Razer Blade 14 audio
The Blade 14’s top-firing speakers get surprisingly loud for such a small system. Sebastian Mikael’s “Last Night” filled my smallish living room/dining room space. Finer details like the staccato claps were clean against the strong synth keyboard carrying the track. Mikael’s rich tenor floated against the track while rapper Wale’s brash added some punch. The bassline was rather weak, but I wasn’t really expecting much from such a tiny notebook, powerful specs or not.
(Image credit: Future)
Razer preinstalled the THX Spatial Audio for PC software on the Blade 14, which as the name suggests, creates the illusion of 360-audio. It works fine but when listening to music, I preferred using the Stereo mode with the Music preset because Spatial diffused the tracks too much for my tastes. Now, for certain genres of games like FPS, Spatial comes in handy as you can better hear encroaching footsteps.
When I played Control, I switched over to Spatial on the Game preset which made the Hiss’ nonsensical babble sound even creepier. And the whoosh sound that comes when I heft a heavy object up via telekinesis was oh-so-satisfying as was the Shatter version of the Service Weapon.
Display: Razer Blade 14 has a better display for gamers
While both laptops are rocking a 14-inch display, the Razer Blade 14 gives more options. We’re looking at two options — a 14-inch 1080p panel with 144Hz refresh rate and a QHD panel 165Hz refresh rate. The ROG Zephyrus G14, on the other hand, only offers one option — a WQXGA (2560 x 1600) with a 120Hz refresh rate. The 14-inch panel on the ASUS laptop, however, is a 16:10 display, which means you’ll get more vertical screen real-estate. If you are a gamer, then we think the Razer Blade 14 is arguably the better pick here. But if you are a content creator or just a casual user with basic gaming needs, then we think the ASUS’ Pantone validated display should be good.
Not only are you getting two options to choose from, but they both also have higher refresh rate support than the Zephyrus G14’s 120Hz panel. Not to mention, the Ryzen 9 6900HX paired with a powerful GPU like the RTX 3080 Ti is perfectly capable of pushing games high refresh rates, so keep that in mind. We can’t comment on the quality of the panels in use since we haven’t tested them ourselves, but we think ASUS could’ve at least given an option to pick a higher refresh rate panel. Both laptops offer a webcam on top of the display, so that’s good.
One thing we wanted to point out in the display section is the fact that the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 comes with a MUX Switch which can be used to change the connection between the dGPU and the display. We’re now seeing MUX Switch on a lot of modern gaming laptops, so it’s a nice addition from ASUS.
Razer Core V2
Наряду с новым Blade Stealth Razer также запустил новое внешнее графическое приложение Core V2. Razer активно продает Core в сочетании с Blade Stealth как лучшее решение для игр на дому и мобильность на ходу, и эта новая версия пытается решить некоторые проблемы с первой итерацией.
Как и его предшественник, Razer Core V2 представляет собой пустой внешний графический корпус; другими словами, вам нужно будет приобрести графическую карту отдельно. Это немного отличается от игровых ящиков Aorus, которые мы рассмотрели ранее, включая их собственные графические процессоры, однако не установленный GPU-подход Core V2 позволяет вам покупать любой графический процессор, соответствующий вашему бюджету, или вы даже можете установить запасную графическую карту.
Core V2 подключается к ноутбукам через Thunderbolt 3, как и большинство eGPU, и он не ограничивается только ноутбуками Razer. Несмотря на рекламу на своем веб-сайте, Core V2 действительно работает с большинством ноутбуков Thunderbolt 3, оснащенных поддержкой eGPU. Те, у кого есть ноутбуки Razer, могут успокоиться, что любой современный ноутбук Razer с Thunderbolt 3, как известно, работает.
Поскольку это новая версия, давайте рассмотрим различия между Razer Core V2 и его предшественником, которые запустили несколько лет назад. Ключевым изменением является переход к контроллеру Dual Thunderbolt 3, который видит разъем PCIe для видеокарты, подключенной к одному контроллеру, в то время как порты USB и гнездо Ethernet получают отдельный контроллер. Оба контроллера в конечном итоге попадают в один поток Thunderbolt 3 и кабель, но Razer утверждает, что настройка с двумя контроллерами позволяет всем функционировать более надежно, чем в прошлом.
