Laptop: MSI GS60 Ghost Pro or Razer Blade 2014

[Ericde95]

Awesome that you went with the blade , i'm looking forward to a member's review with lots of sexy pictures .

As for the external storage i reccomend you just adding in another Sata M.2 Card as it is much more convenient than carrying around storage.

Interesting that you recommended that! I was planning on throwing in another Sata M.2 SSD once more users do so and report back their experiences! I have been looking at the Crucial M550 and it looks like a good deal (compared to my $150 128gb SSD in my desktop... how time flies) Until then, if I even need the space, Ill throw around an external HDD.

[SSOB]

Interesting that you recommended that! I was planning on throwing in another Sata M.2 SSD once more users do so and report back their experiences! I have been looking at the Crucial M550 and it looks like a good deal (compared to my $150 128gb SSD in my desktop... how time flies) Until then, if I even need the space, Ill throw around an external HDD.

Crucial ( And maybe samsung EVO ) is the way to go IMO. But nowadays with more and more being moved to the cloud etc i think you'll be just fine with 256GB for at least a while.

[Ericde95]

Crucial ( And maybe samsung EVO ) is the way to go IMO. But nowadays with more and more being moved to the cloud etc i think you'll be just fine with 256GB for at least a while.

True. Georgetown just sent me an application for free 50GB  of cloud space and I already got it. So theoretically my storage is already 306GB lol

[Hobox]

Wait are the SSD slots on the Razer laptop user-accessible? Or is it really tedious to get to? And does it have 2 slots?

[Ericde95]

Wait are the SSD slots on the Razer laptop user-accessible? Or is it really tedious to get to? And does it have 2 slots?

Not sure yet, need more people to break theirs apart. I am still waiting for mine to ship actually. & it definitely requires removal of the bottom side of the laptop which should void our warranty.

[Hobox]

Not sure yet, need more people to break theirs apart. I am still waiting for mine to ship actually. & it definitely requires removal of the bottom side of the laptop which should void our warranty.

Ugh, that is such a scam. 128GB for $2200 is inexcusable.

[Ericde95]

Ugh, that is such a scam. 128GB for $2200 is inexcusable.

I agree. I feel the base model ($2200) should be 256gb and then offer a 512gb upgrade and then a raid0 512gbx2 =1tb ssd option for the $2700

[Thibaudv]

The razer blade is just soooooo sexy, and so far I haven't read about any flaw with it! Only downside is the price, but that is kind of to be expected...

[AlexStriz]

Hey guys, I'm in the same position as a few of people in this thread - I'm trying to decide on whether to get the 2014 blade, or the gs60 pro. However, one thing that I am worried about is the amount of vram in the blade. Is 3gb of gddr5 enough to power the blade's screen while gaming at the native resolution? There is no use in having an amazing screen if you don't have the power to use it in games IMHO. It's not been mentioned much on many of the forums about these two computers (which there are a lot of), so maybe it's not a big deal?

 

Also, congrats Eric on going with the Razer! I can't wait to hear you impressions. 

[Ericde95]

Hey guys, I'm in the same position as a few of people in this thread - I'm trying to decide on whether to get the 2014 blade, or the gs60 pro. However, one thing that I am worried about is the amount of vram in the blade. Is 3gb of gddr5 enough to power the blade's screen while gaming at the native resolution? There is no use in having an amazing screen if you don't have the power to use it in games IMHO. It's not been mentioned much on many of the forums about these two computers (which there are a lot of), so maybe it's not a big deal?

Also, congrats Eric on going with the Razer! I can't wait to hear you impressions.

Hey there ,

Thank you, I am excited too! I will do a full write up once it is finally here.

I am not entirely sure about the VRAM, however. When I was shopping for a desktop GPU, I never paid attention to VRAM because 2GB was plenty for 1080p. With the Blade, I'm not sure if the 3800 will saturate the full 3GB of VRAM or not but I doubt Razer would incorporate a GPU that couldn't power their display with moderate frame rates on major titles.

[Ericde95]

UPDATE:

 

I have been participating in this forum discussion over on NotebookReview.com ( http://forum.notebookreview.com/razer/749913-2014-razer-blade-14-ship-date-thread-96.html ) and it turns out that the Microsoft store has the 256gb variant in stock and ready to ship while my order is still delayed a week or so through Razer. I cancelled my order at Razer (no problem, super helpful and understanding guys) and re-submitted the order at the Microsoft Store. While doing so, I utilized my new .edu email and received 10% off my order! This brought down my order from roughly $2600 at Razer to $2290 at MS (minus the Razer Blade armor sleeve). SOOO glad I stumbled upon this promotion on the Notebookreview forums and now saved a load of money.

[Hobox]

UPDATE:

 

I have been participating in this forum discussion over on NotebookReview.com ( http://forum.notebookreview.com/razer/749913-2014-razer-blade-14-ship-date-thread-96.html ) and it turns out that the Microsoft store has the 256gb variant in stock and ready to ship while my order is still delayed a week or so through Razer. I cancelled my order at Razer (no problem, super helpful and understanding guys) and re-submitted the order at the Microsoft Store. While doing so, I utilized my new .edu email and received 10% off my order! This brought down my order from roughly $2600 at Razer to $2290 at MS (minus the Razer Blade armor sleeve). SOOO glad I stumbled upon this promotion on the Notebookreview forums and now saved a load of money.

When does this promotion end?

[Ericde95]

When does this promotion end?

It doesnt, as far as I know. Microsoft has always had a 10% off Window's laptops/products when using a .edu email address. I'm waiting on my call from MS to confirm my order and educational discount.

 

Take a look here: http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/edu

[Hobox]

It doesnt, as far as I know. Microsoft has always had a 10% off Window's laptops/products when using a .edu email address. I'm waiting on my call from MS to confirm my order and educational discount.

