Razer Blade 14 (2021)

[pi=e=3]

I've been sitting here, hovering over the order button on one of these for what seems like weeks now...

Amazon Canada (the only non-Razer Canadian retailer) doesn't have stock, and I don't want to have to deal with Razer directly should I want to return it for not meeting my needs, as it seems I'd be paying the return shipping.

If someone here has both one of these and a MBP with a 500 nit panel, is there any chance you can do me a solid and show me the peak brightness in comparison? (and perhaps a 75% on the MPB vs full on the RB). And if you happen to have an external display, would you mind telling me what the thermals are like just driving it (no GPU load beyond basic OS function/browser)? I don't want a MBP 16" situation here.

Thanks so much in advanced.

 

[RedTheReader]

I'm generally happy with the keyboard, I have the opti-mechanical ones that came as a high end option for the 15" model, back when I bought it. I'm not sure if those made are now considered standard or not.

I remember drooling over this optomechanical keyboard when Razer first put it in their laptops. Unfortunately, far from making it standard, they removed it from their lineup altogether… just like they removed the mechanical keyboard that was in the 2016-2017 Blade Pro. Why? I don’t know. Self-sabotage, maybe?

The keyboard in this machine’s rubber dome, and it really is awful.

 

[Never mind]

Here’s a follow up from Dave….

.

 

[dmr727]

^^^ yeah, I think it's pretty clear that they fit a badass amount of performance into a 14" chassis. Certainly looks nice too as I'm not a fan of gamer aesthetics. I am nervous about what some here and especially Reddit have to say about Razer's build quality (pillowed batteries are supposedly a huge issue - perhaps AMD's better thermals will help there), but I like @maflynn 's idea to purchase from Amazon and lean on their support rather than depend on Razer for it.

 

[Never mind]

^^^ yeah, I think it's pretty clear that they fit a badass amount of performance into a 14" chassis. Certainly looks nice too as I'm not a fan of gamer aesthetics. I am nervous about what some here and especially Reddit have to say about Razer's build quality (pillowed batteries are supposedly a huge issue - perhaps AMD's better thermals will help there), but I like @maflynn 's idea to purchase from Amazon and lean on their support rather than depend on Razer for it.

Just saw an article on razor blade, that this year it will be much better than The placement you see below.

 

[raqball]

Just saw an article on razor blade, that this year it will be much better than The placement you see below.

Odd that Apple scored so low.. I assumed they'd score much higher as they generally get good reviews. Yes the design is a bit outdated and selection / options are low but the value is there, at least with the M1 Air, and I've always had stellar support from them...

 

[GoldfishRT]

Laptopmag is very suspect in how they measure support - it essentially boils down to they see if they can get a response to their questions on social media, support chat, and by phone and that's the end of it. You can read the 'Report Card' here: https://www.laptopmag.com/articles/razer-tech-support

It doesn't actually take into consideration say, whether the manufacturer will cross ship a replacement or send out a new battery free of charge or whether the product is reliable in the first place. Or if you have a more nebulous issue that needs to be diagnosed (really, swapping the Fn keys?)

Apple's score on the overall list is brought down by the 'innovation' and 'selection' categories. Which is nothing surprising. Apple is number 2 on their support tier list, for whatever that's worth. https://www.laptopmag.com/articles/tech-support-showdown

 

[jrichards1408]

I wished it had 32gb ram.

 

[Pilot Jones]

I wished it had 32gb ram.

Seconded. I can't believe they went to such lengths to make such a phenomenal machine, but then just stopped short of making it the bonafide king of the hill.

Would've been an utter shoo in for anyone who operates graphically intense software on a daily basis, but now it's just one of many good options.

 

[Harthag]

I currently own a Blade and love it, ended up selling my M1 Air because the 14" Blade is my ideal machine.

I laugh every time I see that laptopmag review on customer support placing Razer so highly. They are a joke. Please, save yourselves the headache and never buy from Razer direct if you want to buy a Blade. I received the FHD + 3060 model and on day 14 it developed an LCD defect. It took Razer over 2 weeks just to process my RMA for refund. The RMA email said to send the laptop to California here in the U.S., and the pre-paid shipping label was addressed to Razer Taiwan. In the end the Taiwan address was the correct one, we'll see how long it takes to get the refund.