Внутренности корпуса также были переработаны так, что Core V2 теперь совместим с большим количеством видеокарт: буквально. Область GPU больше, чем на сантиметр выше, чем в предыдущем Core, и теперь она может вмещать любой графический процессор размером менее 14,5 см, шириной 4,3 см и длиной 30 см. Я расскажу подробнее об установке процесса GPU.
Поскольку Core V2 спроектирован так, чтобы соответствовать большинству графических карт на рынке, сам блок довольно большой, по крайней мере, по сравнению с компактными игровыми коробами Aorus. Это не самый большой корпус eGPU, который я видел, но он затмевает игровой ящик как по размеру, так и по весу. Это приложение, которое вы хотите оставить на своем столе, в то время как игровой ящик можно было бы легко транспортировать, если нужно.
Качество сборки, как и первая итерация, остается выдающимся и соответствует металлическому шасси, которое Razer использует для своих ноутбуков. Самая большая секция внешней части — это единый кусок обработанного порошковым покрытием металла, и он хорошо дополняется большими ребрами и вентиляционными отверстиями вдоль большинства краев. Непрерывная интеграция этих необходимых компонентов охлаждения дает ему превосходную отделку, которую вы ожидаете от продукта Razer.
Графический процессор также имеет большое отверстие вдоль стороны, что делает Core подходящим как для воздуходувки, так и для воздухоохладителей.
Я упоминал, что у Core V2 есть подсветка RGB? Это не было бы продуктом Razer без него: есть светодиодная полоса RGB, освещающая видеокарту сбоку, а также другую полосу спереди, чтобы подкрасться к тому, что в противном случае является скрытой передней панелью.
В портах Core V2 поставляется с Thunderbolt 3 для подключения к вашему ноутбуку или другому устройству выбора, а также четырехпортовый USB 3.0-концентратор и Gigabit Ethernet. Учитывая, что у многих ультрапортативных устройств просто нет места для проводной сети, приятно получить порт Ethernet на Core.
Установка видеокарты смехотворна с новой конструкцией Core V2 и полностью бескомпромиссная. Просто откиньте ручку на спине и выдвиньте внутреннюю часть. Оттуда снимите крышку порта, слот в графическом процессоре, подключите силовые кабели (имеется поддержка до двух 8-контактных кабелей) и завинтите GPU с помощью винта с накатанной головкой. Сдвиньте внутреннюю часть внутрь, откиньте ручку, и это хорошо. Графический процессор также очень легко снимается благодаря большому рычагу.
Говоря о блоке питания, блок, включенный здесь, рассчитан на 500 Вт, а Razer поддерживает до 375 Вт мощности GPU. Теоретически вы могли бы использовать чудовищную мощность, сосавшую две карты GPU здесь, например AMD Radeon Pro Duo, хотя вам будет гораздо лучше с хорошей одной графической картой.
Из eGPU, которые я использовал, это самый элегантный и простой способ использовать графическую карту, и даже внутренняя компоновка великолепна.
Операционная система и софт
Razer Blade работает под управлением операционной системы Windows 8.1 и совсем не отягощён дополнительным софтом, что нужно отнести к его положительным сторонам. Компания предустановила на него только программу Razer Synapse 2.0, которая позволяет хранить определенные настройки фирменной техники в облаке и загружать готовые варианты конфигурации. На ноутбуке она даёт возможность настраивать клавиатурные макросы как для игр, так и для системных функций. С сайта Razer можно также скачать бесплатные программы для VoIP, эмуляции звука 7.1 для стерео наушников и ускорения работы компьютера в играх.
Razer Blade 14: Hardware and design
Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central (Image credit: Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central)
So, what’s an AMD Razer Blade actually like? Surprising nobody, it’s excellent. From the up to the Razer Blade Pro 17, there’s a unified design language and consistently outstanding build quality. If you stand back it’s impossible to tell it apart from the Blade 15 unless you have a tape measure in your hand. Or you left the Ryzen sticker on.
The key difference on the outside is the overall form factor. It’s a little bit smaller and lighter than a Blade 15 and since 14-inch gaming laptops aren’t exactly common, it already stands out from the crowd. This is an incredibly portable gaming laptop, and its compact nature is all the more mind-boggling when you take a read of the spec sheet.
