Razer Blade 16 review: An absolute powerhouse with a dual-mode display

Price When Reviewed

$4,299.99

Best Prices Today: Razer Blade 16

The Razer Blade 16 disguises a humiliation of gaming riches inside an unassuming enclosure. It boasts the newest and biggest tech from Intel and Nvidia and is without doubt one of the strongest laptops we’ve ever examined. It’s additionally the primary to characteristic a dual-mode, mini-LED show that acts as both a local 4K panel at 120Hz or a local 1080p panel at 240Hz, supplying you with the power to play richly textured video games at excessive element whereas additionally working eSports titles and twitchy shooters at a blazing refresh charge. And you get all of this gaming goodness in Razer’s typical stable, unibody chassis.

When you aren’t gaming, the 16-inch, 16:10 show at 4K offers an enormous, high-res canvas for content material creation. It appears and feels a lot bigger than the earlier Razer Blade 15 that has a 15.6-inch show with a wider 16:9 display screen ratio. It’s a pound heavier than its 15-inch predecessor, but it surely’s nonetheless not a hulking gaming laptop computer. The subtle design and roomy show lets the Razer Blade 16 double as a major work laptop computer for graphics execs along with being a ripping cellular gaming rig. If considered as two laptops in a single, maybe then you possibly can start to abdomen its sky-high value.

For extra choices, try our roundup of the best gaming laptops available right now.

Razer Blade 16: Specs and options

Are you sitting down? We ask you to stay seated whereas we let you know the value of our Razer Blade 16 check system. Ready? It prices $4,299.99 from Razer and options the next specs.

• CPU: Intel Core i9-13950HX
• Memory: 32GB
• Graphics: Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090
• Storage: 2TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD
• Display: 16-inch UHD+ (3840 x 2400) 120Hz / FHD+ (1920 x 1200) 240Hz
• Webcam: 1080p with bodily privateness shutter
• Connectivity: Thunderbolt 4 USB Type-C, USB-C 3.2 Gen 2, 3 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, HDMI 2.1, combo audio jack, SD card reader
• Networking: Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3
• Biometrics: IR webcam
• Battery capability: 95 Watt-hours
• Dimensions: 9.61 x 13.98x 0.87 inches
• Measured weight: 5.52 kilos (energy brick weighs 2.0 kilos)
• Price: $4,299.99

Our Razer Blade 16 check system is the flagship mannequin, and there are inexpensive fashions in case your laptop computer price range doesn’t prolong previous $4,000. The line begins at $2,700 for a system with RTX 4060 graphics and the identical Core i9-13950HX CPU as our check system. It lacks the dual-mode, mini-LED show, nevertheless, however its panel gives the excessive decision (2560 x 1600) and quick refresh charge (240Hz) that’s cut up throughout each modes of our check mannequin. In between these two fashions that bookend the road are three fashions that characteristic both RTX 4070 or RTX 4080 graphics, certainly one of which boasts the dual-mode, mini-LED display screen.

Razer Blade 16: Design, keyboard, trackpad

Razer has established its personal minimalist design aesthetic, one which stands in stark distinction to many gaming laptops that use aggressive graphics, large logos, and large vents to attract consideration. Razer’s assured design method doesn’t search your consideration, but it surely’s exhausting to disregard the Blade 16. It’s a matte-black slab of magnificence. The chassis is made out of T6 anodized aluminum, and it feels rock stable. There is little to no flex on the keyboard deck and lid defending the show.

IDG / Matthew Elliott

The laptop computer weighs 5.52 kilos, which is about common for a 16-inch 16:10 laptop computer however 1.1 kilos heavier than the 15.6-inch 16:9 Blade 15. Two different 16-inch 16:10 fashions—the 5.29-pound Acer Predator Triton 500 SE and the 5.44-pound HP Victus 16—weigh a bit much less.

The solely emblem you’ll discover on your complete enclosure is Razer’s triple-snake badge on the middle of the lid. When seated in entrance of the Blade 16, you wouldn’t know which model of laptop computer you’re utilizing. That’s what I imply by a assured design method. Only Razer does this, so you’ll nearly assuredly say “Razer” in case you had been compelled to hazard a guess as to the maker of this understated, minimalist, matte-black laptop computer. The solely objects that interrupt the ocean of black are a pair of small stickers for THX Spatial Audio and Intel Core i9 on the front-right nook of the keyboard deck.

