WEBVTT 00:00:05.839 --> 00:00:12.080 Adata XPG V2 memory kits are optimized for the latest Intel gaming platforms. 00:00:10.639 --> 00:00:17.840 Check the link in the video description for more details. Welcome to my unboxing 00:00:14.960 --> 00:00:22.880 and overview of the Razer Blade 14 from well, Razer. So, first of all, it comes 00:00:20.640 --> 00:00:25.600 packed in soft foam. So, it's already my favorite notebook ever. No, I'm just 00:00:24.080 --> 00:00:29.439 kidding. Okay, it does compact in soft foam, but it doesn't get too many points 00:00:27.680 --> 00:00:33.520 for that because it's an extremely expensive notebook. For a 256 gig 00:00:32.079 --> 00:00:38.480 configuration, you're looking at about 2Gs, putting it right up there in the 00:00:36.160 --> 00:00:42.480 Apple echelon in terms of pricing. But the real question is, does it deserve to 00:00:40.239 --> 00:00:45.600 be there? In terms of the unboxing experience, we're going to do a very, 00:00:43.840 --> 00:00:50.800 very short version of it. This is what the box looks like. Foam, typical green, 00:00:48.800 --> 00:00:53.840 beautiful razor packaging as we've come to expect from them. And other than 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 00:00:56.879 --> 00:01:03.280 typically come to expect. So, you get a couple of razor stickers as well as a 00:01:01.520 --> 00:01:07.280 microfiber cloth. Honestly, it's not going to do you a whole lot of good. The 00:01:04.960 --> 00:01:12.720 black finish is absolutely beautiful, but you can never get it quite perfect 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 00:01:14.640 --> 00:01:20.560 off, but honestly, it really isn't that bad either. At least it's black, unlike 00:01:18.720 --> 00:01:24.080 these silver finishes that the fingerprints really do show up on. And 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 00:01:25.680 --> 00:01:32.320 start guide. Not going to worry too much about any of that. Other than that, all 00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:37.280 you'll find in the box is their very sleek, very sexy power brick. This is 00:01:34.720 --> 00:01:42.079 150 W power brick, but as you can see from my traditional phone size 00:01:39.439 --> 00:01:48.560 comparison. Here's an HTC1. Is extremely small for 150 W brick. Razer claims they 00:01:45.600 --> 00:01:52.240 spent several times as much as most manufacturers will on a power brick in 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 00:01:55.280 --> 00:02:01.040 portability as well as gaming performance with this particular 00:01:58.719 --> 00:02:05.520 machine. So, speaking of portability, it is only 0.66 in thick. So, we're going 00:02:04.000 --> 00:02:10.239 to go ahead and give you a look at it physically. Here's that phone comparison 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 00:02:13.920 --> 00:02:18.879 because it has well not because but it 00:02:17.360 --> 00:02:22.879 has much more performance than an ultrabook. In spite of the fact that the 00:02:20.800 --> 00:02:29.360 form factor looks an awful lot like an ultrabook. This has a full-fledged GTX 00:02:26.360 --> 00:02:31.920 765M. Razer has done nothing in terms of 00:02:29.360 --> 00:02:37.440 downclocking that graphics card. It also has a Core i7 quad core processor. So 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 00:02:40.239 --> 00:02:44.560 it runs at 2.2 2 GHz base, 3.2 GHz 00:02:43.440 --> 00:02:48.959 boost. So you can see we're running Crisis 1 right now. So the answer is, 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 00:02:51.599 --> 00:02:58.680 resolution. The keyboard is quite well spaced out considering that this is a 00:02:55.760 --> 00:03:03.440 14-inch notebook. speakers are quite loud. Although, as with most notebook 00:03:01.120 --> 00:03:06.879 sound, it's not the most, you know, rich, gorgeous sound you've ever heard, 00:03:05.440 --> 00:03:10.000 but it is certainly functional for gaming, even in an environment where 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 00:03:12.000 --> 00:03:18.159 keyboard here. There are 20 different incremental steps for the keyboard 00:03:16.480 --> 00:03:22.000 backlight, all the way from completely off to an extremely vibrant green that 00:03:20.239 --> 00:03:25.760 reminds me of the Black Widow Ultimate 2013. The keyboard is also fully 00:03:24.159 --> 00:03:30.319 compatible with Synapse 2.0, know, meaning you can remap every key to 00:03:27.360 --> 00:03:33.680 whatever you want and program advanced macros. I wish there was a number pad, 00:03:32.319 --> 00:03:38.480 but given that they would have had to sacrifice the spacing of it, and it is 00:03:35.760 --> 00:03:41.920 actually quite a satisfying tactile keyboard. You can hear there's a bit of 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 00:03:43.519 --> 00:03:49.280 are the space