Razer Blade 15 Base Model (15.6-inch, 2017)

Sleek design and quality build across the board. Superior display for a gaming laptop. Much better battery life than competitors. Plenty of ports and storage.

No guarantee of 60fps gaming at maximum settings with this Max-Q graphics chip. Key backlighting is single-zone.

Bottom Line: The Blade 15 Base Model trims a few frills from Razer's flagship Blade, but it keeps most of its best aspects. Just make sure you need the slim design; you're giving up some gaming grunt to gain it.

Extra hard drive for storing games and media ; New Ethernet port ; Slightly lighter than original

Noticeably thicker chassis ; Gets unreasonably warm ; Noisy fans randomly spin up, even when idle ; Slower boot times with $1,600 config due to slow SSD ; Worse battery life during intensive use makes it less portable

slightly lighter than the Blade 15 Advanced Model ; no performance throttling when gaming ; Thunderbolt 3; Razer Core compatible ; excellent build quality and rigidity ; secondary 2.5-inch SATA III bay ; cooler temperatures all around ; no uneven...

pulse-width modulation present on nearly all brightness levels ; no per-key RGB lighting or 144 Hz display options ; keyboard keys could be firmer in feedback ; fan noise could be quieter when gaming ; base warranty is only one year ; no fingerprint...

When users see "Base Model", they may assume that it would be slower and have fewer features than the "Advanced Model". This couldn't be further from the truth because the Base Model is just as fast as the Advanced Model and with two features (2.5-inch...

easy serviceability; upgradeable SSD, RAM ; crisp matte display with minimal ghosting ; Thunderbolt 3 w/ Razer Core support ; cool WASD keys when under load ; easy-to-use Synapse software ; excellent gaming performance ; Optimus graphics switching ;...

unable to sustain CPU Turbo Boost for extended periods ; Chroma color control requires account creation ; slight-moderate uneven backlight bleeding ; keyboard keys could be firmer and deeper ; no integrated RJ-45 or SD card reader ; no power button...

At the end of the day, the Blade 15 GTX 1060 Max-Q SKU is about 30 percent slower in GPU power than the Blade 15 1070 Max-Q SKU. The result is a configuration that actually runs longer, cooler, and quieter by noticeable margins. It is therefore...

Great overall redesign, with a larger screen, smaller bezels and bigger touchpad. Includes either an Nvidia 1060 or 1070 GPU, which is enough for almost any laptop gamer. 144Hz display option. Cool keyboard lights, if that's your bag.

Painfully expensive considering Nvidia 1060 laptops can be found for under $1,000. The 4K touchscreen option isn't available yet.

The redesigned Razer Blade moves the bar on slim gaming laptops, with better hardware and a bigger screen, but you'll need a bigger budget for it, too.

Top-notch gaming performance ; Long-lasting battery life ; 144Hz screen is lovely

Rather expensive

While you may need to remortgage your home to buy one, the new Razer Blade seemingly achieves the impossible. Successfully treading familiar territory while simultaneously reigniting interest in the range, 2018’s Blade is no joke – it’s quite possibly...

Solid build quality ; Great performance for productivity and gaming ; Nice, narrow screen bezels ; 100% sRGB coverage on display ; Ethernet port ; SSD/HDD combo configuration options ; Nice, large trackpad

No vapor chamber cooling ; Still need to install Razer Synapse 2 for older Razer peripherals ; Keyboard take some getting used to ; Single zone RGB lighting only

Top build quality

Cost

T