Razer Unleashes Blade 14 Gaming Laptop: Ryzen 5000 Mobile with GeForce Graphics
by Gavin Bonshor on June 14, 2021 6:30 PM EST - 2_678x452.jpg)
During their E3 2021 gaming event this afternoon, Razer has launched the latest variant of its popular Blade 14 gaming laptop. For the first time, Razer is using an AMD processor to power its latest Blade 14 thin gaming laptop. Marking a milestone within the company, the Razer Blade includes plenty of features, including Wi-Fi 6E, dual USB 3.2 G2 Type-C, and multiple options with NVIDIA's GeForce RTX graphics for fine-tuning the laptop's portable gaming performance.
Back in 2011, when Razer first entered the gaming laptop market, the competition between Intel and AMD in the desktop and mobile space wasn't like it is now. Since then, a lot has changed with the emergence of AMD's Ryzen architecture, and at present, it is doing very well. With Ryzen Mobile offering powerful performance and in January, it launched its Ryzen 5000 Mobile parts at CES 2021.
With Razer commanding a niche market in the laptop space with all of its models designed for gaming, the latest Razer Blade 14 comes equipped with AMD's Ryzen 9 5900HX processor, with eight cores, sixteen threads, a maximum boost clock speed of 4.6 GHz, and is unlocked allowing users to apply overclocks. While the Blade 14 isn't an 'AMD Advantage' system benefiting from both AMD processor and graphics, it marks a big step for a brand typically associated specifically with Intel chips.
The AMD Ryzen powered Razer Blade 14 comes with two choices in regards to panel type. This includes the option of a 1080p 144 Hz 100% sRGB display, or a more premium 1440p 165 Hz 100% DCI-P3 display. Both panels are IPS-based and come with variable refresh rate support. For storage, the Razer Blade 14 includes a 1 TB PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe SSD, while memory comes in the form of 16 GB of DDR4-3200. Unfortunately for buyers looking at later-life upgrades, the memory is fixed onto the motherboard, so 16 GB is all it ever will have.
Buyers can select between three NVIDIA options in terms of graphics. This includes a GeForce RTX 3060 mobile GPU with 6 GB of VRAM, an RTX 3070 with 8 GB of VRAM, or an RTX 3080 also with 8 GB of VRAM. All three models have their GPUs set to 100 W TGP (total graphics power). Keeping the components cool is a vapor chamber cooling solution, and Razer is advertising up to 12-hours battery life and comes with a compact 230 W power adapter.
Razer is also touting the Blade 14 as the world's thinnest gaming laptop, and the dimensions make it rather sleek indeed. It's 16.8 mm thick, with a 220 mm x 319.7 mm footprint. Although Razer didn't provide us with details on the weight, the frame itself is custom CNC milled from a single block of T6 grade aluminum, commonly used for aircraft parts, and comes with a matte black anodized finish. Other design aspects include per-RGB backlit keys powered by Razer Chroma and features an N-Key rollover keyboard. The keys themselves have a 1 mm actuation, and keys can be programmed via Razer Synapse 3. Also included is a large glass precision trackpad, which is Windows Precision-capable and adapts to usage and can respond to multiple finger gestures.
I/O connectivity include two USB 3.2 G2 Type-C ports with DP alt-mode and 100 W charging capabilities, two USB 3.2 G2 Type-A ports, one HDMI 2.1 video output, and a single 3.5 mm combo audio port. Along the top of the bezel is a Windows Hello 720p webcam and comes with THX-certified Spatial Audio with two premium speakers. The Blade 14 also comes with a Kensington lock for security on the go.
The AMD Ryzen 5900HX powered Razer Blade 14 will start shipping from June 14th, with prices starting at $1799.
