Can Razer still compete? - Razer Blade 14

ShortCircuit
2 Apr 202412:43

Summary

TLDRThe Razer Blade 14 gaming laptop, sponsored by AMD, features an eco-friendly design with a matte black finish and a 16:10 1600p 240Hz display with exceptional color accuracy. Powered by a Ryzen 98945 HS processor, it includes 32GB RAM, a 1TB SSD, and an RTX 4070 GPU, offering impressive gaming performance. Additional highlights include an upgradeable memory, a 68Wh battery, and Windows hello facial recognition. Priced at $2,700 for the reviewed model, it's a high-quality machine for both content creation and gaming.

Takeaways

  • ๐Ÿ’ป The Razer Blade 14 features eco-friendly packaging with a green theme.
  • ๐ŸŽฎ It is designed with gamers in mind, emphasizing a gaming-oriented experience.
  • ๐Ÿ”Œ It includes a webcam switch for privacy, and comes with stickers and a microfiber cloth for cleaning.
  • ๐Ÿ–ฅ๏ธ The laptop has a matte black finish, which is fingerprint-prone but aesthetically pleasing.
  • ๐Ÿ”Œ On the right side, it has USB 4, Thunderbolt 4, HDMI 2.1, and on the left, a headphone jack, another USB 4, and the power adapter port.
  • ๐Ÿ’ฝ Inside, it features a Ryzen 9 8955HS processor, 32GB RAM, 1TB Samsung NVMe SSD, and an RTX 4070 GPU.
  • ๐Ÿ–ฅ๏ธ The 14-inch display is 1600p with a 240Hz refresh rate, offering excellent color accuracy and brightness.
  • ๐ŸŽฎ The laptop's performance is enhanced by AI capabilities, including background effects and Photoshop/Lightroom assistance through the NPU.
  • ๐Ÿ”‡ It has a good quality webcam with a physical switch to disable it, and THX-certified audio for clear sound.
  • ๐Ÿ”‹ The battery life is estimated to be around 7 hours, and it features Windows Hello facial recognition for secure and quick login.
  • ๐Ÿ’ฐ The Razer Blade 14 starts at $2200 for the 4060 version, and the reviewed 4070 version with 32GB RAM is $2700.

Q & A

  • What is the main theme of the video?

    -The main theme of the video is a review of the Razer Blade 14 laptop, highlighting its features, performance, and overall user experience.

  • What is the significance of the green element in Razer's packaging?

    -The green element in Razer's packaging signifies the company's commitment to eco-friendly practices, as they use soy ink, which is more environmentally friendly.

  • What are some of the key ports and features on the Razer Blade 14?

    -The Razer Blade 14 includes key ports such as USB 4, HDMI 2.1, a headphone/microphone combo jack, and a full-size type A port. It also features a webcam switch for privacy.

  • What is the display specification of the Razer Blade 14?

    -The Razer Blade 14 has a 16:10 1600p display with a 240 Hz refresh rate, offering a high-resolution gaming experience with exceptional color accuracy and brightness.

  • How does the Razer Blade 14 handle color management?

    -The Razer Blade 14 handles color management through its support for the MHC2 (Mobile High-Definition Color) profile, which allows Windows to accurately map content to the display's color space, ensuring accurate color representation for various applications.

  • What are the hardware specifications of the Razer Blade 14 reviewed in the video?

    -The reviewed Razer Blade 14 comes with a Ryzen 98945 HS processor, 32 GB of 5600 MT/s RAM, a 1 TB Samsung NVMe SSD, Wi-Fi 7 from Qualcomm, and an RTX 4070 GPU with up to 140 Watts performance.

  • How does the Razer Blade 14 utilize AI technology?

    -The Razer Blade 14 utilizes AI technology through its integrated neural processing unit (NPU), which offers features like background blur and auto eye contact in the camera settings. It also offloads processing from the CPU or GPU in applications like Photoshop or Lightroom, improving performance and battery life.

  • What are the gaming performance results for the Razer Blade 14?

