Verdict
With substantial performance and a better screen than last year ’s model , the Razer Blade 16 ( 2024 ) is another superb gambling laptop with an downplay style . However , it ’s up against such potent competition at this price .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
The Razer Blade 16 made some Wave last year , swot a 16 - inch screen into what would typically be a 15 - inch body , on top of a powerful gaming spec capable of feed most game at the aboriginal QHD+ firmness of purpose .
It also came with an strange party caper : a dual resolution Mini light-emitting diode display that could switch between Full HD and QHD+ resolution so that gamers could black market more demanding game at 1080p and have a chance of using the panel ’s maximum 240Hz refresh pace . The 2024 update is a fiddling more conservative . Dual Mode displays are out andOLEDdisplays are in , with a 2560×1600 solvent OLED covert that – in a Razer first – supports a 240Hz refresh .
Beyond this , new lineament are roughly what you might expect , with the sometime 13th generation Core i9 - 13950HX CPU switched out for the cutting boundary Core i9 - 14900HX . With no new GPUs to put into action , Razer has stuck to the exist RTX 4070 , 4080 and 4090 option , while it comes with between 16 GB and 96 GB of RAM and up to 8 TB of fast NVMe SSD storage .
Aside from the screen , we ’re not talking about massive changes , but is it enough to verify the Razer Blade 16 still matters in what ’s become a very competitive area of the gaming laptop market ? I ’ve spent the last couple of weeks using the raw Razer Blade 16 to rule out .
Design and keyboard
Not much has changed in the design since last twelvemonth ’s model ; the Razer Blade 16 is thickset for a 16 - in laptop computer , but still not what you could exactly call slender or light . While the screen background footprint is relatively sizeable at 355 mm by 244 mm , it ’s still a chunky 22 mm slurred and the 2.45Kg means it ’s more potential to be desk bound for most of its solve lifespan than tug around all day in a traveling bag .
TheAsus ROG Zephyrus G16is perceptibly thinner and lighter , and it does n’t aid that the 330W GaN world power supplying roll up in is an downright animal , weigh well-nigh 800 g without the mains cable television attached .
I rather like the understate pattern , with its matte ignominious anodised aluminium casing . The finish is a bit of a greasy fingerprint magnet , but not the sorry I ’ve seen on this account .
There ’s a big , bright green illuminated Razer logotype on the lid , but otherwise it ’s only the RGB backlit keyboard that yell of any gamer bling , and even here you have a circumstances of dominance over how large or low-spirited winder you want to with colours and animated effect . My one ill is that the lighting only shines through the independent key legends and not through the extra symbols and punctuation mark marks . It ’s not a problem while you ’re bet on , but it can be if you ’re essay to type in glooming or non-white conditions .
As for the feel of the keyboard , it give you an good balance between gaming and productivity , with a more clicky , mechanical feel that works well when you ’re hitting hotkeys in RPGs and scheme games , but the sort of traveling and tranquil , faint reply you want when you ’re trying to work your way through an e-mail or a document .
The trackpad , lamentably , is a bit of a disaster . On the positive side , it ’s tremendous and very sore . Used cautiously , you may make exact excerpt and it always picks up multitouch gestures and quick taps . However , it ’s really a little too sensitive and there seems to be no effective palm rejection .
In fact , during utilization I always seemed to be pulling off inadvertent gestures to switch background or fill up down active windowpane . While typing , I kept on finding that the pointer had rifle rascal and had selected a bloodline manner up from where I was actually working on the sieve . I thought this might be me , but then I checkedAdam ’s review of last year ’s modelto find he had the precise same issue . It say a fortune that I ’m now typing this on the Blade 16 with the touchpad disabled and my pumped gaming black eye plugged in .
I ’ve no serious complaint about the embrasure excerpt . There ’s still just oneThunderbolt 4port , but you also have a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type - C along with anHDMI 2.1output , three USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type - A ports , an Coyote State card reader and a headset socket . There ’s no Ethernet for quick wireless networking , but withWi - Fi 6Eonboard , along with Bluetooth 5.4 , that ’s not a massive issue .
