Razer Blade 17 review: This ultra-luxe gaming laptop can replace your desktop

Price When Reviewed

$3,999

Best Prices Today: Razer Blade 17 (2022)

$3,999.99

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$3999.99

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The Razer Blade 17 seems similar to the Razer Blade 17 (2021), however advantages from a spate of refreshed {hardware} options, together with a sooner 12th-gen Intel Core i7 processor and souped-up RTX 3080 Ti GPU that collectively ship spectacular energy. The newest model additionally has a beneficiant port choice that any gamer can be pleased to have.

What’s extra, it excels within the all-important show division, delivering large ticks for video and picture high quality, together with coloration, distinction. and visible readability. Although it lacks first rate battery life and is kind of dear, general it’s a formidable laptop computer that delivers a close-to-desktop gaming expertise that’s a reduce above many rivals.

Razer Blade 17 specs

The 2022 Razer Blade 17 is on the market in a few completely different configurations. The highest tier consists of the Intel Core i9-12900H processor and GeForce RTX 3080 Ti GPU, with costs beginning at $2,699.99. Our evaluation unit’s specs are as follows and prices $3,999:

• CPU: Intel Core i7-12800H
• RAM: 32GB DDR5/4800MHz
• GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti
• Display: 17.3 QHD (2560×1440), non-touch, 240Hz refresh charge, G-Sync, DCI-P3 100%
• Storage: 1TB PCle Gen4 NVMe strong state drive
• Ports: 3 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 (15W energy supply), 2 x Thunderbolt 4 USB-C Ethernet port, HDMI 2.1, SD card reader, 3.5mm Combo Jack
• Networking: Wi-Fi 6E 802.11ax, Bluetooth 5.2
• Dimensions: 0.78 x 10.24 x 15.55 inches
• Weight: 6.06 lbs
• Color: Black
• Battery capability: 82WHr
• Price: $3,999.99 at Razer

Design and construct

When one thing has been fine-tuned to close perfection, why would you alter something? That about sums up why we predict the Razer Blade 17’s design is generally the identical as final yr’s, bar just a few small upgrades that add to the laptop computer’s enchantment.

Those upgrades embody greater keycaps for extra comfy typing and laser-cut speaker grilles that change the extra inset ones within the 2021 Razer Blade 17’s chassis. These mix with extra substantial {hardware} upgrades – 12th era CPUs for all new 2022 configurations and, in our evaluation unit, an upgraded RTX 3080 Ti GPU and 32GB DDR5 RAM – so props to Razer for including helpful upgrades over merely aesthetic ones.

We’re glad to see the T6 CNC aluminum chassis return this yr. We’re informed it’s milled from a single block of aluminum for sturdiness and, as such, it feels remarkably inflexible and durable with barely any give across the keyboard and trackpad. That’s not sudden in a laptop computer of this caliber but the durability extends to its 16:9 4K show which has nearly no flex. The hinges are additionally extraordinarily agency, permitting the highest to remain open a mere inch from the bottom.

IDG / Adam Patrick Murray

Admittedly, all that steel makes the Razer Blade 17 fairly heavy – it weighs a whopping 6.06 kilos. The sizeable 280W GaN energy brick, regardless of having a smaller footprint than the 2021 one, is hefty, weighing 1.54 kilos. Consequently, you gained’t wish to be hauling this laptop computer round too typically. If it’s important to, its 0.78 x 10.24 x 15.55 inches matches snugly into a standard sized backpack.

Although massive in stature, the Razer Blade 17 isn’t flashy. Minimalist styling all through guarantees that nothing will distract you from gaming. The most hanging two options are the fluorescent Razer emblem on the highest cowl adopted by the per-key lit Razer Chroma backlighting that brilliantly lights up the keyboard while you kind and intelligently switches itself off while you cease. A barely seen black on black Razer emblem additionally sits on the decrease bezel like an engraving.

IDG / Adam Patrick Murray

Unlike some earlier Razer Blade 17 iterations, this yr’s mannequin is completed in a fingerprint resistant coating. While it doesn’t fully stop prints, it does cut back them to only boring smudges, liberating you from consistently having to wipe your laptop computer down.

