Razer Blade Review: You Get What You Pay For
There are many cheaper options on the market, but when it comes to performance and build quality, nothing is in the Razer Blade Gaming Laptop league.
When reviewing a gaming laptop, the word ‘luxury’ doesn’t necessarily spring to mind, especially with some units looking more like the deck of Star Trek than an actual gaming machine, with all their flashing lights.
However, the word luxury can apply when dealing with the excellent build quality, unrivalled performance levels and a reasonably luxurious price to match. However, the Razer Blade has headed into portable gaming opulence we haven’t experienced before.
Performance and Gaming
With the latest 12-gen Intel H series CPUs inside the Razer and the Nvidia RTX 30-series GPUs, the competition has some catching up.
Although these components constitute the overall price of the Razer as they are not cheap, the Razer is for serious gamers, and performance is the gauge to which you decide what level of equipment you look to buy.
With different models containing 32GB of RAM and 3080 Ti, and an i9 chip or i7-12800H, 16GB of RAM, including the RTX 3060 Ti on the lower models, you are looking at some serious kit.
On the Razer 15 model, for example, you can add extras to the 1TB of storage as it features two M.2 slots, one of which you will find populated outside the box.
As a result, you can remove the laptop’s bottom panel, then the SSD cover and pop in another drive; it’s pretty straightforward.
Always bear in mind to use single-sided modules, though, as double-sided M.2 won’t work; they don’t fit!
As mentioned at the top of this review, ‘you get what you pay for’.
Razer has shown superb graphics levels in 2022 – especially on – ‘In Shadow of the Tomb Raider’ with settings of 1920 x 1080 – using a core i7 RTX 3080 Ti which consisted of a unit hit 124 fps.
It only got pipped by the Asus Flow Z13; however, that was when you had to use their additional and optional graphics doc, which clocks in at another US$1400. So for the Asus, that would leave you US$3200 out of pocket.
Design
The Razers that came out in 2022 looked somewhat similar to previous models, leaving some Razer addicts feeling that the company should be coming out with some facelift in 2023.
Razer keeps a very close eye on every review they get across multiple online platforms and channels so expect the unexpected from them in 2023.
Having said that, if you were new to gaming and saw a 2022 Razer, whether it be a 15 or 17, you’d be awestruck by it.
Even after many years, you can’t get away from those Blade clean lines and the look and touch of that aluminium chassis.
Though it would be nice to see them add RGB support onto the lid to help the backlit logo, as we all know how gamers like their funky lighting!
Neon green has always been Razer’s mantle, but you’d expect with such a premium unit that they may add a feature to allow you to choose your own colour set; let’s wait and see!
An Overview of What’s Good About Razer’s 2022 models:
- Strong performance
- Lots of config/screen options
- Excellent build quality
- Beautiful design and sturdy units
- Great port selection
- New 1080p webcam
Display
Blades generally emit around 300 nits of brightness which is high for the industry, but some reports have said if you use a light meter, it can be slightly lower, but graphics-wise, you wouldn’t notice.
On the Razer 15, you’re looking at a 15.6-inch 240Hz QHD display. What this does is give you a perfect balance between size and resolution.
You have options if you find you are not getting the brightness you need on a sunny day.
You can get Razer 144Hz or 360Hz panels for other models, and they also released a 240Hz OLED option, so you can configure these to what you need, unlike other manufacturers who offer static options.
On the Razer 17, however, you are looking at a machine with a whopping 17.3-inch display that is almost 25% smaller, sleeker, and faster than its counterparts. They have also fitted this into what is the equivalent of a 15″ laptop; wow, they are good!
Battery Life
In general, the 17 was upgraded battery-wise to the 15 in 2022.
The 15 sometimes had a run life of around the 6-hour mark, which you can get from cheaper machines out there (albeit without the quality the Razer offers).
However, there are plenty of ways to get more out of the battery to ensure you can complete games, such as:
- Close apps that are not in use
- Set the “Power mode” to “Better Battery”
- Enable your “Battery Saver” settings
- Decrease the brightness or turn off the keyboard lighting
- Decrease your screen brightness
- Disconnect USB peripherals
- Use your Power Troubleshooter
In addition, Razer is well aware that due to the magnitude of high-grade components, its battery life is slightly less than some of its competitors. So what have they done? They’ve compensated.
You can drop to a 60Hz refresh rate when you are not in the hot seat gaming.
If you use that method in conjunction with the MUX switch, it’ll extend your battery life.
Don’t forget that when you are not gaming and on the move, you can charge using the Thunderbolt 4 port. All you need is a 20-volt USB-C power adapter and therefore are not carrying its larger power supply.
Also, Razer gives you a 2-year warranty on its batteries.
SUMMARY
While the Blade 15 wasn’t so sleek or as portable as the wave of 14-inch machines manufacturers were pumping out, it’s never wrong to have a big luxurious monster gaming machine.
With the 15.6-inch screen and carrying a weight of 4.4 pounds, you may struggle to get it in a standard computer bag, and it may be a little heavy for a youngster to carry around all day.
However, with the Blade 17, you are getting a bigger machine made smaller (if that makes ANY sense?), more lightweight and the feel of a 15-inch computer and much lighter weight.
So just between the two models, you can see a stark contrast in where Razer is looking to go as they progress. 2023 could prove another stepping stone to them keeping themselves at the pinnacle of the gaming market, and be sure to surprise us with another quantum leap in technology. I know we all CAN’T wait! Let’s see what they bring.
