Saturday, October 02, 2021
Razer makes some of the best Windows laptops on the market, but which exactly is the best for you? Traditionally aimed at gamers, Razer's laptops are also attractive to creators and professionals, too. We've spent a lot of time with every laptop Razer makes and have broken it all down for you.
Best overall: Razer Blade 15
If you want the best all-round Razer laptop, then the Razer Blade 15 should be your first choice. It's sleek and sophisticated looking, but underneath contains both budget-friendly specs or an insane amount of horsepower.
Based on the hardware you want — up to an NVIDIA RTX 3080 GPU, 10th Gen Intel Core i7, and 32GB of dual-channel DDR4 RAM — you'll get access to different display options, including high refresh rate options at 1440p and 1080p.
The Precision touchpad is huge for times when you're not using an external gaming mouse, while other connectivity includes Thunderbolt 3, HDMI 2.0, and Ethernet.
If you're a creator or a professional, there is also the Blade 15 Studio Edition, which is very expensive, but also very powerful. With NVIDIA's monstrous workstation GPU, the Quadro RTX 5000 inside, and NVIDIA-backed optimizations to a raft of software, this is a laptop that can chew through even the most demanding tasks.
Pros:
- Great display
- Outstanding audio
- Excellent gaming performance
- Plenty of ports
- Premium build quality
Cons:
- Keyboard has short travel
- Can get pricey
Best overall
Razer Blade 15
From $1,400 at Amazon $1459 at Walmart
A gaming laptop that is almost picture-perfect
The Blade 15 offers stellar performance hardware and an industry-leading design for a gaming laptop.
Runner-up: Razer Blade 17
Razer has been putting out large, hugely powerful laptops for several years and continues to make its range-topping Razer Blade 17 better and better. There are several options to choose from, but the latest and greatest is really where it's at. Whether you're a professional, a creator, a gamer, or all three, the Blade 17 is a beastly 17-inch laptop.
You're now getting an 11th Gen Intel Core i7 or Core i9 processor paired with up to an NVIDIA RTX 3080 and either a 1080p 360Hz display, 240Hz 1440p display or a stunning 4K 120Hz panel with touch.
Everything else is trademark Blade. Sleek, stylish exterior, fast storage, plenty of RAM, an excellent keyboard, and the latest ports, including USB 3.2 and Thunderbolt 4. The Razer Blade 17 is essentially just a larger version of the Blade 15, with some hardware benefits that come with more space to work with, and the only real downside being a higher price.
Reasons to buy
- 17-inch display
- Sleek, stylish design
- Powerful NVIDIA graphics
- High refresh rate displays
- 11th Gen Intel Core i7 and Core i9 processors
Reasons not to buy
- More expensive than the Blade 15
- Not the largest battery
Runner-up
Razer Blade 17
Big, expensive, but an ultimate laptop
Razer's 17-inch Blade packs an insane amount of hardware in its body, including a 4K 120Hz display and an RTX 3080 GPU.
Most portable gaming: Razer Blade Stealth
The Razer Blade Stealth is more Ultrabook than gaming laptop in its form factor. Still, inside, it's now got enough horsepower to also do some proper PC gaming while retaining the ability to hook up an even more powerful GPU over Thunderbolt 3.
The Blade Stealth is a sleek 13-inch notebook, but inside Razer has somehow managed to cram both a 25W Gen Intel Core i7 processor and an NVIDIA GTX 1650 Ti dedicated GPU with 4GB of VRAM. Not only this but also 16GB of RAM and a gamer-friendly 120Hz display.
You won't be pushing maximum frames in every game, sure, but what Razer has put together here is frankly staggering. It's a watershed moment for 13-inch laptops, in much the same way the first Razer Blade changed the landscape of gaming laptops all those years ago.
Reasons to buy
- Compact Ultrabook
- Thin and light
- Dedicated graphics
- 120Hz display
- 10th Gen Intel processors
Reasons not to buy
- Expensive compared to base model Blade 15
- Not the largest battery
Most portable gaming
Razer Blade Stealth 13 (2020)
The new Razer Blade Stealth 13 (2020) brings much more power to the table with Intel's 10th Gen CPUs and GeForce GTX 1650 Ti graphics and, for the first time, a 120Hz display.
Best for work: Razer Book 13
The Razer Book 13 is the company's first foray into laptops not targeted at gaming, and it's an absolute slam dunk. The Book 13 was easily one of the best Ultrabooks launched in 2020 and it still holds up.
There aren't the range of spec options you get with the Blade lineup, instead, the Book 13 is a more refined lineup, still using Intel 11th Gen processors with both a Core i5 and a Core i7 on offer. Aside from the lower-powered entry model and the lack of a GPU though, the Book 13 is very much like the Blade Stealth.
The design is unmistakably Razer, and key features like a gorgeous touch display, fast storage, a big battery, and Thunderbolt, all make their way over from the gaming laptops. It's more discreet looking, but still has an RGB keyboard though, just so you know who made it!
Reasons to buy
- 11th Gen Intel and EVO certified
- Stunning IGZO display
- Excellent RGB keyboard
- Fantastic speakers with THX Spatial Audio
- Plenty of ports
Reasons not to buy
- Can get pricey
- No LTE
Best for work
Razer Book 13
Razer's first non-gaming laptop is an absolute winner if you're hunting for a great Utrabook to work with.
The bottom line
The best Razer laptop for most people will undoubtedly be the Blade 15. It's in the middle of the range size wise, but also has the broadest appeal.
If you're looking to get as much value from your purchase as possible, then the base model is a great buy, with an attractive price, and still powerful enough to handle today's gaming. But equally, if you're looking for something super powerful, there's an option for you, too.
The ultra-impressive Blade 15 Studio Edition deserves a shout out, too, which thanks to a partnership with NVIDIA, and several software makers such as Adobe, can crunch through the most demanding processes without breaking a sweat.
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