bar has a bit of a tiny 00:03:46.799 --> 00:03:53.120 sort of um plasticky feel to it. And then I don't really like arrow pad 00:03:51.599 --> 00:03:57.120 configurations like this, but I don't really find myself using the arrow keys 00:03:54.720 --> 00:03:59.840 much. these days. The touchpad I've seen other people complain about, but I 00:03:58.640 --> 00:04:04.560 personally didn't find it that obnoxious. Um, people were saying they 00:04:01.920 --> 00:04:07.519 prefer a clicky touchpad. I don't. I prefer dedicated buttons at the bottom, 00:04:06.080 --> 00:04:11.680 and that is exactly what you find with the Razer Blade 14. However, there was a 00:04:10.080 --> 00:04:15.680 little bit of glitchiness in fine movements sometimes when selecting icons 00:04:14.000 --> 00:04:20.160 and then clicking by touching the touchpad. It's shown up a couple times 00:04:17.680 --> 00:04:24.160 for me, but not a ton. And hopefully this is something that they can fix in 00:04:22.079 --> 00:04:28.440 sort of a silent revision after the review units go out. This is a review 00:04:25.919 --> 00:04:32.479 unit, not a finished one. For physicality, it's very bare bones. So 00:04:31.199 --> 00:04:37.440 along the right hand side of the notebook, we find USB 3, HDMI, and a 00:04:35.440 --> 00:04:42.080 security lock. On the back of the notebook, Whoa, there's nothing. Where 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 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 00:04:48.160 --> 00:04:53.440 oversight on one of my notebooks, an MSI gaming notebook I got a few years back. 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 00:04:55.840 --> 00:05:02.160 the time. So, I do like to see a snug power plug. Would prefer magnetic. Two 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 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. 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 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 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 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 00:05:26.960 --> 00:05:32.960 factor. Two ventilation fans down here. So, we're running Crisis right now. 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 00:05:34.560 --> 00:05:41.360 loud these fans are. They are louder than a silent notebook, but here, check 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 00:05:42.800 --> 00:05:50.160 what I'm doing here. They are quieter than my Aspire S7 which 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 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 00:05:59.120 --> 00:06:03.840 it in a light to medium usage case scenario. However, when you're gaming 00:06:02.800 --> 00:06:10.639 obviously that's going to be significantly reduced. So these two fans 00:06:06.479 --> 00:06:12.720 on the bottom here vent air aha up here. 00:06:10.639 --> 00:06:17.280 So, it's actually completely stealthed up at the top of the keyboard. There are 00:06:14.479 --> 00:06:22.639 two major exhaust ports here and here. Now, the advantage of this design is 00:06:20.240 --> 00:06:26.800 that you don't have to look at any exhaust vents. The disadvantage is it 00:06:24.800 --> 00:06:32.080 means the top of the notebook does get very toasty in a gaming scenario. And 00:06:29.600 --> 00:06:35.840 because it's using an aluminum uni-body chassis, that heat does tend to spread 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 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 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 00:06:46.960 --> 00:06:53.600 exactly it runs. Even if it means the heat gets spread out, that's a good 00:06:51.600 --> 00:06:58.880 thing for one reason because it's part of what allows that massive power inside 00:06:57.039 --> 00:07:03.919 this notebook to be possible in this form factor. And aluminum compared to 00:07:01.440 --> 00:07:08.720 plastic, there's just no comparison. There's no flex to it. It feels good. It 00:07:07.039 --> 00:07:12.800 reminds me a lot of something like the black MacBook Pro back in the day before 00:07:11.039 --> 00:07:16.960 Apple kaiba that which I think was one of the most beautiful notebooks ever. 