The entry-level model is nice, nothing particularly earth-shattering, but what you can get inside a Razer Blade 14 is astonishing. It’s also not that hard to choose the one you want, since there are only three configurations and the biggest differentiator is the GPU. There are a couple of displays, too, with either a 144Hz 1080p panel or the one we have which is a matte 1440p 165Hz display. And it’s glorious.
Swipe to scroll horizontally
| Category | Razer Blade 14 |
|---|---|
| Operating System | Windows 10 |
| Display | 14-inch FHD 144Hz14-inch 1440p 165Hz |
| Processor | AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX8-core, 16-thread3.3GHz (4.6GHz boost) |
| Graphics | NVIDIA RTX 3060 6GBNVIDIA RTX 3070 8GBNVIDIA RTX 3080 8GB |
| Memory | 16GB DDR4 3200MHz (fixed onboard) |
| Storage | 1TB PCIe 3.0 SSD |
| Security | Windows Hello compatible IR cameraTPM 2.0 |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax)Bluetooth 5.2 |
| Ports | 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A Ports, 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C with Power Delivery and Display Port 1.4, HDMI 2.1 |
| Audio | THX Spatial Audio, 3.5mm headset |
| Battery | 61.6Wh230W Power adapter |
| Dimensions | 0.66 x 8.66 x 12.59 inches (16.8 mm x 220 mm x 319.7 mm) |
| Weight | 1.78kg (3.92 lbs) |
Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central (Image credit: Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central)
All versions of the Razer Blade 14 come with AMD’s most powerful laptop processor to date, the Ryzen 9 5900HX. With this comes 8-cores and 16-threads, with a base clock of 3.3GHz and a maximum boost up to 4.6GHz. It’s a full-fat 45W chip based on AMD’s latest 7nm Zen 3 architecture. The Ryzen 9 5900HX does of course come with integrated Radeon graphics, but you won’t be using that for what this laptop is best at.
That’s because on the graphics front NVIDIA has taken care of business. You could have the RTX 3060 or the RTX 3070, or you could have what’s inside the review unit Razer sent us, which is the RTX 3080 8GB. In a 14-inch laptop that weighs under 4lbs. Hopefully, now you’re starting to get a feel for why the fact this laptop even exists is astonishing.
Moving down to 14-inches does come with one compromise, and that’s the fixed RAM. It’s not uncommon for laptops this size to have soldered RAM, but if you’re a fan of the upgradeable nature of the Blade 15 it’s something to consider if you’re stepping down a size. The move to AMD provides another compromise, and that’s the lack of Thunderbolt 4. So you can’t use this with the .
Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central (Image credit: Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central)
You’re not left short on ports, though, with both USB-A and USB-C and perhaps surprisingly USB-C PD, meaning you can hook up a 65W USB-C power brick and charge the Blade 14. You won’t be gaming, because that thirsty NVIDIA GPU will just empty the battery before you have a chance to top it up, but if you’re out on the road and want to use the laptop for work without cranking up the RTX then it’s really handy.
Let’s also not forget that the Blade 14 weighs less than 4lbs whatever spec you go for. You can toss one with an RTX 3080 in your bag and barely even notice it. The truth is, a desktop RTX 3080 graphics card wouldn’t be far off the same weight, and you don’t even get a screen.
I also want to shout out the speaker quality. Razer’s typical upward-firing speakers flank the keyboard and they are most excellent. You would struggle to find another laptop this size with such quality and volume. Music, movies, games, all aren’t just tolerable, but enjoyable.
Don’t buy it if…
You don’t have $2,000+Ooh, look at me, I’m a Razer laptop, I look great and perform amazingly but I cost so, so much money! That’s what the Blade 14 sounds like when it taunts me in my dreams.
You need a big display
Some people simply don’t want to play triple-A games on a 14-inch display, and they’re perfectly entitled to feel that way. Consider the Blade 17, if you can afford an even more ludicrously expensive laptop.
You want a future-proof laptopWith new generations of GPU and CPUs on the way, it likely won’t be too long before this Blade 14 is yesterday’s news. You can’t upgrade the RAM, either. It’s still fantastic and should last for years, but this is definitely something you should consider.
