Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

New gaming laptop with innovative UI by Razer

arstechnica.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

141–150 of 186 posts

Re: New gaming laptop with innovative UI by Razer

#141

Post by ImprovedSilence »

zerohp wrote: post #111

Instead of a handful of keys with tiny LCD's inside of them, I'd like to see a full keyboard that has e-paper on top of every key.

god, thats a sexy idea. but then again im the kinda person who choses laptops based on what their keyboard looks like. (ifi could get macbook pro style, with ubuntu, for not quite macbook prices, life would be good.) and by macbbok style, i mean yes, metal case, sexy keyboard, and awesome track pad features go a long way with me. and I dont think im too much of an outlier when it comes to asthetics. the pc world needs more innovation in this direction, and even if razor doesnt hit exactly the bullseye, its not giving up without a fight.

Re: New gaming laptop with innovative UI by Razer

#142

Post by nrb »

old-gregg wrote: post #135
phaus wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree that gaming laptops are a huge pain to carry around, but Razer's system is outrageously expensive for what you get. You could still save hundreds of dollars by purchasing a normal laptop for 300-500 to take to the office and then buy an Alienware or Clevo with a 6990M in it for about 1500-1800. If you decide to buy a desktop instead of the Alienware, you can save another 1k. If one is happy with a GT 555M's p…

"CPU... GPU..." who cares? The laptop is composed of a shell, battery, keyboard and the most importantly - the LCD. Nowhere in your post you mentioned the quality of those 4 critical difference-making components. Comparing computers based on irrelevant commodity (chips) is like comparing automobiles by how many wheels they have.

No... comparing "gaming PCs" by their internal components is like comparing automobiles by their engines and handling. Which is to say, perfect apt.

Re: New gaming laptop with innovative UI by Razer

#143

Post by redthrowaway »

theBobMcCormick wrote: post #115
redthrowaway wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Their advertisement had nothing to do with consoles. It was simply a statement that PC gaming is not dead. If you want to spend $400 and play games, buy a console. You're not the target market for pc games. Alienware made a name for itself selling $5k gaming rigs. They were incredibly successful at it. Since Dell bought them, their products have gotten crappier and crappier. If Razer wants to fill that void, more pow…

I certainly hope they succeed. Not only has Alienware's quality reputation been slipping, but they've always been absolutely hideous eyesores. This razer actually looks pretty sexy.

Indeed. Compare the razer to Alienware's comparable offering, the m17x: http://www.thelaptopauthority.com/image/m17x.jpg

The Razer Blade may be a fairly blatant MBP ripoff, but at least it looks good. Alienware seems to be pursuing the clunky F117-inspired look, complete with superfluous LEDs. This is, unfortunately, not unique to Alienware. Asus teamed up with Lamborghini to offer the VX7: http://rumors.automobilemag.com/files/2011/04/asus-vx7-lambo...

Lamborghini makes beautiful cars, but I'm not keen on plopping one on my desk in the middle of class. The Razer looks like something I'd actually feel good about being seen with.

Re: New gaming laptop with innovative UI by Razer

#144

Post by phaus »

old-gregg wrote: post #135
phaus wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree that gaming laptops are a huge pain to carry around, but Razer's system is outrageously expensive for what you get. You could still save hundreds of dollars by purchasing a normal laptop for 300-500 to take to the office and then buy an Alienware or Clevo with a 6990M in it for about 1500-1800. If you decide to buy a desktop instead of the Alienware, you can save another 1k. If one is happy with a GT 555M's p…

"CPU... GPU..." who cares? The laptop is composed of a shell, battery, keyboard and the most importantly - the LCD. Nowhere in your post you mentioned the quality of those 4 critical difference-making components. Comparing computers based on irrelevant commodity (chips) is like comparing automobiles by how many wheels they have.

Please allow me to address the "4 critical-difference-making components."

1- Shell - I love the idea of having a gaming laptop with apple's build quality, but its hard to fit a decent GPU and cooling system in such a slim, stylish case. Gamers know this and are generally willing to compromise. While I hate the way alienware computers look, many reviewers gush about their excellent build quality.

2.-Battery - High-end GPUs use a lot of power. Unfortunately, current technology only allows for the battery to act as a glorified UPS. This is unfortunate but anyone who is purchasing a gaming computer should understand the limitations of such hardware.

3.-The keyboard is very important. Alienware keyboards aren't the very best keyboards, but they are better than the overwhelming majority. On the other hand the Razer has a "chiclet" keyboard which is considered by many to be inferior to traditional laptop keyboards.

4.-The LCD - If you purchased a gaming computer, would you rather play a game at 17 FPS on a beautiful screen or play the same game at 60 FPS on a computer possessing a marginally worse panel.

When you are talking about a gaming computer, the GPU is pretty much the only thing that matters. If you want battery power, a nice shell, and a nice LCD you can get a SAMSUNG laptop with the same specs as the Razer for 2k cheaper.

Re: New gaming laptop with innovative UI by Razer

#145

Post by reverend_gonzo »

Jach wrote: post #140
old-gregg wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"CPU... GPU..." who cares? The laptop is composed of a shell, battery, keyboard and the most importantly - the LCD. Nowhere in your post you mentioned the quality of those 4 critical difference-making components. Comparing computers based on irrelevant commodity (chips) is like comparing automobiles by how many wheels they have.

