Ultrabook As Gaming PC: Razer's Blade Stealth Laptop And Core External GPU Dock

[scolaner]

Razer is taking a page out of MSI's and Alienware's playbooks with the Razer Blade Stealth and Razer Core -- an ultrabook designed for gaming backed by an external GPU dock.

Ultrabook As Gaming PC: Razer's Blade Stealth Laptop And Core External GPU Dock : Read more

 

[TechyInAZ]

It's a good idea, but it's still in it's infancy. Biggest problem with this combo right now is CPU bottlenecking and possible overheating of the laptop. Then of course there is price.

 

[bak0n]

This could work out to a cheaper, better product than its target, the Alienware 13 r2. Also you should have less overheating on the laptop since the GPU processing is done externally.

 

[realpetrolium]

As an IT professional I require a powerful (i7 + 16gig ram) lightweight laptop for its mobility.
As a gamer I'm looking for a beefy graphics card and the potential to swap out for a newer card over time.

For many years I used 2 separate machines to satisfy my needs. A gaming box and a professional laptop.
Early 2015 I bought an MSI GS30 w/ dock and am so very happy to be rid of an additional machine.

At that time there were only 2 retail laptops which fit this external GPU configuration and I'm so glad Razer is stepping up.
My biggest beef with these "gaming" laptops is the gaudy design sense.

I'm a bit old to for decorative lighting and dragons all over my products.

 

[therogerwilco]

Until they can support 600-700 watt gpu's, it's crap.

 

[lebronjames]

Add an option to upgrade to 16GB RAM for $49. (its a must these days)

MOST IMPORTANTLY get rid of the ultrabook's LED's and price it at $849/899 for the base model and $999/$1099 for the 4K. (wider appeal, If they could have worked in a 6300hq the price would be justified.)

Also price the dock at $129 and sell cards pre-installed. (500W gold rated PSU is $60, internals cost another $50 and an enclosure costs $19)

$1229 plus tax for a base model with a GTX 970. It will dominate both the consumer and business market.

These would be the most popular configurations, you tell me if they are profitable:

QHD, 256GB, 8gb, GTX 970 = $1279

4K, 512GB, 16GB, GTX 980 Ti = $1799

Keep in mind that the top model would cost 25% less in desktop form.
TS140 i3 $170, GTX 980 Ti $550, PSU $60, RAM $60, SSD $110, OS $50, 4K monitor $349 = $1349

 

[dE_logics]

Apart from the various problems with laptops, there's the dust accumulation problem, high maintenance cost (peripherals are not standardized) and other issues too.

 

[St3fan]

Demanding multiplayer games often rely heavily on CPU power so 4 cores would be better than 2.
Also in which world are 8GB ram enough?
Why DDR3 and not DDR4?

 

[warezme]

That is what the Razer Blade is for. I have the Blade, i7 4core (8MT), 16GB of RAM, 512SSD with the 970M which can easily push Fallout 4 in Ultra at Full HD. It is small lightweight an runs great even on battery mode. The Blade is more expensive but better than a Stealth without a big box to add on and almost as powerful as a it's desktop counterpart.

As an IT professional I require a powerful (i7 + 16gig ram) lightweight laptop for its mobility.
As a gamer I'm looking for a beefy graphics card and the potential to swap out for a newer card over time.

For many years I used 2 separate machines to satisfy my needs. A gaming box and a professional laptop.
Early 2015 I bought an MSI GS30 w/ dock and am so very happy to be rid of an additional machine.

At that time there were only 2 retail laptops which fit this external GPU configuration and I'm so glad Razer is stepping up.
My biggest beef with these "gaming" laptops is the gaudy design sense.

I'm a bit old to for decorative lighting and dragons all over my products.

