Tag Archives: Razer Edge Pro

Review: Razer Edge Pro tablet—insane performance that's completely impractical

March 28, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

PC gaming is poised to break free from the desktop—it just needs a device that delivers fast frame rates and lush graphics in an affordable, portable package. Enter the Razer Edge Pro, a Windows 8 tablet built expressly for playing PC games on the go. The hardware even comes with an optional controller accessory that turns the tablet into a handheld game console.

But Razer’s pitch goes way beyond gaming. The company is marketing the Edge Pro as a multi-purpose machine that can replace your laptop, desktop, tablet, and, yes, even your Xbox, PS3 and Wii. After using the premier version of Razer’s new tablet as my primary device for a week, I think it comes close to delivering on its multi-disciplinary promise—if you’re willing to make some compromises.

First, the good news: It works. Thanks to a Core i7 processor and discrete Nvidia graphics, the tablet is powerful enough to run Far Cry 3 and Dishonored at decent frame rates. And thanks to Windows 8 Pro, it can run legacy desktop applications, including essential gaming utilities like Steam, uPlay and the launchers for World of Warcraft and Guild Wars 2. The Edge Pro also easily chews through productivity applications, handling the processor-intensive Photoshop with aplomb.

The bad news: Whether you’re playing games, watching movies, editing images, or writing tablet reviews, the Edge Pro requires significant compromises. In terms of raw processing performance, sure, the tablet can do everything. But in terms of ergonomics, convenience, display quality and price, the tablet falls short of more specialized, cheaper devices. We reviewed the highest spec’ed version of the Edge Pro, and at $1450, it proved to be a luxury product for hardcore PC gamers only.

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Science & Technology

Razer Edge Gaming Tablet Review

March 28, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

The Razer Edge is an ambitious, but flawed product. The feeling of being able to play Crysis 3 or BioShock Infinite on a device not much larger than the Surface Pro is exhilarating and at times unbelievable, but it’s also an expensive, less effective alternative to a gaming laptop.

The Edge is a 10.1-inch Windows 8-based tablet with the internals you’d expect to find in a low- to mid-range gaming laptop. Its base configuration is priced at $999 and comes with a 1.5GHz Intel Core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM, an NVIDIA GT 640M LE (1GB), and a 64GB SSD. Bumping up to the Razer Edge Pro nets you a faster 1.9GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor, 8GB of RAM, the NVIDIA GT 640M LE (2GB), and either 128GB or 256GB of internal storage priced at $1,299 or $1,449. The caliber of specs are lower than the price would otherwise merit in a laptop, but the cost can be attributed to the unique form factor.

Computers

Razer Edge Pro: Our first look at a Windows 8 gaming tablet

March 22, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

At first glance, the Razer Edge Pro is indistinguishable from other Windows 8 tablets: it’s 2.2 pounds of matte black metal with a 10.1-inch screen and a single Windows button. It feels heavy in your hands, a little bulkier than the Surface Pro and much, much hotter.

That heat flows from the powerful components nestled inside, including an Nvidia GPU and an Intel Core i7 CPU that render Razer’s tablet capable of competing with similarly-priced ultrabooks in terms of performance. I haven’t spent enough time with the tablet yet to know whether or not it delivers on that potential—look for our full review next week—but Razer’s latest leaves a strong first impression the moment you pull it out of the packaging.

Playing PC games on a tablet is fantastic

The most important thing you need to know about the Razer Edge Pro is that it works—you can use it to play contemporary PC games at decent settings, and the battery lasts long enough to let you play for at least 2-3 hours at a stretch before you need to recharge.

Having complex PC games like Civilization 5 at your fingertips is amazing.

You can augment that with the extended battery pack in the Edge gamepad chassis—which Razer sells separately or as part of a bundle with the Edge Pro— but there’s a better reason to accessorize: most PC games suck if you can’t use either a mouse and keyboard or a gamepad. I’ve spent a few hours playing PC games with the Edge Pro, and I’ve had a blast playing 3D games like Far Cry 3, Tomb Raider and XCOM while curled up on the couch with the gamepad chassis resting on my lap. Being able to play complex PC games from the comfort of my couch is amazing, but it wouldn’t work without the gamepad accessory.