Что внутри
Основная часть ноутбуков с весом менее 2 кг оснащается низковольтными процессорами и малопроизводительными видеокартами (если таковая вообще присутствует, а то ведь многим приходится обходиться и интегрированными в процессор чипами). К счастью, Blade 14 нехваткой производительности не страдает.
Полноценный четырёхъядерный процессор, Core i7-4702HQ Haswell, работает с частотой 2.2 ГГц с ускорением до 3.2 ГГц за счет технологии TurboBoost. Операционная система воспринимает данный процессор как восьмиядерный благодаря технологии HyperThreading, а любое энергопотребление удовлетворяется 150-ваттным блоком питания, не сильно отличающимся по размеру от 85 ватт в самых энергоёмких макбуках.
Основным графическим адаптером является GTX 765M от Nvidia. Она, как и в маках, активна только в те моменты, когда пользователь запускает трёхмерное приложение, а все остальное время за вывод изображения отвечает встроенный в процессор видеочип Intel HD Graphics 4600. GTX 765M использует 768 шейдерных процессоров и 2 Гб быстрой видеопамяти GDDR5, пусть и с неширокой шиной памяти (128 бит). И она почти в 2(!) раза мощнее GT 650M и GT 750M, установленных в двух последних поколениях MacBook Pro. Сравнивая с полноценными видеокартами, это уровень примерно GTX 560ti.
Оперативной памяти в ноутбуке 8 Гб, используются чипы DDR3-1600 в двухканальном режиме. Заменить RAM нельзя, она припаяна к материнской плате, как и в ноутбуках Apple. Даже при работе в Photoshop с двумя 4K картинками с множеством слоёв, а так же запущенным десятком фоновых программ и работой в браузере Firefox с большим количеством вкладок, мне не удалось заставить компьютер виснуть, а объём занимаемой оперативной памяти едва перевалил за 5Gb. Я не представляю, как надо использовать свой ноутбук, чтобы занять 8, 16, а тем более 32 гигабайта ОЗУ, поэтому считаю встроенный объём ОП вполне достаточным. По крайней мере на ближайшие 2 года.
Твердотельный накопитель (в моём случае объёмом 256Gb) обеспечивает достаточно хорошие скорости передачи данных (вплоть до 500 Мбайт/сек). Однако, операционная система и штатные утилиты занимают около 30Gb и рано или поздно это место закончится. При необходимости можно использовать внешний жесткий диск с интерфейсом USB 3.0. А можно докупить более ёмкий SSD накопитель. И вот тут пользователя будет ждать очень приятный сюрприз: под крышкой ноутбука, завинченной винтами Torx, скрываются целых два одинаковых разъёма mSATA для жёсткого диска. Так что обновление с 256 до 512 гигабайт обойдётся в 2 раза дешевле.
Should you buy it?
Maybe, if you really like Razer
Credit: Reviewed / Jackson Ruckar
The Razer Blade 14 can be summed up like this: If you’re drawn to its classy looks more than its performance, then this laptop is for you. I just hope you like spending money.
Razer has the science of packing tons of power into a tiny chassis down to an art. Companies like Asus, MSI, Acer, Lenovo, and others have recently swapped the traditionally bulky gamer aesthetic for designs that fit better into a work environment. (Acer’s Triton SE 300 is a great example.) But all those companies usually sacrifice something to keep the price as low as possible, whether that’s keyboard quality, battery life, or a dim and color-muted display. The Razer Blade 14 not only has the look but it also has premium extras like a fantastic keyboard and great battery life to back it up. But you’ll pay a pretty penny to get them.
If spending $2,600 on a gaming laptop is too rich for your blood, and you’re not particularly fond of Razer’s aesthetic, there are a plethora of options that will net you powerful gaming performance for hundreds of dollars less. The Asus ROG Strix G15 with a last-gen Ryzen 9 5900HX nets similar performance to the Blade 14, as does the Lenovo Legion 5 Pro Gen 6, MSI Delta 15, and many others. Like last-gen’s Blade 14, the performance of the newest one is “great, but not gonzo,» because Razer has capped the graphics card’s power draw. This doesn’t affect performance if ray tracing is turned off, but it does when the special lighting feature is turned on.
