Case and Ports

Razer does not make any compromises in terms of chassis materials and design, which is the case for the Razer Blade (here in review) as well as the Razer Core. The case is made of solid aluminum with a metal mesh "window" to display the GPU and increase air flow. There are no parts of the case that feel weak or compromised, which leads to a feel of robust quality. In terms of aesthetics, the Core does not look playful or cheesy, despite the aggressive industrial design and lighting options. The matte black case is a perfect match for the notebooks from Razer, but also pairs well with almost any other notebook on one's desk.

The Core has a number of fan exhausts: Fresh air is sucked in at the top, a grill at the sides (for the GPU), an opening at the bottom (for the fan and the integrated power adapter) and an additional opening in the area of the ports at the back. The case itself has three fans to cool the power adapter and other electronic components as well as a fan measuring 40 x 20mm which circulates the air inside the case. All of these are in addition to the fans from the installed GPU. The fan for the PSU in particular is extremely loud, and so the Core makes quite a bit of noise when activated, even when not under gaming load. Quieter fans would have been very much appreciated.

The Core does have ports (though it lacks TB3 pass-through or USB 3.1 Type-C). There are four USB 3.0 Type-A ports and one 10/100/1000 Ethernet port in the back. Unfortunately, we had issues with USB devices disconnecting during use, and it seems that we are not the only ones with the issue. At the moment, it appears to be a hardware issue that can only be fixed by a replacement — but there is no guarantee the replacement will not be defective as well, as this seems to affect many users still.



All ports of the Core are located at the back, where you also find the release to open the case. Razer unfortunately includes a very short Thunderbolt cable with a length of just 0.5 meters, so it cannot be routed around the notebook. This means the user must look at the less aesthetically pleasing side with the ports or else position it directly behind the laptop (rather than beside it). Luckily, other companies, such as StarTech, offer 1-meter 40Gbps TB3 cables. They are quite expensive, however.