Razer Blade 2017 Review

I've had my eye on the Razer Blade for a long time, and I finally got one recently by chance. Right after placing the order, I realized that on the same day, the Razer Blade received an upgrade to the 7700HQ CPU. Even though Intel has a reputation for only offering incremental upgrades, I was still excited. This upgrade gives the Razer Blade a significant edge among 14-inch laptops and even in higher categories, making it arguably the best laptop out there right now. As one of the first users of this updated model, I've been using it for a while and decided to share a simple review. While the pros are mostly obvious, I'll focus on some of the flaws that I've noticed.

Cooling

It's normal for gaming laptops to run hot, but the Razer Blade is known for its heat. Once you get your hands on it, you quickly realize that you wouldn't want to place it on your lap while it's running at full capacity—it can feel scorching hot. Even in the winter, with the windows open, you can still feel the heat when it's pushed to its limits.

However, just because it runs hot doesn't mean it has poor cooling. The overall cooling performance of the Razer Blade is decent. When you're on the go, the fans rarely kick in unless you're gaming. And realistically, few people would place a laptop on their lap while playing demanding games—I certainly wouldn't. That said, the fan noise can be quite annoying, so it's best to elevate the laptop when possible to allow for better airflow.

Keyboard

The Chroma backlighting system is, of course, fantastic and highly customizable, making it hard to resist. However, it can be a bit of an eyesore in public places. On Linux, there's also a community-driven project called "Razer Drivers for Linux Project", which was a great initiative. But now, you can simply use the latest "OpenRazer" directly.

The typing experience is subjective. My first impression was that the keys have a strong rebound, which made typing feel a bit strenuous at first, but I got used to it quickly. That said, the keyboard does have a major flaw: it's positioned slightly to the left. This is because it's designed for gaming, where the layout works well. However, most gaming laptops also have the trackpad positioned to the left. On the Razer Blade, the trackpad is centered for aesthetic reasons, which often leads to accidental touches when typing quickly. It would be great if they could add a feature to lock the trackpad, making it more convenient when working on text or coding.

Ports

One thing to note is that the Razer Blade lacks an SD card slot, which can be inconvenient for video and image work. Keep this in mind before purchasing.

Power Adapter

The power adapter is a pleasant surprise—it's noticeably smaller than those of most other gaming laptops, and even many standard laptops. This makes it easy to carry around without any hassle, meaning you'll never have to worry about running out of battery. The Razer Blade also offers decent battery life. For everyday tasks like writing or light editing, it should easily last a full day.

Build Quality

In terms of design, the Razer Blade is top-notch with a great feel to it. However, the exterior is very prone to fingerprints. Another major issue is the durability of the finish. I've already managed to chip the paint in two places on the edges, which could be due to my carelessness or the fact that the paint is somewhat fragile. But this is a common problem with metal-coated devices.

Conclusion

Overall, the Razer Blade truly lives up to the "Ultrabook" title and stands out as a unique product in the market. For me, aside from the accidental touches on the trackpad (which happened several times while writing this article) and the lack of an SD card slot, there's really not much to complain about—it's definitely a case of getting what you pay for.

One more thing to share: before buying it, I went to a store to try it out in person. Initially, I was somewhat disappointed with the Razer Blade. But after comparing it to a competitor's laptop with the same GTX 1060 GPU (where the Razer Blade still had a 6700HQ CPU while the competitor had already upgraded to a 7700HQ), I noticed a visible performance difference. This experience reassured me of the Razer Blade's quality. When making your decision, be sure to compare it in person—I'm sure you'll notice the difference.