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Razer Edge Gaming Tablet Reviewed

Posted by Unknown on from the n-gage-returns-from-beyond dept.

adeelarshad82 writes "After being tweaked and polished for months with the help of feedback from pro gamers and enthusiasts alike, Razer's Project Fiona has finally come of age. Re-named as Razer Edge Pro, this gaming tablet is way more than a mere plaything. Razer Edge Pro is a beast which packs a dual-core Intel Core i7-3517U Ivy Bridge processor with 8GB of RAM and an Nvidia GeForce GT 640M LE graphics card with 2GB of dedicated memory. All this in a small 7 by 11 by 0.8 inches wide frame which weighs only 2.14 pounds. Comparing the Razer Edge to anything else is tough, considering that it doesn't necessarily have a true competitor. However in a series of performance comparisons with other powerful tablets and ultraportable gaming laptops, Razer Edge performed better than the tablets but wasn't at par with ultraportable gaming laptops. For instance when comparing scores from 3DMark 11, the Edge Pro scored 2,503 points at entry settings and 504 points in extreme mode putting it ahead of both competing tablets, the Microsoft Surface Pro (1,055 Entry, 206 Extreme) and Samsung ATIV SmartPC (1,044 Entry, couldn't run at Extreme mode), but behind the gaming-focused laptops, like the the Maingear Pulse 11 (3,868 Entry, 724 Extreme) and the Razer Blade (3,458 Entry, 716 Extreme). What's baffling is that with all accessories incuded (gamepad dock and the console dock) the final price of the tablet is a cool $1,870, which most expensive than not only the two tablets tested but also the two gaming gaming laptops compared. It remains to be seen whether the Razer Edge Pro is something special or just on the edge of it."

48 comments

  1. Ergowhat? by drinkypoo · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The point of it is to be a gaming device, allegedly, but it doesn't come with the gaming controller. The gaming controller looks positively painful to use even for the life of the battery, which isn't all that amazing either...

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    1. Re:Ergowhat? by Penguinisto · · Score: 1

      Thinking the same thing here.... it all depends on the game, and how it is controlled.

      If it used the gravity/tilt sensors as part of the game and some drop-simple controls, okay. If it's a full-on FPS that has a shitload of bindings to it? Hell, not even a console can do such a game true justice.

      Problem is, if you need to add an external device or two (be it a controller, mouse, keyboard, whatever), then what would be the point?

      --
      Quo usque tandem abutere, Nimbus, patientia nostra?
    2. Re:Ergowhat? by Altus · · Score: 1

      who is going to make a game that uses tablet controls but is so resource intensive that it is only usable on this one tablet?

      --

      "In America, first you get the sugar, then you get the power, then you get the women..." -H. Simpson

    3. Re:Ergowhat? by Penguinisto · · Score: 1

      Good question - but if the game were heavily graphics-intensive, yet required few if any controls (e.g. flight/dogfight games and whatnot) I could see the arrangement as useful.

      IMHO though, where it would really shine is in 3D/CG hobbyist markets, if tablet controls could be slaved to common functions, and a stylus could take a lot of the rest. This way you could run, say, Poser, DAZ|Studio, Blender, and suchlike to really tear into a 3d view/ You could also perhaps slave the camera to tilt/position sensors so that you could literally move the tablet around your object or scene in order to see it at multiple angles. Once you find a good one, you can take a 'snapshot', then have the thing render it from your snapshotted angle/zoom setting.

      --
      Quo usque tandem abutere, Nimbus, patientia nostra?
  2. hot little hands by mblase · · Score: 1

    All of those heat generating components also require a cooling fan, and this one gets humming pretty early on—it's the only tablet we've reviewed where fan noise is a concern.

    I was wondering about that. Not sure if this is an advantage or a reason NOT to buy it, though.

  3. Cooler than I expected by addie · · Score: 2

    Reading the summary made me roll my eyes, but after checking out the review I admit I'm intrigued. The docking port with controller handles could turn this into a very fun and powerful, large-screen version of a GBA/PSP/etc. I can imagine dozens of indie Steam titles that would play really well on this kind of machine - Super Meat Boy for example.

    Now I'm not going to buy one, considering the price tag, but I'm surprising myself by not wanting to mock the concept.

    1. Re:Cooler than I expected by shadowrat · · Score: 2

      The docking port with controller handles could turn this into a very fun and powerful, AND EXPENSIVE large-screen version of a GBA/PSP/etc.