Even with diminished ray tracing performance, Razer’s Blade 14 is still worth considering, especially for those with deep pockets. The Blade 14’s incredible 1440p display is just one reason of many to throw down the extra cash on something that not only makes colors pop and blacks super inky but will also hold up over time.
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Prices were accurate at the time this article was published but may change over time.
Buy now at Razer
$1,999.99 from Best Buy
Meet the tester
Joanna Nelius
Senior Editor, Electronics
@JLNwrites
Joanna specializes in anything and everything gaming-related and loves nerding out over graphics cards, processors, and chip architecture. Previously she was a staff writer for Gizmodo, PC Gamer, and Maximum PC.
See all of Joanna Nelius’s reviews
Gaming Performance
Anecdotally, playing on the Razer Blade 14 felt like driving a new sports car with a very smooth clutch. As the workload seemed to get heavier, the system appeared to shift up its processing power effortlessly. The Razer Blade 14 appeared to handle the most robust AAA games and make it look like a cinch.
What’s important to know about the Blade 14’s RTX 3080 GPU—and any mobile RTX 30-series chip—is that Nvidia lets vendors vary the wattage. As a result, the same chip will perform very differently depending on how it’s set. The Razer Blade 14’s RTX 3080 is set at 100 watts, but the same part in the Asus Strix Scar G17 is set at 130 watts, and 105 watts in the Gigabyte Aorus 17G. You’ll see those differences play out in the performance charts below. The Razer for its weight and size profile did surprisingly well, but it lacked the kind of oomph that other larger laptops could muster.
In Metro Exodus (above), the Razer Blade 14 (2021) was about 17 percent off the pace of the larger Asus Strix Scar G17’s RTX 3080, settling in at a decent 41.56 frames per second (fps).
In the Shadow of the Tomb Raider benchmark below, the Razer Blade 14 brings up the rear, outpaced by RTX 3080 GPUs with higher wattage settings as well as an RTX 3070 with a lower wattage. A system with AMD’s Radeon 6800M also jumped ahead of the Blade 14. To be fair, however, the other systems are heavier and thicker, with more internal space to manage their thermal output.
Seeing these results, it begs the question of whether Nvidia’s RTX 3070 would be a better fit for a laptop of the Razer’s size and profile, perhaps hitting a sweeter spot in bang for buck considering the $600 difference. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to try out the 3070 variant of the Razer Blade 14 to test this hypothesis.
Design and first look
There’s nothing mind-blowing about the design of the Razer Blade 14. It looks exactly the same as the Razer Blade Stealth, only a little bigger. That’s a good thing though, as it’s solid in construction and has a minimalist look to it.
The weight in my opinion is perfect for this form factor. Any lighter and they would probably have skimped on the casing integrity. I had no trouble picking this up with just a couple fingers, and the overall handling of it on any corner was ideal.
The build quality is just as good as any other Razer Blade. It’s a similar unibody construction so the palm rest feels robust when grabbing it while open. The lid is also adequately thick enough to prevent any flex while adjusting it. No creaks in any of my usage, so big thumbs up there.
The only issue I have with the construction is the metal finish. It’s the same aluminum with a black matte finish as the other models, which means it’s going to absorb all the oil from your palms and fingerprints. And it certainly did with me. After only a week of usage, the lid showed its fair share of fingerprints and the palm rest had some huge smudge marks. I was able to clean the unit thoroughly for some pictures, but I did make sure to snap a couple of dirty ones as well, so you’ll know what to expect.
Why I’m kind of fed up with this is because much of the competition is finding ways around it. The Asus G15 and Lenovo Legion 5 Pro (pictured) for example are grey in color, which still looks better than silver or white, but shows far fewer fingerprints. I haven’t wiped the Legion 5 Pro once yet and it looks 10x better.
So if I were to keep this, I would certainly plan to wrap it in a Dbrand skin. That’s what I had to do with my Razer Blade 15 and this is no exception. Really though, I hope Razer fixes this someday. OR maybe I’m the only one that doesn’t like it?
BTW, here’s how this Blade 14 looks like in comparison to the 15-inch Blade.
Anyway, let’s cover the details of the design. The lid is pretty flat and plain, with the exception of the Razer logo centered on it. It’s the glowing green variety, which I personally dislike, but it’s no different than what’s on the 15” and 17” models. I would have preferred the embossed non-glowing logo from the Razer Blade 13” models. The good news is the light can be turned off.
