Razer has unveiled an updated version of its 14-inch gaming laptop, the Razer Blade. The new Blade gets a significant bump in power over its predecessor while remaining at the same price: starting at $2,200.
To start, Razer has doubled the Blade's memory to 16GB RAM. The CPU and GPU also have been bumped up to the latest Intel and Nvidia offerings: a Core i7-4720HQ quad-core processor and a 3GB GDDR5 Nvidia GTX 970M. The processor is clocked at 2.6GHz and can be turbo-boosted up to 3.6Ghz, while the GTX 970M is based on Nvidia's Maxwell architecture and should be able to handle most gaming at high settings.
The screen is a 14-inch 3200x1800 IGZO touch display, a lower power display material ideal for high pixel densities. For further batter life management, the machine automatically transitions between Nvidia graphics and Intel HD Graphics 4600.
It's nice to see Razer push its gaming laptop beyond 1080p, but keep in mind that running games at the Blade's native 1800p resolution will be more taxing on its 970M GPU than running them at 1080p. Razer's also selling a refreshed Blade running a 1080p IPS panel and 8GB of RAM. That configuration is cheaper, at $2000.
The new Blade weighs in at 4.5 pounds and launches on February 16th. It's already on sale online at Razer's store.