      FTFY

    2. Re:Cooler than I expected by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > Super Meat Boy for example.

      SMB is not recommended for use with any wireless or untethered devices.

  4. Enough battery life to play Crysis balls out by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    for 30 seconds.

  5. Anandtech Review by Colonel+Korn · · Score: 5, Informative

    Why are hardware stories ever posted without a link to the Anandtech review? PCMag? Really? Anyway, here's the link to a review that's actually useful:

    http://www.anandtech.com/show/6858/the-razer-edge-review

    --
    "I zero-index my hamsters" - Willtor (147206)
    1. Re:Anandtech Review by Synerg1y · · Score: 1

      That and the grammar's absolutely horrible in the summary.

      That is indeed a much more detailed and thus review, it can be a bit hard to follow for the casual reader though.

      Not quite sure what market they're targeting though, it sounds like a cool to have item, but I wanted to take mobile gaming seriously in my life for reasons unknown, I would need a very strong pitch to keep me away from alienware's m11x.

    2. Re:Anandtech Review by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Informative

      Perhaps because that is the review for the Razer Edge, and this is about the Razer Edge Pro?

    3. Re:Anandtech Review by Lissajous · · Score: 1

      Perhaps because that is the review for the Razer Edge, and this is about the Razer Edge Pro?

      FTFA: "The Edge comes in two flavors, base and Pro. The entry-level SKU has an i5-3317U (1.7GHz), 4GB of DDR3, and a 64GB SSD for $999, while the Edge Pro bumps that up to an i7-3517U (1.9GHz), 8GB, and a 128GB SSD for $1299. Upgrading to a 256GB drive costs a further $150. The evaluation unit we received was the full-tilt Edge Pro 256GB, which has an SF-2200-based ADATA XM14 mSATA SSD. "

  6. Say again? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "which most expensive than not only the two tablets tested"

    That is heck the what?

    1. Re:Say again? by Samantha+Wright · · Score: 2

      You think that's weird, they called a gaming tablet "no mere plaything." So what is it, then? A profound plaything? A superlative plaything? A bacon cheese plaything?

      --
      Bio questions? Ask me to start a Q&A journal. Computer analogies available for most topics!
  7. How hot does it get? by jandrese · · Score: 1

    Tiny laptops with high end processors, video cards, etc... immediately make me concerned for the TDP of the box. Either the cooling fans are going to be constantly on leaf blower mode and/or the thing will be uncomfortably warm in just a couple of minutes of gaming.

    --

    I read the internet for the articles.
    1. Re:How hot does it get? by noh8rz10 · · Score: 1

      what is tdp?

    2. Re:How hot does it get? by Rob_Bryerton · · Score: 1

      Thermal Design Power? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_design_power

    3. Re:How hot does it get? by deathlyslow · · Score: 1

      here http://lmgtfy.com/?q=tdp

      --
      Don't blame me for redundant posts. I can't type very fast. Hence the user ID.
    4. Re:How hot does it get? by Spectre · · Score: 3, Informative

      what is tdp?

      Thermal Design Point - When the device is in it's worst possible power use case (maxed out CPU, GPU, drive usage, etc) ... the device should be able to dissipate all of the heat it is generating without going above the safe operating temperature of any of its components. That is notoriously difficult in small form factor devices unless you use components that are all designed for minimal power use ... which this is not using.

      So either this has some incredibly amazing method of heat dissipation*, or it will overheat when in use, leading to reliability issues and shortened component life.

      --
      "Flame away, I wear asbestos underwear"
    5. Re:How hot does it get? by briancox2 · · Score: 1

      Once the flow of air over a cooling fin is turbulent, moving the air faster causes the cooling rates to be worse, not better.

      Look at the air intake of any sports car. It is very small. That is because it uses that small air intake and then widens the airflow (called a difuser) before the air engages any of the cooling elements for the engine. The designers of the car are slowing down the air speed in order to get better cooling rates.

      Unfortunately, laptop makes don't always hire enough Mechanical Engineers to solve this problem, nor allow for the additional space within the machine necessary to get optimal cooling.

      --
      We should learn what we need to know about issues, before we decide what we need to feel about them.
    6. Re:How hot does it get? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Once the flow of air over a cooling fin is turbulent, moving the air faster causes the cooling rates to be worse, not better.

      Wait, you mean to tell me that my PC would've stayed cool without the supplimental cooling agent set on high and pointed directly at the video card?

      What's next, you'll imply that my Monster Cables don't deliver superior HDMI quality?

