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Razer's 14-inch Blade laptop takes the Kaby Lake plunge

A new seventh-gen Intel processor, faster memory and a 4K touchscreen help maintain the Blade's balance of performance and mobility.

Joshua Goldman Managing Editor / Advice
Managing Editor Josh Goldman is a laptop expert and has been writing about and reviewing them since built-in Wi-Fi was an optional feature. He also covers almost anything connected to a PC, including keyboards, mice, USB-C docks and PC gaming accessories. In addition, he writes about cameras, including action cams and drones. And while he doesn't consider himself a gamer, he spends entirely too much time playing them.
Expertise Laptops, desktops and computer and PC gaming accessories including keyboards, mice and controllers, cameras, action cameras and drones Credentials
  • More than two decades experience writing about PCs and accessories, and 15 years writing about cameras of all kinds.
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Joshua Goldman
2 min read
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Razer's newest 14-inch Blade laptop is available with a matte full HD display or a 4K UHD touchscreen.

 Razer

Razer made its slim 14-inch Blade into one of the smallest VR-ready PCs last September by dropping in Nvidia's GeForce GTX 1060 GPU. That's now being joined by the latest "Kaby Lake" silicon from Intel.

Announced today, the Blade will run on a seventh-gen 2.8GHz Intel Core i7-7700HQ quad-core processor, updated from its sixth-gen Core i7-6700HQ. We haven't seen big performance differences between the two, but it's always nice to have the latest components. Plus, it's joined by 16GB of faster 2,400MHz DDR4 memory.

Also, with the last version, Razer added a matte 14-inch IPS 1,920x1,080-resolution display alternative to its high-res 3,200x1,800-pixel touchscreen. This time around you'll have a 4K UHD (3,840x2,160-pixel) touchscreen option, alongside the full HD screen -- Intel touts this generation of chips being particularly efficient with 4K video.

The new 14-inch Razer Blade starts at $1,799 in the US and £1,899 in the UK, which roughly converts to AU$3,100. The full HD model is available now on the company's site and at other US retailers from February 20. Worldwide availability will rollout in March, while the 4K UHD model won't arrive until sometime in Q2.

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Razer keeps the Blade thin.

 Razer

Aside from the processor and memory bumps and the high-res display, the slim system remains pretty much unchanged from last year's models.

  • 2.8GHz Intel Core i7-7700HQ quad-core processor
  • Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 with 6GB of VRAM
  • 16GB of system memory (DDR4, 2,400MHz)
  • Choice of 256GB, 512GB, 1TB PCIe-based SSD storage
  • Killer Wireless-AC 1535 (802.11ac + Bluetooth 4.1)
  • One USB-C Thunderbolt 3 and three USB 3.0 ports
  • HDMI 2.0 video and audio output
  • 3.5mm headphone/mic combo jack
  • 0.7 x 13.6 x 9.3 inches (17.9 x 345 x 235 mm)
  • Full HD weight: 4.1 pounds (1.86 kg)
  • UHD touchscreen weight: 4.3 pounds (1.95 kg)
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