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ZoZo - Monday, June 14, 2021 - link
Not to mention the 16:9 display with the huge bottom bezel which makes that laptop look outdated for 2021 compared to laptops with 16:10 or 3:2 displays.DanNeely - Tuesday, June 15, 2021 - link
With many games using fixed vertical FoV's, wider screens mean you're able to see more at once. This makes wide screens a much more reasonable option for gaming systems than general office laptops. Besides which, I don't think I've seen any 16:10 or narrower high refresh rate laptop screens yet.ZoZo - Tuesday, June 15, 2021 - link
If the display width and horizontal pixel counts are the same, the additional height and increased vertical pixel counts are a bonus that you can just ignore. In other words, the 16:10 display can do whatever the 16:9 can, but also gives you more vertical pixels when you want them. Yes, I know that you could get black bars at the top and bottom, but with a good quality panel, it's not much of a problem.The following laptops have 16:10 + HRR:
- Lenovo Legion 5 Pro & 7: 2560x1600 / 165 Hz
- Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro: 2560x1600 / 120Hz
- Acer Predator Triton 500: 2560x1600 / 165 Hz
- Acer Nitro 5 & Predator Helios 300: 2160x1440 / 165 Hz
- Asus ROG Flow 13: 1920x1200 / 120 Hz
Granted there is not yet any 14" that comes with both 16:10 WQHD and HRR, but I'm confident that it wouldn't require much effort for it to happen.
ZoZo - Tuesday, June 15, 2021 - link
Also, calling 16:10 narrower is a bit misleading. In practice a 16:10 screen is not narrower than its 16:9 counterpart, it's just taller.Matthias B V - Tuesday, June 15, 2021 - link
Looks interesting! Small, thin and light also as powerfull with lots of ports and a good design. But:- I doubt the 3080 will make a difference to the 3070 within that case. Especially since it has same TDP and also only 16GB
- Why no 32GB RAM option for the 3070/80 SKUs?
- Why still use a HD Webcam and not finaly a FHD one with shutter
- Hope the screen is above 350-400 Nits. Would be more important than QHD on 14"
- The battery runtimes of 12h seem unrealistic for the small battery of 65Wh
- Can we at some point get away with the ugly green logo and USB ports and just get a grey / black one like on the Razer Blade Stealth or an RGB-LED one like on the mouses?
- Can we just get all Notebooks and peripherals in "Mercury White"?
lemurbutton - Tuesday, June 15, 2021 - link
Wait for the 14" Macbook Pro with M2X (Based on A15 later this year)hanselltc - Tuesday, June 15, 2021 - link
Looks like a nice chassis compromised with poor component choices. It doesn't sound horribly likely to me that this chassis will handle the 145+w of total cooling capacity for a 45+w CPU and a 100w GPU, and the fact that it won't have liquid metal makes me that much less confident especially with the CPU. CPU Options, especially lower end ones, from the normal H and especially the lower end HS line sounds much more suitable for this chassis. If Radeon's claim of better performance and battery life while gaming on a Radeon dGPU laptop is true, then that is yet another missed opportunity for such an ultrabook.The other component are pretty undesirable as well, 16GB of ram essentially puts a cap on the laptop's usefulness for many, and with the industry trend of gaming laptops moving to 16Gbit chips observed recently by other outlets this would also put a cap on performance too. Also, Zen has long favoured high frequency memory for a synced FCLK, since the even the H line of CZN supports LPDDR4(X?)-4266 and should be able to achieve synced FCLK with that, maybe that was a missed opportunity despite the timing differences.
SaolDan - Tuesday, June 15, 2021 - link
I like it. Seriously considering it. I want a fast 14" laptop. I wish the gpu could be set to max-p but 100w is not bad. This is pretty much what I'm looking for. I don't care about upgrading ram and 16GB is more than enough for me.Newoak - Sunday, September 5, 2021 - link
Just like we have graphic card reviews that allow us to tell which graphics cards are best, we should have the same thing for laptops and laptop graphic cards. There is no way I am going to spend the time determining how good the 3050ti is versus A 3060 or A 3060ti or A 3070.Even if some laptops have 8mg of memory and others have 16 its still good to know. In G-d I trust.
BluSleeper - Tuesday, January 4, 2022 - link
Yes I don't know what Razer was thinking offering 3070 and 3080 with limited 16 gb ram. It has been a complaint I've read since 2016. Would have been a no brainer for me too esp with the size that fits a handcarry luggage. 14 is the limit you see. Had to go with an underpowered Asus G14. Sigh... Needed the 8gb graphics ram that the Razer 14 has.