The 2015 Razer Blade Review
by Brett Howse on February 11, 2015 2:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Laptops
- Razer
- Razer Blade
- Notebooks
- GTX970M
System Performance
The upgraded CPU in the 2015 Blade has made a big improvement in processing power. The outgoing model was no slouch, but 400 MHz of both base and boost clocks, and ten more watts of TDP available, the Core i7-4720HQ performs very well. Some may be wondering where the new Intel Broadwell CPUs are, since they have been available since last year. The launch of Broadwell has been very staggered, with the Core M launch at the end of 2014, which are 4.5 watt CPUs, and then the 15 watt dual-core Broadwell U series was launched at CES in January 2015. The higher wattage quad-core parts on the new 14 nm process will not be out for a few months yet. Razer could have stuck with the old 4702HQ model until then, so it was nice to see them offer a speed bump to the 4720HQ at the same price as last year’s model.
So with the speed increase, let us see how the new model performs compared to last year’s model and some other similar notebooks. If you would like to compare the 2015 Razer Blade to any other laptops we have tested, please check out our online comparison tool, Bench.
The new CPU and SSD combination make a good improvement here over the 2014 model. All of the system benchmarks have gone up quite a bit with the increase in CPU speed. The 2014 model was good, and the 2015 model is better. The move to a 47 watt CPU has improved all aspects of the Blade. The LiteOn SSD also squeaks past the Samsung model which was in our review unit last year.
Wi-Fi
The Wi-Fi card in the 2015 Blade carries over from last year. This laptop features the Intel Wireless AC-7260 wireless adapter, which is a 2x2:2 card offering a maximum connection speed of 866 Mbps on 802.11ac.
While the card is the same, there have been a couple of driver updates since our last look at the Razer Blade, so the new model scores slightly higher. Wi-Fi performance is good, assuming you have invested in an 802.11ac router. In addition, the Intel card also does double duty as the Bluetooth adapter.
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Oxford_Guy - Thursday, February 12, 2015 - link
Do mean the weight compared to the 15" rMBP or to last years Razer Blade?douglord - Thursday, February 12, 2015 - link
Can you game on a Mac?tipoo - Thursday, February 12, 2015 - link
Yes, and especially under Windows. The Iris Pro 5200 isn't surer great, but it manages 1440x900 on low-med in most games out this year.Jaisah - Thursday, September 3, 2015 - link
I have the 2015 MacBook Pro 15" with the M370X and you certainly can game on a mac ;). I only game casually so I haven't tried all the latest and greatest games but I can play Elder Scrolls Online with everything turned up to full (except some lighting effects and shadows on medium) with 1440x900 resolution and I get 50-60 FPS with the occasional drop to 40 FPS. I installed some older games too like COD:MW2 and you can easily max out the settings. Probably with some of the newer, more demanding games you would have to turn the settings down to medium at 1440x900 but its still a very playable/enjoyable gaming experience. All games I've played have been in Mac OS X Yosemite. Aparently when El Capitan comes out with "Metal" we will see an immediate improvement in games. I'm excited :Dlurwas - Saturday, February 14, 2015 - link
If you are after better key travel, have a look at MSI GS60 or GS70.+ better performance then rMBP.
+ better keyboard (one of the best laptop keyboards that I ever typed on) with more travel
+- depending on your preferences, available with matte option
- battery life (4-5 hours when surfing)
cc2096 - Saturday, February 14, 2015 - link
Please tell me where you got the 4-5 hours battery life with the MSI GS60? I've owned four of them across the model lineup and none pulled in better than 3 hours tops.tipoo - Wednesday, February 11, 2015 - link
Is that mid 2014 MBP the 750M or the Iris Pro 5200?dmunsie - Wednesday, February 11, 2015 - link
One would hope that they would pick the one with the 750M since it's closer in price and specs to the one being reviewed, but that's not exactly clear here.I don't have any high hopes that any impending rMBP update will make it better for gaming. It seems like the 750M is as good as it gets on the Apple side for now. Which is a shame because I almost always avoid playing any games on the built in retina display since the extra pixels end up taking a huge hit on the frame rates.
dovah-chan - Wednesday, February 11, 2015 - link
holy crap sensible people talking about macs and pcs and they don't want to bash each others faces in. I love this site ;-; fak toms hardware forever 0/10 never going backOxford_Guy - Thursday, February 12, 2015 - link
Indeed, I have both Macs and PCs and can see the pros and cons of each. I'd love a more powerful GPU in the rMBP, but can't see it happening, maybe an 850M at best (an 860M or even a 965M would be much more interesting...)