Razer Edge Gaming Tablet Reviewed

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."

Comments

Ergowhat?

[drinkypoo]

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...

Cooler than I expected

[addie]

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.

Re:Cooler than I expected

[shadowrat]

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

Anandtech Review

[Colonel Korn]

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

Re:Say again?

[Samantha Wright]

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?

Re:How hot does it get?

[Spectre]

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.