Lifting the lid is a simple one-finger action. The hinge is perfect too because it’s both sturdy enough to prevent screen wobble and loose enough to not have the laptop lift off the table when opening. The lid could use a little lip, because the cutout on the palmrest is small, but I managed.
With the laptop open, the screen folds back pretty far – by my estimation about 150-160 degrees. The screen has some very small bezels on the top and sides, but the bottom bezel is significantly larger. It would be great if Razer could somehow make this a 16:10 screen in the next model. The Razer logo on the bottom bezel is very subtle, which I appreciate.
The keyboard and trackpad will be covered in more detail shortly, but both look identical to what I’ve seen on the Razer Blade Stealth. The power button is located on the upper right corner, and has a little more feedback than the rest of the keys.
Flanking both sides of the keyboard are two upward-facing speakers. Note that these grills are not all speakers. In fact, only the bottom 25% of the grills have a speaker behind them – the rest of it has the motherboard and IO behind.
On the bottom plate, it’s pretty much the same as previous designs as well. Two large vents for both fans and some smaller holes for the exhaust. Two large footpads give the laptop enough lift for proper airflow. Those fans also exhaust onto the screen as well, by the way.
Moving onto the IO, there’s a decent amount to choose from. On the right side, you have a single HDMI 2.1 port, a USB-A slot, and a USB-C slot which also supports Displayport and Power Delivery 3.0. On the left, you have identical USB ports, a headphone/mic combo, and a proprietary power port.
Note that the USB-C ports on this model do not support Thunderbolt 3. This means that the Razer Core won’t work, unfortunately. It’s probably not going to matter to most, but worth mentioning as this is now the only Razer Blade that doesn’t support it.
To summarize, if you’ve ever had a Razer Blade before, this design is going to be extremely familiar to you. It’s exactly what I was expecting, which is a trusted and solid design. Minus the fingerprints and the glowing logo, I wouldn’t change a thing.
Final thoughts– Razer Blade 14
I’ll come right out and say it – this laptop really blows me away. To have this kind of performance come out of a 14-inch form factor that is under 4 lbs, is pretty awesome by itself. Add in the fact that it doesn’t throttle under load, is built well, has a nice screen and trackpad, and even has decent battery life? Amazing!
This small size does come at a cost though – the laptop does get pretty hot under load. One of the few disappointments I have with this laptop is just how warm it gets for even normal usage.
The fan noise is also a little troubling. It’s not really how loud it gets, it’s more of how fast it gets there and how often it fluctuates. Don’t get me wrong, these are small complaints. But they are worth mentioning, especially if you’re sensitive to them. Especially coil whine, which I detected.
That aside though, I think many could overlook the cons and find that the value in what Razer has to offer in this notebook.
I do hope that this is the beginning of a new trend for Razer, which is designing their lineup to push the limits of the form factor by pairing the hardware appropriately and offering the right cooling solution.
For example, hopefully, we’ll see a Ryzen processor in a new Razer Blade 15 someday. That would certainly mean better battery life, and perhaps they could even make the battery smaller, allowing for an even thinner and lighter laptop.
Or better yet, leave the thickness of the Razer Blade 15, put a better keyboard in there, better speakers, and ditch the 15” screen for one of the newer 16” 16:10 QHD 100% DCI-P3 panels. Yup, that would be my dream laptop, so Razer, please do that next. 
Back on topic, if you’re shopping for a 13-14” laptop and want the best performance, this and the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 are probably the only options to choose from. The G14 is limited to an RTX 3060 for now, so Razer clearly is the more powerful option in this compact segment. But then again the G14 is a lot more affordable, so we’ll follow-up with a closer comparison of the two in another article.
If you’re debating between 14-15” though, you might want to check out your options in physical stores first. This is a significantly smaller screen size than the 15” screen I’m used to working on, and it may be a little too small for your eyes, especially with QHD resolution.
I think I’ve covered all I can though, and hopefully, this was thorough enough to help those make an informed decision. I’m happy to answer any questions you have in the comments section below.
