Razer Blade 2023 edition

[maflynn]

Looks like Razer took the wraps off two new laptops CES. The Razer Blade 16 and Razer Blade 18

I can't imagine these will be "affordable" but still they look really nice. I've been pleased with my Razer Blade 15 and if I had a few thousand dollars laying around the house, I'd probably look to get one, but alas, I'm a poor working stiff.

 

[maflynn]

Razer Blade 16 hands-on: a dream gaming laptop

Intel’s 13th-Gen Core i9-13950HX and up to Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 4090 graphics. The Blade 16 starts at $2,699.99.

Expensive, but 2,700 isn't horrendous, though, the keyword is "starts"

 

[maflynn]

Here's a nice talking head video, I watch a lot of Matthew's he does like Razer, but he nails it when he said its going to be very very expensive

 

[MBAir2010]

Good, the better these Razor and other intel chip laptops are, the better the  ones will be!
kinda like the Beatles and beach boys during the mid-60's trying to out-album themselves!

 

[maflynn]

the better the  ones will be!

I think overall competition is healthy and will keep apple innovating, with that said, Razer is a boutique company that sells low-ish volume, at least compared to Apple, Dell and HP.

One thing that I hope is not a trend is $3,000 and $4,000 dollar laptops and that's where I think the industry is moving. My earlier post had the base model of the razer at 2.700. Want a better gpu, better display, its easily going to be over the $3,000 mark. Buying a decently spec'd out 16" MBP will easily cost you over 3k as well. So from a pricing point, there's more concern then from a innovation perspective.

 

[TSE]

18 inch laptop?!?! Unbelievable!!!!

 

[maflynn]

18 inch laptop?!?! Unbelievable!!!!

In all honesty, I can't imagine any situation where it makes sense to buy an 18" laptop. Billed as a desktop replacement, it will be far cheaper buy (or build) a desktop You can build a desktop and get a decent gaming laptop for any mobility needs imo

 

[SteveJUAE]

In all honesty, I can't imagine any situation where it makes sense to buy an 18" laptop. Billed as a desktop replacement, it will be far cheaper buy (or build) a desktop You can build a desktop and get a decent gaming laptop for any mobility needs imo

There maybe plenty of users who do not have a dedicated room or area for a desktop

Although I have an "Office" at home I still tout my laptops around and use in main living area when the Mrs is watching her evening drivel on TV

Mobility is not limited to external use only IMO

I just gifted my 2019 Mercury 15" Razer OLED to my youngest, but still have my Razer Book in Mercury/OLED so not in the market for one of these monsters, yet .........

 

[TechRunner]

In all honesty, I can't imagine any situation where it makes sense to buy an 18" laptop. Billed as a desktop replacement, it will be far cheaper buy (or build) a desktop You can build a desktop and get a decent gaming laptop for any mobility needs imo

I've always liked the theory of 18" laptops, as it would be great to have that screen size in a mobile device. Then I carry my XPS 15 around for a bit and realize I wouldn't want anything bigger.

I imagine the price of it would be eye-watering to me. Razer laptops are pricey. An 18" Blade? Yikes...

 

[maflynn]

Mobility is not limited to external use only IMO

Certainly, and I understand the use case, I frequently use my Razer on my recliner, but as @TechRunner mentioned, the price is going to be eye-watering. I think its appeal is going to be very niche. It will be mostly limited to the desktop replacement segment where as you mentioned a physical desktop may not ideal or feasible. Yet I think the price point will push many potential buyers away from it as a possible solution - just my $.02

Btw, I'm a self-described razer fanboy So I generally like what they have to offer. I love their design, they're really mac like in the design of their hardware. I just wish they were more apple like in terms of the customer support ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[maflynn]

I've always liked the theory of 18" laptops, as it would be great to have that screen size in a mobile device. Then I carry my XPS 15 around for a bit and realize I wouldn't want anything bigger.

I've only seen 17" laptops in stores, and in all honesty, they looked like quite the behemoths, the 18" may not be terribly larger with smaller bezels but its going to be a chonky boy to be sure.

