Razer Blade 15 Gaming Laptop
The Razer blade 15 is distinguished for being the smallest and thinnest member of the class of 15.6″ gaming laptops. What it lacks in heft and size, it makes up for through a robust performance, aided by the latest 9th Gen Intel Core processors and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 GPU, in addition to its fast storage options and nice display.
It is available in two similarly productive but different models – Base and Advanced. The 15.6″, 144Hz IPS display is tailor-made for a razor-sharp visual experience that will capture your attention.
Complete Review – Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition
Design and Appearance
This laptop features a chassis that is precision-crafted from a single block of Aluminum to produce a compact and uniform frame. With a thickness of 0.7,” this laptop is one of the thinnest gaming laptops ever made. The interior also sports the same design, with an anodized matte finish to boot, for providing a scratch-proof and fingerprint concealing surface. The Razer Blade 15 features a black anodized surface finish with the iconic backlit, green triple-headed snake that is embossed in the display lid.
Ports and Connections
The USB ports are accented in green color and are attached to either sides of the keyboard deck. The ports include Thunderbolt 3, HDMI 2.0b, Mini Display Port 1.4, (USB-C), and the USB-A port. These ports can be paired together to produce up to three external displays for an extensive workspace. There is a dual-port provision for the microphone and the headphone, as well as the power port.
Display
With a Full HD, 1920 x 1080 display and refresh rates of up to 144Hz, the display is as vivid and smooth as it can be. The bezels have been trimmed to 4.9mm, and this helps to fit the display with more coverage area. The display is individually factory calibrated for color accuracy and provides support for 100% sRBG color. This is great news for graphic designers and multimedia content creators as it means lesser color distortion and greater flexibility with their work options.
Keyboard and Touchpad
The keyboard area is marked by the same matte finish as the display. One particular highlight of this keyboard is the provision for user-defined customization of the backlight color via Razer Chroma. Although the keys could do with more travel distance and feedback, they are very sizable and adequately spaced. The glass touchpad is impressive as its large footprint offers ample navigation space for users. It is smooth and features extensive coverage of windows gestures.
Audio
The Dolby atmos audio system makes its presence felt and heard in this laptop. It provides sound that is fitting for an immersive gaming experience. The bass from the speakers might not be spectacular, so you can always opt for headphones to get a better deal.
Graphics
The Razer Blade 15 uses the Nvidia Geforce 2060 graphics card, the same graphic processor adopted by one of the Razer Blade Pro 17s’ configurations. This graphic processor is on the medium power spectrum of processors, but it manages to put up an impressive performance, especially with the introduction of the ray tracing feature to enhance the visuals.
And with the help of this laptops’ dedicated platform, the “Synapse 3”, graphics performance can be stepped up to good effect.
Performance
The 9th Gen Intel Core i7 processor combines with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX graphics to devastating effect In both models of the Razer Blade 15 (Base and Advanced). The most intensive creative and gaming tasks can be executed with aplomb, and without any drastic performance impacting compromises. The 9th gen Intel Core i7-9750H processor, with its 6 cores and base clock speed of 2.6GHz is well equipped to drive this laptop.
A Turbo Boost of 4.5GHz provides the bursts of processing power that will make demanding tasks a complete waltz. With an extra storage slot, 16GB dual-channel memory, and fast 512GB + 2.5″ slot (SATA) storage, there is enough support for the smooth running operation of this laptop. You can play some of the biggest games while simultaneously switching across a ton of open tabs without looking over your shoulder…except if the power source is just right behind.
Gaming Performance of the Razer Blade 15
The Razer Blade 15 studio edition is set up for the ultimate gaming experience, or something very close to it. With a 144Hz Full HD display, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060, and ray tracing technology(for higher configurations) this laptop hits the mark. The “Ray Tracing” feature enhances graphic quality by reproducing the behavior of light to render visually realistic objects in a 3D environment. And RTX brings new technologies that facilitate more realistic and fast-paced gaming. High-end games and many of the latest and most demanding titles can be played at decent frame rates and performance levels.
Battery
It is best to lower all expectations about the battery power of your sub-$1500 gaming laptop, you simply make do with what you get and look out for the nearest power outlet. Despite that, the 4 hours of casual web browsing and video playback on the Razer Blade 15 studio edition is still inadequate, even for a gaming laptop. It is fair to say that this laptop sacrifices battery power for processor performance.
Cooling
The base model and the advanced models of the Razer blade 15 utilize different technologies to keep the heat away. The base model operates a custom-built heat pipe system that is capable of cooling the laptop, regardless of the intensity of load applied. On the other hand, the advanced model uses a more sophisticated technique known as the” Vapour chamber”.
It features a unique vacuum-sealed (copper fabric) vapor chamber, filled with water. This chamber surrounds the laptops’ heat-producing components, keeping them cool, and the laptop as well by extension.
Final verdict
This laptop has laid down the marker for portables that appeal to a wide target, although the high-end gamers are the bullseye.
The bundled Razer Synapse 3, is particularly suited for this job. It is capable of executing a wide range of tasks, from customizing lighting, managing profiles, adjusting fans, and stepping up graphics performance in Gaming Mode. Armed with a brilliant display and an impressive CPU, the incredibly fast Razer Blade 15 (as well as it’s big brother the Razer Blade Pro 17) is designed to operate as the ideal hybrid; gaming laptop and mobile workstation.
The battery will have a hard say though.
Razer Blade 15 – Device specifications
Storage
Main Storage 512 GB SSD M.2 PCIe 3.0 x4 – NVM Express (NVMe)
Display
15.6″ – IPS 144Hz, LED backlight
Resolution
1920 x 1080 (Full HD)
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64-bit Edition
Processor / Chipset
CPU
Intel Core i7 (9th Gen) 9750H / 2.6 GHz
Max Turbo Speed
4.5 GHz
Number of Cores
6-core
Memory
RAM 16 GB (2 x 8 GB)
Technology
DDR4 SDRAM
Graphics Processor
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 / Intel UHD Sound
Stereo speakers, array microphone
Compliant Standards Dolby Atmos
Battery Capacity
65 Wh
Dimensions
(WxDxH) 35.5 cm x 23.5 cm x 1.99 cm
Weight
2.1kg