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Derek Sullivan — Review Editor. In addition to being a tech enthusiast, I have a career as a biomedical engineer. I enjoy taking things apart, figuring out how they work, and finding ways to make them better. My other hobbies include spending time with my family, «Do it yourself» projects such as home automation, and running.
Battery Life
- No surprises here: this laptop lasts just over an hour when gaming
- The Blade is better elsewhere, with a seven-hour lifespan in office tasks
The Blade may be lightweight, but it has typical gaming laptop battery life: in a gaming test it lasted for 1 hour and 7 minutes, and that’s with reduced performance. Stay plugged in to get the most out of this machine when gaming.
The Blade is better in other scenarios. When running an office work test the Razer lasted for 7 hours 6 mins, which is around half an hour better than the Asus and easily enough to get you beyond lunch. The Blade even lasted 12 hours during a video benchmark, so you’ll see a day of use from this machine if you don’t push its hardware.
Should you buy it?
You’re searching for a sleek, compact and fast gaming laptop
Razer crams enormous power inside this machine – and it’s slim, light and extremely portable too. A great compact machine.
You need high-end GPU power or a laptop for esports
The RTX 3080 in larger machines will be far quicker, and keen esports gamers will want more than a 165Hz refresh rate.
Final Thoughts
The Razer Blade 14 is small, sturdy and eminently portable, and it includes lashings of gaming and productivity power alongside a great screen and solid keyboard – it’s a very impressive notebook. It gets hot sometimes, though, and bigger machines will have beefier GPUs, more connectivity and faster refresh rates.
Trusted Score
How we test
We test every laptop we review thoroughly over an extended period of time. We use industry standard tests to compare features properly. We’ll always tell you what we find. We never, ever, accept money to review a product.
Used as our main laptop for the review period
Tested for at least a week
Used consistent benchmarks for fair comparisons with other laptops
Reviewed using respected industry benchmarks and real world use
FAQs
What warranty does the Razer Blade 14 have?
As usual, the Blade has a one-year warranty.
Can I upgrade the internals?
The Blade 14’s base can be removed with a Torx screwdriver. On the inside you can access the wireless chip and two M.2 SSD connectors, but the memory is soldered to the motherboard.
Trusted Reviews Test Data
PCMark 10
Geekbench 5 single core
Geekbench 5 multi core
3DMark Time Spy
CrystalDiskMark Read speed
CrystalMarkDisk Write Speed
Brightness
Black level
Contrast
White Visual Colour Temperature
sRGB
Adobe RGB
DCI-P3
PCMark Battery (office)
PCMark Battery (gaming)
Battery Life
Borderlands 3 frame rate (Quad HD)
Borderlands 3 frame rate (Full HD)
Horizon Zero Dawn frame rate (Quad HD)
Horizon Zero Dawn frame rate (Full HD)
Dirt Rally (Quad HD)
Dirt Rally (Full HD)
Razer Blade 14 (2021)
7017
1456
7408
8721
3569 MB/s
2790 MB/s
343 nits
0.32 nits
1072:1
6803 K
99.6 %
84.2 %
92.4 %
7 hrs
1 hrs
7 hrs
51
69
65 fps
78 fps
108 fps
97 fps
Specs
UK RRP
USA RRP
EU RRP
CPU
Manufacturer
Screen Size
Storage Capacity
Front Camera
Battery
Battery Hours
Size (Dimensions)
Weight
ASIN
Operating System
Release Date
First Reviewed Date
Model Number
Model Variants
Resolution
Refresh Rate
Ports
Audio (Power output)
GPU
RAM
Connectivity
Colours
Display Technology
Screen Technology
Touch Screen
Convertible?
Razer Blade 14 (2021)
£2199
$2199
€2399
AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX
Razer
13 inches
1TB
Yes
61.6 Whr
7 6
319 x 220 x 16.8 MM
1.78 KG
B0957ZWVNX
Windows 10 Home 64-bit
2021
29/07/2021
RZ09-0370BWA3-R3W1
RZ09-0370CWA3-R3W1, RZ09-0370AW23-R3W1
2560 x 1440
165 Hz
2 x USB 3.2 Gen 2, 2 x USB-C/DisplayPort, 1 x HDMI, 1 x audio
5 W
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070
16GB
Dual-band WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.2
Black
LED
IPS
No
No
⇡#Внутреннее устройство
Днище Razer Blade держится на 10 винтах со шлицем типа Torx. Головки винтов сделаны из очень мягкого металла, поэтому они могут прийти в негодность уже после четырёх-пяти циклов сборки-разборки.