Razer has announced a range of sustainability goal and assure to use recycle or recyclable materials across its product lines by 2030 . Right now , though , there ’s no sign that any such materials are used in this particular laptop computer . The publicity is primarily cardboard , but with some high-flown polythene materials used for padding .
Screen
The OLED screen is bill as the biggest merchandising point of the Razer Blade 16 ( 2024 ) , and it really is something of a triumph . The combination of the 16 - inch size , 2560 x 1600 resolve and superb contrast gives you awesome layer of lucidness , with mystifying blacks and some stunning vibrant colouring .
If I ’ve enjoyed play on the Razer Blade 16 – and I have – it ’s because nearly everything you play look fantastic , especially anything with neon chromaticity , rich and detailed texture , bright highlights and atmospherical lighting effect . I ’ve been revisiting old haunts in Destiny 2 and enjoy Cyberpunk 2077 just because the game world continually make you go wow on this video display .
It ’s also a great bet foreSportsfans , just because you have the OLED sieve and 240Hz refresh charge per unit . wreak something that can flow at 1080p/1440p at 120Hz or more and you ’re in for beautifully smooth visuals . Your putting to death / death ratio might not actually go up , but you wo n’t be able-bodied to blame this presentation for that .
In terms of numbers , you ’re looking at a maximum brightness of 417.3 nit with perfect blacks and organic light-emitting diode ’s usual infinite dividing line . That ’s not the 1000 nit that some Mini LED gore get hold of , but it ’s still more than enough for salutary usability in most indoor conditions and nifty HDR effects .
It strike 99.9 % sRGB coverage with a 153.9 % gamut intensity , and 99.9 % of the DCI - P3 colour outer space with a 107.6 % loudness . With an average Delta E of 0.62 with HDR enable it ’s adequate to of deal colour critical originative work , and it ’s as capable with movies and streaming series as it is with games . Everything you watch just pops .
There ’s evenly good news on the audio front . I normally take THX Spatial Audio branding with a pinch of Strategic Arms Limitation Talks , but the output from the Blade 16 ’s dual tweeters , dual subwoofers speaker array is astonishingly convincing , return percipient and immersive sound in both game and movies . It ’s fine for music too , with a much more lifelike , rounded sound than most other gaming laptops can muster . You might not pick up the details that you would on a effective lot of headphones , but it ’s an pleasurable way to get some background medicine while you ’re working .
Performance
The Intel Core i9 - 14900HX in the new Razer Blade 16 ( 2024 ) is a monstrously hefty processor , with eight carrying into action cores and sixteen Efficient heart capable of do by 32 simultaneous threads at speeds of up to 5.8GHz on the phosphorus cores and 4.1GHz on the E cores . With 32 GB of RAM on our test model and the RTX 4090 , it ’s only right to carry stupendous horizontal surface of speed .
And for the most part , that ’s precisely what you get . The musical score in our Geekbench 6 , PC Mark 10 and Cinebench R23 benchmarks direct the Blade 16 in the top level of play laptop computer , near to theAcer Predator Helios 18and well ahead of last year ’s model .
It ’s a blazingly degraded laptop that ’s kick the bucket to be overkill for normal productivity work and very well-situated handling three-D subject matter creation or advanced 4 K video editing . However , it ’s not quite at the top of that top tier , where you ’ll find the like of theAsus ROG Strix Scar 18 ; the latter pulls ahead of the Blade 16 in the Cinebench benchmark and , by a smaller margin , in Geekbench 6 .
In games , the Blade 16 give the Scar 18 stiffer competition . The resultant in the Returnal bench mark are nearly identical at FHD and QHD resolution , and the Blade 16 actually pulls beforehand with DLSS enable in QHD to hit 142fps to the Asus ’s 136 . The Asus hail out on top in Cyberpunk 2077 at 1080p without shaft tracing , but only by 3fps , while at QHD the Razer is the victor , at 87fps to 83fps .
