With powerful cards and stunning screens, the Razer Blade Pro is one of the most popular gaming laptops on our sister site LaptopMag. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that there’s a lot of interest - and questions - around the system and it’s company.
The Tom’s Guide Community Team held a special Q&A and giveaway with our friends at Razer. Thank you for the turnout!
While there were many fantastic questions submitted to the Q&A, there were definitely a few standouts. Here are some of best question and answers from our Q&A with Kevin Sather, Global Director of Systems Marketing. Questions and answers have been edited for brevity and clarity.
Don’t worry if you missed our live Q&A with Razer. The Tom’s Guide Community has plenty of Laptop features and events planned for the future. Make sure to the check the Tom’s Guide forums for all of the latest community updates and discussions.
Improving the Razer Blade Line
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ThursdayFridaySaturday: What would you say is the biggest difference between the 2016 version of the Razer Blade Pro and the 2017 version of the Razer Blade Pro?
Kevin Sather: There are a few key updates to the 2017 version of the Razer Blade Pro. While keeping the same amazingly thin 0.88-inch design, we were able to step up the CPU to the Quad-Core Intel Core i7-7820HK, and give users the ability to overclock it by going into “performance mode.”
The other big difference is the new Razer Blade Pro is the first mobile certified device by THX, delivering amazing visuals and high fidelity audio output.
Some of the great features we kept from the prior generation are the 17.3-inch 4K touch display with G-SYNC and 100% Adobe color space support, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 graphics, 32GB of system memory, up to 2TB of RAID 0 SSD storage, and the ultra-low-profile mechanical keyboard that is powered by Razer Chroma.
Check out Sherri’s review of the 2017 Razer Blade Pro where it earned another Editor’s Choice award.
snorlax316 asked: If you can change one thing about your laptops, what would it be?
Kevin Sather: Awareness! We now have such a great range of laptops that deliver performance blended with portability. The Razer Blade Stealth now has a 13.3-inch display option and new Gunmetal color, the 0.7-inch thin Razer Blade continues to balance power and mobility with a Quad-Core i7 CPU and GeForce GTX 1060 graphics, and the Razer Blade Pro tops the line up with an amazing 4K display, overclocked Quad-Core CPU, GeForce GTX 1080 graphics, and so much more, in a chassis that is just 0.88-inch thin.
With this line up of products, we have laptops to fit a wide variety of users needs. We design and build these for gamers, and everything they do with their PCs, and making sure everyone knows about these great laptops is one of the biggest things we're working to change.
Below0 asked: Just one question: One of the common themes I'm seeing in the latest rounds of reviews is that the Razer Blade Pro overheats beyond comfortable measures, as Sherri noted in hers.
My question is: What is the team doing to combat heating issues in the latest rounds of technology? Will there be changes to the design of the laptop or changes to the material used inside the laptop?
Kevin Sather: Thermal management is one of the biggest challenges our engineers face when designing thin-and-powerful notebooks. The Razer Blade Pro – at 0.88-inches thin – launched as the thinnest notebook to come equipped with an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080. We designed one of the world’s thinnest vapor chambers from the ground up to help cool the laptop, and utilized something we call touch-point thermals to push heat away from where users touch the laptop.
Nonetheless, we have heard this feedback. There are always ways to manage thermals better, and that’s something we’ve challenged our engineers to continually improve upon in all of our laptops, including the Razer Blade Pro.
Achimel: Any plans for a 15-inch Razer Blade/Blade Stealth in the future? While I love the portability of a 13-inch laptop, for gaming purposes I always enjoy the 15" monitor size as a middle ground between function and size.
Kevin Sather: Portability has always been a key tenant of our design approach, and the amount of performance our engineers can squeeze into our 14-inch Razer Blade laptop is amazing. We understand some users want a larger screen experience on-the-go, and we currently have our 17-inch Razer Blade Pro as the next step up in screen size. We’ll continue to listen to feedback from fans such as yourself as to what is desired in our laptops, both in terms of size and features, to deliver the best possible products.
rafaeldelboni said: Hi, I have two questions: Do you have plans to use the new Max-Q design in the future of the Razer Blades? Second, is there any chance for a updated version of the Blade 14-inch be released this year?
Kevin Sather: The new Max-Q design approach introduced by Nvidia is a great step forward to bringing more thin and powerful laptop options to users. We have always believed in blending mobility and performance in our laptops -- since the inception of our systems business in 2011 -- with the approach of minimizing sacrifices to both design and experience.
We haven’t announced any plans for Max-Q designed products yet, but as always we are listening to our customers and will develop innovative solutions to meet their needs. As for an updated version of the 14-inch Razer Blade, we will be shipping the 4K model this summer to complement the current Full HD configuration.
Orenlevene said: Is there a possibility of the gunmetal-style Razer Blade Stealth coming to Europe in the future?
Kevin Sather: We were excited to roll out our laptops to parts of the Europe last year, and plan to continue to grow the awareness and availability of them in the region. We've seen a ton of interest in the Gunmetal version of the new Razer Blade Stealth since it's announcement at E3. The new color features a tone-on-tone THS logo, black USB ports (instead of our usual green), and a subtle, non-Chroma white backlit keyboard. We will be shipping it very soon to North American customers. We'll keep an eye on the demand from our European fans for that version, and do our best to meet them.
