We have seen a lot of gaming peripherals, but no one does it as Razer does. They have great aesthetics and performance and are often regarded as the best manufacturers across the U.S. But their gaming laptops are nothing to scoff at either. So we rated the best Razer Laptops for gaming in the year 2021.
Even the most tech-dissociated people might have heard about Razer’s Kraken headphones and Deathadder mouse. They are one of the most iconic products from Razer after all. But what people do not know is that Razer is one of the most advanced peripheral manufacturers in the market at the moment.
If you compare them with other brands, there are hardly any that do things as good as Razer does. They have some of the most unique features in gaming peripherals. The Nari Ultimate by Razer has Hyper Sense technology, which is an advanced form of haptic feedback that reacts to a wider range of tones. Their Hyper Speed wireless technology is one of the fastest in the competition.
Razer does not have a wide array of gaming laptops under their name. But the ones they have are considered to be some of the best by tech enthusiasts.
Their laptops are not only thin and light but have beastly power backing them up. Regardless of being in such a thin and light form factor, they have high-spec components packed in them. Right now Razer offers the Razer Blade series of laptops available in 3 different sizes.
You can customize the laptops on the Razer site, but you can also find them on sites like Amazon and BestBuy. Let us go through a short buyer’s guide to understand Razer gaming laptops a bit better.
What to look for in a Razer laptop for Gaming?
The Razer Blade gaming laptops have the latest specs packed in their thin and light bodies. But a gaming laptop is not just about specifications. You also have to consider aesthetics, build, and performance.
Aesthetics
Although performance is a priority, aesthetics is what sets gaming laptops apart from the general ones. Even general laptops can be equipped with high-performance GPUs and CPUs. But that does not make them gaming laptops per se, they are general-purpose laptops.
But gaming laptops have gamer aesthetics, things that gamers find intriguing and interesting. Razer has been a trendsetter when it comes to gaming aesthetics. All of their products have features that appeal to modern gamers.
The Razer Blade series of laptops are no exception. Although their design is very simple, you can still tell that they are gaming laptops. That is because they are colored in Razer’s traditional colors of black and green. Razer’s green color is iconic and visible in all of its products. The Razer Blade laptops also sport the same theme.
The body is made from aluminum that is black, while the Razer logo and ports sport its traditional green color. The keyboard is also RGB for that added gamer aesthetic since RGB is pretty famous in gamers these days.
Razer has focused on making its laptops thin and light. They appeal to a wider audience, not just gamers. You can find designers and coders also appreciating the aesthetics that Razer brings to the table.
Build
All of Razer laptops are seamlessly cut out from a single block of aluminum. This gives it the really fine finish that most Razer laptops are famous for. However, this is also the reason why Razer laptops are so expensive compared to competitors.
The Razer Blade laptops are strong, they do not have much flex anywhere on the body. The keys are pretty flat top, which is different from what you might be used to. But they perform and feel well when you type on them. Although if you are buying one of these machines, you are probably buying them for gaming and not for typing.
There isn’t a lot of flex to the display either, it feels really rigid. Overall, Razer does have one of the best builds in a thin form factor laptop. But as we said, all of it comes down to a high cost.
Performance
We have yet to see one of the Razer Blade laptops overwhelmingly underperforming. Whether it is the smallest variant, Razer Blade Stealth, or the biggest one, Razer Blade Pro. All of the laptops work well considering they have the best of the components installed in them.
Razer has yet to release an AMD CPU laptop, and we can’t expect them to anytime soon. But if it does follow the trend, it might be able to create another lineup of laptops. Right now, it uses Intel 10th Generation CPUs and the latest NVIDIA GPUs.
The Razer Blade 15 has 3 different variations. The base model is the cheapest and has the lowest specifications. There is also the Advanced, which has the Intel Core i7-10875H CPU in it. Then lastly, there is the Studio version which has the NVIDIA Quadro series of cards for people who need workstation GPU for their tasks.
Thermals
While the laptops maintain good performance, it is not the best in the competition. The reason behind it is that Razer seems to have capped the performance of the laptops to control the thermals and noise.
The Advanced model of the Razer Blade 15 seems to be sporting a vapor chamber cooling system. This is the reason why the Advanced model has a higher core count CPU and a more powerful GPU.
