Razer Blade 18 review: A pricey behemoth of a gaming laptop

Price When Reviewed

4499.99

Best Prices Today: Razer Blade 18

Razer has joined the 18-inch behemoth membership with the enormous Razer Blade 18 gaming laptop computer, whose main market goes to be players looking for a desktop alternative highly effective sufficient to get near-to desktop efficiency, however cellular sufficient to tackle the highway.

As one would anticipate, it’s a premium providing, with a few of its many deserves together with a stupendous 18-inch QHD+ show with a 240Hz refresh charge, distinctive collection of ports, very respectable upgradability, and a classy, strong design that shares all of the hallmarks of its smaller equally well-made siblings.

Despite these wins, this configuration of the Blade 18 proved a tad undercooked within the efficiency division in contrast with some rivals which can be additionally quite a bit cheaper. Consequently, it’s doubtless not one of the best worth possibility cash should buy proper now.

Looking for extra choices? Check out PCWorld’s roundup of the best gaming laptops accessible proper now.

Razer Blade 18: Specifications and options

On Razer’s web site you’ll discover Razer Blade fashions on the market with both an Intel Core i9-13950HX or Intel Core i9-13980HX. The former could be paired together with your selection of Nvidia RTX 40 collection video card, SSD storage unit and RAM, with costs beginning at $2,899.99 for essentially the most inexpensive mannequin. There’s just one mannequin you possibly can select with a Core i9-13980HX. It comes with an RTX 4090 GPU, 2TB SSD storage and 64GB of RAM as normal, and has a price ticket of $4,999.99.

If you’re on a funds however nonetheless need a top-of-the-line RTX 4090 GPU, you’ll save $500 if you happen to select the Core i9–13950HX configuration (my overview unit’s configuration) with prices $4,499.99. That’s assuming you don’t discover a higher deal on an 18-inch gaming laptop computer with related specs elsewhere – which you’ll be able to at present do.

For instance, you possibly can at present get an Asus ROG Strix G18 with 13th Gen Intel Core i9-13980HX processor and RTX 4080 GPU for $2,499.99 from Best Buy. Our benchmarking reveals this laptop computer is an actual efficiency dynamo too – even regardless of the step-down GPU.

That doesn’t essentially low cost the Blade 18 as one of the best laptop computer for you. Its distinctive construct high quality, I/O choices and upgradability are all very fascinating options. But it’s worthwhile realizing that – proper now anyway – your greenback could go additional if you happen to go searching. The specs of our overview unit are as follows:

• CPU: Intel Core i9-13950HX
• RAM: 32GB DDR5 / 5600 MHz
• GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090
• Display: 18-inch, QHD+ (2560 x 1600), 240Hz refresh charge, 16:10 facet ratio, 100 % DCI-P3 coloration, 3ms response time, G-Sync
• Storage: 2 x 1TB PCIe Gen 4 SSD
• Ports: 3 x USB-A 3.2 Gen 2, Thunderbolt 4, USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 (helps DisplayPort and energy supply), HDMI 2.1, RJ45 Ethernet port
• Networking: Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax), Bluetooth 5.3
• Weight: 6.80lbs (3.10kg)
• Dimensions: 0.86 x 10.84 x 15.74 inches
• Battery capability: 91Whr
• Price: $4,499.99 at Razer

Razer Blade 18: Design and construct

I could as properly handle the elephant within the room straight away… final 12 months’s Razer Blade 17 was sufficiently big for me. With a stunning 17-inch show, a big spacious and gorgeous keyboard, and chassis that I might slip right into a backpack, why would I want something larger? Well, Razer thinks I do, therefore this 12 months’s much more gigantic desktop alternative, which doesn’t dwarf the Blade 17 however could be giant sufficient to have its measure in a wrestling match or two, one thing I discovered myself really doing with it.

That final remark was somewhat unfair. But severely, its sheer largeness did make it fairly cumbersome at instances. It measures 0.86 x 10.84 x 15.74 inches to the Blade 17’s 0.78 x 10.24 x 15.55 inches, a measurement differential that made the Blade 18 somewhat extra awkward to perch on my lap or carry round the home. It’s for sure essentially the most desktop-bound laptop computer I’ve ever used.

