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Razer Blade gaming notebook touts Core i7 and 17-inch display

Razer Blade gaming notebook
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Billing it as the “world’s first true gaming laptop”—a claim some might refute—boutique PC maker Razer has taken the wraps off the Razer Blade, sporting a fast second-generation Intel Core i7 processor, Nvidia GeForce graphics, a high-res 17-inch display, and a full aluminum chassis that lends the rig surprising portability—especially compared to most gaming notebooks on the market. Many high-performance notebooks come in over two inches thick and commonly weigh as much as ten pounds: the Razer Blade is 0.88 inches thick, and weighs under 7 pounds.

“The Razer Blade was designed to give gamers a laptop they could truly use on the go,” said Razer CEO and creative director Min-Liang Tan, in a statement. “Its sleek, lightweight aluminum construction makes it the thinnest 17-inch gaming laptop available today.”

The Razer Blade sports a dual-core second-generation Intel Core i7 processor running at 2.8 GHz, with Turbo Boost able to take a core up to 3.5 GHz during intensive tasks. The Blade also features a 17.3-inch 1,920 by 1,080-pixel HD display drive by either Intel integrated graphics (when you’re just checking mail or popping on the Web) along with an Nvidia GeForce GT555M graphics controller with 2 GB of dedicated video RAM for gaming sessions. The system also features a 320 GB 7200 SATA hard drive, one USB 3.0 port and two USB 2.0 ports, HDMI output, gigabit Ethernet, 802.11/b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 3.0 wireless networking, and an HD webcam.

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The Blade also features Razer’s Switchblade user interface, made up of 10 tactile keys and a combo LCD display and multitouch panel: users can program the keys for game-specific functions, and while using a mouse the LCD displays game information. In a second mode, the LCD functions as a multi-touch capable input device.

Razer says the Blade should be available in North America in the fourth quarter of this year, with prices starting at $2,799.99.

Razer Blade gaming notebook
Image used with permission by copyright holder

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Geoff Duncan
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…
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