The Studio version is basically the Advanced model in Mercury White color but with a Quadro RTX GPU. So thermally these laptops are very stable and the noise levels are also under control.
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Razer Blade 15 Advanced Edition
The crown for the best overall in Razer laptops goes to the Blade 15 Advanced Edition. The laptop is the obvious choice compared to others due to its advanced vapor chamber cooling and higher performance components.
The Razer Blade 15 Advanced is a bit expensive, but it is more capable than the Base edition. It is not outlandishly expensive either and the performance plus the build is worth the money.
So Razer Blade Advanced last year was available in a Mercury White color as well. But this year you can only get it in black color. The Mercury white is reserved for the Studio edition of the Razer Blade 15.
The difference in price is not just for show, it has a powerful CPU and GPU. The vapor cooling in the Advanced edition allows Razer to install a Core i7-10875H instead of the i7-10750H. It has 2 cores more than the latter, totaling the number of cores to 8 and threads to 16.
You can also get the Advanced edition with an NVIDIA RTX 2080 Max-Q for a higher price. As we said, Razer is able to fit higher performing components thanks to the vapor chamber cooling, since the Core i7-10875H and RTX 2080 Max-Q require more cooling.
It is also true that Razer has capped the performance of both the CPU and GPU for keeping noise and thermal levels in control. So you can find that some competition will get a better benchmarking score than these laptops. Of course, at the cost of higher thermals and noise.
The Advanced Edition has various configs, the lowest of them have an RTX 2070 with a 300Hz FHD display. The higher refresh panel is no joke, it has almost true to life colors, so you can actually do a lot of photo editing on this laptop. With the power it has, you can also render 4K videos on this beastly machine.
But if you are someone who requires a workstation GPU, just hold tight, we have a Quadro GPU up ahead. Thermally the laptop stays under 90 degrees Centigrade even under the most load. But that is due to being performance capped a bit.
The 10th Generation Intel Core CPUs cannot be undervolted, so these are not either. The Razer Blade 2019 laptops were factory undervolted by Razer.
The price for the most basic Advanced edition is a bit over $2000 but under $2500. The price may vary from where you buy it from, but it costs around $2400 on Razer’s official site.
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Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition
The Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition is the most expensive Razer laptop on their list right now. It has an NVIDIA Quadro RTX GPU which makes it suitable for those who perform 3D rendering and animation.
There is almost a $1000 difference between the Razer Blade Advanced Model’s highest config and the Studio Edition. The reason being that it has a Quadro RTX GPU which in itself is pretty expensive.
So if you are someone who is willing to pay the premium price for the task, the Studio edition is for you. It comes in the Mercury White color which was previously available for the Advanced edition in 2019.
The Razer Blade Studio also has a vapor chamber cooling mechanism to dissipate heat better. It only comes in one configuration on the Razer’s official website. But that is the highest configuration provided by Razer for any of its laptops.
The reason why this laptop is so expensive is that Quadro GPUs are expensive. They cost more than the normal RTX cards even if you buy them for desktop. And this one has the top of the line Quadro RTX GPUs, the RTX Quadro 5000 Max-Q.
This beastly GPU can perform rendering tasks within minutes. Not only that, but you can also play games on this GPU if you wanted to. So you are killing two birds with one stone. Although you can also use the normal RTX cards for rendering tasks, the Quadro series just performs better in that aspect.
The Studio edition has a 10th Generation Core i7-10875H, an 8-core, and 16-thread CPU. So performance-wise, this laptop is all the way up there.
Now, the laptop has per-key RGB lighting, and Razer has some of the best RGB in the industry. Razer really knows how to do RGB, whether it is their keyboards or mice or headsets.
The build quality is pretty solid thanks to these laptops being cut out of one Aluminium block. So there is no flex whatsoever in the laptop’s body.
Lastly, for the price, this is where you should brace yourself as this laptop costs more than $4000. So unless you need the Quadro RTX GPU, we would recommend going for the maxed-out Advanced edition.
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Razer Blade Stealth 13
Razer Blade Stealth 13 is a super slim and super light laptop in the 13-inch size. It is one of the first 13-inch laptops to have a 4K OLED display.