Indeed, if you happen to do occur to be balancing it in your lap and tip it to at least one aspect, you’d higher hope you’ve received a beanbag or tower of pillows to catch your fall, as a result of it’s additionally very heavy. Again, not drastically greater than the Blade 17, it weighs 6.80 kilos to the Blade 17’s 6.6 kilos, however the weight enhance has type of pushed it to the higher restrict of what a laptop computer ought to weigh.

Dominic Bayley / IDG

Those little nit-picks coated, lets focus on its deserves, of which it has many. First and foremost is its wondrous show which in each means is much more spectacular than the Blade 17 or the Asus ROG Strix G18 for that matter. It’s not solely extraordinarily giant however the entire panel comes framed up with amazingly skinny 4.6 mm bezels. It additionally towered above my 15.6-inch work laptop computer, it’s tall 16:10 ratio panel offering a visible feast actually price savoring.

Its upgradability is one other win. Razer has put a number of thought into the way you would possibly really wish to use it like a desktop laptop computer. Hence contained in the chassis you’ll discover two slots for RAM expandable to a most 64GB DDR5-5200MHz whereas two open M.2 NVMe spots mean you can improve to a most of 8TB twin sided SSD, so you possibly can actually max storage out, cash allowing.

The cooling system is tailor made too, with a specifically made vapor chamber that’s larger than any Razer forebear. This works constantly with a three-fan system that sounds remarkably quiet, even when AAA video games are pushing the {hardware}’s higher limits.

The laptop computer’s styling additionally reveals an unlimited quantity of aptitude and class, as I’ve come to anticipate from Razer laptops. The slick anodized black exterior feels exceptionally easy, and the anti-fingerprint coating works a deal with dulling your fingerprints in order that your system doesn’t find yourself trying like a farcical polka-dotted accent after taking part in.

That traditional razer styling is backed by a decent robustness. The complete chassis has been CNC-milled from a single slab of aluminum and it actually reveals – the hinges are tight and unyielding, and the bottom is as laborious as a rock. In reality, right here, if ever there was one, is a laptop computer that may take any variety of bangs, scratches and wallops and can rise up repeatedly with out breaking.

Razer Blade 18: Keyboard and trackpad

Like the Razer Blade 17, Razer has opted to not construct the keyboard out to the total periphery of the laptop computer’s chassis, leaving loads of house for generous-sized speaker grilles both aspect. While that appeared like a misplaced alternative within the Razer Blade 17, the place the keyboard felt a bit cramped, within the Razer Blade 18 it actually works to make all the pieces match properly. Indeed, the bigger sized keyboard is ideally proportioned, and the virtually dime-sized keys really feel practically not possible to overlook hit.

The key response can be balanced, being neither too mushy nor bouncy, regardless of the keys having fairly a low vertical journey. The per-key backlighting seems good too – it flashes inexperienced on start-up tantalizing you with all the probabilities you need to personalize the lighting results and colours in Razer’s Synapse 3 software program.

Dominic Bayley / IDG

That mentioned, the format is sort of conservative. For one there’s no media keys to talk of, which we’ve seen currently in some rivals. Personally, I might have simply put up with smaller keys only for a set of devoted media controls or shortcuts to handle my audio.

Still, you do get larger-sized arrow keys than within the Blade 17, so that you’re now quite a bit much less more likely to accidently hit Right Shift. This is a really welcome change. The Microsoft precision trackpad can be top-notch in each means, because it’s spacious, easy, and responsive.

Razer Blade 18: Connectivity and audio

The Razer Blade 18’s beneficiant I/O choices simply accommodated my must-have gadgets. I made brief use of the three USB-A ports (that’s another than you get within the Asus ROG Strix G18) for devices like my Wi-Fi speaker, gaming mouse and a full-sized keyboard, however I nonetheless had a USB-C port and Thunderbolt 4 port free for my exterior SSD and smartphone.