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 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 00:07:22.160 --> 00:07:28.240 back on so you can see the illumination there. on the side. The only thing that 00:07:26.400 --> 00:07:32.720 reveals that this is a gaming notebook is this tiny green accents in things 00:07:30.560 --> 00:07:36.160 like the USB ports and then the green backlit keyboard. Other than that, it's 00:07:34.560 --> 00:07:40.400 something that you could easily sit in a boardroom meeting with and you wouldn't 00:07:37.919 --> 00:07:43.520 have to feel like a total weirdo. Part of the way that it achieves that long 00:07:41.919 --> 00:07:47.599 battery life, making it suitable for business use, is the fact that it 00:07:45.039 --> 00:07:50.639 employs NVIDIA Optimus technology. So, that means that the dedicated graphics 00:07:49.280 --> 00:07:55.280 card pretty much turns off when you're not using it. And Intel's new Haswell 00:07:53.199 --> 00:07:59.680 fourth generation core processors are so efficient when they're only being used a 00:07:57.360 --> 00:08:02.960 little bit that well all of a sudden this is possible. I remember saying when 00:08:01.120 --> 00:08:08.280 the original Blade launched, this is interesting, but what I'm really excited 00:08:04.560 --> 00:08:11.199 for is NextG. NextG is finally here. 00:08:08.280 --> 00:08:16.639 Now, with that said, this notebook is not perfect. It lacks an SD card reader. 00:08:14.160 --> 00:08:21.199 It lacks a dedicated hardwired Ethernet port. However, the wireless end solution 00:08:18.879 --> 00:08:25.360 does use Bigfoot killer optimizations in order to prioritize your gaming traffic. 00:08:23.039 --> 00:08:28.720 So, that's at least better than nothing. But the one that really bothers me is 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 00:08:31.919 --> 00:08:36.880 your straight-on viewing angle. If you guys have been watching my channel for 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 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 00:08:45.440 --> 00:08:51.120 you'll get with an IPS uh pls or even a 00:08:48.640 --> 00:08:56.320 VA panel of some sort. And the viewing angles are quite um well, they're some 00:08:54.640 --> 00:09:02.160 of the worst I've seen on a notebook that costs more than you know between 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 00:09:04.320 --> 00:09:11.040 one am not disappointed about the resolution. 1600 by 900 is very 00:09:07.920 --> 00:09:16.080 acceptable considering that a 765M is 00:09:11.040 --> 00:09:18.480 not, you know, a desktop GTX 780. So, 00:09:16.080 --> 00:09:22.399 you're better off to have slightly lower resolution natively and be able to run 00:09:20.240 --> 00:09:27.760 at native res rather than running at a non-native res in your games. And the 00:09:24.480 --> 00:09:29.839 pixel density at 14 in for a 1600 by 900 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 00:09:31.920 --> 00:09:37.680 although I've seen complaints about that from other reviewers. This particular 00:09:35.920 --> 00:09:44.320 configuration has eight gigs of RAM, a 256 gig SSD, a 70Wh hour battery, 00:09:41.200 --> 00:09:46.640 Bluetooth 4.0, Windows 8, as well as a 00:09:44.320 --> 00:09:50.480 built-in HD webcam, and some of the things about this notebook that I also 00:09:48.399 --> 00:09:53.519 find exceptional are, check this out. Partly due to the fact that it's an SSD, 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 00:09:56.800 --> 00:10:03.920 our wake from sleep time. Also, it boots from cold in about 12 seconds. So, this 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 00:10:05.920 --> 00:10:12.000 great about it. Speakers are I think I already covered that loud enough for 00:10:09.839 --> 00:10:16.880 gaming, but you know, nothing really super special. And I think that pretty 00:10:14.800 --> 00:10:20.000 much covers it. So, let's go ahead and show you guys some crisis gameplay as 00:10:18.720 --> 00:10:24.480 well as give you some temperature readings from various points on the 00:10:21.920 --> 00:10:29.600 notebook. To start our thermal tests, we went with what we found was the hottest 00:10:27.040 --> 00:10:35.079 spot where air was being exhausted from the Blade 14. So, that was right at this 00:10:31.920 --> 00:10:37.920 point right here. and it's about 00:10:35.079 --> 00:10:42.720 50° when we measure the temperature of the notebook in that particular spot. 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 00:10:45.120 --> 00:10:51.120 the touch, but Oh, look at that. Me touching it reduced the temperature. 00:10:48.800 --> 00:10:55.920 That's awesome. But we are going to take some temperatures at other places where 00:10:53.040 --> 00:11:00.160 it might be more important. Next, we taped our thermal probe to the Q key, 00:10:58.079 --> 00:11:03.920 which is right next to the W key. So, that's typically where your gamer is 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 00:11:07.600 --> 00:11:13.760 a gaming load. The other place where a gamer is typically going to rest on the 00:11:11.839 --> 00:11:17.920 notebook is the palm rest. So, we've taken another dab of thermal goop and 00:11:16.079 --> 00:11:23.600 taped down our sensor here where we're getting anywhere from around 30 to 32°. 