Anhquan_1 said: I always appreciate your products: from the Mice to the Laptops. But I want to ask when will Razer upgrade the graphic card for the Razer Blade Stealth. Right now, I have the Razer blade Stealth, Razer Mamba TE, and the Goliathus Soft Mouse Mat. The Intel HD Graphics 620 for the laptop does not provide enough graphical power.
Kevin Sather: Good question! We see the Blade Stealth as a great productivity laptopto take with you to school or work, and for users that need more performance, we offer the Razer Coreexternal GPU enclosure. A single Thunderbolt cable is all you need to connect the two devices, unlocking desktop-like performance on the Blade Stealth Ultrabook. Further, the Core enables users to continually upgrade their GPU as new components become available.
For those looking for more power from the laptop itself, we offer the 14-inch Razer Blade laptop. The chassis is slightly thicker than the 13.3-inch Blade Stealth but comes equipped with an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 GPU, and Quad-Core processor.
rightsaidFREDDD said: What is the design process for Razer keyboards and laptops? Do you have a testing facility? What do you look for in a good design? What makes a "good" keyboard?
Kevin Sather: Anyone at Razer can pitch a product design or even an idea to our engineering team, and many people do. From there, our engineers and industrial designers get to work. We have design offices in San Francisco, Taiwan and Singapore, staffed with some of the best talent in the world.
We often send early, unannounced product out for testing with Team Razer, our global roster of professional gamers. The players use the product and offer us invaluable feedback for what they like and don’t like. From there, the product gets tweaked until we deem it ready to launch.
Keyboards, Mice and Tablets, Oh My!
Mika_Hime said: [[Just a few questions]]
1. Will we see more physical stores or on-site stores?
2. I'm a huge fan of colors, got Chromas from head to toe. I was just wondering, will we see more color variation? Lately, there's been yellow-ish themed products for O.W., and in the past, there have been solid color headsets from mobile devices. Will there a be a chance that Keyboard customization can follow through more than just clickers and lighting effects?
My favorite color is pink, and It's hard to find good gaming gear that goes with my favorite color. I'd like to find a sleek-looking keyboard that's as comfortable as a Chroma Black Widow but in pastel pink.
Kevin Sather: Yes! We are big proponents of users trying our hardware and seeing the difference themselves before buying. In July, our Blade Stealth and Blade became available for hands-on demos at Best Buy. More users than ever before can go into local stores and try our laptops for themselves.
To find the store nearest you, visit the Best Buy product pages and click on “Store Pickup.”
As for colors, Razer Chroma offers endless customization options for the lighting effects. Thanks for the feedback, we're always exploring new ways to meet our fans requests.
iPhantomhives said:Will there be more 14" Razer Blade/PRO Protective Sleeve/ portable bag designs in the future?
Kevin Sather: We’re investing heavily on gear and accessories at Razer. In fact, we now have a dedicated team of designers and marketers for the category.
While we don’t comment on future products, I can say that we have an aggressive accessories roadmap for this year. I’d encourage you to visit our RazerStore page for the latest updates.
g-unit1111 said: I have two questions:
1. I've been told by numerous reps that the 10-key number pad on mechanical keyboards is becoming a thing of the past. Is this true? Will it be noticeable on future Razer keyboards?
2. What happened to Razer's triple display monster laptop that was in the works? I noticed it is no longer available. Or was that just a concept that could be manufactured?
Kevin Sather: Funny you should ask. Just yesterday we announced our new ten keyless keyboard.
We’re all about choice when it comes to keyboards at Razer. Operating our own production lines at the factory level has enabled us to create our own mechanical switches, and new technologies like Mecha-Membrane and the ultra-low profile mechanical switch we have on our Razer Blade Pro laptop.
The triple-display notebook, Project Valerie, was announced as a concept at CES earlier this year. We’ve received a ton of amazing feedback since the show, and will use that feedback to explore the potential to bring something like Project Valerie to market.
WolfieNorth said: I've got two questions:
1. Will a Razer store potentially open up in the Chicago area?
2. Is Razer maybe thinking about making a VR headset/system?
Kevin Sather: Our 14-inch Razer Blade is a fantastic virtual reality system, meeting the spec requirements for both HTC Vive and Oculus while providing the ports necessary to connect either headset. At 0.7-inches thin and just over 4 pounds, it’s also one of the most portable VR systems available today.
As for RazerStore, we’re always looking for the next location for our store. Hit us up on Twitter and Facebook and let us know you’d like us in Chicago! Personally, I’m always looking for an excuse to visit Giordano’s pizza
Jackielyn said: Will Razer ever create a gaming tablet pc? That would be awesome right? I think that you guys can make a great high-definition tablet pc. I'll be looking forward on seeing that. Btw, I enjoyed using your Blackwidow Mechanical Gaming Keyboard. Kudos!
Kevin Sather: That’s an interesting question, and one we explored with Project Fiona and the Razer Edge tablet a few years ago. We’re seeing more and more people move away from tablet PCs toward devices like two-in-ones, and have been following that trend closely.
While we don’t comment on anything that may or may not be in development, we’re always interested to hear thoughts from the community. What would you like to see in a Razer tablet, or a two-in-one? How can Razer improve upon what’s already out there? What’s most important to you for that type of device?
Drop us a line on Razer Insider. We’re always listening.