Keyboard and trackpad

The Razer Blade 17’s keyboard, which is hemmed in by the audio system both aspect, doesn’t actually make full use of the ample chassis house obtainable. Accordingly, it lacks the important thing choice you’ll discover in some 17-inch gaming laptops whose keyboards extra intently resemble their full-sized desktop counterparts. For instance, there’s no right-side numpad. Those hoping for full-sized arrow keys should make do with half-sized ones too.

IDG / Dominic Bayley

That gained’t be to everybody’s style but it could have the impact of simplifying your gameplay. There’s additionally sufficient variation to maintain you aggressive in video games; you continue to get left and proper shift, ctrl and fn keys, in addition to F1 to F10 and quantity keys alongside the highest. Plus, what the Blade 17 lacks in key choice it makes up for with generously sized keycaps that present loads of width on your fingers. The keys are clicky and responsive, too.

The centrally situated precision trackpad scores factors for being one of many quickest I’ve used. It responded very effectively in video games, permitting my fingers to slip rapidly and effortlessly throughout its floor. It additionally seems completely proportioned.

Display

Although Razer’s line-up features a configuration with the next decision UHD show and slower 144Hz refresh charge, our unit’s 240Hz QHD panel felt just like the one you’d need for beautiful visuals at first rate framerates. The show, which covers 100 % of the DCI-P3 coloration gamut, at all times regarded wonderful with vibrant wealthy colours, wonderful distinction, and sharp element, no matter whether or not I used to be watching movies or gaming.

IDG / Dominic Bayley

Had it been a 144Hz refresh charge, I believe it could have struggled to maintain up at this decision. However, 240Hz was fast sufficient to ship video easily, even when issues sped up on display. Smoothness in video games is helped alongside by Nvidia G-Sync, which matches the show’s framerate to the GPU’s.

The one weak spot of an in any other case wonderful show is its lack of brightness, which measured solely 300 nits by my Lux meter. Still, in case you hold it set to 92 % brightness in Windows, it by no means seems too darkish. The show additionally handles direct daylight very effectively because of an anti-glare coating.

Webcam and audio

The Razer Blade 17 comes with a 1080p Windows Hello webcam slightly than a 720p one. That’s fairly a rarity for gaming laptops. I discovered it produced pictures with first rate whites and colours, though pictures will nonetheless present up a little bit grainy in darkish rooms.

Launching just a few video games allowed me to check the Razer Blade 17’s audio, which was crisp and clear. The quantity ranges are additionally fairly first rate and might refill the room. This laptop computer packs in 8 audio system all up, together with 4 tweeters and 4 subwoofers. This spectacular contingent additionally produces noticeable bass that you simply’d be arduous pressed to listen to in different laptops.

Connectivity

The beneficiant number of ports flanking the Blade 17, which incorporates 3 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports and a couple of x Thunderbolt 4 ports, assist you to plug in nearly all of your gadgets at one time. Of course, the great thing about that’s with the suitable enter gadgets, you may setup your Blade 17 like a desktop with a wired mouse and keyboard for low latency gaming.

IDG / Adam Patrick Murray

The Razer Blade’s Thunderbolt 4 ports ought to show helpful for each players and creatives alike since they assist you to join up a number of 4K or 8K exterior shows. They present sooner information switch charges (as much as 40Gbps), which is beneficial for rapidly loading up massive information. At the top of the day, which means much less laborious ready time.

IDG / Adam Patrick Murray

The Razer Blade 17’s Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 additionally locations it among the many quickest laptops for 2022 for wi-fi connectivity.

Performance

As we evaluation extra laptops with 12th era Intel CPUs, the true energy of those processors comes more and more into focus. Our evaluation unit, with its Intel Core i7-12800H processor, clearly demonstrates this. It proved too highly effective for many of our older comparability laptops’ CPUs. We say most as a result of three of our comparisons had comparably highly effective subsequent gen {hardware}.

Our chosen line-up consisted of primarily laptops with CPUs able to offering the type of processing energy you’d anticipate in high-end gaming laptops. These included 2022 releases such because the MSI GF76 Raider with its mighty Core i9-12900HK CPU and the Gigabyte Aorus with a Core i7-12700H CPU.

