And how does 75 00:05:17,199 --> 00:05:24,320 the ventilation work? How the devil did they fit a GTX 765M and hold on, I'm 76 00:05:22,800 --> 00:05:29,520 just going to turn the sound off. A GTX 765M and a quad core into this form 77 00:05:26,960 --> 00:05:32,960 factor. Two ventilation fans down here. So, we're running Crisis right now. 78 00:05:31,199 --> 00:05:36,720 Actually, I'm going to unpause the game so you guys can get some idea of how 79 00:05:34,560 --> 00:05:41,360 loud these fans are. They are louder than a silent notebook, but here, check 80 00:05:39,280 --> 00:05:45,120 this out. So, I'm putting this right next to my boom mic so you guys can see 81 00:05:42,800 --> 00:05:50,160 what I'm doing here. They are quieter than my Aspire S7 which 82 00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:54,720 is more of an ultrabook but doesn't have a GPU and doesn't have actually I don't 83 00:05:53,199 --> 00:06:01,120 even think it has about a 6 hour battery life. So battery wise you can get anywhere from around 5 to 6 hours out of 84 00:05:59,120 --> 00:06:03,840 it in a light to medium usage case scenario. However, when you're gaming 85 00:06:02,800 --> 00:06:10,639 obviously that's going to be significantly reduced. So these two fans 86 00:06:06,479 --> 00:06:12,720 on the bottom here vent air aha up here. 87 00:06:10,639 --> 00:06:17,280 So, it's actually completely stealthed up at the top of the keyboard. There are 88 00:06:14,479 --> 00:06:22,639 two major exhaust ports here and here. Now, the advantage of this design is 89 00:06:20,240 --> 00:06:26,800 that you don't have to look at any exhaust vents. The disadvantage is it 90 00:06:24,800 --> 00:06:32,080 means the top of the notebook does get very toasty in a gaming scenario. And 91 00:06:29,600 --> 00:06:35,840 because it's using an aluminum uni-body chassis, that heat does tend to spread 92 00:06:34,240 --> 00:06:39,600 out a fair bit. So, what we're going to be doing uh at near the end of the video 93 00:06:37,840 --> 00:06:43,440 is I'm going to take my temperature probe right here and I'm going to be 94 00:06:41,840 --> 00:06:49,919 running this game and I'm going to stick the probe to various parts of the notebook to give you guys an idea of how 95 00:06:46,960 --> 00:06:53,600 exactly it runs. Even if it means the heat gets spread out, that's a good 96 00:06:51,600 --> 00:06:58,880 thing for one reason because it's part of what allows that massive power inside 97 00:06:57,039 --> 00:07:03,919 this notebook to be possible in this form factor. And aluminum compared to 98 00:07:01,440 --> 00:07:08,720 plastic, there's just no comparison. There's no flex to it. It feels good. It 99 00:07:07,039 --> 00:07:12,800 reminds me a lot of something like the black MacBook Pro back in the day before 100 00:07:11,039 --> 00:07:16,960 Apple kaiba that which I think was one of the most beautiful notebooks ever. 101 00:07:14,639 --> 00:07:20,880 It's stylish and elegant. So on the top you've just got a couple of subtle 102 00:07:18,720 --> 00:07:24,319 accents as well as an illuminated Razer logo. I'm going to go ahead and turn it 103 00:07:22,160 --> 00:07:28,240 back on so you can see the illumination there. on the side. The only thing that 104 00:07:26,400 --> 00:07:32,720 reveals that this is a gaming notebook is this tiny green accents in things 105 00:07:30,560 --> 00:07:36,160 like the USB ports and then the green backlit keyboard. Other than that, it's 106 00:07:34,560 --> 00:07:40,400 something that you could easily sit in a boardroom meeting with and you wouldn't 107 00:07:37,919 --> 00:07:43,520 have to feel like a total weirdo. Part of the way that it achieves that long 