The 2015 Razer Blade Review
by Brett Howse on February 11, 2015 2:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Laptops
- Razer
- Razer Blade
- Notebooks
- GTX970M
Final Words
For 2015, we have a new Razer Blade, which on the outside is a dead ringer for last year’s model. We have the same design, the same keyboard, trackpad, strong aluminum body, and fantastic QHD+ display. All of those features were already excellent on the previous model, so Razer stayed conservative and kept all of it the same. Razer builds one of the best looking, most polished, and high quality gaming laptops on the market, so it makes sense not to rock the boat.
For 2015, what we have is more inside. You cannot see it from afar, but once you start using the new Blade, the new power becomes readily apparent. The GTX 970M is a perfect addition to this laptop, and we have seen sometimes up to 50% better performance than the 2014 model. The new card is much better at driving the 3200x1800 display, and with the new 1080p model sharing the same GPU, performance should be excellent.
The GTX 970M is somewhat of an obvious upgrade though. The 2014 model had the 870M, so it only makes sense that the new model would get the replacement for that card. What was a nice surprise for the 2015 model is both the new CPU, and the increased system memory. For the memory, the outgoing model’s 8 GB of RAM was a sore spot for me on a premium priced laptop. The move to 16 GB of DDR3L-1600 should satisfy most users’ needs for quite a while. It is extra important that Razer outfits the laptop with this because the RAM is soldered to the motherboard, so user upgrades are out of the question. And just to be clear, the review unit we received, and all of the 3200x1800 models will come with 16 GB of memory, but the 1080p model will be limited to 8 GB. The extra system RAM really opens the Razer Blade up to be more of a general purpose computer, with enough RAM for a couple of virtual machines to be running at any one time, or other memory intensive software.
The CPU is a very big boost as well, which could easily be overshadowed by the new graphics card. The move the 47 watt CPU gives a sharp boost in performance for all tasks, and the cooling system does not seem to be strained at all with the extra heat. With four cores at 2.6 GHz, hyperthreading, and boost clocks of 3.6 GHz, the CPU is quite a big upgrade. Once again, this opens the door to more non-gaming workloads for this device, which should increase its appeal.
Razer has added all of these internal upgrades, but one more thing that was not changed was the price. With a faster CPU, more RAM, and an upgraded GPU, the 2015 Razer Blade comes in at exactly the same price as last year’s model. Yes, they still offer the silly 128 GB SSD version, which you should really avoid if you are considering this device and are not comfortable replacing the SSD. Companies like to charge a lot for upgrades, and Razer is no exception, with the 256 GB model being $200 more than the 128 GB model. The 512 GB model is another $300 above that.
The base price of the 1080p model with a 256 GB SSD comes in at just under $2000, and the 1800p versions are priced at $2200 for 128 GB, $2400 for 256 GB, and $2700 for 512 GB. It is a lot of money for a 14” gaming laptop. Luckily the quality of the components really are top notch. For the money, you get a great display, good keyboard, excellent trackpad, and powerful internals wrapped in a thin machined aluminum body. It is a lot of money, but it is also a great experience.
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cptcolo - Wednesday, February 18, 2015 - link
Please make a 15" version similar to the MacBook Proj5689 - Sunday, February 22, 2015 - link
This review has me thinking about getting a Razer Blade Pro when they release an updated version of that. A 14" screen is too small for me but the Pro is also missing the QHD+ screen so it's a tough choice. In the 17" range, Alienware might be a better deal too, they come with most of the same stuff and a 1TB HDD plus the optional GTX 980M for around the same as the 2014 Blade Prosna1970 - Thursday, February 26, 2015 - link
1- No HDMI 2.0 ?2- no PCIe SSD ?
3- No Killer LAN ? No Killer WLAN with Class one Bluetooth (100m range) many people miss the 100m Bluetooth part , Intel is 10m Range only and 100m range headsets Exist and are wonderful.
4- No Mechanical Keyboard ?
5- No Docking Station with Dedicated High End Card.
ummm Razer are being lazy lately.
SourDo - Thursday, February 26, 2015 - link
I own a 2013 Razer Blade 14". Does anyone know if there is an option whether from Razer or some source for upgrading the built-in LCD panel (extremely crappy 1600x900 TN) to 1080p IPS? My laptop is already out of warranty, so voiding warranty is not concern. Thanks! Fingers-crossed hoping for a miracle.deeps6x - Wednesday, March 4, 2015 - link
Of course the major hurdle is to get a high quality 1080P IPS matte screen version of the laptop at a reasonable price. Yeah, QHD checks some marketing checkboxes, but it isn't something that 90% of the buyers would actually prefer (at least not if they could use both for gaming and compare).Blame Microsoft for not solving the scaling issue. At least if it was quad full hd 3840x2160 (ah who are we kidding, it should be 3840x2400), you could scale it back to a usable 1080P for gaming and non-gaming both, and have it remain sharp. But even then, scaling would be a bugger of a problem in a lot of programs/websites. Nope, imho, it should only be offered with an excellent 1080P, non-touch screen. At least until Microsoft catches up to Apple on scaling abilities.
My two bits. Otherwise, nice laptop.
nasqb112 - Thursday, March 5, 2015 - link
So I'm thinking of ditching my main pc/gaming rig and replacing it with the Razer Blade. About 90% of the time, I'd hook it up to a HDTV/monitor and would like to use my mechanical keyboard and gaming mouse. The other 10% I'd take it with me while traveling/vacationing. Is this feasible? I'm curious if anyone can comment on performance when hooked up to an external monitor. Would the performance suffer? Thanks!Majeh3363 - Saturday, March 7, 2015 - link
Is the battery removable? So we can carry a additional battery with us n if yes what will be the price of the battery? Or an extra source so that it can last longer without any electric ports near by ......... Please help really curiousGolddiggie - Sunday, March 8, 2015 - link
Can the SSD's be upgraded? That way one could buy the 256GB version today, and upgrade to bigger SSD's later once available (at a good price point).I'm also trying to decide between this laptop and the MSI GS60 GHOST PRO 4K-079 15.6-Inch... Both have the same GPU, close to the same thickness (MSI is thicker) and weight. I'll be using the laptop for more work tasks (VMware Workstation, Photoshop CS6) and maybe get into some video production tasks (not sure how much of that I'll be doing). I could see getting into gaming on the PC again with this system. Of course, I'll also want to upgrade the video card in my tower if that's the case.
Wask - Sunday, March 22, 2015 - link
Anyone who buys a macbook pro to use as a gaming machine needs a good slap around the head with a large slimy trout... Be good to see how much more battery life the 1080 spec gets? Who needs 2k on a 14" screen? shame about only having the 8gb memory option...LordSnow55 - Friday, May 1, 2015 - link
There's a free giveaway for a Razer Blade going on right now. Only takes a second to enter http://bit.ly/1I34DRF