Razer Blade Stealth Ultrabook launched

by Mark Tyson on 7 January 2016, 09:31

Tags: Razer, razer-other

Quick Link: HEXUS.net/qacxnj

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Gaming focussed tech company Razer has unveiled what it calls "the ultimate Ultrabook" at the CES 2016. The aluminium unibody Razer Blade Stealth is both thin and light, comparable to modern non-gaming designs, and features a Skylake Intel Core i7 processor, PCIe SSD, 12.5-inch touch display and Thunderbolt 3 connectivity. Its gaming capabilities come largely thanks to that Thunderbolt 3 interface, as Razer has designed the accompanying Razer Core which connects up and works as a power supply, extended I/O hub and can accommodate a 2-slot graphics card with up to 375W of power draw, or "virtually every popular desktop graphics card from AMD and Nvidia".

There are two Razer Blade Stealth models being launched initially. They vary by screen resolution and built-in storage capacities. The base model is configured as follows, with the higher res screen and boosted storage model spec difference listed in brackets.

  • CPU: Intel Core i7-6500U Dual-Core Processor with Hyper Threading 2.5GHz / 3.1GHz Base/Turbo. Includes Intel HD Graphics 520 with 300MHz / 1.05GHz base/boost.
  • Memory: 8GB dual-channel onboard memory, LPDDR3-1866MHz, non-removable
  • Storage: 128GB/256GB PCIe M.2 (256GB/512GB PCIe M.2)
  • Screen: 12.5-inch IGZO 16:9 aspect ratio, with LED backlight, capacitive multi-touch, up to 170° wide viewing angles at QDH resolution of 2560 x 1440. (UHD 3840 x 2160 resolution)
  • I/O: Thunderbolt 3 USB-C port, USB 3.0 x 2, HDMI 1.4b, 3.5mm audio combi jack, array mic
  • Multimedia features: Stereo speakers, Built-in 2MP webcam, Dolby Digital Plus Home Theatre Edition, 7.1 Codec support via HDMI
  • Keyboard: Chroma anti-ghosting keyboard with individually backlit keys
  • Networking: Wireless-AC, 802.11a/b/g/n/ac + Bluetooth 4.1
  • OS: Windows 10 64-bit
  • Power: 45W compact USB-C power adaptor, 45Whr li-ion battery
  • Physical: 13.1 mm Height x 321 mm Width x 206 mm Depth, 1.25Kg
  • Price: from $999 (up to $1599)

Razer claims that the new laptop is priced "significantly less than comparable systems from other manufacturers". This CNC-milled aircraft grade aluminium laptop is now available for pre-order. The first Razer Blade Stealth Ultrabooks will ship later this month and you will be able to purchase them from the Microsoft Store from February onwards.

Razer Core

This key component is pretty essential if you are going to sit your Razer Blade Stealth down anywhere for serious PC gaming sessions. The Core chassis connects to your Stealth laptop via the 40Gbps Thunderbolt port and provides the following:

  • Supports single double-wide, full-length, PCI-Express x16 graphics card
  • GPU max dimensions – 5.98 in. / 152 mm (Height) x 1.73 in. / 44 mm (Width) x 12.20 in. / 310 mm (Length)
  • GPU max power support – 375 W
  • USB 3.0 port x 4 (SuperSpeed)
  • Gigabyte Ethernet (10/100/1000)
  • Chroma lighting (2 zones)
  • Built-in 500 W power supply
  • 8.6 in. / 218.4 mm (Height) x 4.13 in. / 104.9 mm (Width) x 13.38 in. / 339.9 mm (Length)

At the time of writing Razer hasn't put a price to the Core. This Thunderbolt expansion chassis will become available in H1 2016. At the CES 2016 Razer also announced the Stargazer "the world's most advanced webcam", and the Nabu Watch wearable for gamers.

Want to know more about the Blade Stealth and Core? Let Razer take you through a HEXUS-filmed walkthrough of both products in the video below.

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HEXUS Forums :: 12 Comments

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Price: from $999 (up to $1599)
Ridiculous that they have not included any kind of dedicated GPU built in. I can't exactly take that GPU case on a plane.
Went and had a look at the product page for the smartwatch thing as I was intrigued to see what they had done to make a smartwatch that was specifically ‘for gamers’.

Turns out: nothing :rolleyes:
Wont the GPU be bottlenecked by the 4x PCI-E interface of that CPU / Thunderbolt port?
Wozza365
Ridiculous that they have not included any kind of dedicated GPU built in. I can't exactly take that GPU case on a plane.

I think this is excellent. On the go lightweight and battery life, and more grunt at home when you're plugged in. I wish Dell had done this with the XPS15.

If the screen has good colour range and calibration ability and no stupid DCR (unlike Dell's XPS13) then this could be where my money goes.

Platinum
Wont the GPU be bottlenecked by the 4x PCI-E interface of that CPU / Thunderbolt port?

Don't see why it would be 4x? The bandwidths stack: Thunderbolt 3 = 40Gb/s. PCIe3(16x) = 32GB/s.

The enclosure provides USB3 ports x4No. This is not what is uses for the graphics connection. The spec list states it will run one card at PCIe 16x and connects via thunderbolt3.

Can Hexus run a review of this? Better still a group test comparison of this and similar portable high end stuff like the XPS, Alienware 14, Aorus, Asus, MSI and the like.