INTRODUCTION
DJs and Music Producers: Check Out the Razer Blade QHD+ Laptop!
Yes, this is a laptop review, which is unusual for these parts. Why review when most DJs get the latest MacBook and call it a day? Now that Steve Jobs’ once-rogue firm is resembling Microsoft and some producers prefer Windows-based machines, you may want to look elsewhere for processing power. The 15′′ Razer Blade caught my eye as a DJing and production laptop with good specs and a stage- and studio-friendly black finish. What if I left my silver cloud as a longtime Apple user locked on Ableton Live? Razor Blade 15in Laptop
This evaluation will focus on three important aspects that DJs and producers would likely care about when buying a laptop. Remember that the debate is from a Mac user considering migrating to Windows for Ableton Live. FL Studio will be reviewed here for Microsoft supporters.
Hardware: This is a sleek, powerful Windows version of a Macbook Pro.
Performance: The drivers were disappointing, but the processors could handle most audio processing.
- Software: Mac-only is hard, although production/DJ apps aren’t horrible.
- Razer Blade QHD+ has top-tier Macbook Pro specs:
- 15.0-inch IGZO QHD+ display with LED illumination, 16:9 aspect ratio, 3200 x 1800 resolution.
- NVIDIA GTX 970M (3GB GDDR5 VRAM).
- Intel Core i7–4720HQ Quad-Core processor with Hyper Threading, 2.6GHz/3.6GHz (Base/Turbo).
- RAM of 16 GB in two channels
- Windows 10 64-Bit
- x3 USB 3.0
- Audio/video output in HDMI 1.4a format
- 3.5 mm jack for use with headphones and microphone
- Dimensions: 13.4″ (345mm) x 0.70″ (17.9mm) x 9.3″ (235mm)
- 4.47lbs / 2.03kg
Breakup
This evaluation compares the Razer Blade against a MacBook Pro, which you may be considering for music production.
Keyboard Style
For DJs and producers, the Razer keyboard has both advantages and cons. In a sentence, it’s inventive and intriguing but not very practical.
Similar to a MacBook in terms of keyboard operation. It’s sleek, straightforward to operate, and has appropriate spacing.
Backlighting on the keyboard: MacBooks may be used at night, making the Razer Blade’s green-on-black keys stand out.
The Razer Blade Stealth’s keyboard typeface is more conventional, making it easier to get used to, but the Razer keyboard’s “technical” font is reminiscent of early DOS work, 90s hackers, or the Matrix films. It will appeal to those who want something unique and cutting-edge.
The touchscreen
Mouse
For Mac users, two-finger scrolling and three-finger swiping work well.
The Two Buttons: This is another subject over which I became really irritated. A rather well-established paradigm of dedicated left- and right-click buttons exists in the Windows environment. A sizable touchpad on the Mac has a single-click built into it. The latter, in my opinion, is significantly better. Simply put, you have the option to click at any point while using the mouse to scroll. With the Razer, I would need to look for the left click button while working or scrolling in order to send the command. It frequently eluded my grasp and required some manual searching. Technically, you can double-tap the mouse pad to command a left click, which is not a big deal right away but adds up over time in terms of overall productivity. Though it makes sense in theory, in practice it proved to be unreliable and annoying. It’s crucial to have dependable tactile feedback in the form of a reliable “click”. Additionally, you don’t need to search for the button because the Razer mouse will recognize touches and double touches as clicks. However, without tactile feedback to confirm the click, I didn’t think the mouse’s click detection was 100% reliable. (It’s important to note that a lot of the touchpad’s functions can be changed; this is only based on how it was configured after installation.)
Button Action: As DJs and producers, we care about button feel. The Razer’s mouse buttons click with a plastic sound and a quiet, shallow click. I prefer the Macbook Pro’s smooth and quiet click.
Sofrware2
The Razer Blade’s 15-inch screen was bright, clear, and easy to see from afar, making it ideal for stage use.
The Blade’s monitor can be used as a capacitive touch screen, which I didn’t use much (maybe out of habit), but it does enable multi-touch and a few well-executed gestures. Many performers today would prefer for the computer to completely vanish (at least from the audience’s view), so it would be interesting if the screen fully articulated and could be converted into a tablet.
• port towns
• USBPORTS
• The Blade’s I/O is simple.
• 3.0 USA
• One audio input/output
• Using HDMI
That covers 90% of applications, however I wanted Thunderbolt and an SD card reader for photo editing and video transfers.
This device’s three fully powered USB ports for peripheral controls are a plus. Many laptops only have two USB ports, and I think three is enough for most controller scenarios.
Razer Blade performance
The Razer Blade is supposed to analyze billions of data points every minute, so it must be powerful. I tested it in two scenarios:
1) Ableton Live processes 12 TR-8 digital audio channels live.