 

[scolaner]

That is what the Razer Blade is for. I have the Blade, i7 4core (8MT), 16GB of RAM, 512SSD with the 970M which can easily push Fallout 4 in Ultra at Full HD. It is small lightweight an runs great even on battery mode. The Blade is more expensive but better than a Stealth without a big box to add on and almost as powerful as a it's desktop counterpart.

As an IT professional I require a powerful (i7 + 16gig ram) lightweight laptop for its mobility.
As a gamer I'm looking for a beefy graphics card and the potential to swap out for a newer card over time.

For many years I used 2 separate machines to satisfy my needs. A gaming box and a professional laptop.
Early 2015 I bought an MSI GS30 w/ dock and am so very happy to be rid of an additional machine.

At that time there were only 2 retail laptops which fit this external GPU configuration and I'm so glad Razer is stepping up.
My biggest beef with these "gaming" laptops is the gaudy design sense.

I'm a bit old to for decorative lighting and dragons all over my products.

I don't disagree at all. But this sort of modular setup is designed to offer scalability and flexibility. Now, whether it's "better" than your Blade...I wouldn't venture a guess. But the concept is great. (And it's one that several OEMs are employing, too.)

 

[bak0n]

It's going to cost more than $50 to $200. I'm expecting in the range of $300 to $500. You are paying for a powersupply, a case, a pseudo motherboard and a brand name.

 

[TJ Hooker]

Until they can support 600-700 watt gpu's, it's crap.

Have you ever actually seen a graphics card with a 600+ watt TDP?

 

[Gary Brandon]

My biggest beef with these "gaming" laptops is the gaudy design sense.

I'm a bit old to for decorative lighting and dragons all over my products.

Hey, for $1500 for an i7 laptop with a 4k screen and 512GB SSD, I could put up with some dragons. And you can always change the lighting to white if you want (255, 255, 255), or even turn it off, I'm sure. If I hadn't just bought my Spectre X360 last year, I'd definitely be looking into getting one of these.

 

[Xajel]

The main issue for me in this laptop is the size, 12.5" is too small... For my needs, 15" is the way to go... will they make a 15" version ? maybe with larger battery and better CPU also

 

[cats_Paw]

This will never work (exaggerated claim ), and the reason is human preference.
First, it is not only very variable, but it also changes over time:
Lets consider 2 guys:

1 Has a very light ultrabook that cant play games, the other has a heavy gaming laptop.
In this instance both want what the other one has in terms of good, and want to get rid of what they have in terms of bad.

Depending on the person, they might actually go that route with the next system they buy or not. This is personal preference, so there is no way to objectively make the perfect system.

 

[cst1992]

If this goes up to $2500, why would I not want to spend $2800 on the top-end Sager notebook instead(I forget the model)? It has a i7-6700K and a 980. Atleast the GPU doesn't need to be carried around. It seems to also have a larger screen.

 

[TJ Hooker]

If this goes up to $2500, why would I not want to spend $2800 on the top-end Sager notebook instead(I forget the model)? It has a i7-6700K and a 980. Atleast the GPU doesn't need to be carried around. It seems to also have a larger screen.

Because the Sager takes up 6x as much space and weighs 4x as much? This Razer is an ultrabook, it's clearly meant for people for whom portability is a big concern.

 

[xyriin]

Add an option to upgrade to 16GB RAM for $49. (its a must these days)

MOST IMPORTANTLY get rid of the ultrabook's LED's and price it at $849/899 for the base model and $999/$1099 for the 4K. (wider appeal, If they could have worked in a 6300hq the price would be justified.)

Also price the dock at $129 and sell cards pre-installed. (500W gold rated PSU is $60, internals cost another $50 and an enclosure costs $19)

$1229 plus tax for a base model with a GTX 970. It will dominate both the consumer and business market.

These would be the most popular configurations, you tell me if they are profitable:

QHD, 256GB, 8gb, GTX 970 = $1279

4K, 512GB, 16GB, GTX 980 Ti = $1799

Keep in mind that the top model would cost 25% less in desktop form.
TS140 i3 $170, GTX 980 Ti $550, PSU $60, RAM $60, SSD $110, OS $50, 4K monitor $349 = $1349

You're missing the whole point. If you want a bigger base system you go with the Blade laptops, the Stealth is designed to be small and modular.