The Razer Blade Stealth 13 is one of the smallest gaming laptops in the market. But it has incredible gaming prowess, comparable to that of bigger laptops.
The Razer Blade Stealth might be one of the smallest laptops that has a 4K display. But that comes at a high price since 4K in such a small form factor isn’t cheap. But to be honest it is overkill for such a small display in the first place.
We wouldn’t recommend anyone to go for it though. Rather the high refresh rate FHD monitor would more than suffice the need for gamers. If you have to upgrade, upgrade to the faster refresh rate.
So the most affordable model of the Razer Blade Stealth is equipped with a GTX 1650Ti. The GPU is not as powerful as what you can get if you pay a little extra to get the Razer Blade 15 Base model.
But the appeal of the Razer Blade Stealth is its ultra-portable size. It is light and even with that GPU, you can game at 60FPS on most demanding titles at medium to high graphics settings.
The CPU is an Intel 10th Generation Core i7-1065G7, a 4-core and 8-thread processor capable of pulling quite some weight. Having such a powerful CPU in such a small and portable laptop is something worth paying its price for.
The Razer Blade Stealth base model has 16GB of DDR4 RAM and 512GB SSD for faster loading and booting times. This is a powerful yet compact machine capable of doing a lot. You can make it your work laptop if necessary since it is easier to carry it around.
The laptop costs $200 less than the Razer Blade 15 Base edition. It is priced at $1499 on the official Razer store.
4 – Razer Blade Pro 17
If the size is not a problem, then the Razer Blade Pro 17 is a powerful gaming laptop. It costs about the same as the Razer Blade 15 Advanced edition but is bigger and heavier. That is why some people might not be inclined to purchase this laptop.
The chassis is solid, just like every other Razer Blade laptop. It has per-key RGB lighting powered by Razer Chroma, and as we said earlier, no one does RGB as good as Razer does it. The brand is up there in the top 3 if you ask us.
So the Razer Blade 17 Pro has an Intel Core i7-10875H, an 8-core, and 16-thread CPU. With that many cores to power the laptop, it is a powerful machine indeed.
It also has an RTX 2070 Max-Q variant, quite a GPU to pair up with the 8-core CPU. Playing games on this would be a rather enjoyable experience. Specifically, because the screen is so big the experience is more enjoyable. Just like how gamers go for bigger monitors for their gaming systems.
If you have more money, you can either go for a 300Hz refresh rate panel. Or if you want the ultimate display experience, you can go for the 4K panel instead.
Either way, it will depend on your wallet in the end though. This laptop cost just as much as the Razer Blade 15 Advanced edition. It is priced at $2399 on the Razer official store.
5 – Razer Blade 15 Base Edition
Lastly, we have the Razer Blade 15 base edition. The major difference between this and the Advanced edition is the inclusion of the vapor chamber mechanism. The Razer Blade 15 Base edition still uses heat pipes to cool the CPU and GPU.
The Advanced edition is one of Razer’s best laptops for gaming and working. But the Base edition is not far off, it might not have as powerful a CPU as its other variant. But it is still a competitive gaming machine.
The cheapest of the Base edition Razer Blade 15 has a GTX 1660Ti, a powerful GPU capable of getting 60FPS in games on ultra settings. And the CPU is a Core i7-10750H, which is just two cores short of the Core i7-10875H in the Advanced edition.
But 6-cores and 8-threads are more than enough to power any CPU intensive game or task. If you are short on money, then the Base edition is a great option to go with.
It has the same body as the Razer Blade 15 Advanced edition, but it is a few millimeters thicker. The thickness is almost negligible unless you put them side by side to compare.
But it is lighter than the Razer Blade 15 Advanced edition since it uses a heat pipe mechanism to cool its components which is lighter than a vapor chamber.
The laptop is priced at $1599 on the Razer Official store. In that price, you get 16GB DDR4 memory and 512GB SSD. Also, the Base edition does not have per-key RGB, but single-zone RGB instead.
So if you are looking for that amazing Razer RGB, you should go for the Advanced edition, but it is way too expensive compared to the Base edition. There is a price difference of almost $400-$600 in these models.