The laptop’s processors performed well in a basic audio environment using the native ASIO drivers, and they seemed to be on par with my regular studio machine, a similarly spec’d Macbook Pro. However, when I tried to push it further and use my live production setup, which involves 12 digital audio channels coming into the computer at once and Ableton Live processing the audio in real time, I ran into issues.
This guide illustrates how to implement this idea:
In this case, I used the audio interface inputs on my TR-8 and listened to the output through a different sound card through the studio speakers. Core Audio on my Mac works, but ASIO in Windows doesn’t.
The only way to merge audio devices was to download an unfinished program called “asio4all” that took over ASIO settings and allowed merging. However, I needed very high buffer sizes to run this arrangement steadily, which increased my latency.
Although there were significant drop-outs and latency, it was functional, and we even recorded the topical tutorial films. Due to the dependency on free source ASIO drivers, this was not performance-ready, but it’s a good studio computer, and we hope ASIO will improve.
2) Traktor DJing with four decks and lots of effects
The laptop handled all we could throw at it and did incredibly well in this area. DJing was no problem, and all the usual hardware was supported. The audio drivers are my main concern for anyone building a powerful laptop. It’s well known that Core Audio outperforms ASIO in many areas, and everything else was built on top of these worlds. Here’s one example:
Sound cards offer natively coded low-level latency at practically any price and work with most audio devices.
You’ll need to do your research, but there are reportedly some high-end ASIO drivers made specifically for Windows that work well. The audio interface manufacturer must create ASIO drivers.
Utilizing Windows on a Razer Blade with software
Software
The least amount of time should be spent in this evaluation describing the Windows OS as a whole. Operating systems are a contentious topic that is mainly meaningless unless you’re going from OS X to Windows. Having said that, following are my primary impressions of the encounter.
Finding programs, files, and managing folders felt much more laborious than on OS X; the Windows installer was lengthy and asked a lot of personal questions — it was really a poor first experience for someone like myself coming from OS X. With some practice, I’m sure that anyone can become just as efficient on Windows, but there’s definitely an initial learning curve.
Switching to Windows can be unsettling if you don’t need to run PC-only applications (you could dual-boot your Mac), but if you want to run Traktor or other standalone programs on Windows, it’s a different story.
Superficial Bonus Section Design and Look
Razer-Hardware
DJs and producers with an eye for design may be picky about how things look. Let’s look at some of Razer’s more noticeable features:
The Design of a Computer
EanBlade2
In 2010, I loved the black 13-inch MacBook. It was small, clean, and useful for Serato, Traktor, etc. Today, the only options are silver or gold, and I miss having a black option. Razer offers the 2015 version of that first ultimate DJ black MacBook.
The Blade’s matte black finish is seductive, and by covering the green branding with gaffer’s tape, you can have a stylish laptop for the stage that doesn’t shout “I’m checking my emails!”
As mentioned in the hardware section, the keyboard and retro-nerdy font are cool. Functionally, it’s not my favorite, but it has a very distinct appearance that some people may love. I expect to see a fairly obvious product placement for this laptop in Alien 5, as it belongs there.
Producers and DJs: A Great Windows Laptop?
Ean-Working_Blade
For those who must use a PC, the Razer Blade is likely your best hardware option. Should anyone else consider using this instead of their Mac or running Ableton Live on it? Probably not; you’re better off sticking with a Macbook Pro because of the cost.
Being an Apple fanboy is no longer cool, and I miss my 13-inch black MacBook Pro, so I was considering buying a Razer Blade for stage use, but switching costs are too high, and I can’t give up my MacBook’s effective functionality due to driver issues and the annoying UX. However, Razer has some new initiatives that may change my mind.
We never sell data.
You’ll need to do your research, but there are reportedly some high-end ASIO drivers made specifically for Windows that work well. The audio interface manufacturer must create ASIO drivers.
Utilizing Windows on a Razer Blade with software
The least amount of time should be spent in this evaluation describing the Windows OS as a whole. Operating systems are a contentious topic that is mainly meaningless unless you’re going from OS X to Windows. Having said that, following are my primary impressions of the encounter.
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Finding programs, files, and managing folders felt much more laborious than on OS X; the Windows installer was lengthy and asked a lot of personal questions — it was really a poor first experience for someone like myself coming from OS X. With some practice, I’m sure that anyone can become just as efficient on Windows, but there’s definitely an initial learning curve.
Switching to Windows can be unsettling if you don’t need to run PC-only applications (you could dual-boot your Mac), but if you want to run Traktor or other standalone programs on Windows, it’s a different story.
Style: Superficial Bonus Section