I'll not lie, I am tempted by the 16" I REALLY don't think I can justify the cost, but I am eye balling it

 

[hovscorpion12]

I’m looking at either Razer 18 or MSI Titan to replace my MacBook Pro 16. I will say the dual-resolution of the Razer 16 is nice. Being able to have both 1080p and 4K.

 

[DeepIn2U]

In all honesty, I can't imagine any situation where it makes sense to buy an 18" laptop. Billed as a desktop replacement, it will be far cheaper buy (or build) a desktop You can build a desktop and get a decent gaming laptop for any mobility needs imo

Moreso marketed as mobile workstation.

The pricing is getting seriously out of hand and considering the global financial climate I really don’t think it’s smart for the higher costs.

 

[DeepIn2U]

Looks like Razer took the wraps off two new laptops CES. The Razer Blade 16 and Razer Blade 18

I can't imagine these will be "affordable" but still they look really nice. I've been pleased with my Razer Blade 15 and if I had a few thousand dollars laying around the house, I'd probably look to get one, but alas, I'm a poor working stiff.

Why does this dude keep saying “racer” not “Razer”?! Lol.

I’m looking forward to the 14” Blade as it brings the best in portability and performance and pricing, for me. Personally I’ve never liked large laptops.

Currently work work I’m using the ZBook Firefly but non-NVidia T550 gpu. I was heavily thinking of purchasing one for personal use and connect an eGPU for light gaming but with an 11th Gen Core-i5 not sure that’s the best play.

I’m still eyeing 14” M1Pro MBP vs the current or upcoming 14” Razor Blade.

 

[maflynn]

here's a nice video where the YTer goes over details

One thing that stuck out is the weight of the 18"

 

[Romain_H]

Those things are seriously sweet. I had a Blade 14 briefly a year ago. Unfortunately it denied to output video externally under Linux (some strange proprietary hardware issue iirc), so it had to go.
Maybe I'll try the new ones

 

[dmr727]

Since I take my laptop on the road these are on the big side for me, but I'm waiting to see what's next for their 14". I ended up with a MacBook Air the last time around, but I'm always looking over the fence at what my next laptop will be. Razer seems to be one of the few companies offering a premium dGPU laptop with AMD processors and a high res (non gaming) screen.

 

[TechRunner]

here's a nice video where the YTer goes over details

One thing that stuck out is the weight of the 18"
View attachment 2138981

7 pounds. Yikes. That sure puts the "desktop" in desktop replacement, doesn't it?

 

[nikster0029]

Looks like a February release; I am also eyeing purchasing a 16

 

[1BadManVan]

Looks like a February release; I am also eyeing purchasing a 16

My wife was liking the 16" as well, but she just did a 32gb ram upgrade and an extra 1tb ssd in her current blade 15. She'll be good for another year I think.

 

[maflynn]

An early look, no benchmarks but Dave2D has them on hand, so its nice get some more opinions. I am liking the 16" model

 

[Romain_H]

An early look, no benchmarks but Dave2D has them on hand, so its nice get some more opinions. I am liking the 16" model

Link appears to be broken?

 

[maflynn]

Link appears to be broken?

Its playing for me

 

[EastHillWill]

7 pounds. Yikes. That sure puts the "desktop" in desktop replacement, doesn't it?

Yikes is right. I’ve never been one of those ‘gaming laptops don’t make sense’ people, but at 18” and 7 lbs. you really need to ask yourself if this is the best option. (And I think the charger, which of course you’ll to want to have nearby, is close to another pound.) Pretty sweet machine for those it works for, though.

 

[c0ppo]

16" looks great to me!
But for someone like me, who can purchase a Razer only via ebay/amazon, that's a lot of money to gamble on Razer QC. And even if I won the QC lottery, I never tried out Razer keyboards. I really have to love the keyboard before I purchase.

Hopefully, someone is brave enough to purchase one of these beasts and I get to at least try it out for a few minutes