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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tipoo - Thursday, February 12, 2015 - link
I'm guessing it would be the same as the internal display - the discreet GPU just poops its output into the integrated GPUs memory so it can be output to the monitor, which only has one physical connection to the internal GPU.voicequal - Thursday, February 12, 2015 - link
This would be great for my application, except the Intel mobile chipsets don't support the number of devices I need from the USB3 controller. You'd be lucky to get more than 10 external devices working off the xHCI controller before the dreaded Not enough USB controller resources error. http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/forum/s...For what it's worth, I find DisplayPort preferable over HDMI because DP is more flexible for splitting to multiple monitors.
DanNeely - Thursday, February 12, 2015 - link
The accepted answers on that link cite the problem as one of maximum power the port can put out; just because the port can address 127 devices doesn't mean it can provide them all with power. Non-charging USB3 ports are limited to 0.9 amps of 5v current; which ports (if any) get extra power for charging stuff is upto the motherboard OEM to decide if they want to provide extra power to it or not.voicequal - Thursday, February 12, 2015 - link
Unfortunately the accepted answer on that thread isn't the issue. The error is due to the limited number of USB devices/endpoints supported by the Intel xHCI controller. I'm curious if more devices are supported on the Broadwell chipsets, but don't have one to test yet.ruthan - Thursday, February 12, 2015 - link
I dont believe whole conclusion.. if this is truth:" When the fans are running though, the laptop is very loud. We measured 55.0 dBA at 1 inch from the system after one hour of gaming. It is very loud, and very noticeable. In my opinion, any gaming on the Razer Blade would necessitate headphones.."
For me it means that whole laptop design failed - too much hoursepower for cooling system, good experience and performance only on paper or for deaf people..
TheinsanegamerN - Tuesday, February 17, 2015 - link
agreed. They should have stuck with the 37 watt i7 and put the 965m in instead.ingwe - Thursday, February 12, 2015 - link
This looks so great. I wish they would have actually gone with a lower power CPU to get better battery life. I also wish that there would be DP in addition to HDMI. These are relatively minor gripes. Now to come up with $2700 for this...HiTechObsessed - Thursday, February 12, 2015 - link
Again, why don't y'all ever look at Sager laptops? The Sager NP8651 is less than an inch thick, packs a dual-fan-cooled 970m, the same quad-core i7 CPU, but has a starting price of $1,225 as opposed to $2k. Essentially, the Sager offers the same performance, while only spending a little over 60%?Even when adding an SSD to the Sager and Windows, you're still substantially cheaper.
awlllwa - Thursday, February 12, 2015 - link
I have had my NP8652 (980m model) for about a month now and it is awesome. All said an done, the same price as this here Razer, but with a 4k Sharp screen, 2x 512gb SSDs, 1tb HDD, and the chaise is not that thick. Like .2-.3" more, for way better internals, and I still have one more m.2 slot and 2 empty sodimm slots.I did strongly consider the 2014 Blade, but couldn't swallow the 870m for that price, this new one feels much of the same.
DanNeely - Thursday, February 12, 2015 - link
Because neither Sager, nor anyone who rebadges Sager laptops and sells them under their name is willing to send a review sample.