    7. Re:How hot does it get? by rtb61 · · Score: 1

      Having experienced a high powered laptop TDP-LOW (Life Of Warranty). Basically the laptop slow cooked itself.

      When it comes to a gaming tablet, I've got a 24" screen about two feet from my face and once accustomed I regret not going to 27". Deskptops forever.

      --
      Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
    8. Re:How hot does it get? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Buddy, if you're taking fans as suppositories there's no help for you.

  8. Windows 8 and gameing? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Windows 8 and gameing?

  9. There are similar devices by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Asus

  10. That's what slashdot was lacking... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...blatant advertising! You can't bitch at the summary for not RTFA or fucking things up when the summary is the press release.

  11. Just because... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Just because something CAN be built doesn't mean it SHOULD be built.

  12. I'm actually surprised... by somarilnos · · Score: 1

    Given the brand name, I was expecting a cheap piece of plastic with some sort of glowy light, labelled 'gaming' to sell some units. Couldn't they instead have focused their energy on making a single product that a legitimate gamer would want to use, and then maybe branch out into trying to create a market for an overpriced, underpowered wannabe laptop with a low res screen?

    1. Re:I'm actually surprised... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is just targeted to be another readily depreciated toy for spoiled man children. A great market these days.

  13. Grammar fail, business as usual by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "which most expensive than" in the original post

  14. Razor? by rochrist · · Score: 1

    I thought the Razor Edge Pro was a razor.

  15. Android gaming is the future (cross-platform) by tuppe666 · · Score: 1

    Windows gaming has been treated like the ugly stepchild for years, and really the latest SimCity saga is just another example of how badly treated gamers are. I personally had been driven away from windows games for years. I have only been brought back by indie games from the Humble Bundle that don't treat me like cattle, but there are now 5 humble bundles (it has its own store) of cross platform...the current one http://www.humblebundle.com/ is Android only!? [and not just for twitchers] Suddenly I'm several gaming tablets / consoles under $200 [some under $90] with more on the way. I already own two. My Linux gaming suddenly has more choices than I can cope with,as suddenly cross platform is the platform as choice!? [not an expensive afterthought] with Android often being thought of first. This device signals the end of windows gaming...they would have been better getting proper firmware support for their mice under Linux, as many of us are fans of hardware, and its a growing market.

    1. Re:Android gaming is the future (cross-platform) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It cannot be considered "gaming" when you only play angry birds on the toilet.

    2. Re:Android gaming is the future (cross-platform) by JDG1980 · · Score: 1

      For Android gaming to go mainstream, it will have to start supporting input methods other than the touchscreen. Fortunately, Samsung is coming out with a gamepad for its Galaxy devices, so hopefully they will have enough market power to get app vendors to start supporting them. Other vendors are going to be releasing Android gamepads as well; hopefully they will be compatible.

  16. Its even better than that. by tuppe666 · · Score: 1

    These are the top selling games on Play right now (they are having a Disney sale), but as you see its a nice mixture of Racing; FPS; Puzzle; Tower Defence; Violent Open world games...and Minecraft. The fact that it has great casual games is an advantage...To say Android gaming is only about Angry Birds is like saying Windows gaming is only about the Sims.