On high of that, the HDMI 2.1 and Ethernet ports made my LAN gaming periods significantly simpler. They helped reduce out among the toing and froing that occurs between associates earlier than video games begin. For my half, I might merely simply say: I’ve received all of the ports, so simply hook me up!

The Razer Blade 18 additionally will get a thumbs up for its Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 wi-fi connectivity, each these options are like a modern-day gauge for the way properly a premium laptop computer can deal with the built-in connectivity calls for and velocity necessities players want to actually be aggressive. Consequently, it was good to know the Blade 18 had my again with these issues.

On the audio entrance, the Razer Blade 18 can muster a commendable sound. In reality, its six audio system (consisting of two tweeter and 4 woofers) produce a way more pure sound than you’ll discover in most different laptops. To that finish, you possibly can get pleasure from some very respectable music, complemented properly with clear mid tones, but in addition bass notes and highs that keep true, even at greater quantity ranges.

Razer Blade 18: Display and webcam

All Blade 18 fashions include a QHD+ (2560 x 1600) show with a 240Hz refresh charge. While followers of 4K could also be delay by the dearth of a 4K possibility right here, they actually shouldn’t be. It’s a premium characteristic that delivers the proper steadiness between detailed visuals and body charges quick sufficient to maintain you aggressive.

Besides that, the show simply seems spectacular. Notwithstanding its huge measurement, which is memorable sufficient, nearly each sport I ran on it, Sniper Elite 5 and Green Hell included, all seemed like they’d had graphics upgrades.

While movies and animations seem eminently easy, the colours and darks in these shifting photographs additionally look fabulous on the IPS-grade panel. The show’s peak brightness stage of 500 nits actually does justice to how properly the colours pop in stationary photographs, too. Although creators should wish to search out a laptop computer with 1,000 nits show for skilled design work or picture enhancing, by which they’re more likely to see much more good colours.

Dominic Bayley / IDG

A 5MP webcam sits atop the show, which total, does an honest job with each video and audio. You gained’t get the type of photographs you’d anticipate from a Full High-Definition digicam, nonetheless, and I did witness some glitching on a couple of event. Still for a gaming laptop computer it’s completely respectable for easy gamer chats.

Razer Blade 18: CPU efficiency

Having already reviewed a detailed 18-inch competitor, the Asus ROG Strix G18, the query begged: Could the Razer outperform this efficiency juggernaut? A great deal of testing aimed to seek out out simply that and the outcome was type of stunning.

Consequently, I sized up my Razer Blade’s Core i9-13950HX CPU in opposition to these from the Strix but in addition from one other 18-inch behemoth, the MSI Titan GT77. These are each robust performers, every packing Intel i9-13980HX processors, the marginally zippier cousin to my laptop computer’s CPU. For the precise benchmarking, I ran two normal checks, Maxon Cinebench’s Multi-Threaded benchmark and a bespoke check that utilized the free HandBrake utility.

In the Cinebench benchmark, the Razer Blade 18 positioned third, significantly behind its two 18-inch rivals. Even so, this outcome proves its suitability for a spread of CPU-intensive duties like AAA gaming and video enhancing or encoding. Although, it should be mentioned… it’s clearly no match for the Strix or the Titan in terms of such duties, each laptops virtually doubling the Blade 18’s rating.

Dominic Bayley / IDG

The results of the HandBrake check is even much less flattering. This CPU-intensive check is sort of a dash to the end line exhibiting how properly our laptop computer can hold thermals in test earlier than it must throttle efficiency. While the Blade 18 dealt with this job with satisfactory efficiency, as soon as once more it was severely outclassed by each of its most important opponents, in addition to a subject of older and fewer highly effective laptops.

Dominic Bayley / IDG

What do these outcomes imply? Put merely, they suggest the Razer Blade 18’s CPU efficiency, at the least on this configuration, is somewhat off the tempo of the place it needs to be. While some efficiency differential was to be anticipated between our laptop computer and the i9-13980HX carrying 18-inch rivals, it actually ought to have wiped the ground with nearly all of the older laptops within the subject.

