It wouldn’t be a CES without a flood of new gaming laptops, and so far the 2022 edition has delivered the annual show. No wonder Razer took the opportunity to update its popular Blade 14, 15 and 17 models. The company didn’t redesign the three laptops, but did make a handful of tweaks. They all have updated keyboards with “slightly larger” keys, a change Razer made with the “wellness” of users in mind. They also include a new hinge design that is thinner and allows for better ventilation.
Razor
The highlight of these machines, however, is their updated interiors. For the first time, all three will be equipped with DDR5 RAM as standard. It’s also possible to configure it with NVIDIA’s latest flagship laptop GPU, the RTX 3080 Ti. With 16GB of built-in GDDR6 memory, the Razer performs better than a desktop Titan RTX. Another option is the RTX 3070 Ti. According to Razer, the GPU is up to 70 percent faster than that RTX 2070 Super NVIDIA shipped in 2020. The company also claims that it can deliver 100 frames per second when rendering games at 1440p.
Blades 15 and 17 will also feature Intel’s new 12th generation Core H-series processors. Announced at CES, these share the same performance and efficient core design as theirs recently announced desktop counterparts. If you have money to spare, you can configure Blade 15 and Blade 17 with the 14-core i9-12900H. Oh, and all of the computers come with it Windows 11 pre-installed.
As you can imagine, that is Blade 14 shows the fewest improvements since the newest addition to Razer’s lineup. The 2022 model has a new fingerprint-resistant coating and a 1080p IR webcam with full Windows Hello support. Internally, the computer has one of the newest processors from AMD’s 6000 series, the Ryzen 9 6900HX, paired with 16 GB of DDR5 RAM.
The Blade 15 comes with a new optional UHD display. The highlights of this IPS panel include 100 percent DCI-P3 wide color space coverage and a refresh rate of 144 Hz, compared to 60 Hz in the previously offered 4K OLED Razer. Your other display options with the 2022 model are a 360 Hz 1080p panel or a 240 Hz 1440p screen.
Razor
Finally, the Blade 17 is getting some of the most practical upgrades. Razer has equipped its flagship with an 82 Wh battery with a higher capacity. It also comes with eight speakers, compared to four on the 2021 model. Last but not least, the Blade 17 comes with a new 280 W adapter, thanks to its GaN circuit, is roughly the size of a 180 W power brick.
The Blade 14 starts at $ 2,000 with pre-orders starting February 10th on the Razer website and at select retailers. A broader availability should follow later in the first quarter of 2022. Meanwhile, the Blade 15 and Blade 17 will start at $ 2,500 and $ 2,700, respectively, and will be available for pre-order on January 25th.
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