Razer Blade 14 (2022) review

Good laptop at a reasonable price

The Razer Blade 14 is a compact, lightweight laptop that packs a punch in terms of power and performance. Despite its slim design, it boasts durability and is great for gaming with its high-resolution display and selection of physical ports. While the keyboard may feel a bit small due to its size, this is still the best gaming laptop that is hard to part with.

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Specification

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 6900HX
• Graphics: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti
• RAM: 16GB DDR5-4800
• Storage: 1TB PCIe Gen4 SSD
• Screen: 14-inch 2560×1440, 165Hz
• Weight: 1.78 kg
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3
• Camera: 1080p IR webcam
• Size: 1.7 x 32.0 x 22.0 cm

The Razer Blade 14 has been a favorite for gamers who prioritize portability over power and the 2022 model is no exception. It’s exceptional build quality and user experience make it a joy to use. However, there are some minor drawbacks to consider such as the soldered RAM, limited space for some of the keys, and the high price tag.

Although the Razer Blade 14 is a premium product, with a steep price tag of $2,600, it is worth every penny for those who can afford it. Its gaming performance is unmatched and it is perhaps the best compact gaming laptop available. The only close competitor is the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14, which is slightly more affordable and less powerful.

The Razer Blade 14 is equipped with an RTX 3070 Ti and can run demanding games and benchmarks with ease while remaining cool and quiet. Its 1440p 165Hz panel is factory-calibrated and boasts incredible color density and contrast, making it a great choice for content creation as well.

Overall, the Razer Blade 14 is an excellent choice for gamers on the go who want a powerful and portable gaming system. Its above-average battery life only adds to its portability, making it one of the best laptops currently available.

Razer Blade 14: Price and Availability

The Razer Blade 14 model reviewed here is priced at $2,600 and is in the middle of the available versions, which range from an RTX 3060 to an RTX 3080 Ti. The laptop features a Ryzen 9 6900HX processor and 16GB of DDR5 RAM, with only the RTX 3060 model having a different display than the 165Hz QHD panel found in the reviewed unit.

While the laptop is expensive compared to building a desktop PC with similar components for under $1,500, it is currently the only 14-inch laptop available with this GPU, making it the most powerful compact gaming machine on the market. Other manufacturers may catch up in the future, but for now, the Razer Blade 14 is the best option for high-powered gaming performance in a small form factor.

Razer Blade 14: Design

The Razer Blade 14 of 2022 appears to be visually unchanged from prior models. However, this is not necessarily a negative attribute. The Blade design is iconic, a symbol of the Razer laptop brand, for legitimate reasons – it is minimalistic yet captivating, adorned solely by a Razer logo on the cover and a brilliant RGB keyboard.

The entire laptop body is fabricated from machined aluminum, then coated black, resulting in extreme durability (although it does have a tendency to collect fingerprints). Upon holding the Razer Blade 14, one can tell that the device is of exceptional build quality. The screen hinge remains firm, while the keyboard frame has nearly zero flex.

Unfortunately, the 14-inch display size leaves little room for the keyboard to stretch out, and this situation is not aided by the presence of twin speaker grilles located on either side of the keyboard. Although the Razer Blade 14’s stereo speakers are relatively high-quality, they do cause the keys on the far right and far left of the keyboard to be truncated. This can take some getting used to, particularly for individuals with larger hands.

The trackpad is a different story, it is expansive and responsive, composed of glass for a velvety finger glide and an enjoyable, substantial click. All Razer Blade laptops are now equipped with this type of trackpad, and it is always a pleasure to use.

In terms of physical connectivity, the Razer Blade 14 has two USB-A and two USB-C ports, as well as an HDMI output to connect to a secondary display. The absence of an Ethernet port means that users will have to rely on Wi-Fi, but this should not be an issue for most. The 1TB SSD can be swapped out if the chassis is opened, but the RAM is soldered in place, resulting in no memory upgrades being possible.

Lastly, there is the matter of the screen. Oh, what a lovely display it is! Almost all of Razer’s Blades have amazing displays, and this one is no exception. Its 165Hz refresh rate makes it perfect for esports games where high frame rates are essential, and its up to 100% DCI-P3 color reproduction makes it fantastic for digital artwork and photo editing. It is, in essence, a stunning display for a gorgeous laptop.

Razer Blade 14: Performance

The central processing unit (CPU) of this laptop contains the RTX 3070 Ti graphics card. While not as powerful as its desktop version, it is still an impressive choice of the graphics card. In fact, the 3080 Ti model of the Razer Blade 14 seems redundant in comparison, given that it lacks a 4K display.

Playing games at 1440p is a delightful experience. Most games can run at a maximum graphical setting with a clear 60 frames per second. Games that require minor adjustments, such as lowering the graphics preset from Ultra to High, can also reach the 60fps threshold. Furthermore, Nvidia DLSS can upscale from a 1080p resolution for even better performance.

The GPU’s ray-tracing ability is notable, particularly when paired with DLSS. The Cyberpunk 2077 RTX benchmark achieved 60fps with DLSS enabled at 1440p and texture detail set to Medium. The game was still fully playable even when set to Ultra settings.

The AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX, a prevalent gaming laptop processor, delivers good performance overall. However, it falls short of Intel’s competing i9-12900H, which boasts innovative efficiency cores that handle background processes while gaming. The SSD’s speed is lightning-fast, with games loading quickly and internal file transfers taking only a few seconds.

What truly impressed me was how quiet Blade 14 was during our performance tests. In comparison, my Acer Nitro gaming laptop can be incredibly loud, sounding like a wind turbine. The Blade 14’s dual fans produced only a gentle whirring sound throughout our tests.

The keyboard did become slightly warm after extended use, but the internal components still remained cooler than larger laptops with louder fans. I am unsure of the cooling wizardry Razer employs here, especially since the larger Blade models have previously struggled with thermal performance. Out of curiosity, I ran the Cinebench R20 benchmark several times from an external hard drive, and the laptop itself made less noise than the drive disk spinning.

Razer Blade 14: Battery Life

In light of the fact that the Razer Blade 14 is equipped with a 61.6Whr battery, which is relatively smaller compared to other gaming laptops, it performed commendably well in our battery endurance trials. We were able to achieve a battery life of over eight hours when playing a looped video at half brightness, which is fairly impressive considering the potency of its internal components.

If you intend to indulge in some gaming while on the move, you’ll have to deactivate the RGB lighting and lower the brightness to maximize your battery usage, but you should still be able to play for up to four hours on a full charge. While the included AC adaptor is not overly bulky and charges the laptop relatively quickly, it is worth noting that Razer insists on using a proprietary charging port, which detracts from the Blade 14’s overall score.