It holds that lead with RT Ultra preferences both at FHD and QHD solvent , and can even manage 39fps at the native 1600p . EnableDLSS 3.0and you may take that up to 75fps – or a staggering 118fps with skeletal system propagation toggled on . That ’s incredibly tranquil for such a demand game , though I still spotted some minor hitches and stutter here and there .
With this specification , that 240Hz refresh charge per unit is n’t just for show . In Rainbow Six : descent it hit an average figure rate of 252fps at 1080p and 194fps at QHD , outpace even the Acer Predator Helios 18 .
Software
Razer is one of the better manufacturers when it comes to not instal bloatware . You ’ll find no unneeded utilities or trial of VPNs and anti - virus tools here . Instead , the independent system practical program is Synapse , which might be familiar if you ’ve used the stigma ’s gaming peripherals .
Synapse gives you all of the performance monitoring and management tools you could wish for , along with two attack to customising the RGB light ; the basic Lighting panel , where you ’ll discover simple animated effects , and the Chroma Studio control panel , where you may set up more sophisticated geographical zone inflammation and per - central event .
Synapse is slick , full of features and make with gamers in mind , making it a better choice than you ’ll find on the gaming laptops of some mainstream brands .
Battery life
stamp battery lifespan on big - screen gaming laptops is seldom prima , so it ’s no surprise to see the Razer putting iron out in the personal computer Mark 10 Modern Office bench mark after just three hour and zero minute of arc .
That ’s thirteen hour less than the Predator Helios 18 , which has a bigger mini - lead screen to magnate , but forty - eight second more than the ROG Strix Scar 18 , which could only manage two hours and 12 minutes . The Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 fare much well ; despite birth a standardised 16 - inch organic light-emitting diode screen , it held up for about six hours . However , it also has a lower specification , with a more free energy - efficient Core Ultra 9 185H CPU instead of the Blade 16 ’s Core i9 - 14900HX .
If the shelling life is n’t exactly epic , at least the 330W courser does its work quickly . 30 minutes plugged in will get you back to 36 % , and you could be fully charged well within 90 minutes .
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Should you buy it?
The Razer Blade 16 ’s biggest forcefulness is that it give you the performance of a lusus naturae gaming laptop computer without all the associate bulk and weight , along with a fantastic OLED screen and bright sound .
At over £ 4000 this is nobody ’s idea of cheap , and for the same money you could have even secure functioning and a bigger sieve . instead , you could look for a slender and lighter model , such as theROG Zephyrus G16 , even if it intend taking a hitting on peeled gaming horsepower .
Final Thoughts
The Razer Blade 16 ( 2024 ) transmit on the adept work started by last class ’s version , with a slight bump in speeds and an amazing screen that ’s go to make more gumption to the majority of gamers . It ’s compact , fashionable and well - built , with more than enough 3D power to handleAAA gamesfor twelvemonth to come .
However , the smaller dimensions and style come at a slight performance monetary value , and recent 18 - in rivals like theROG Strix Scar 18andPredator Helios 18give you even more top executive for the same variety of budget . What ’s more , we ’re watch a new breed of slimmer , lighter laptops like theROG Zephyrus G16that have a slightly larger footprint , but arguably beat the Blade 16 on looks and weight . This remains a fantastic gaming laptop , but there ’s stiffer rival this year , especially at this form of price . Check out ourBest Gaming Laptopguide for even more option .
Trusted Score
How we test
Every laptop computer we critique function through a serial of uniform check project to judge key things including soma timbre , performance , screen timber and battery life .
These let in schematic synthetic benchmarks and scripted tests , plus a series of real - world stop , such as how well it runs pop apps .
FAQs
The Razer Blade 14 ( 2024 ) consider in at 2.4 kg , which means it ’s belike too hefty to carry in a grip on the even , but still light enough to easy carry it from desk to desk .
Yes , it is possible to elevate the RAM on the Razer Blade 14 ( 2024 ) laptop .
It depend on what variety of performance you desire to prioritise . upgrade the RAM will insure a smoother performance when juggle multiple workloads , while upgrade the SSD will increase the warehousing content so you may establish more game and program , while also boost the amphetamine of game loading times and the boot - up clock time of your laptop .
Test Data
Full Specs
