Razer has managed to do something highly unusual: the company’s released a tablet that stands out from the crowd. The Razer Edge is a tablet aimed at PC gamers, and it features the hardware you’d expect from a mid-level gaming computer… but in a portable package.

Earlier this month Razer started taking pre-orders for its gaming tablet, and within a few weeks the company had to stop taking orders to catch up with demand. Not bad for a tablet that costs twice as much as an entry-level iPad.

The company plans to start shipping tablets to customers soon, and the first reviews are in. For the most part, it sounds like the Edge delivers on its promise to make PC gaming portable. But there are a few caveats.

Razer Edge Pro

First, the Razer Edge doesn’t come cheap. For $999 you can get a model with Windows 8, a 64GB solid state disk, 4GB of RAM, an Intel Core i5 Ivy Bridge processor and NVIDIA GeForce GT640M graphics. But if you want more storage or a faster processor, the Razer Edge Pro starts at $1299.

That’s a lot of money for a tablet with a 10.1 inch, 1366 x 768 pixel display. But it’s quite probably the most powerful tablet on the market, at least in terms of graphics performance. And while it doesn’t have a 1080p display, that might actually be a good thing, since the NVIDIA graphics card doesn’t have to work too hard to push pixels to the tablet’s screen.

The price climbs even higher if you want optional accessories such as a keyboard, docking station or the detachable gamepad controllers. The gamepad accessory (which can also house an optional extended battery), costs $250. And that’s an accessory you’re almost certainly going to want, because why buy a PC gaming tablet if you’re not going to use the best available gamepad to control it?

So you’re looking at a $1500 or higher price tag if you want a model with a Core i7 CPU, 128GB of storage and a gamepad.

Second, at about 2 pounds, the Razer Edge is heavier than your typical 10 inch tablet. But you can use the detachable gamepad that latches onto the sides to grip the device comfortably with two hands, so it might not feel quite so heavy.

But the third problem is probably may pose the biggest challenge — by using an Intel Ivy Bridge CPU and NVIDIA GeForce graphics, Razer made the Edge a bit of a power hog when compared with most other tablets. Even with a bulky 41 Whr battery, the Edge tops out at just 2 to 3 hours of run time while playing games. It should last longer if you’re using it to surf the web or perform other lighter duty tasks.

The good news is that if battery life, size, and price aren’t important, the Razer Edge is apparently an excellent machine. Most reviewers seem very impressed with its performance. Most importantly, it can handle pretty much any modern video game you can throw at it (although you might need to lower the graphics settings on some titles).

Here are some of the first reviews of the Razer Edge Pro (If you’re only going to read one, and have some spare time on your hands, I highly recommend AnandTech’s lengthy review):

Ultimately, the consensus seems to be that the Edge is a tablet designed for serious gamers who want to be able to take their games with them… and who are willing to pay a premium price for the experience it offers.

Support Liliputing

Liliputing's primary sources of revenue are advertising and affiliate links (if you click the "Shop" button at the top of the page and buy something on Amazon, for example, we'll get a small commission).

But there are several ways you can support the site directly even if you're using an ad blocker* and hate online shopping.

Contribute to our Patreon campaign

or...

Contribute via PayPal

* If you are using an ad blocker like uBlock Origin and seeing a pop-up message at the bottom of the screen, we have a guide that may help you disable it.

Subscribe to Liliputing via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 9,547 other subscribers

4 replies on “Razer Edge Pro gaming tablet review roundup”

    1. I think it is an attempt to be diplomatic in the face of such ridiculous numbers.

      I’m totally a PC gamer who would like nothing more than to load up Steam games on a portable device, but THIS? -No F-ing way.

  1. FYI the 2-3 hours of gaming is with the extra battery contained in the gamepad accessory. Without it one only gets half that time.

    1. Yes, 1.5 hours.

      -and they had to WORK to get that figure, and how often are those figures cushioned just a little bit? -pretty darn often.

      So call it an hour. One hour of gaming on this unit before the battery dies and it is useless for anything except ballast.

Comments are closed.