108 00:07:41,919 --> 00:07:47,599 battery life, making it suitable for business use, is the fact that it 109 00:07:45,039 --> 00:07:50,639 employs NVIDIA Optimus technology. So, that means that the dedicated graphics 110 00:07:49,280 --> 00:07:55,280 card pretty much turns off when you're not using it. And Intel's new Haswell 111 00:07:53,199 --> 00:07:59,680 fourth generation core processors are so efficient when they're only being used a 112 00:07:57,360 --> 00:08:02,960 little bit that well all of a sudden this is possible. I remember saying when 113 00:08:01,120 --> 00:08:08,280 the original Blade launched, this is interesting, but what I'm really excited 114 00:08:04,560 --> 00:08:11,199 for is NextG. NextG is finally here. 115 00:08:08,280 --> 00:08:16,639 Now, with that said, this notebook is not perfect. It lacks an SD card reader. 116 00:08:14,160 --> 00:08:21,199 It lacks a dedicated hardwired Ethernet port. However, the wireless end solution 117 00:08:18,879 --> 00:08:25,360 does use Bigfoot killer optimizations in order to prioritize your gaming traffic. 118 00:08:23,039 --> 00:08:28,720 So, that's at least better than nothing. But the one that really bothers me is 119 00:08:27,280 --> 00:08:33,680 the screen. So, I'm going to get you guys to come in and have a look at the screen. So, check this out. So, that's 120 00:08:31,919 --> 00:08:36,880 your straight-on viewing angle. If you guys have been watching my channel for 121 00:08:35,039 --> 00:08:42,640 any amount of time, you'll know that I am a huge advocate for nonTN panels. And 122 00:08:40,159 --> 00:08:48,640 this panel is about as TN as it gets. The colors are not as vibrant or deep as 123 00:08:45,440 --> 00:08:51,120 you'll get with an IPS uh pls or even a 124 00:08:48,640 --> 00:08:56,320 VA panel of some sort. And the viewing angles are quite um well, they're some 125 00:08:54,640 --> 00:09:02,160 of the worst I've seen on a notebook that costs more than you know between 126 00:08:59,360 --> 00:09:05,600 $500 and $1,000 in a very long time. And I found that very disappointing. I for 127 00:09:04,320 --> 00:09:11,040 one am not disappointed about the resolution. 1600 by 900 is very 128 00:09:07,920 --> 00:09:16,080 acceptable considering that a 765M is 129 00:09:11,040 --> 00:09:18,480 not, you know, a desktop GTX 780. So, 130 00:09:16,080 --> 00:09:22,399 you're better off to have slightly lower resolution natively and be able to run 131 00:09:20,240 --> 00:09:27,760 at native res rather than running at a non-native res in your games. And the 132 00:09:24,480 --> 00:09:29,839 pixel density at 14 in for a 1600 by 900 133 00:09:27,760 --> 00:09:33,760 screen is actually not that bad. Like, I don't I don't mind that at all. Um 134 00:09:31,920 --> 00:09:37,680 although I've seen complaints about that from other reviewers. This particular 135 00:09:35,920 --> 00:09:44,320 configuration has eight gigs of RAM, a 256 gig SSD, a 70Wh hour battery, 136 00:09:41,200 --> 00:09:46,640 Bluetooth 4.0, Windows 8, as well as a 137 00:09:44,320 --> 00:09:50,480 built-in HD webcam, and some of the things about this notebook that I also 138 00:09:48,399 --> 00:09:53,519 find exceptional are, check this out. Partly due to the fact that it's an SSD, 139 00:09:52,480 --> 00:09:59,440 partly due to the fact that it's extremely fast, and partly due to the fact that it has no bloatware. Here's 140 00:09:56,800 --> 00:10:03,920 our wake from sleep time. Also, it boots from cold in about 12 seconds. So, this 141 00:10:02,160 --> 00:10:08,560 is I mean, yay, Windows 8. It's one of the few things that really truly is 142 00:10:05,920 --> 00:10:12,000 great about it. Speakers are I think I already