Razer Blade 14 Review, Price, Specs, Battery
Razer Blade 14 Best Gaming Laptop Right Now
The Razer Blade 14 will be the go-to gaming laptop for anyone who wants a luxury gaming laptop. It's powerful enough to play any game, while beautiful enough to show off wherever you go. The thin and light chassis is just a bonus. You have to pay for the pleasure of using it though, and you won't get as much performance out of the components as you'll get anywhere else.
Pros
- Super-slim 14-inch metal build
- Beautiful chassis
- Rigid
- Thin and light
- RTX 3070 and 165Hz 1440p display in test model enables high-end gaming
Cons
- Expensive
- Lower performance than other laptops
- Steep starting price
Razer Blade 14 Review
- 8 Cores 16 Threads
- 4.6 GHz Max Boost
- 20 MB cache
- AMD Ryzen™ 9 5900HX
With the Razer Blade, Razer made portable gaming laptops a thing, and now that we're starting to see ultraportable gaming laptops like the Asus TUF Dash F15, Razer is again bringing the Razer Blade 14 to revolutionize the space. Is.
It's a 14-inch gaming laptop, and while there are plenty of 13-inch gaming laptops out there like Razer's own Blade Stealth 13 series, the name of the game here is bringing some incredible performance to a laptop that you can take wherever you go. It's easy to go.
The Razer Blade 14 we saw comes packed with an AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX, 16GB of RAM, and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080. It's not just the performance you're going to get with similar specs like the Alienware m17, but it's also half the size—and you don't lose that much performance either.
However, like any other time you're getting both portability and high power in a single package, you're going to drop a lot of cash on it. The model we're looking at today costs $2,799 (£2,799, AU$4,999). That's a lot to ask for, but it's cheaper than the Blade 15 with similar specs - although you're getting a slightly smaller and slower screen (165Hz versus 240Hz).
But while it certainly takes some use comparing the sticker tag to a larger 15-inch laptop, this is a laptop that's just 0.66 inches thick and weighs 3.92 pounds, and has plenty of thin gaming. Unlike laptops, there is nothing fancy about this laptop. No premium charged.
Razer has been touted as the "Apple of gaming laptops," a label the company certainly hasn't shied away from, and it's no different in the Blade 14. It's one of the most solid and premium-feeling laptops we've ever used. So while it's certainly pretty expensive, it feels like an expensive product, and if it's something you crave, you'll love it a lot.
| Razer Blade 14 Specification | |
|---|---|
| Laptop Class | Gaming, Ultraportable |
| Processor | Check Now |
| Processor Speed | 3.3 GHz |
| RAM | Check Now |
| Boot Drive Type | SSD |
| Boot Drive Capacity | 1 TB |
| Screen Size | 14 inches |
| Native Display Resolution | 2560 by 1440 |
| Touch Screen | No |
| Panel Technology | IPS |
| Variable Refresh Support | FreeSync |
| Screen Refresh Rate | 165 Hz |
| Graphics Processor | Check Now |
| Graphics Memory | 8 GB |
| Wireless Networking | Bluetooth, Wi-Fi 6E |
| Dimensions (HWD) | 0.66 by 12.59 by 8.66 inches |
| Weight | 3.92 lbs |
| Operating System | Windows 10 |
| Tested Battery Life (Hours: Minutes) | Check Now |
| Warranty | Yes |
Razer Blade 14 Price and availability
| Best Deals For Razer Blade 14 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Razer Blade is available starting June 14, 2021, starting at $1,799 (£1,799, AU$3,099). You'll find an AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX, 16GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD in every configuration of the laptop, but where the entry configuration differs is in the display and graphics processor. |
Starting at $1,799 (£1,799, AU$3,099) you'll get the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 and 144Hz 1080p display. You can go up to a 165Hz QHD display with the RTX 3070 for $2,199 (£2,199, AU$3,999). Or you can get the model listed on the right for $2,799 (£2,799, AU$4,999).
Especially for a Razer laptop, the starting configuration isn't such a bad deal, and the RTX 3060 is a perfect companion for that 144Hz display. And even at the high end, the RTX 3080's price for $2,799 with a QHD display this gorgeous is pretty competitive with other gaming laptops—especially when you consider the bonus for portability.
Don't get us wrong, that's still a premium price that Razer is asking you to pay, but we've seen the green-themed company ask for a lot for little in the past, and this laptop is a great one. Great deal if you're in the market for something more on the luxe side of things.
Razer Blade 14 Design
The Razer Blade 14 looks a lot like the Razer Blade 15, but, like, smaller. The laptop has the same general profile with its all-black aluminum chassis with the signature bright green Razer logo on the back. And yes, the logo lights up.
Despite the slightly smaller chassis, there are still speakers on either side of the keyboard, which again look like a MacBook. However, unlike the Blade 14, the power button isn't awkwardly placed in the middle of the speaker grille, and instead, there's a dedicated power button on the top right corner of the keyboard.
The keyboard is also pretty much the same as you'd find on any other Razer Blade, though some keys, notably the '~' and '\' keys, have been cut out, and they are now very narrow. They are not the keys we use very often, but if you need to use them frequently for some reason, be aware of them.
