Comparing Two Other Iconic 17" Notebooks
We just happened to have access to two other 17” notebooks that feature striking designs as well: the last-generation 17” MacBook Pro and the original Alienware R17x. Comparisons to the Apple are easy to make, and even Razer likes to draw parallels. Comparing the Blade to the Alienware is tougher, but both serve the same purpose: being 17” gaming notebooks.
Starting with the 17” MacBook Pro:
The Blade has a slightly larger footprint than the MacBook, and the ridges in the lid and Razer logo stand out more than Apple’s minimalist design.
The Blade is slightly wider, but in terms of thickness, they appear to be very close.
Again, with their lids closed, both machines appear to be the same thickness. But this is only due to the ridges Razer puts into its lid to increase stiffness.
Once you open the machines, you can see that the Razer is actually a few millimeters thinner than the MacBook.
The chiclet-style keyboards are similar. And while Apple has a larger trackpad, the Razer provides more options with its Switchblade UI.
Moving on to the Alienware, we know that comparing a three-year-old system to a brand new one is not fair. However, for this purpose, the newest R17x is still very close to the same exterior design. We also know you can put two video cards and faster processors into the Alienware. But this is about showing a more compact way to build a gaming machine. The Alienware in the pictures is a machine I own myself. It has performed very well over the years, and has the battle scars to prove it. On the other hand, it is one big, heavy chunk of a machine.
As you can see, the Alienware is much thicker. In fact, at its thickest point, the R17x’s display bezel is almost as thick as the entire Blade.
Measuring front-to-back, once again, the Alienware is slightly larger. However, the R17x’s full-sized keyboard with number pad takes up about the same amount of space as the Blade’s keyboard and Switchblade UI.
Here is another way to visualize the Blade's height. Also, keep in mind that the GeForce GTX 660M in the Blade R2 has about 2x the processing power of the GeForce GTX 280M in the Alienware. Credit goes to Nvidia for that.
