Even though the original only started shipping in late January, gaming peripheral company Razer unveiled the successor to its Blade gaming laptop at PAX Prime on Friday. The good news is that despite boasting better innards, the Blade 2 will cost $300 less than its predecessor.
Described by Razer CEO Min-Liang Tan as being “insanely powerful,” the Blade 2 packs an unnamed (and unannounced) quad-core 3rd Generation Intel Core i7 processor, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660M graphics with 2GB VRAM, 8GB of 1600MHz DDR3, and a storage combo consisting of a 500GB hard drive and a 64GB SSD. Here are the detailed specs:
- Future platform with 3rd Generation Intel® Core™ Processor
- NVIDIA GeForce® GTX 660M with NVIDIA® Optimus™ Technology
- 2GB Dedicated GDDR5 Video Memory
- 8GB 1600 MHz DDR3 Memory
- 17.3-in. LED Backlit Display (1920x1080)
- 500GB 7200RPM HDD (Primary Storage)
- 64GB SATA III SSD with NVELO Dataplex™ Software (Cache Acceleration)
- Wireless Network 802.11 A/G/N + BT4.0
- 16.81" (Width) x 10.9" (Depth) x 0.88" (Height); 6.6lbs (Weight)
At 6.6lbs, the Blade 2 is slightly heavier than its predecessor (6.4lbs), but there is no change where dimensions are concerned. According to the official press release, the Blade 2 will go up for pre-order for $2,499 on September 2 and begin shipping on September 30.
"With the new Razer Blade, we set out to design something truly phenomenal with extreme performance for gamers in an ultra-thin form factor," said Min-Liang Tan in a press release. "The design and hardware advancements, combined with our revolutionary user interface, make the new Razer Blade, without doubt, the very best gaming laptop we've ever designed. The Beauty is now the Beast."