00:11:21.440 --> 00:11:28.880 It does tend to fluctuate a little bit. Um, so the temperature at least is quite 00:11:26.320 --> 00:11:34.240 consistent from the WD all the way to the palm rest. However, that is quite 00:11:31.519 --> 00:11:39.120 warm and it will cause some sweaty hand syndrome. Now, years ago, the system 00:11:37.120 --> 00:11:43.360 manufacturers wanted to move away from calling these things laptops and switch 00:11:40.959 --> 00:11:46.560 to calling them notebooks because they didn't intend for you to actually 00:11:44.560 --> 00:11:50.959 operate them in your lap because that interfered with cooling. So when we are 00:11:49.360 --> 00:11:56.120 taking a temperature from the middle of the bottom of the notebook, you can see 00:11:52.399 --> 00:11:59.800 that gets quite toasty. Guys, this is a 00:11:56.120 --> 00:12:03.680 notebook, not a laptop at 00:11:59.800 --> 00:12:06.480 45° 46°. Now, the heat being transferred 00:12:03.680 --> 00:12:10.160 into your lap is quite toasty. So, while you're going to get some sweaty hand 00:12:08.079 --> 00:12:15.760 syndrome going on up at the top left here on the keyboard, Razer has 00:12:12.639 --> 00:12:17.760 effectively kept the heat mostly away 00:12:15.760 --> 00:12:21.519 from the top of the notebook. However, on the bottom, it gets quite warm. So, 00:12:19.920 --> 00:12:25.519 I'm going to show you once again where that thermal probe was affixed. The 00:12:23.360 --> 00:12:30.959 closer we get to this edge where the heat is actually being exhausted, the 00:12:28.320 --> 00:12:35.279 well, the more dramatic the temperature increase is. So, right near your knees 00:12:33.279 --> 00:12:40.639 is where it would run the hottest. With all of that said, the Edge14 is an 00:12:38.160 --> 00:12:44.560 absolute marvel of engineering, and it is a miracle that a company that's known 00:12:42.880 --> 00:12:48.560 best for gaming mice and gaming keyboards in only a couple of product 00:12:46.800 --> 00:12:52.959 iterations managed to come out with this. With that said, it's a couple 00:12:50.639 --> 00:12:57.680 grand. Personally, I'll be waiting for the next gen when it's this. Maybe runs 00:12:56.079 --> 00:13:02.320 a little bit cooler or maybe doesn't. maybe has a little bit more performance, 00:12:59.200 --> 00:13:04.800 comes with an IPS screen, and then we're 00:13:02.320 --> 00:13:08.959 really talking about taking some of my money because that's probably going to 00:13:07.040 --> 00:13:14.240 happen. I understand why they used the TN panel. They do tend to have faster 00:13:12.240 --> 00:13:18.720 response times, which for some gamers is more important, but I personally find 00:13:15.920 --> 00:13:24.000 the richer colors um a more engaging experience versus the faster response 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 00:13:26.560 --> 00:13:32.480 to subscribe to Lion's Tech Tips, guys. Leave a comment under the video. Tell me 00:13:29.680 --> 00:13:36.079 what you think of the Razer Blade 14. And as always, wait, don't forget to 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 00:13:39.680 --> 00:13:46.000 spontaneous uh tearown of the Blade 14. B-roll made a comment that uh we were 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 00:13:49.040 --> 00:13:54.240 know, is an is a MacBook a completely stupid thing to buy?" And he kind of 00:13:52.240 --> 00:13:57.760 went, "Yes." And I said, "Well, okay, but it doesn't have nearly the same kind 00:13:56.240 --> 00:14:01.519 of horsepower as something like this." And he said, "Well, yeah, but it's also 00:14:00.240 --> 00:14:06.639 better built." And I kind of went, "Well, no. I I don't really think so 00:14:03.680 --> 00:14:10.720 because the level of integration that's going on here is outstanding. Plus, 00:14:09.199 --> 00:14:15.440 there are some things that you can do here that you can't necessarily do with 00:14:13.279 --> 00:14:21.120 uh with every MacBook. So, for example, there's an MSA SSD. So, the SSD is 00:14:18.880 --> 00:14:24.800 actually upgraded now or upgradeable. Now, while you can't necessarily upgrade 00:14:22.880 --> 00:14:29.440 everything, you can see all the DDR3 memory is soldered right to the main 00:14:27.839 --> 00:14:33.600 board. You can change, you know, your wireless chipset, it looks like the 00:14:31.440 --> 00:14:38.800 battery should be possibly removable here. We can also see just how flat 00:14:36.800 --> 00:14:43.120 everything is packed within the inside of this notebook. So, there's our two 00:14:40.720 --> 00:14:48.480 cooling fans right here and here. Each of them gets two heat pipes and a very 00:14:45.360 --> 00:14:50.639 small aluminum fin array. So, uh, this 00:14:48.480 --> 00:14:54.959 right here looks like it must be the GPU because I can see the dedicated memory 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 00:14:57.839 --> 00:15:02.639 that's pretty much all I wanted to show you guys inside the notebook. And I 00:15:00.880 --> 00:15:09.080 guess this is the old Seinfeld double goodbye. But, uh, farewell again, my 00:15:05.320 --> 00:15:19.509 friends. There goes my phone.