The chassis itself is just 0.66 inches thick, and the laptop weighs just 3.92lb. It's certainly not the lightest laptop we've used, but with the beautifully made aluminum unibody chassis, it's still quite a feat, and something you'll be able to easily carry around in your backpack.
Some of the novelty is lost in the lightweight build, however, when you look at the power brick. Because of the power of the Razer Blade 14, you can't get away with USB-C charging like a lot of ultraportable laptops. That means there's a charging brick, and while it's definitely on the lighter side, it still adds to the bulk you'll have to deal with. You can still get power from USB-C, but it won't be enough to keep up with the power draw while gaming.
And while this is an incredibly thin gaming laptop, there are still plenty of ports available. There's a USB 3.2 Gen 2 C port as well as a USB-A port on both the left and right sides of the laptop. There's also an HDMI port and Kensington lock on the right side of the laptop. Then, on the left, you have the dedicated charging port and a combo 3.5mm audio jack. In a laptop, this portable, having so many ports available is a win, and most people don't have to drag around a dongle.
You can even upgrade the Razer Blade 14 yourself - up to a point. SSD and Wi-Fi cards are both readily available, but RAM is not. Perhaps the loss of the laptop shrinking so much in size, but it's still a shame. To open the case, there are only 10 Torx screws, and then all you need to do is pry out from under the panel. We had to use a tool to remove it, but your mileage may vary.
All this combined to make a gaming laptop that is not only portable but extremely comfortable to use. The keyboard, while some parts have been scaled down, is very comfortable with just the right amount of key travel and spacing. Some gamers may want to go with a mechanical keyboard instead, but, again, there are a lot of ports.
Razer knocks the trackpad out of the park too, which is no big surprise. Tracking is accurate, and it feels good to the touch. And clicking is satisfying and tactile without feeling wobbly like some other Windows laptops do. Again, you're probably going to be using a dedicated gaming mouse instead of a trackpad when gaming, but when you're only working side by side, it's nice to have a trackpad that doesn't suck.
However, the special thing here is the display. Razer keeps getting better and better at laptop displays, and the Blade 14 is one of the most beautiful gaming laptop displays on the market right now. Very fast refresh rate displays will usually cut corners when it comes to color accuracy or brightness, you're getting a full 111% coverage of the sRGB spectrum, as well as an average brightness of 332 nits.
It's not a MacBook Pro display, but when it comes to gaming laptops, it's probably the closest you'll get, while still getting a speedy 165Hz refresh rate.
Razer Blade 14 Performance
Because the Razer Blade 14 is so thin, some compromises just had to be made. While the model tested here has the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080, it's far from the fastest version of that GPU in today's laptops.
That's because the RTX 3080 in this laptop is configured for a maximum of 100W of power, rather than the full 165W that, however, the Alienware m17 R4 can do. In practice, that means the Razer Blade 14 is about 30% slower at games than the Alienware M17, with Razer's ultraportable Metro Exodus at 1080p and a full 34% slower at Ultra settings.
Of course, the Razer Blade 14 is much smaller than the Alienware M17, so it's not that surprising that you're not going to get the full amount of horsepower out of it. But you should be aware of this, as both of these laptops have the RTX 3080, but they are certainly not the same and have completely different power profiles.
Luckily, the Razer Blade 14 also has an AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX, and it's as powerful as ever. With this CPU, the Blade 14 completely wipes the floor with the Alienware M17, Cinebench R23 with 11,690 points, and Alienware's 8,992 points. This makes the Razer Blade 14 a great fit for any creative professional on the road, as it'll be able to easily keep up with whatever Adobe projects you throw at it – we only wish you could add more RAM to a laptop.
Don't take this to mean that the Razer Blade 14 isn't powerful enough. While you won't get the full power of the RTX 3080 with this laptop, it's still incredibly powerful for a small device. We are still able to play all the games we usually play on it and with over 60 FPS. You just need to realize that you are giving up a bit of performance for the lightweight design.
Razer Blade 14 Camera and microphone
The Razer Blade 14's camera is decent enough, but it's not going to turn away stream viewers or anything. It's 720p and supports Windows Hello, but it's a bit blurry. We also find that the camera lags behind the mic in video calls.
Mike himself is great. Our voice is loud and clear, and you can call anyone without the mic raising their voice. It's still no substitute for having a PC gaming headset on hand, but for those quick Zoom calls, you can't go wrong.
Razer Blade 14 Battery
While there are plenty of gaming laptops that are starting to break the 8-hour battery life barrier, the Razer Blade 14 isn't one of them. In the PCMark10 battery test, which simulates a bunch of real-life workloads like word processing and video calls, the Razer Blade 14 lasted 7 hours and 31 minutes. It lasted even less in our video playback test, where it dies after 6 hours and 31 minutes.
It's certainly not bad for a gaming laptop, it wasn't that long ago that you could only expect 3 hours if you were lucky. But considering how portable the Razer Blade 14 is, you'll want to use it away from the charger. You'll still be able to get some work done, but you'll still need to pack a charger with you.
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