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Razer Blade 15 (2022) Review: Still a Stylish Gaming Laptop for the Deep Pocketed

Razer’s Blade gaming laptops don’t change much year to year, because why mess with a good thing? There are small improvements to the design but nothing changes too drastically. The 15.6-inch Blade 15 for 2022, for instance, now has laser-cut speaker grills, slightly larger keycaps and the power button is in the keyboard’s upper-right corner instead of on the right speaker.

The overall look and feel, though, remain basically the same as the last several versions because, again, why mess with a good thing?

The biggest changes are to the components inside and the display options:

New 12th-gen Intel Core i7-12800H or Core i9-12900HK processors
16GB or 32GB of DDR5 memory, upgradeable to 64GB
1TB PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSD, upgradeable to 2TB
Up to Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti graphics
Full-HD webcam with an IR camera for Windows Hello facial recognition
360Hz FHD display with 100% sRGB color gamut, or 240Hz QHD or 144Hz UHD displays with 100% P3 color gamut

Essentially, everything we’ve liked about past Razer Blade models stands: a streamlined, slim and sturdy design with plenty of ports and a comfortable Razer Chroma RGB keyboard. And now the Blade 15 has the latest from Intel and Nvidia and new high-quality panel options for gaming. However, also like past models, the Razer Blade 15 is by no means a bargain and can get toasty while gaming.

Like

Expandable RAM and storage
Fantastic port mix including a UHS-II SD card reader
Three display choices to match gaming needs
2-year battery warranty

Don’t Like

Palm rests get hot under load
Expensive

Razer Blade 15 (2022)

Price as reviewed

Display size/resolution

CPU

Memory

Graphics

Storage

Networking

Operating system

Ports

£3,000

15.6-inch 1,920×1,080 360Hz matte display

2.4GHz Intel Core i7-12800H

16GB DDR5 4,800MHz

8GB Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti graphics

1TB SSD

Killer Wireless Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax), Bluetooth 5.2

Microsoft Windows 11 Home

Thunderbolt 4 USB-C, USB-C 3.2 Gen 2, USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 (x3), HDMI 2.1 out, SD card reader (UHS-II), 3.5mm combo jack

Good hardware in, good performance out

The 2022 Razer Blade 15 starts at £2,500, GBP2,600 or AU£4,549, and comes with an Intel Core i7-12800H, 16GB of memory, 1TB SSD and Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 graphics.

The configuration I tested is £3,000 and bumps up from an RTX 3060 to a 3070 Ti. At that price you can also choose between a 240Hz QHD display or a 360Hz FHD one; I had the latter.

For a slim laptop, it has no trouble keeping up with the latest games.

Joshua Goldman/CNET

Going by components alone, the pricing is high. For example, a £3,000 configuration of the 2022 Acer Predator Triton 500 SE gets you a 12th-gen Intel i9-12900H, a GeForce RTX 3080 Ti, 32GB of memory, a 1TB SSD and a 16-inch 2,560×1,600-pixel display with a 240Hz refresh rate and 100% P3 color gamut.

From a performance standpoint, it’s the better way to spend £3,000. But it’s not a Razer, which will certainly make a difference to some. When it comes to performance, there were no surprises from the Blade 15.

It’s excellent. Results from our benchmark tests follow the review, but it has the power to reach beyond playable frame rates on demanding games at high settings. Predictably, the Blade 15 gets pretty warm while gaming.

I really felt it in the palm rests. It was tolerable but noticeable.

Even with good venting, a vapor chamber and raised feet, the Blade 15 is still a heater.

Joshua Goldman/CNET

With an esports-caliber 360Hz display, it’s more likely you’ll be dropping to low settings to take full advantage of that refresh rate. After playing several hours of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, jumping back and forth between 60Hz and 360Hz, it made a clear difference in my accuracy and response time.

There’s a MUX switch in Razer’s Synapse software, too. That lets you choose between Nvidia’s Optimus technology, which automatically changes from integrated to the discrete GPU as needed to balance performance and battery life, or the discrete graphics that improve performance and lowers latency. Unless you competitively play first-person shooters like CS: GO, Fortnite or Overwatch, the 360Hz display is likely more than you need.

The same configuration is available for £3,000 but with the 240Hz QHD display and would be my first choice, because you get both a high refresh rate and higher resolution and wider color gamut. Plus, it has Advanced Optimus, which automates the MUX switch; with the 360Hz display, using the MUX switch to use the discrete graphics alone requires a reboot.

The Blade 15 has HDMI 2.1 out and Thunderbolt 4.

Joshua Goldman/CNET

With the 360Hz display, battery life was OK, reaching 5 hours, 5 minutes on our video streaming test. However, Razer makes it easy to drop to a 60Hz refresh rate when not gaming.

Between that and the MUX switch, you can extend battery life more. Also, when you’re not gaming on the go, the Blade 15 can be charged via its Thunderbolt 4 port with a 20-volt USB-C power adapter so you don’t need to carry its larger power supply. Note: Razer now includes a two-year limited battery warranty for all Blade models.

There’s little I would change about the Razer Blade 15. It would be nice if an AMD version arrived eventually. I also wouldn’t mind Razer moving to a 16:10 16-inch display size, or if the keycaps weren’t completely flat and nearly flush with the Blade’s body.

And it would be amazing if Razer made wirelessly connecting its gaming headsets, mice and keyboards to its laptops as simple as Samsung has with its Galaxy devices and Galaxy Book laptops. (OK, that last one is just me thinking out loud, but still.) As it stands, the Blade 15 delivers an experience worthy of its higher price.

It’s just up to you if you care more about the experience or performance for your money.

Longer bars indicate better performance

Guardians of the Galaxy (High @ 1920 x 1080)

Acer Predator Triton 500 SE (2022)

HP Victus 16 (Core i7/3060)

Razer Blade 15 (2022) (Core i7/3070 Ti)

Acer Nitro 5 AN515-58 (Core i5/3060)

Note:

Longer bars indicate better performance

Shadow of the Tomb Raider (Highest @ 1920 x 1080)

Acer Predator Triton 500 SE (2022)

Razer Blade 15 (2022)

HP Victus 16

Acer Nitro 5 AN515-58

Dell Inspiron 16 Plus (7610)

Note:

Longer bars indicate better performance

System Configurations

Razer Blade 15 (2022)

HP Victus 16

Dell Inspiron 16 Plus (7610)

Acer Predator Triton 500 SE (2022)

Acer Nitro 5 AN515-58

Microsoft Windows 11 Home; 2.4GHz Intel Core i7-12800H; 16GB DDR5 4,800MH; 8GB Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070Ti; 1TB SSD
Microsoft Windows 11 Home; 2.3GHz Intel Core i7-11800H; 16GB DDR4 3,200MHz; 6GB Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060; 512GB SSD
Microsoft Windows 11 Home; 2.3GHz Intel Core i7-11800H; 16GB DDR4 3,200MHz; 4GB Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050; 512GB SSD
Microsoft Windows 11 Home; 2.9GHz Intel Core i9-12900H; 16GB DDR5 4,800MHz; 16GB Nvidia Geforce RTX 3080Ti; 1TB SSD
Microsoft Windows 11 Home; 2.5GHz Intel Core i5-12500H; 16GB DDR4 3,200MHz; 6GB Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060; 512GB SSD

Tags: ACER AMD AT Computer Dell Game Games HP Intel Laptop

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