Gamers care. The Macbook Air got away with not having normal things inside it because everyone knew it was for looks alone. This thing is being marketed as a gaming rig, which necessarily means you have to care about what's inside.

Nice subtle snark.

There might not be a lot of power in the Air but there is a market. Specifically, for people where mobility is more important than power, but able to get actual work done.

I bought one when I was hauling around my ThinkPad to school, work, coffeeshops, and everywhere else around the city. Since I didn't have a car, it meant it was one my shoulders the whole time. I considered getting a netbook, but after using a friend's for a little while, I realized it wasn't going to work (tiny keyboard, not enough power.)

The Air, on the other hand, has a full-size keyboard. I don't remember what the processor is, but it was more powerful than an Atom. RAM was short but you can survive.

I used it for primarily writing my thesis, making presentations, coding in TextMate, and work in Matlab. I didn't need power, and I definitely didn't want weight. That was lighter and easier to hold than a textbook, and could actually perform the duties I needed to.

So, regardless of what you'd like to think, there is a market for them outside of people who want shiny things.

Re: New gaming laptop with innovative UI by Razer

#146

Post by SwellJoe »

falcolas wrote: post #121
sandGorgon wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

hmm.. I honestly never thought that was the issue, given how popular graphite tennis racquets are. What about fiberglass then ? I even saw a show on TV, where they remade a car chassis by handfilling fiberglass filaments and the resulting could withstand sledgehammer blows. does fiberglass/carbon-fiber affect laptop cooling ?

The processes for Fiberglass and carbon fiber are nearly identical (both use mats of the material and resins that have to be formed/cooked (in the case of carbon fiber)). I would imagine carbon fiber wouldn't conduct heat quite as well as aluminum, but I don't have any data on that.

Fiberglass is a quite good insulator. So, if carbon fiber behaves similarly to fiberglass, it would be very poor for cooling, relative to aluminum.

Re: New gaming laptop with innovative UI by Razer

#147

Post by ori_b »

goatforce5 wrote: post #93
51Cards wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have to add a comment that personally I dislike Apple's aluminum slab design. I have friends with MacBooks who's legs are red from the heat transfer after it's been on their (insert irony here...) lap. Also I have never had a problem with a well designed "plastic" cased laptop standing up. The Thinkpad is generally considered one of the the toughest laptops around and it's in a plastic case.

Apple sells "notebooks", not "laptops". Edit: ooh - feel the downvotes! Go to apple.com and count the number of mentions of 'notebooks' vs. the number of mentions of 'laptops'. The only place you really see the word 'laptop' is in quotes in the customer success stories.

Yeah, weasel words are wonderful things.

Re: New gaming laptop with innovative UI by Razer

#148

Post by jerf »

baxter wrote: post #84
jerf wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"As a hacker rather than a gamer, the concept of a programmable set of LCD keys next to the standard keyboard is extremely interesting for native app development." If you are a developer and you want programmable keys, don't sit around waiting for an expensive keyboard, reprogram the ones you've already got in front of you. As far as I know, all major OSes can already arbitrarily remap keys to any keystroke you like,…

I would be surprised if his current keyboard had LCD keys.

I am and was aware of that. You don't need LED keys is my point. Just take control of what you already have. You can do it right now.

People have this huge blind spot around their keyboards for some reason. Every keyboard is "programmable" nowadays. The symbols on the keycaps are only suggestions. Don't pine, do.

(And before anybody brings up the usual objection that your customizations travel to other people's machines poorly, bear in mind that today we're discussing a custom hardware keyboard. Software keyboard configurations travel better than that.)

Re: New gaming laptop with innovative UI by Razer

#149

Post by potatolicious »

phaus wrote: post #144
old-gregg wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"CPU... GPU..." who cares? The laptop is composed of a shell, battery, keyboard and the most importantly - the LCD. Nowhere in your post you mentioned the quality of those 4 critical difference-making components. Comparing computers based on irrelevant commodity (chips) is like comparing automobiles by how many wheels they have.

Please allow me to address the "4 critical-difference-making components." 1- Shell - I love the idea of having a gaming laptop with apple's build quality, but its hard to fit a decent GPU and cooling system in such a slim, stylish case. Gamers know this and are generally willing to compromise. While I hate the way alienware computers look, many reviewers gush about their excellent build quality. 2.-Battery - High-end…

#4 is a bit disingenuous no? There is a ridiculous gap between the shittiest laptop panels and the best ones. The difference is anything but "marginal".

If I'm going to push 60fps in Crysis 2 on a laptop I want good screen contrast, proper color rendition, proper brightness, no light leaks from the edges, etc. What is the point of the world's most powerful mobile GPU if it feels like I'm looking at the game world through a bad Photoshop filter?

Re: New gaming laptop with innovative UI by Razer

#150

Post by dustyreagan »

falcolas wrote: post #124
makira wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hmm, are you aware you can install Windows on a MacBook ? see BootCamp..

I have a few friends who did this. They were barely able to get WoW to run at the lowest settings on their MacBooks. Able to and want to are definitely different when gaming on MacBooks.

I still use a Macbook Pro from 2007 that I play games on via Bootcamp. It's only recently starting to show it's age when I play new games.
Post reply on HN