Razer Blade

Bottom line

The new Razer Blade is a menacing gaming beast in an Ultrabook's body. Since other gaming laptops tend to be 10-pound slabs, the lithe Blade has easily become critics' instant favorite.

Performance

Powerful gamer and everyday laptop. "The Blade will play any and all modern games at high settings" at its native less-than-HD resolution, reports AnandTech.com after throwing seven tough titles at it. However, playing demanding titles at full HD on an external 1,080p monitor can get a little dicey.

Day-to-day tasks pose no problem, and experts actually recommend the Razer Blade as a capable alternative to a MacBook Pro. Battery life is very good -- about 7 hours if you're not gaming -- thanks to a fuel-sipping Intel Core i7 Haswell processor and Nvidia GeForce GTX 765M GPU, which switches to integrated Intel graphics when not needed.

Ergonomics

Super-svelte, but skimpy connections. The Razer Blade's sleek frame simply amazes experts. It's a hair slimmer than the 13-inch MacBook Air (Est. $1,100 and up) at its thickest point, and weighs just 4 pounds and change: definitely Ultrabook territory. Testers love the comfy anti-ghosting keyboard and big, silky multi-touchpad, although the latter stalls several times in David Pierce's test for TheVerge.com. There's also no optical drive, Ethernet port or touch screen here; Pierce reckons it would gobble too much space. The Blade runs really hot when gaming, making it too hot to hold on your lap.

Design

MacBook Pro meets street racer. Compared to most gaming laptops, the Razer Blade looks practically buttoned down. Cleanly fashioned with a matte black aluminum shell, only the glowing green tri-snake logo on the lid and keyboard backlight imply that it's hiding serious muscle under the hood. "It looks a little like the rebellious, street-racing sibling of the MacBook Pro with Retina Display," says Pierce at TheVerge.com. It "would be equally at home in an arcade or a boardroom."

Reviewers appreciate the Razer's clear, booming speakers, but its 14-inch screen disappoints. The 1,600 by 900-pixel resolution is fine even though it's not full HD, but poor viewing angles frustrate testers.

Support & reliability

Hit and miss. The company has a poor customer service reputation, but its products typically hold up well; tales of Blade defects are few and far between. The Razer comes with a 1-year warranty, with a 2-year option available at an additional cost.

Value

Not cheap, but it's worth it. The world's first gaming Ultrabook, the Razer Blade makes a lot of financial sense. It can realistically do double-duty as your gamer plus your everyday carry-around laptop.