Get rid of the LEDs and knock $150-$400 off? I don't think you know how little LEDs cost...hint, it's not up to $400.

The dock being priced at $129 isn't going to happen either. This isn't a simple wire-through enclosure. Look at the connectors for crying out loud, it's effectively got a motherboard in it with ports the laptop DOESN'T have. Sure it won't be as expensive as a full motherboard but you've got the board, power supply, and enclosure. You're $19 for enclosure bit is lunacy since you can already buy non-GPU PCIe enclosures which are cheaper for $220+. Expect this specialized GPU enclosure to run at least $300. But hey, that's not a shock...Alienware's Amplifier runs $299.99.

Your suggestions on pricing are impossible. First off Razer doesn't make all those products in house so they can't soak the margin loss on things like video cards. Your 4K spec list has $950 tied up in just the GPU and SSD (it's not mSATA) alone! You're literally asking to pay for the for the profitable base laptop unit and dock and then want Razer to give you a GeForce 980 Ti for free.

 

[mosc]

Motherboards with PCI-E 16x slots and entire southbridges can be had for $50. There's no reason to think a thunderbolt controller, PCI-E bus, slot, power electronics, etc is going to cost >$50. The enclosure should not be sold with a PSU IMHO, instead it should use a 24pin ATX cable and room for standard power supplies so people can get their own. That saves cost on your product and also makes the power more flexible. Someday, somebody is going to make a box for $99 or less that supports a standard PSU and full size graphics card and hooks up to a laptop through thunderbolt. It's inevitable.

 

[notimegamer]

Would be interesting to see the benches once this thing is released - wonder how much the laptop CPU will constrain the GPU

 

[mjay777]

I'd love to see a Surface Pro-like tablet with a powerful external GPU. I'd hate spending the money on another mobile device when a tablet/laptop hybrid is all that I need for regular use. Unfortunately, such machines throttle pretty easy, but things are improving each generation.

 

[xyriin]

Motherboards with PCI-E 16x slots and entire southbridges can be had for $50. There's no reason to think a thunderbolt controller, PCI-E bus, slot, power electronics, etc is going to cost >$50. The enclosure should not be sold with a PSU IMHO, instead it should use a 24pin ATX cable and room for standard power supplies so people can get their own. That saves cost on your product and also makes the power more flexible. Someday, somebody is going to make a box for $99 or less that supports a standard PSU and full size graphics card and hooks up to a laptop through thunderbolt. It's inevitable.

There are already stripped down Thunderbolt boxes and they run twice your $99 price tag at $200+. Will they hit $99 some day? Possibly, but you're also talking about hardware capable of supporting a lot of bandwidth for PCIe lanes so you can't expect low end hardware prices. The box tech is going to advance just like motherboard tech does every couple years which resets the baseline price.

 

[scolaner]

All, this is a really interesting discussion. It's valuable for us as we look forward to testing these things, and I'm sure it's informative for Razer and other companies making these types of products. They do read these articles, and your comments.

Thanks! And keep the thoughts coming--

 

[naql99]

I bought the new Razer Stealth ultra book for my college aged son. First USB-C charger had a defective tip. Just wouldn't snap in and charge. The tip fell out of the replacement they sent within two weeks. I assumed it was my son's fault and ordered another. Tip fell out of that charger within 3 days. So, for most of the first month and a half he's had it, the laptop has mostly been an inert brick, since it could not be charged. Now, they refuse to replace the last one. Apparently we are expected to keep shelling out $140 a pop for chargers. Not going to happen, nor will I buy anything else from them. These chargers have a build quality defect and their support sucks. Buyer beware.

 

[cst1992]

Thanks for the heads up.