covered that loud enough for 143 00:10:09,839 --> 00:10:16,880 gaming, but you know, nothing really super special. And I think that pretty 144 00:10:14,800 --> 00:10:20,000 much covers it. So, let's go ahead and show you guys some crisis gameplay as 145 00:10:18,720 --> 00:10:24,480 well as give you some temperature readings from various points on the 146 00:10:21,920 --> 00:10:29,600 notebook. To start our thermal tests, we went with what we found was the hottest 147 00:10:27,040 --> 00:10:35,079 spot where air was being exhausted from the Blade 14. So, that was right at this 148 00:10:31,920 --> 00:10:37,920 point right here. and it's about 149 00:10:35,079 --> 00:10:42,720 50° when we measure the temperature of the notebook in that particular spot. 150 00:10:40,640 --> 00:10:47,440 Now, with that said, you don't touch it here, although it does feel very warm to 151 00:10:45,120 --> 00:10:51,120 the touch, but Oh, look at that. Me touching it reduced the temperature. 152 00:10:48,800 --> 00:10:55,920 That's awesome. But we are going to take some temperatures at other places where 153 00:10:53,040 --> 00:11:00,160 it might be more important. Next, we taped our thermal probe to the Q key, 154 00:10:58,079 --> 00:11:03,920 which is right next to the W key. So, that's typically where your gamer is 155 00:11:01,760 --> 00:11:10,079 going to want to rest their fingers. And we found that to be around 29 to 30° in 156 00:11:07,600 --> 00:11:13,760 a gaming load. The other place where a gamer is typically going to rest on the 157 00:11:11,839 --> 00:11:17,920 notebook is the palm rest. So, we've taken another dab of thermal goop and 158 00:11:16,079 --> 00:11:23,600 taped down our sensor here where we're getting anywhere from around 30 to 32°. 159 00:11:21,440 --> 00:11:28,880 It does tend to fluctuate a little bit. Um, so the temperature at least is quite 160 00:11:26,320 --> 00:11:34,240 consistent from the WD all the way to the palm rest. However, that is quite 161 00:11:31,519 --> 00:11:39,120 warm and it will cause some sweaty hand syndrome. Now, years ago, the system 162 00:11:37,120 --> 00:11:43,360 manufacturers wanted to move away from calling these things laptops and switch 163 00:11:40,959 --> 00:11:46,560 to calling them notebooks because they didn't intend for you to actually 164 00:11:44,560 --> 00:11:50,959 operate them in your lap because that interfered with cooling. So when we are 165 00:11:49,360 --> 00:11:56,120 taking a temperature from the middle of the bottom of the notebook, you can see 166 00:11:52,399 --> 00:11:59,800 that gets quite toasty. Guys, this is a 167 00:11:56,120 --> 00:12:03,680 notebook, not a laptop at 168 00:11:59,800 --> 00:12:06,480 45° 46°. Now, the heat being transferred 169 00:12:03,680 --> 00:12:10,160 into your lap is quite toasty. So, while you're going to get some sweaty hand 170 00:12:08,079 --> 00:12:15,760 syndrome going on up at the top left here on the keyboard, Razer has 171 00:12:12,639 --> 00:12:17,760 effectively kept the heat mostly away 172 00:12:15,760 --> 00:12:21,519 from the top of the notebook. However, on the bottom, it gets quite warm. So, 173 00:12:19,920 --> 00:12:25,519 I'm going to show you once again where that thermal probe was affixed. The 174 00:12:23,360 --> 00:12:30,959 closer we get to this edge where the heat is actually being exhausted, the 175 00:12:28,320 --> 00:12:35,279 well, the more dramatic the temperature increase is. So, right near your knees 176 00:12:33,279 --> 00:12:40,639 is where it would run the hottest. With all of that said, the Edge14 is an 177 00:12:38,160 --> 00:12:44,560 absolute marvel of engineering, and it is a miracle that a company that's known 178 