But this experience, which I badly needed in the past, has become a hurdle to my progress.
Out in the real world, things, people, and particles move on their own accord.
I know, very dictator of me.
So much so, I found it unlikely that my puny MacBook Air could handle the pressure.
I needed a more powerful machine.
That, and I wanted none of thenigthmarish keyboard troublesa litany of users had been dealing with.
I had to find an alternative.
It’s free, every week, in your inbox.
God, I cant believe Im actually consideringit, I sighed.
Gaming laptops have never been my cup of tea.
Sure, they pack serious oomph, but they often look absolutely atrocious, with pretentiously caricaturish alien-like designs.
There are exceptions, though like the svelteRazer Blade, just the right combination of might and beauty.
Growing up inEuropes poorest statehad rendered everything Apple an unaffordable, mythical phantasm.
Windows, on the other hand, was painfully familiar to all of us.
People (well, some people) can actually afford iPhones and MacBooks.
That was my formal introduction to Apple electronics and macOS and, aw, how glorious it felt.
The dreamily smooth trackpad, the exquisite software experience, the eye-wateringly clear screen.
This used MacBook was everything I had imagined it would be, and more.
I immediately fell in love with macOS, and never looked back until the day I got the Blade.
Getting reacquainted with Windows felt like a harsh clash with my childhood consumerist yearnings for stylish Apple products.
It immediately made me think of the Blade as a downgrade.
I was reluctant to give it a chance.
Windows has never struggled with functionality, but it could hardly rival Apples aesthetics back in the day.
I still feel its lagging behind, but it seems the race is closer than ever.
Still, switching to Windows took some getting used to.
The sensation is likely familiar to any Mac user.
You reach for the Command key only to find Alt.
You have to learn your way around theSettingsmenu all over again.
Frankly, there were very few things I missed about my MacBook or macOS.
This thing is incredibly smooth and gaming on it was an absolute delight.
Really, it makes everything look better.
Its so good several of my colleagues exclaimed nice screen when they swung by my desk.
The trackpad, although not as precise as Apples tech in my guestimation, also passes the test.
The laptop itself stands at 235mm x 355mm x 17.8mm, and weights 2.15 kilos.
One thing Im still unable to overlook, however, is the 230W charger.
Now thats what I call a brick.
It weights almost 0.70 kilos and measures 170mm x 70mm x 24.5mm.
Thats the price of going against the grain, and picking a less popular brand with a proprietary adapter.
Another reason to bring along the charger is that performance gets throttled when unplugged.
This means youll absolutely need it if you plan on making the most out of the unit.
Rust, which is pretty poorly optimized, marked a higher amplitude.
Paired with the ultra-fast refresh rate, 75FPS makes for a smooth gaming experience.
You better have a lap desk around, though, because this thing gets hot.
Its not like itll burn your pants off, but I personally would keep it on a solid surface.
That said, I also ran some basic performance tests in Blender Benchmark.
The Blade completed the CPU quick test, which renders the classicBMW and Classroom demos, in 37:18 mins.
Unfortunately, Blender Benchmark doesnt yet support GPUs with ray-tracing, so I had to execute the test manually.
Is the Razer Blade for me?
One thing I realized during my brief romance with the Blade is that its not for everyone.
But if youre a casual user, its quite frankly an overkill.
you’ve got the option to save some cash, and go for a more frugal alternative.
Yeah, that makes perfect sense, I thought.
Ironically, that was the moment it clicked with me that the Blade isnt for me.
Its simply not a cost-efficient move for me at this point.
But that might not be the case for you.
Im afraid that after two months with it, Ill be waving a farewell to the Blade.
Instead, I built a more powerful desktop PC at a cheaper price.
Im not done with the Blade, though.
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