    Minecraft - Pocket Edition - Minecraft is about placing blocks to build things and going on adventures! Mi...
    Temple Run: Oz - THE MOST THRILLING RUNNING EXPERIENCE NOW COMES TO THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD! Dis...Can you survive the zombie apocalypse? Choose your car and smash those zombie...
    Grand Theft Auto III -The sprawling crime epic that changed open-world games forever. Welcome to L...
    Toy Story: Smash It! - Join Buzz, Woody, and the rest of the Toy Story gang on their latest adventur...
    Wreck-it Ralph - Disney
    Where's My Water? - MEET SWAMPY IN WHERE’S MY WATER? — THE HIT DISNEY APP ON ANDROID! WHERE'S
    Need for Speed Most Wanted -“The graphics are absolutely awesome” (Eurogamer.es) “It pushes the mobile p...
    Asphalt 7: Heat - Hit the speed of heat in the newest, fastest edition of the famed Asphalt ser...
    Football Manager Handheld 2013 - The world's best-selling football management game returns for a new season. F...
    Plants vs. Zombies - Stem a zombie attack on your Android! Get ready to soil your plants in the h...
    Grand Theft Auto: Vice City - Welcome back to Vice City. Welcome back to the 1980s. Welcome back to Vice Ci...
    Star Wars Pinball - Use the power of the Force to guide the silver ball in Star Wars Pinball! Set...
    Cut the Rope - Cut the Rope, catch a star, and feed Om Nom candy in this award-winning game!...
    Modern Combat 4: Zero Hour - Arm yourself for FPS action! The #1 Action FPS game is back on smartphone wit...
    Temple Run: Brave - TEMPLE RUN: BRAVE IS AN OFFICIAL APP WITH AN ALL NEW LOOK AND ARCHERY
    Osmos HD - Absorb, or be absorbed... The long-awaited hit game comes to Android! Enter t...
    Fruit Ninja - The worldwide smash hit game Fruit Ninja is now available on Android! Fruit N...
    The Cube - Do you have what it takes to beat the Cube? Do you have what it takes to beat...
    New Star Soccer - Live the life of an up-and-coming superstar in this unique football career ga...
    MONOPOLY -It’s “GO” time! Take a ride on the Reading Railroad. Buy Boardwalk. Go direct...
    Where's My Perry? - MORE THAN 140 PUZZLES ACROSS 7 CHAPTERS, WITH FREE UPDATES! WHERE’S MY F-Sim Space Shuttle - Highly realistic simulation of the space shuttle approach and landing O...
    Super Hexagon -A minimal action game by Terry Cavanagh, with music by Chipzel. *** On sale f...

  17. The mobile-space losers use Intel by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Only AMD builds sane x86 parts for the mobile gaming space. Things are so bad for Intel that when AMD launched its first APU parts for notebooks (Llano), Intel paid Anandtech to EXCLUDE the graph showing the AMD notebook gaming for twice as long as the equivalent Intel one.

    Then AMD significantly improved the APU with Trinity. Now AMD has massively improved the lower power APUs with Jaguar CPU and GCN GPU based Temash and Kabini parts. (Sorry for all the technical acronyms, but you need to know the language to stand any chance of understanding the issues.)

    Of course, this dreadful idiocy from Razer doesn't game on Intel's integrated GPU- that would just be insanity (Intel's GPU is very slow, very broken, and needs driver hacks to make games even half-work, and the coming Haswell fixes none of this). No, Razer uses a cruddy discrete GPU from Nvidia, and attempt to compensate by having a dreadfully low resolution LCD.

    Now, in fairness, the Jaguar based AMD parts are not quite ready (they appear a little later in the year, in devices like Microsoft's tablet 'Surface Pro II'). Also, Razer's natural customer base is the thickest part of the PC fan base - and they only ever dribble "it must be Intel".

    Jaguar is going to revolutionize the x86 tablet market, but even so it will probably be too little, too late when compared to the behemoth that is the ARM ecosystem. Jaguar, of course, is 1/2 of AMD's technology in the only consoles that matter, the XBOX720 and the PS4. It is the same graphics engines from these two coming consoles that AMD offers in its low power x86 APU parts. Intel isn't even in the game.

    PS want to know why the APK spam isn't blocked by Slashdot's owners? Because articles like this are almost immediately be scored at '-1' ensuring if you block the spam, you also block this comment- which is good for Intel, and therefore good for Slashdot's pockets.

  18. Resolution is completely unacceptable by JDG1980 · · Score: 1

    1366x768? Really? That's bad enough on cheap laptops, but on a product costing over $1800, it's absolutely unacceptable. This resolution really needs to die.

    1. Re:Resolution is completely unacceptable by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Can't handle the heat of throwing more pixels

  19. Xperia Play has been out over 18 months by tuppe666 · · Score: 1

    For Android gaming to go mainstream, it will have to start supporting input methods other than the touchscreen. Fortunately, Samsung is coming out with a gamepad for its Galaxy devices, so hopefully they will have enough market power to get app vendors to start supporting them. Other vendors are going to be releasing Android gamepads as well; hopefully they will be compatible.

    Android gaming is more mainstream that, windows gaming ever was, and as for waiting for Samsung to release a phone, they are last in a long line of companies that have a Android with build in joypad; the http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/13/03/24/2025228/archos-gamepad-released-in-the-usa archos was announced here at less than $200 only 5 days ago], even Sony has had a device out over 18 months.

  20. Sans Mouse? by thatkid_2002 · · Score: 1

    Why the hell would anybody want a gaming PC that doesn't use a Mouse?

    PC games are what they are (awesome) because of the versatility and control afforded by the Keyboard and Mouse combo.