Razer sheds some weight, speeds up with new Blade gaming laptops

Go away for a day and the tech news really comes, and while we took a day off, the news didn’t stop, with Razer announcing new laptops that can help you take gaming with you without the kilograms.

Two laptops were announced on the Friday from gaming accessory manufacturer Razer, with one updating last year’s Blade laptop to better specs, while the other takes the machine to an even smaller design.

First is the Blade Pro, which upgrades the first Razor Blade which won a CES Innovation Award in 2012. The new version will offer the 17.3 inch Full HD screen from the first Blade laptop, but upgrade the internals to feature the upcoming Intel fourth-generation “Haswell” chip, as well as 8GB RAM, a 128GB solid-state drive that can be upgradeable to either 256 or 512GB, a new faster 802.11 a/b/g/n WiFi chipset, and built-in Nvidia GeForce GTX 765M graphics with 2GB RAM.

That special LCD-based mouse is also included, as are adaptive light-up keys, and now supports more than just games, with programmable keys for proper applications, such as Adobe’s graphics and video editing applications.

That’s a pretty decent set of specs for any gaming system, and Razer is packing this into a 2.2cm body, with release expected in the next couple of months.

Meanwhile, there’s a smaller gaming laptop out there for people who need to have a quality entertainment system on the go.

A little smaller than the 17 inch version, this model also does away with the LCD-based trackpad and adaptive light-up keys.

Razer’s new “Blade” drops to 14 inches, with similar internals to its 17 inch brother: a fourth-gen “Haswell” core when it comes out, 8GB RAM, GeForce GTX 765M with 2GB RAM, 128GB SSD, Dolby Audio, that fast wireless networking support, and a 14 inch slightly higher than HD 900p screen.

“We’ve designed and built the thinnest, most powerful 14-inch laptop in the world,” says Razer’s CEO Min-Liang Tan. “Thinner than a dime and more powerful than other traditional desktop replacements today, we’ve created an entirely new category of thin and powerful laptops that is generations ahead of other PCs.”

The 14 inch Blade sits in an aluminium chassis that is 16.8mm thick and while it lacks the LCD-based trackpad, it still is designed for gamers and features multiple gesture support.

Pricing for this one is expected just under $2000 locally, though no confirmed Australian price is available, with an expected availability in the next few months.