Please watch this video re: Razer support, it is laughable.

That said, I re-bought the Blade 14 w/ RTX 3080 from Microsoft. Best laptop I've ever used so far. Silent and cool when doing regular office work. I've been getting well over 5 hours of battery when working, with about 30% remaining when I'm done.

For the enthusiasts out there, you can flash the vbios to get even more power out of the GPU. I flashed a different 100w 3080 vbios on mine and score 12,200 on Timespy graphics. For comparison, the 165w 3080 in the Lenovo Legion 7 gets about 13,200 graphics. So in a 14" form factor this level of performance is awesome. My max GPU temps never exceed 82C.

Fingers crossed for no battery bloat.

 

[maflynn]

I laugh every time I see that laptopmag review on customer support placing Razer so highly.

I've had decent interactions with them and their "reputation" for support as increased - at least what's being reported by those sites. I hope it is true things are getting better, but when I bought my Razer I decided to get it through Amazon and I bought their warranty - that way any issues, I go through Amazon. So far two years in (something like that) its a rock solid laptop

I'm really tempted for the 14" laptop but I'm content with what I have, and I see no reason to get something else when this is still fully meeting my needs but it is a temptation

 

[Steve Adams]

I cannot believe that ASUS is number one. I would not buy an electric toothbrush from Asus. Their service and products are horrible. I bought three vivotabs all at the same time. The screens failed within 3 months of ownership. (all three). They would not honor their warranty and I was essentially stuck with three paperweights. I still have two of them in my office. Can't sell them, can't use them. I also had the same thing happen with 2 motherboards from them. I bought all items within a month from each other. The caps went on the boards within the warranty period. Again, No warranty support.

RUN AWAY from Asus.

 

[raqball]

I've had decent interactions with them and their "reputation" for support as increased - at least what's being reported by those sites. I hope it is true things are getting better, but when I bought my Razer I decided to get it through Amazon and I bought their warranty - that way any issues, I go through Amazon. So far two years in (something like that) its a rock solid laptop

I'm really tempted for the 14" laptop but I'm content with what I have, and I see no reason to get something else when this is still fully meeting my needs but it is a temptation

I was seriously eyeballing their Razer Book 13.4" but reports of the KB being bad and missing keystrokes scared me away.. I think it uses the same KB as the Blade but not 100% sure on that..

 

[maflynn]

but reports of the KB being bad and missing keystrokes scared me away

I've never had any issues with the keyboard. I'm pretty happy with it, granted its not on the same level as a thinkpad keyboard, but what is? I think its a better keyboard then what is on the Mac

 

[raqball]

I've never had any issues with the keyboard. I'm pretty happy with it, granted its not on the same level as a thinkpad keyboard, but what is? I think its a better keyboard then what is on the Mac

Well darn... I wish I would have tried it out then. Microsoft has their top of the line $2K model (i7, 16GB RAM, 512SSD, 4K screen) on sale for $1699 and with my discount I could have got it for $1530..

 

[jrichards1408]

How's the temps when gaming on this?

 

[Harthag]

How's the temps when gaming on this?

On my 3080 version the max GPU temp I've seen is 82 degrees (even while using flashed higher TDP vbios). CPU can get to mid 90s. Totally normal for this size laptop.

 

[maflynn]

On my 3080 version the max GPU temp I've seen is 82 degrees (even while using flashed higher TDP vbios). CPU can get to mid 90s. Totally normal for this size laptop.

Check out AMD's Ryzen Master - its used for overclocking but you can use it to lower the power/frequencies and set it to run cooler (I have it set to eco-mode). My computer runs cool but it is a desktop. I'm not sure what bios settings you have, but there may some settings there to run (a tad) slower but cooler. I don't mind giving up some performance if it means running cooler and I'm happy with it - granted its a desktop and airflow and cooling is a lot better then a laptop but you get what I mean

 

[dmr727]

I don't mind giving up some performance if it means running cooler and I'm happy with it - granted its a desktop and airflow and cooling is a lot better then a laptop but you get what I mean

I know exactly what you mean - my 1060 (I know, I know ) gets really loud when pushed, and I'll dial down the settings on a game just to get a little more peace and quiet. I don't think I'd push a Razer 14" very much, so hopefully it can remain on my lap for most things I tend to do.