I’ve solely two small points with the Blade 16’s chassis. For one, it’s a fingerprint magnet. The matte end attracts prints and oils and is difficult to wipe clear. It’s a little bit of a bummer for such an costly, in any other case exceedingly enticing laptop computer. For one other, the cutout on the entrance fringe of the keyboard deck is simply too slim, which makes opening the lid a bit harder than it must be. More usually than not, I wanted to make use of a fingernail to elevate the lid.

IDG / Matthew Elliott

Mechanical keyboards have proven up on some premium gaming laptops just lately, together with the Alienware x17 R2 and MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V which have mechanical keyboards with Cherry MX switches. And whereas the Blade 16 undoubtedly qualifies as “premium,” it options a normal laptop computer membrane keyboard. The keys really feel agency and responsive however lack the deep journey and tactile suggestions of mechanical switches that many players admire. It is an anti-ghosting keyboard that helps six simultaneous key presses, nevertheless, so it ought to permit you to sustain with the motion.

Following Razer’s streamlined design method, the Blade 16 lacks a quantity pad. I like having the keyboard centered beneath the show and don’t miss the numpad. And with per-key RGB lighting, you possibly can all the time spotlight the keys wanted for gaming if you end up dropping your positioning on the keyboard. There isn’t any different RGB lighting outdoors of the keyboard. At first look, I believed the emblem on the laptop computer’s lid was illuminated, but it surely’s simply painted in inexperienced.

IDG / Matthew Elliott

The touchpad is big. I imply, it’s completely enormous. And a pleasure to make use of. It precisely recorded my swipes, pinches and different gestures and gives a gentle click on response with the right quantity of journey. It additionally does an admirable job with palm rejection and by no means by accident moved the cursor once I was typing although it covers an unlimited swath of the wrist relaxation.

Razer Blade 16: Display, ports

The Blade 16 gives two mini-LED shows in a single. You get a local 3840 x 2400 panel with a 120Hz refresh charge and a local 1920×1200 panel with a 240Hz refresh charge. This dual-mode association enables you to play twitchy shooters at a blazing 240Hz at a 1080p decision and richly textured video games in superb 4K. You are in a position to change between the 2 modes with the Razer 

Synapse app. Switching between the 2 modes, nevertheless, requires a reboot so you possibly can’t change forwards and backwards with out stopping what you’re doing, closing all of your open apps, and restarting the machine.

IDG / Matthew Elliott

Games look fabulous in both mode on the 16-inch 16:10 panel. And the additional vertical house in contrast with a widescreen 16:9 show gives added room for multitaskers to juggle a number of home windows when not gaming. And in 4K mode, the panel gives graphics execs a big, high-res canvas on which to work. The show is rated for 1,000 nits and, thus, helps HDR1000. It can also show 100 % of the DCI-P3 shade gamut. The show is actually vibrant, and colours appeared correct and vibrant, however my very own show testing with a lux meter resulted in readings a good bit decrease than the 1,000-nit score. It hit a most of 630 nits in 4K mode and 540 nits at 1080p.

It can be laughable if a $4,000+ laptop computer served up a paltry 720p webcam, however that’s not the case with the Blade 16. It includes a trendy 1080p digital camera that produces pictures and video that’s worlds higher than that of a 720p cam. It additionally includes a bodily privateness shutter so you possibly can relaxation assured nobody is peeping you when the webcam isn’t in use.

The Blade 16 additionally boasts premium audio output. The giant chassis permits room for not two however 4 audio system—two tweeters and two subs. The tweeters hearth upward from behind speaker grills that flank the keyboard, whereas the subs hearth downward from beneath all sides of the system. Their sound is dynamic; I heard separation between the highs and mids, and the bass response is surprisingly full. The Blade 16 is the uncommon laptop computer the place you don’t want headphones or an exterior speaker to take pleasure in music playback. And there’s sufficient oomph to fill a small room, and the sound stays freed from distortion at most quantity.

IDG / Matthew Elliott

The port choice covers each sorts of USB ports so that you don’t want to hold round an adapter, and one of many USB-C ports gives Thunderbolt 4 assist. There’s additionally an HDMI port, which makes for a straightforward connection to an exterior show in case you discover the Blade 16’s display screen isn’t large enough for some video games. And graphics execs will admire the inclusion of an SD card reader for straightforward knowledge transfers. Lastly, the Blade 16 gives the newest wi-fi networking requirements with Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3.