As I discussed earlier, you can purchase the Blade 18 with a extra highly effective i9-13980HX CPU, which though we didn’t get to check it out this time could have carried out higher. But doing so will value an additional $500. Considering this mannequin with an i9-13950HX and an RTX 4090 already prices an arm and a leg, any further value is sufficient to make even the hardest players wince.

Razer Blade 18: Gaming efficiency

As properly as packing the highest of the road Nvidia cellular RTX 4090 GPU in my overview unit, Razer has tuned its Total Graphics Power (TGP) to the utmost 175-watt charge, which made me very eager to see simply what it was able to.

I’ve been fortunate sufficient to witness the uncooked energy of the RTX 4090 in fairly a couple of laptops this 12 months and there’s no doubting its prowess. With 76 ray-tracing cores being one among its gun options, it’s undoubtedly a dream card for players with pockets deep sufficient to get one and completely appropriate for the newest AAA video games. Accordingly, right here I used to be extra involved about getting a way of how properly the GPU might carry out within the Razer Blade 18 than proving its efficiency chops.

To that finish, I ran the 3DMark Time Spy benchmark. As you possibly can see within the graph under, the Razer Blade 18 trailed the Strix and Titan within the Overall rating class. However, it nonetheless outperformed a handful of laptops with older Nvidia RTX 30 Series GPUs. This outcome proves the Razer’s GPU is extremely adept at dealing with essentially the most demanding graphical duties.

Dominic Bayley / IDG

Let’s transfer into the gaming benchmarks. During the Shadow of the Tomb Raider benchmark, the Razer Blade 18 fared considerably higher, this time defeating the MSI Titan, however putting barely behind the Strix G18. Its rating of 179 frames per second is respectable.

Dominic Bayley / IDG

Our Rise of the Tomb Raider gaming benchmark result’s in line with the above outcome. Here, the Razer Blade 18 outclassed the MSI Titan but once more however couldn’t fairly sustain with the Strix G18’s tempo.

Dominic Bayley / IDG

There’s no denying what we see right here is mighty GPU efficiency and body charges that any self-respecting gamer can be pleased to have. The large query is… are you able to get higher efficiency elsewhere and at a less expensive worth? Unfortunately, the reply to that’s… sure. As talked about earlier, one instance is the Strix G18 highlighted in our efficiency graphs, which prices simply $2,499.99. That’s a whopping $2,000 cheaper.

Even if the Razer is the superior possibility in terms of construct high quality, a worth differential like that’s laborious to withstand. That’s the largest letdown with the Blade 18. It’s not that the efficiency is all that unhealthy, however that the worth simply doesn’t match efficiency expectations, that are at all times excessive for desktop replacements for apparent causes.

Razer Blade 18: Battery efficiency

To check the battery, we ran a 4K Hollywood film set to repeat with the sound switched right down to 50 % and an inexpensive pair of headphones plugged in to handle the noise. Wi-Fi was switched to Airplane Mode whereas the keyboard backlighting was disabled for consistency with our different checks. The generated graph reveals the time the 91 WHr battery ran out of juice, which was roughly six hours.

Dominic Bayley / IDG

That’s a reasonably common outcome. You can anticipate simply three hours from the Blade 18 if you happen to’re gaming unplugged after charging the laptop computer to full capability. That’s roughly half the time of the Asus TUF Gaming A16, whose distinctive battery life is nearer to what you’d anticipate a productiveness laptop computer to have.

Razer Blade 18: Should you purchase it?

The Blade 18 allows you to personalize your construct from the get-go, benefit from the newest high-end visuals on an enormous and beautiful 18-inch 16:10 show, and offers you the choice to improve elements of your rig down the observe. Yet, regardless the professionals, one large issue is tough to miss. Despite its high-end {hardware}, our efficiency outcomes present it to be somewhat beneath cooked for the worth being requested, which is $4,499.99. Consequently, when you have the cash to shell out for the mannequin with the zippier Intel i9-13980HX processor, you’re more likely to get extra bang for buck from that. Otherwise, it’s best to in all probability go searching for a greater deal.