00:12:42,880 --> 00:12:48,560 best for gaming mice and gaming keyboards in only a couple of product 179 00:12:46,800 --> 00:12:52,959 iterations managed to come out with this. With that said, it's a couple 180 00:12:50,639 --> 00:12:57,680 grand. Personally, I'll be waiting for the next gen when it's this. Maybe runs 181 00:12:56,079 --> 00:13:02,320 a little bit cooler or maybe doesn't. maybe has a little bit more performance, 182 00:12:59,200 --> 00:13:04,800 comes with an IPS screen, and then we're 183 00:13:02,320 --> 00:13:08,959 really talking about taking some of my money because that's probably going to 184 00:13:07,040 --> 00:13:14,240 happen. I understand why they used the TN panel. They do tend to have faster 185 00:13:12,240 --> 00:13:18,720 response times, which for some gamers is more important, but I personally find 186 00:13:15,920 --> 00:13:24,000 the richer colors um a more engaging experience versus the faster response 187 00:13:21,519 --> 00:13:28,160 times of a TN. And with that said, IPS panels also do cost more. Don't forget 188 00:13:26,560 --> 00:13:32,480 to subscribe to Lion's Tech Tips, guys. Leave a comment under the video. Tell me 189 00:13:29,680 --> 00:13:36,079 what you think of the Razer Blade 14. And as always, wait, don't forget to 190 00:13:34,560 --> 00:13:42,320 subscribe. Yeah, like the video, too. Do all of those things because it actually is very helpful. So, this is kind of a 191 00:13:39,680 --> 00:13:46,000 spontaneous uh tearown of the Blade 14. B-roll made a comment that uh we were 192 00:13:44,639 --> 00:13:51,120 just talking about the cost of this notebook versus other options available on the market, and I said, "Well, you 193 00:13:49,040 --> 00:13:54,240 know, is an is a MacBook a completely stupid thing to buy?" And he kind of 194 00:13:52,240 --> 00:13:57,760 went, "Yes." And I said, "Well, okay, but it doesn't have nearly the same kind 195 00:13:56,240 --> 00:14:01,519 of horsepower as something like this." And he said, "Well, yeah, but it's also 196 00:14:00,240 --> 00:14:06,639 better built." And I kind of went, "Well, no. I I don't really think so 197 00:14:03,680 --> 00:14:10,720 because the level of integration that's going on here is outstanding. Plus, 198 00:14:09,199 --> 00:14:15,440 there are some things that you can do here that you can't necessarily do with 199 00:14:13,279 --> 00:14:21,120 uh with every MacBook. So, for example, there's an MSA SSD. So, the SSD is 200 00:14:18,880 --> 00:14:24,800 actually upgraded now or upgradeable. Now, while you can't necessarily upgrade 201 00:14:22,880 --> 00:14:29,440 everything, you can see all the DDR3 memory is soldered right to the main 202 00:14:27,839 --> 00:14:33,600 board. You can change, you know, your wireless chipset, it looks like the 203 00:14:31,440 --> 00:14:38,800 battery should be possibly removable here. We can also see just how flat 204 00:14:36,800 --> 00:14:43,120 everything is packed within the inside of this notebook. So, there's our two 205 00:14:40,720 --> 00:14:48,480 cooling fans right here and here. Each of them gets two heat pipes and a very 206 00:14:45,360 --> 00:14:50,639 small aluminum fin array. So, uh, this 207 00:14:48,480 --> 00:14:54,959 right here looks like it must be the GPU because I can see the dedicated memory 208 00:14:52,880 --> 00:14:59,279 around the outside of it. And then this one right here is the CPU. So, I think 209 00:14:57,839 --> 00:15:02,639 that's pretty much all I wanted to show you guys inside the notebook. And I 210 00:15:00,880 --> 00:15:09,080 guess this is the old Seinfeld double goodbye. But, uh, farewell again, my 211 00:15:05,320 --> 00:15:19,509 friends. There goes my phone.