Razer At Insomnia64
While attending Insomnia64 there was, for a significant portion of the showroom, a rather hazy green light permeating the air. It didn’t take long to find that this was, of course, Razer.
Featuring one of the most visually impressive booths at the event (currently being held at the NEC in Birmingham) we did, of course, have to check it out!
What Did They Have On Show?
Put simply, a lot of technology. Ranging between their peripherals to laptop and smartphone devices, Razer pulled no punches in attempting to showcase their latest releases. In terms of visual presentation, they undoubtedly have one of the slickest displays at the show.
Laptops
One of the main key highlights of the event was their laptop/notebook designs on display. Featuring an impressive collection, Razer clearly wanted to highlight their performance and gaming credentials and it proved to be highly popular with visitors.
Blade
A great example of this was their brand new Nari Blade notebook. As per the official description;
“The Razer Blade 15 is available in two different configurations. The updated Advanced Model now features the latest NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ graphics and 144Hz Full HD display for the ultimate gaming experience. The Base Model delivers amazing on-the-go gaming driven by the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 along with dual storage.”
Chroma
Of course, it’s hard to mention Razer without the huge impact their ‘Chroma’ RGB lighting has on their products. This was, of course, in no short supply during Insomnia64 with more than a few systems showcasing this for all to see!
Video
If you want to check out some live footage recorded from Insomnia64 at the Razer stand, check out below!
Smartphone
Last year, Razer came to quite some prominence when they released their very first iteration of the ‘Razer Phone’. Unlike many other smartphones that seemed to offer games as a ‘happy bonus’, Razer offered some pretty hefty hardware to make it their key focal point of their release.
With the recent release of the 2nd-generation of gaming specific phones, these were, of course, on display in high-numbers and in terms of reception, seemed to be one of the more popular aspects of their display at Insomnia64.
While the first phone was impressive enough, significant improvements have been made to the latest release which will look to further cement their place as the premium and best brand for mobile gaming.
Core X Chroma
One of the other major products recently released was the Core X Chroma. For those unfamiliar with it, it essentially acts as a portable graphics card allowing you to significantly boost the performance of (practically) any laptop. It essentially provided a means of upgrading without the need for buying a new laptop or shelling out for expensive parts.
It’s too early to tell just how popular these have been received by the community, but I think many would agree it’s a great concept and one that deserves to be, if nothing else, praised. Particularly since these units themselves are also upgradable via desktop graphics card replacement.
Razer Quartz
Finally, Razer were keen to push the latest release in their ‘Quartz’ family of PC peripherals. Offering practically everything you could want, the range includes a keyboard, mouse, controller, microphone and gaming headset.
All of which, I might add, in pink. No, we have no idea either!
Sadly, the green lighting from the Razer stand didn’t make the colouring particularly obvious. This is clearly evident in our photographs. In terms of the microphone and headset, the quality was unquestionable. Admittedly, the ‘cat ears’ are more of a personal preference, but still… cute.
They keyboard somewhat reminded me of the older IBM-2 designs and that is no criticism. Yes, it might be a little simplistic for those of you who like to have a hundred shortcuts at your fingertips. For me, however, it was nice and responsive to the touch with no unnecessary clutter.
Similar to the keyboard, while the mouse had a rather basic visual presentation, using it was thoroughly pleasant. It sat in the hand comfortably and had something of a ‘bullet-proof’ feel to the design.
Finally we had the controllers which felt like something of a compromise between the sleek (but in my opinion uncomfortable) PS4 design and the bulkier (but more substantial) Xbox One.
Controllers are, of course, something of a personal preference. You like what you like and get used to what you get used to. The basic question, however, is would I use this? The answer is a resounding yes!
When all these components are put together as part of a system, to me, they look fantastic. Admittedly (and again sadly) the green lighting on their display didn’t really give the ‘pink’ colouring a chance to shine. Overlooking that, however, as peripherals, the new ‘Quartz’ range gets a big thumbs up from me!
Where Can I Check It Out?
Razer is currently hosting a booth (more substantial than the word sounds) at Insomnia64 which is currently being held at the NEC in Birmingham. This event is running until the 22nd of April and is well worth checking out!
If you would like more information or wish to attend the event, you can check out the official website via the link here!
Alternatively, if you want to learn more about our visit, you can check out the link here!