The area additionally included a few of final yr’s finest, together with the 17-inch Asus ROG Zephyrus S17, which packs an 11th gen Intel Core i9-11900H CPU and the Asus ROG Strix G15 Advantage Edition, powered by an AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX processor.

IDG / Dominic Bayley

First up, we ran Maxon’s Cinebench R20 benchmarks, which measure CPU efficiency. In the Cinebench multi-threaded benchmark, a check of all of the cores of our laptop computer’s processor, the Razer Blade 17 ranked third in our comparability line-up displaying it has ample CPU energy for high-end gaming and CPU demanding duties like video modifying or encoding.

IDG / Dominic Bayley

The Razer Blade 17 scored a formidable 691 within the Cinebench single-threaded benchmark, which assessments only one core of our laptop computer’s CPU. This consequence positions the Blade as one of the crucial succesful amongst our comparisons for working on a regular basis packages and apps.

IDG / Dominic Bayley

Our Razer Blade 17 proved equally succesful in our subsequent benchmark that makes use of the free HandBrake 0.9.9 utility. This check includes encoding a 30GB 1080p MKV file to MP4 and gauges our evaluation laptop computer’s skill to chill down earlier than it must throttle efficiency. The Blade positioned behind two different laptops with 12th era processors—the MSI GE76 Raider and Gigabyte Aorus—however completed the check forward of the Asus ROG Strix G15 Advantage Edition and Asus ROG Zephyrus S17.

Overall, the Blade has the muscle to energy by means of nearly any activity you’d want it for. If you’re not sure about upgrading to a laptop computer like this one with 12th gen Intel processor, these outcomes could allow you to determine. They present the Blade’s i7-12800H CPU does have an edge over laptops with older processors—even these with snappy i9s or AMD Ryzen 5000 collection CPUs, proving the efficacy of the brand new era of sooner Intel processors.

It’s price noting that among the laptops that fell by the wayside held prime place on the high of our efficiency spreadsheets in 2021. Laptops just like the Asus ROG Strix G15 Advantage Edition now sit a lot decrease down the listing.

Gaming efficiency

Our Razer Blade 17 sports activities a GeForce RTX 3080 Ti GPU set to 165 Total Graphics Power (TPG). This is an improve from the GeForce RTX 3080 set at 130 TGP in that very same configuration final yr, and it places an additional 1280 Nvidia CUDA Cores, 40 Tensor Cores, and 10 Ray Tracing Cores on the Blade’s disposal. Our gaming benchmark outcomes under present it was a wonderful performer, serving to our unit obtain a spot among the many vanguard of gaming laptops in Q2 2022.

IDG / Dominic Bayley

In the Metro Exodus benchmark, the Razer Blade 17 managed a formidable 53 common frames-per-second (fps). This rating was solely 3 fps slower than the MSI GE76 Raider and the 17-inch Asus ROG Zephyrus S17, each of which function speedy Intel Core i9 CPUs.

IDG / Dominic Bayley

Looking now on the chart for the Rise of the Tomb Raider benchmark, the Razer Blade 17 clocked a formidable 158 fps – the second highest rating. That’s 56 % greater than the Asus ROG Strix Advantage Edition, which, up till lately, was considered one of our highest scorers on this benchmark.

Battery life

Rather than fixing that age outdated conundrum of the way to get a protracted battery life out of a gaming laptop computer of this dimension, the Razer Blade 17’s battery life is sorely missing. In our battery check, which runs the laptop computer down from 100 % to standby by taking part in a 4K video on repeat, the Blade’s 82WHr battery lasted simply shy of 5 hours. That’s even with Nvidia’s Advanced Optimus know-how being switched on – a function recognized to increase a laptop computer’s battery life.

IDG / Dominic Bayley

Unfortunately, which means you’d be fortunate to get greater than two and a half hours gaming time while you’re not linked to an influence outlet – which is a little bit disappointing.

Conclusion

The Razer Blade 17 is impeccably designed and durable. Its highly effective 12th era processor and GeForce RTX 3080 Ti GPU carry out brilliantly in video games. Although battery life is tardy and the laptop computer is kind of costly, a string of different premium attributes like its beautiful 240Hz QHD show place it among the many finest 17-inch gaming laptops cash should purchase.