На днище находятся две широкие ножки, благодаря которым ноутбук прочно стоит почти на любых плоских поверхностях. Здесь же располагаются две вентиляционные решётки, информация о производителе и наклейка с ключом для Windows 8.1.
Компоненты ноутбука расположены очень плотно, а к компоновке элементов на плате производитель подошёл крайне ответственно. В частности, все важные элементы ноутбука (процессор, видеокарта, память так далее) дополнительно закреплены красным компаундом.
Особенно сильно нас заинтересовала система охлаждения, состоящая из двух тепловых трубок, которые охлаждаются при помощи двух радиаторов и турбин. Выглядит такая система охлаждения не слишком многообещающей, особенно с учетом мощной начинки ноутбука, общий TDP которой составляет более 140 Вт
Поэтому в одной из следующих частей обзора мы уделим особое внимание тестированию системы охлаждения
Undeniable issues haunting a chassis this compact
Of course, being a gaming laptop this size does have its shortcomings. I spoke about how the matte black finish of the laptop can bring out some of the worst fingerprints and smudges you’ve seen. Those are easy fixes but having top-notch performance in a chassis this small? There’s bound to be a few compromises here and there.
The one big issue I found when using this laptop on a daily basis was the heat that it produces. It does get pretty hot under load. I wouldn’t mind if the heat was concentrated at the top end of the keyboard, where usually the fans would blow out the hot air, but it seems like almost the whole laptop gets pretty hot, especially at the palm rest and WASD area. These are key spots where our hands will mostly touch during gaming, if not every other time. I don’t see myself gaming for long hours on this laptop as it does get pretty uncomfortable after a while.
Co-relating to the first issue, the fans really crank themselves during high loads and get pretty loud. I’ve been caught struggling to listen to in-game sounds when the fans are at their max settings. Though you can manually set the fan speeds using the Razer Central application, tampering with the fans to operate slower is going to cause worsening heat issues and may throttle CPU and GPU performance. They work in tandem, but not in the way I expected. Honestly, I would probably hook up an external keyboard whenever I want to game for longer hours. Just wished the heat distribution was well off from the palm rest areas. Again, given the form factor of this device, can’t fault Razer since they did still implement a pretty good cooling solution for it. I wouldn’t have forgiven a much bigger laptop for making such mistakes.
I’ve also got a nitpick issue with the Blade, so it might not affect everyone really. I’ve been used to gaming on bigger screens all my life, and to game on such a commanding laptop with such a small screen, can be a little disorienting after a while. Don’t get me wrong, this is probably my personal issue. Some might fare better playing games on this laptop, where some might also take advantage of its performance for demanding workloads. Combining a small screen and having a QHD resolution on it, doesn’t seem to bode well on my eyes at least. A simple fix would be hooking the Blade up to an external monitor and enjoying it like a full-fledged desktop PC.
What I Disliked
- Fingerprint and smudge magnet
- Gets a little too warm during heavy loads/gaming
- No options for RAM upgrades
Decisive conclusion – a one of a kind machine
End of the day, I’m blown away by how I’m able to game with such fidelity on a machine this compact. There are no other laptops quite like the Blade 14. Even if they are of the same size, they wouldn’t have the performance to match.
I think many people can overlook the heating and fan noise issues, given the size of this laptop. There are workarounds to many of the issues highlighted, and it is up to the user to take it up if they want to. Razer is revolutionizing the gaming industry by pioneering small form factor machines that can push performance to its limits. I do believe there will be newer methods in improving the issues addressed as Razer has always been one to listen to their community feedback and taking it upon themselves to improve.
Ryzen chips are something that should stay in their lineup, as they can benefit battery performance, especially if they can be introduced to the other Blades in the category (15- and 17-inch variants). There is no debate that the Razer Blade 14 is the best 14” gaming laptop out there right now. Many others would probably follow later on, but none will have the pioneering advantage as Razer did. That’s what makes their Blade 14 special and a must-buy on my list if I’m in the market for a 14” machine.