 

Take a look here: http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/edu

Awesome, I may actually get the 512GB one because of this. However, now my biggest concern is the VRAM, if 3GB would be enough. I still would LOVE to have the 880M in the G750JZ. I think I'll wait for some benchmarks of the blade and gs60 and temperature readings.

[Ericde95]

Awesome, I may actually get the 512GB one because of this. However, now my biggest concern is the VRAM, if 3GB would be enough. I still would LOVE to have the 880M in the G750JZ. I think I'll wait for some benchmarks of the blade and gs60 and temperature readings.

As of right now, MS only has the 256gb version for sale. I expect that to change, however, as they receive the other shipments. The 256gb is most likely the highest volume variant, hence why they got them first.

[Hobox]

I have to say, I'm really troubled with Razer's offering now. They made so many stupid choices, although MSI made one of the same incredibly idiotic mistakes Razer did...

 

Razer's audio jack is a combo port. They should know better, being the "gaming" company. What were they thinking??
Building upon that, they have that awful up/down arrow key split... how could they be so stupid?

Only 3 USB ports and an HDMI slot, what the hell?

And of course, we know the 3GB VRAM issue, but what I DIDN'T know was that the non-3K version of MSI's laptop (the 1080p one) HAS the 6GB version of the 870M. It's like every company is sending their brain to hell and disregarding logic lately...

 

If only ASUS had put anything above 1080p in the G750JZ... even 1440p I would have been sold instantly.

[AlexStriz]

I have to say, I'm really troubled with Razer's offering now. They made so many stupid choices, although MSI made one of the same incredibly idiotic mistakes Razer did...

 

Razer's audio jack is a combo port. They should know better, being the "gaming" company. What were they thinking??

Building upon that, they have that awful up/down arrow key split... how could they be so stupid?

Only 3 USB ports and an HDMI slot, what the hell?

And of course, we know the 3GB VRAM issue, but what I DIDN'T know was that the non-3K version of MSI's laptop (the 1080p one) HAS the 6GB version of the 870M. It's like every company is sending their brain to hell and disregarding logic lately...

 

If only ASUS had put anything above 1080p in the G750JZ... even 1440p I would have been sold instantly.

Wait, so the 1080p msi is the one with 6gb of vram? Does that mean that the 3k one has a 3gb 870m or the 6gb 870m? If it's 3gb, that is one of the stupidest things I have seen a company do in a while.

[Hobox]

Wait, so the 1080p msi is the one with 6gb of vram? Does that mean that the 3k one has a 3gb 870m or the 6gb 870m? If it's 3gb, that is one of the stupidest things I have seen a company do in a while.

Yup, the 3K one has the 3GB 870M while the 1080p one has the 6GB 870M. You're right, it's retarded, but Razer has the 3GB one in the Blade too. It's asinine.

[Ericde95]

Hey guys. Received my Blade today. Typing on it as we speak, actually, and all I have to say is: WOW. This thing is absolutely awesome and I am SOOO glad I did not get the MSI for screen size or price. The build quality of this machine is absolutely amazing, the keypad is responsive, and the touch-screen is neat (although I wont use it too much). The 3K screen looks great, similar to a MacBook Pro.

 

I will be making a proper unboxing/review later tonight or tomorrow to let all of you potential owners know about my experience with this amazing product.

[AlexStriz]

Hey guys. Received my Blade today. Typing on it as we speak, actually, and all I have to say is: WOW. This thing is absolutely awesome and I am SOOO glad I did not get the MSI for screen size or price. The build quality of this machine is absolutely amazing, the keypad is responsive, and the touch-screen is neat (although I wont use it too much). The 3K screen looks great, similar to a MacBook Pro.

 

I will be making a proper unboxing/review later tonight or tomorrow to let all of you potential owners know about my experience with this amazing product.

Awesome! Glad you like it. Can't wait to see pics of it!

[SSOB]

Hey guys. Received my Blade today. Typing on it as we speak, actually, and all I have to say is: WOW. This thing is absolutely awesome and I am SOOO glad I did not get the MSI for screen size or price. The build quality of this machine is absolutely amazing, the keypad is responsive, and the touch-screen is neat (although I wont use it too much). The 3K screen looks great, similar to a MacBook Pro.

 

I will be making a proper unboxing/review later tonight or tomorrow to let all of you potential owners know about my experience with this amazing product.

For god sake benchmark it at 3K !

[Ericde95]

I am writing up a review now! Will be posted on LTT and OCN by tonight! I am glad to see the enthusiasm

[kylecronin]

Hey guys. Received my Blade today. Typing on it as we speak, actually, and all I have to say is: WOW. This thing is absolutely awesome and I am SOOO glad I did not get the MSI for screen size or price. The build quality of this machine is absolutely amazing, the keypad is responsive, and the touch-screen is neat (although I wont use it too much). The 3K screen looks great, similar to a MacBook Pro.

 

I will be making a proper unboxing/review later tonight or tomorrow to let all of you potential owners know about my experience with this amazing product.

Is it OK if I hate you? I've had one ordered since March and it's only just shipped. I still don't have it yet. Where did you order yours from?

[Ericde95]

Is it OK if I hate you? I've had one ordered since March and it's only just shipped. I still don't have it yet. Where did you order yours from?

I would hate me too :lol:  I was one of the lucky SOBs to snap an order off the MS store while they were in stock (and got a 10% discount and 2-day shipping). I cancelled my order from RazerZone and got it on the cheap ($2200) off MS store due to my education discount.

[AlexStriz]

Still waiting for a review...

 

edit - Are you planning on taking it apart? Really want to know if there is space to expand storage-wise (msata or another m.2). Obviously you just got the thing so it's understandable if you aren't