Introducing the Razer Edge: First Gaming Tablet

Introducing the Razer Edge. It’s a Windows 8 tablet capable of playing today’s best PC games while also behaving like a tablet and home console.

According to Eurogamer, the Razer Edge looks and acts just like a tablet (when it’s peripherals aren’t connected). It also has a keyboard dock (it’s PC side), two cylindrical controllers (it’s Mobile Console side) and ports to a docking station (it’s Console side).

Razer is calling it “the world’s first tablet designed for PC gamers” and “the most powerful tablet in the world.”

Digital Foundry’s Richard Leadbetter says what separates the Razer Edge from other high-end Windows tablets – aside from its various peripheral add-ons – is the inclusion of the Nvidia Kepler graphics core.

“We’ve seen a similar combination of Intel ultra-low voltage CPU and GeForce GPU before in the Acer Aspire Ultra M3, where we witnessed some surprisingly strong performance: Battlefield 3 ran well at medium settings, Crysis 2 played nicely at very high while Skyrim was smooth even on the high graphical preset.

“This should be a worthwhile games machine and the base $999 price-point sound pretty reasonable, but future PC released may struggle to run well on it,” he says.

$1000 dollars? That doesn’t seem reasonable at all – and coupled with our Dollar or Pound exchange rates (and shipping etc.), you can bet this gadget will cost us in the tens of thousands. And Leadbetter’s belief that the Razer Edge will battle to run Battlefield doesn’t put me at ease in spending all that money.

Meanwhile, the two Razer Edge models – the Edge and the Edge Pro – are priced at about £650 (or R8942) up to £1000 (or R13,757) for the Pro.

Razer Edge Pro specs:

▪ Processor: Intel Core i7 Dual core w/ Hyper Threading Base 1.9GHz / Turbo 3.0GHz
▪ Memory: 8GB DDR3 (2x4GB 1600MHz)
▪ Video: Intel HD4000 (DX11), NVIDIA GT 640M LE (2GB DDR3, Optimus Technology)
▪ Display: 10.1" (IPS, 1366x768), 10-point capacitive touch
▪ Operating System: Windows 8
▪ Storage: 128/256GB SSD (SATA-III)
▪ Network: Intel WLAN (802.11b/g/n + BT4)
▪ Others: Stereo speakers, Codec supports 7.1 (via HDMI), HD Webcam (front-facing, 2MP), Array microphones, Dolby Home Theater v4, USB 3.0 x1 (green, SuperSpeed), Audio jack (3.5mm, 4-pole, stereo out / mic in)

Razer Edge specs:

▪ Processor: Intel Core i5 Dual core w/ Hyper Threading Base 1.7GHz / Turbo 2.6GHz
▪ Memory: 4GB DDR3 (2x2GB 1600MHz)
▪ Video: Intel HD4000 (DX11), NVIDIA GT 640M LE (1GB DDR3, Optimus Technology)
▪ Storage: 64GB SSD (SATA-III)
All the other stuff is the same as the Edge Pro