Review
Like many PC gamers, I've often wished a machine capable of putting
the power of a gaming rig in a portable device. Gaming laptops are
lovely and have their place, but that place is often on top of a desk.
After a week with Razer's new Edge gaming tablet, I realize what I
really wanted was to play Bioshock Infinite in the bathroom without
burning my thighs. All hail Razer, deliverer of dreams.
Razer's only review guidelines before sending along a Razer Edge
loaner was that I not tell them I used it in the bathroom. I am a review
guideline freedom fighter, deep in the trenches, pants around my
ankles, balancing a $1,499 gaming tablet on the side of the tub before
redeploying to less secluded front. And why not? I don't have to stop
playing until the batteries run out.
Razer first introduced the Edge in early 2012
as an odd-looking tablet/controller hybrid with handles on either side
containing buttons and analog sticks. It looked pretty ridiculous, but
there was promise there. Promise I was pretty sure would never be
fulfilled — a pipe dream.
Yet Razer stuck with it, tapping the PC gamers in its community to
help design a gaming tablet that delivered everything they wanted at a
reasonable price point. A year after it debuted, the design was
finalized. The Razer Edge was a real thing, and it was coming soon.
There are two models of the Razer Edge. The lower-end model
runs $999 and sounds like a capable system. It's got an Intel Core i5
instead of an i7, less memory and only 64GB of storage, but I can see it
getting the job done, as long as you don't want to load too many games
on it at once.
| Intel Core i7 Dual core w/ Hyper Threading
Base 1.9GHz / Turbo 3.0GHz |
| 8GB DDR3 (2x4GB 1600MHz) |
| Intel HD4000 (DX11)
NVIDIA GT 640M LE (2GB DDR3, Optimus Technology) |
| 10.1” (IPS, 1366x768)
Multi-touch HD display |
| Windows 8 |
| 128/256GB SSD (SATA-III) |
| Intel WLAN (802.11b/g/n + BT4) |
| Stereo speakers
Codec supports 7.1 (via HDMI through optional Docking Station) HD Webcam (front-facing, 2MP) Array microphones Dolby Home Theater v4 USB 3.0 x1 (green, SuperSpeed) Audio jack (3.5mm, 4-pole, stereo out / mic in) |
| Approximate Size: 278.5 mm x 178.85 mm x 19.5 mm / 10.9" x 7" x .80"
Approximate Weight: 962g / 2.1Lbs |
Design
It's a tablet!
t's a rectangle, as one might have expected. The design is reminecent of
the Razer Blade laptop, using the same ridged metal for the back and
that damn glowing octopus thing. It's about as thick as a closed
Nintendo 3DS XL, and about as big as it looks in this size comparison
image I made using everyday household items (in my household, that is).
It's beefier than your average tablet, but it's nice to have
something to hold. It feels quite solid, and at a little over two pounds
it has heft without being too much of a burden for hands used to
resting comfortably on gaming mice.
The Display
The 10.1 inch IPS display is as bright and crisp as a sunny day. Just
don't take it outside on a sunny day, or you won't be able to see a
thing. This is not a device to bring to a picnic, unless it's the most
depressing picnic ever. The Razer Edge Pro has made me appreciate my
back deck as a place where I'm not meant to play the new Devil May Cry.
The screen resolution is 1366x768, which might seem low to someone
used to nothing less than a 1920x1080 HD monitor, but then you don't
hold a 1920x1080 HD monitor inches from your face. At least you're not
supposed to. It's a good resolution for the screen size, and it means
the unit's graphics card doesn't have to work quite as hard.
Performance
Thanks to the glory of AT&T internet in a new apartment,
downloading my normal suite of benchmarking games was out of the
question, especially since I wasted a good several hours downloading
Transformers: Fall of Cybertron because I was in a Transformers sort of
mood. Were I to do this all over again I'd purchase a USB wired network
adapter for loading purposes. The Edge's wireless isn't slow, but
nothing beats a wire.
What I used for benchmarks instead were a pair of new games, Bioshock
Infinite and the latest Tomb Raider, both of which were considerate
enough to include built-in benchmarks.
Out of habit I tried both games at the highest possible graphics
preset first. Ultra setting was not kind to either game — not that I
expected it to be. Still, 17 frames per second on average for both
titles is playable, just not very playable.
Cranking things down (you can totally crank downwards) to medium
settings brought both titles to a lovely average of 56- 60 frames per
second (I even remembered to turn off vertical sync). Not only is that
playable, it's downright enjoyable, at least while it lasts.
Battery Life and Configurations
The Razer Edge uses low-powered Intel graphics to handle every day
Windows 8 tablet tasks, and I'd assume the battery life for those is
just fine, but there are dozens of less-expensive tablets out there if
you just want to run Microsoft Word. This is about gaming.
In full-on battle mode with its optional Gamepad Controller ($249.99) loaded with an extra battery ($69.99), the Razer Edge Pro ran Bioshock Infinite for one hour and forty-five minutes.
That's not a lot of minutes, all things considered, but then you probably won't want to be using the Gamepad Controller for that long anyway. With the extra battery it adds what feels like another two pounds to the unit, and holding upwards for extended periods hurts. It works like gangbusters (though mine seems to have bugged out towards the end of my testing — Razer thinks it's faulty), and after a brief adjustment period (the screen, it moves with my hands!) it's a fun way to play. Just not a way you'd want to play for an extended period of time.
I much preferred playing on the standard docking station ($99.99) with an Xbox controller plugged in, as you can see below.
The biggest obstacle the Razer Edge faces is its own innovation. It's not just the most powerful Windows 8 tablet on the market — it's a revolutionary new way to play PC games. It's the revolutionary part I'm struggling with. I've been play PC games sitting in a chair with one hand on my keyboard and the other on my mouse for nearly two decades, so curling up on the couch with a handheld might be a little more intimacy than I'm prepared for.
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