Razer is not unfamiliar with high-performance gaming laptops. It seems like developers are trying to squeeze as much power into their new Blade 16/Blade 18 gaming laptops. These will be available later in the year with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX40 series graphics accelerators and the introduction of the 13th generation Intel Core processors.
Razer laptops with 13th-generation Intel Core HX processors or GeForce GTX 4090 mobile graphics will be available in a variety of configurations. Curiously though, some gaming laptop manufacturers want to minimize GPU power consumption in order increase autonomy. Razer isn’t following this route as the Blade 16/Blade 18 will use graphics cards with TGP levels of up to 175W.
The Blade 16 has a slightly different size to the Blade 15. The laptop’s width has increased only 5mm to 21.99 mm, compared to 16.99 for Blade 15. The Blade 16 laptop is light at 2.4kg, which is remarkable considering the performance it offers.
Of special note is the Blade 16 mini-LED display, which has a 16:10 aspect ratio, peak brightness of 1000 cd/m² and supports two modes of operation: 4K at 120Hz refresh rate and FHD+ at 240Hz refresh rate. The Blade 18 lacks a screen mode selection feature. Depending on the purpose of your laptop, selecting modes can be useful. Note that when using the FHD + mode and 240 Hz, the peak brightness indicator drops to 600 cd / m². You will need to restart the device in order to switch between modes. This may not be convenient.
Razer claims that the Blade 18 is the company’s most powerful gaming laptop. This laptop is not only high-end hardware but also features a 240Hz QHD+ resolution screen and a 5MP camera that can be used live streaming. Six speakers provide THX spatial sound support. The Blade 18 is similar to the Blade 16 in that it has many interfaces for connecting additional equipment. This includes several USB Type C connectors, HDMI 2.0, and Ethernet (only available on the Blade 18).
As you might expect the price of the Razer laptops will not please buyers. The Blade 16 is priced at $2700 and the Blade 18 at $2900. Both models will be more expensive than $3,500 in the highest configuration. In the first quarter 2023, new items will be available for purchase.