 

[Harthag]

Check out AMD's Ryzen Master - its used for overclocking but you can use it to lower the power/frequencies and set it to run cooler (I have it set to eco-mode). My computer runs cool but it is a desktop. I'm not sure what bios settings you have, but there may some settings there to run (a tad) slower but cooler. I don't mind giving up some performance if it means running cooler and I'm happy with it - granted its a desktop and airflow and cooling is a lot better then a laptop but you get what I mean

View attachment 1810358

Doesn't work with the 5900HX, tried it a few days ago. I've instead edited the registry to disable boost when I don't need it.

 

[GoldfishRT]

I wish they offered the QHD display on all models. The sweet spot in my mind is that $1799 price point the base hits but apparently the 1080p panel is sub-par.

I'm officially in the market now but I really don't want to spend over 2 grand again on something that will be a secondary machine. My desktop in its completed form is quite the monster and I'm heavily looking at the 13-14" size class but it really seems like it comes down to this machine, maybe the Stealth or G14, or an M1 MacBook Pro 13.

 

[Harthag]

I wish they offered the QHD display on all models. The sweet spot in my mind is that $1799 price point the base hits but apparently the 1080p panel is sub-par.

I'm officially in the market now but I really don't want to spend over 2 grand again on something that will be a secondary machine. My desktop in its completed form is quite the monster and I'm heavily looking at the 13-14" size class but it really seems like it comes down to this machine, maybe the Stealth or G14, or an M1 MacBook Pro 13.

If you order from Microsoft with the student discount the 3070 model becomes $1999.

 

[eltoslightfoot]

So I had a desktop with an RX 580 8GB (used to Hackintosh) that melted on me (bad power supply?).

I decided that since Scrivener 3 is out for windows, and now there are alternatives to Vellum, I would see if I could get a gaming laptop and sell my M1 Macbook Air (as it is nigh impossible to get a video card for MSRP).

I settled on an Asus Zephryus G14 with a Ryzen 9 5900HSand a RTX 3060 with a 1 TB SSD. This little thing is a beast. I can game just fine and I like everything about it. It was on sale for $1400 when I got it at Best Buy--it is now $1549 which is still a good deal. Many places are calling it their laptop of the year.

Asus Zephyrus G14 at Best Buy

I did think about the Razer, but Reddit scared me off with talk of expanding batteries.
I also (since I live in the middle of nowhere) opted for the Best Buy warranty so I have someone local to give it to in the event of a repair.

Here is what truly surprises me. Apple has really been resting on its laurels. This thing can game, do everything else I need it to do in ONE MACHINE. No mac can do that. And I really don't miss the software as much as I thought I would.

Windows 11 will help even more--as there are some reports it runs even faster and cooler on Win11.

I think the overall philosophy of turning macs into iOS is really, really limiting and will continue to trend even worse that direction. It used to be (and I sound like the old man yelling at a cloud here) that Mac was the badass UNIX system that was more free than Windows, but that is no longer the case--IMO.

I would also like to add that I agree with @maflynn --1080p is enough at 14"...

 

[dmr727]

Here is what truly surprises me. Apple has really been resting on its laurels. This thing can game, do everything else I need it to do in ONE MACHINE. No mac can do that. And I really don't miss the software as much as I thought I would.

Not sure that I agree that Apple has been resting on its laurels - I mean, they've been moving the Mac to a completely new architecture! But overall I agree. I see my iPhone the way Apple wants me to see it - as merely an appliance - so the walled garden doesn't bother me much there. But my computers are a very different thing, and Apple has been trending in a direction that has me nervous for the future.

 

[poked]

I owned a Razer blade pro 17” before I sold it and decided to buy an iMac. It’s stupidly powerful, but i wasn’t getting anything productive done on it at all. More in line with Razer products in general: they can’t make a keyboard to save their lives. :/