Razer Blade 16: Performance

Our Razer Blade 16  check system includes a Core i9-13950HX CPU and GeForce RTX 4090 graphics. The 13th-gen Core i9-13950HX options Intel’s hybrid structure with efficiency and effectivity cores; it has eight efficiency cores, 16 effectivity cores, and a complete of 32 processing threads. The RTX 4090 is Nvidia’s present flagship cellular GPU. The laptop computer additionally provides an ample 32GB of RAM and a roomy 2TB SSD.

The Blade 16 acquired off to a little bit of a gradual begin with testing. On PCMark 10, it trailed different high-end gaming laptops with 12th- and 13th-gen Intel Core i7 and i9 processors. Still, with a PCMark 10 rating north of 7,000, it will likely be in a position to deal with productiveness duties with out breaking a sweat.

IDG / Matthew Elliott

Our HandBrake benchmark checks how a laptop computer is ready to deal with crushing CPU masses over a prolonged interval—on this case, transcoding a 30GB MKV file to a format appropriate for Android tablets utilizing HandBrake, the free video encoding utility. The Blade 16 moved up the chart on HandBrake, besting each programs with 12th-gen Core i7 chips. It nonetheless was final amongst its 13th-gen Intel competitors.

IDG / Matthew Elliott

Next up is Cinebench, one other CPU-intensive check however one which renders a fancy 2D scene over a brief time frame. It’s not stunning that the Blade 16 bested the three programs with 12th-gen Intel processors, however we had been a bit shocked to see it path the MSI Titan GT 77 HX 13V and Asus ROG Strix G that characteristic the practically equivalent Core i9-13980HX CPU by as a lot because it did.

IDG / Matthew Elliott

Razer Blade 16: Graphics efficiency

We now get to the headlining checks that focus on the Blade 16’s RTX 4090 GPU. On 3DMark’s Time Spy and Port Royal checks, the Blade 16 posted insanely excessive scores, but it surely must be famous that each had been a step or two behind the RTX 4090-based MSI Titan GT 77.

IDG / Matthew Elliott

IDG / Matthew Elliott

On our actual world sport benchmarks, the Blade 16 did exceedingly properly. It took high honors on Shadow of the Tomb Raider. Running at 1920×1080 decision on the Highest high quality preset, the Strix G18 averaged a formidable 170 fps. That’s 10 fps higher than the MSI Titan GT 77. The Blade 16 and MSI Titan GT 77 traded spots on Metro Exodus, with the Blade 16 averaging 76 fps to the MSI’s 88 fps. Both had been clearly superior to the three laptops with RTX 3080 Ti graphics in addition to the RTX 4070-based Asus ROG Strix G18.

One final be aware on 3D graphics and gaming—the Blade 16 will get loud beneath heavy masses. Keeping thermals in verify for the high-powered Core i9 CPU and RTX 4090 requires the cooling followers to crank as much as a reasonably good degree of quantity, but it surely’s not any louder than the everyday gaming laptop computer. Thankfully, its audio system are loud sufficient to drown out the fan noise. 

IDG / Matthew Elliott

IDG / Matthew Elliott

To check a laptop computer’s battery life, we loop a 4K video utilizing Windows 11’s Movies & TV app, with the laptop computer set to Airplane mode and earbuds plugged in. We set the display screen brightness at a comparatively vibrant 250 nits to 260 nits, which is an efficient brightness for watching a film in an workplace with the lights on. The Blade 16 lasted greater than 7 hours, which might be a bit beneath common for a daily laptop computer however is excellent among the many high-powered gaming set.

IDG / Matthew Elliott

Razer Blade 16: Conclusion

Bleeding edge expertise by no means comes low cost, and the Razer Blade 16 is actually proof of that. But its $4,300 price ticket begins to look a bit extra affordable (much less unreasonable?) when you think about the equally configured MSI Titan GT 77 HX 13V prices $5,300—a cool grand greater than the Blade 16. And whereas the Blade 16 was a step behind the MSI on most of our checks, it’s nonetheless probably the most highly effective laptops we’ve ever examined whereas additionally boasting a greater design. If you’re going to spend this a lot on a gaming laptop computer, I’d argue it had higher look the half along with appearing the half. The Razer Blade 16 gives one of many coolest designs amongst gaming laptops. And the mini-LED, dual-mode show offers stellar efficiency and added versatility that will help you digest the hefty value.