Razer Blade 16 review: A miraculous display in a laptop you can probably skip

The Razer Blade 16 is likely one of the most original laptops we’ve ever seen – I simply want I may suggest it as simply because the Blade 15. It will probably deal with 4K gaming simply in addition to high-speed 1080p gameplay, due to a dual-mode display. And it’s one of many quickest notebooks round, that includes Intel’s newest CPUs and NVIDIA’s latest GPUs. And notably, it may be configured with an RTX 4090.

However all of that comes at a value. It’s noticeably heavier than the Blade 15, and also you’ll need to pay not less than $3,300 to personal one with the dual-mode show. It’s like Razer put one other Razer tax on high of its already excessive costs.

For some, although, the associated fee might be price it. The Blade 16’s MiniLED show can natively deal with 4K+ 120Hz (that means it could actually present as much as 120fps gameplay), and 1080p+ 240Hz. You may all the time configure a 4K panel to scale all the way down to 1080p or decrease resolutions, however that often results in a muddy mess, and 4K screens are usually restricted to 120Hz at finest. What’s particular in regards to the Blade 16 is that it delivers these resolutions as sharply as standalone displays.

In line with Razer, the Blade 16’s dual-mode MiniLED know-how was developed along with the show maker AUO. The display is natively a 4K+ 240Hz panel that may sync pixels collectively to precisely scale all the way down to 1080p, one thing that appears much better than typical downscaling. Razer says there’s no cell GPU or information pipeline that may successfully ship 4K at 240Hz, in order that refresh fee is simply doable in 1080p. (It’s nonetheless uncommon to seek out 4K 240Hz on desktop displays, and even a 4090 would have hassle hitting 240fps at that decision.)

Beforehand, you’d have to decide on between a 4K display with a a lot decrease refresh fee, or a quicker 1080p or 1,440p show. The Blade 16 lets you could have your gaming cake and eat it too. The one draw back is that switching between these two modes requires a whole reboot. Given how miraculous know-how appears, although, I do not suppose that is an enormous downside. When you care extra about decision, stick to the 4K 120Hz mode till it is advisable to dive into some fast-paced aggressive gaming.

Perhaps as a substitute of pondering of the Blade 16 as a slight improve from the 15-inch mannequin, it is higher to consider it as a shrunken down Blade 17. That is one other large and costly pc, however potential patrons are probably conscious of its downsides. Extra importantly, the Blade 17 was the quickest Razer laptop computer for years — now that title belongs to the Blade 16 and the brand new Blade 18.

Each of those laptops characteristic Intel’s Thirteenth-gen cell CPUs, in addition to NVIDIA’s extra highly effective RTX 4080 and 4090 GPUs. That is the primary time we have seen NVIDIA’s 90-series {hardware} on any pocket book, in order that alone is bound to be a hook for energy hungry avid gamers. Surprisingly, although, Razer’s dual-mode show is simply accessible on the Blade 16 — the tech probably is not there but to make it occur on the larger pc.

In observe, the Blade 16 excelled at each 4K and 1080p gaming. Cyberpunk 2077 and Halo Infinite appeared completely crisp in 4K with their graphics and ray tracing settings maxed out. Each video games additionally appeared far brighter than I’ve ever seen on a laptop computer due to the MiniLED panel. That is notably helpful for vibrant HDR highlights, one thing most notebooks and displays deal with poorly.

Given the sheer energy of the RTX 4090 in our evaluation unit, the Blade 16 was additionally in a position to play video games in 4K nicely past 60fps. Relying in your graphics settings, you could even be capable to attain 120fps to completely max out its display. Halo Infinite hit a really playable 80fps with extremely graphics settings, whereas Cyberpunk 2077 hit 70fps with Extremely ray tracing settings due to DLSS 3.

Not surprisingly, the Blade 16 had no problem getting above 200fps in Halo Infinite and Overwatch 2 once I flipped over to 1080p mode. Personally, I’ve by no means actually seen the purpose of gaming screens past 120Hz — I simply can’t actually understand a lot of a distinction by bumping as much as 144 or 240Hz. However after switching between the Blade 16’s varied modes, I observed that I performed higher as I approached 200fps — I hit headshots extra commonly, and I used to be quicker to react each time enemies popped up. Perhaps it was simply luck, or me feeling extra snug over time — or possibly these additional frames really helped.

As a lot as I loved the Blade 16’s attractive show and unbelievable efficiency, I did not love lugging it round my home or hauling it in a bookbag. It weighs 5.4 kilos, a full pound heavier than the Blade 15. Now which may not look like a lot, however it makes an enormous distinction for portability. Residing with the Blade 15 was no completely different than most different 15-inch notebooks, however the Blade 16 feels noticeably bulkier.