    -The Razer Blade 14 achieved over 200 FPS in Rocket League, 70 FPS in Valheim at max settings, 110 FPS in Cyberpunk 2077, 166 FPS in F1 2023, and 78 FPS in Total Warhammer.

  • How is the Razer Blade 14's keyboard and touchpad designed for user experience?

    -The keyboard on the Razer Blade 14 is designed for gaming with a fast action, although it has some key deflection and inconsistency. The touchpad is large, accurate, and one of the best on the market.

  • What are the audio features of the Razer Blade 14?

    -The Razer Blade 14 features THX-certified audio with clear and wide sound quality. It does not have a significant low-end response but offers good overall audio performance without distortion.

  • What are the upgradeability options available for the Razer Blade 14?

    -The Razer Blade 14 offers upgradeable memory, an SSD, and a Wi-Fi card, making it easy to replace and upgrade these components as needed.

  • What is the battery life and charging features of the Razer Blade 14?

    -The Razer Blade 14 has a 68-watt-hour battery, and Razer claims it can provide over 10 hours of battery life. However, in the reviewer's endurance test, it ran for 6 hours and 55 minutes. The laptop also supports Windows Hello facial recognition for quick and secure login.

Outlines

00:00

๐Ÿ“ฆ Unboxing and Initial Impressions

The video begins with the unboxing of the Razer Blade 14 laptop, highlighting its eco-friendly packaging and the inclusion of stickers and a microfiber cloth to clean the device. The laptop's design is discussed, noting its matte black finish and the inclusion of a webcam switch. The ports and features on both sides of the laptop are detailed, emphasizing the presence of USB 4 ports, a full-size HDMI 2.1, and a headphone-microphone combo jack. The laptop's build quality is praised, with a focus on its stiffness due to the inclusion of titanium.

05:00

๐Ÿ–ฅ๏ธ Display and Performance Features

The laptop's display is described as fantastic, with a 240 Hz refresh rate and a 16:10 aspect ratio, providing a higher resolution of 1600p. The color accuracy is noted to be exceptional at an SDR color accuracy of 1.3, making it suitable for professional color work. The brightness is also highlighted, with the display capable of reaching 500 nits. The video discusses the inclusion of the MHC2 profile for color mapping, which is a feature that allows for accurate color representation across different content. The performance of the laptop is discussed, with the inclusion of a Ryzen 98945 HS processor, 32 GB of RAM, a 1 TB Samsung NVMe SSD, and an RTX 4070 GPU. The AI capabilities of the laptop are also mentioned, particularly the use of a neural processing unit (NPU) for tasks such as background effects and offloading processing from the CPU or GPU.

10:03

๐ŸŽฎ Gaming and Multimedia Experience

The gaming performance of the Razer Blade 14 is showcased, with the laptop running various games like Rocket League, Cyberpunk 2077, and Total Warhammer, achieving high frame rates. The display's latency is praised as being very good, suitable for gaming. The keyboard is discussed in terms of its suitability for gaming, with a focus on its fast action, despite some key deflection and inconsistency. The large touchpad is highlighted as one of the best on the market, with accurate tracking. The audio quality is noted to be clear and distortion-free, with a focus on the staging provided by THX. The webcam's quality and the convenience of having a physical switch to disable it are also discussed.

๐Ÿ› ๏ธ Upgradability and Cooling Systems

The Razer Blade 14's upgradability is emphasized, with the presence of an upgradeable memory slot, an SSD, and a Wi-Fi card. The laptop's cooling system is discussed, highlighting the massive vapor chamber that allows for impressive GPU performance. The battery life is mentioned, with Razer claiming over 10 hours but the lab tests showing around 7 hours of usage. The inclusion of Windows Hello facial recognition is noted as a convenient feature for accessing the laptop.

Mindmap

Keywords

๐Ÿ’กRazer Blade 14

The Razer Blade 14 is the main subject of the video, a gaming laptop known for its high-quality build and performance. It is highlighted for its eco-friendly packaging, 240 Hz display, and powerful hardware configuration. The laptop's design, including its titanium-infused chassis for stiffness, and its 16:10 aspect ratio display, are emphasized as features that cater to gamers and content creators.

๐Ÿ’กAMD

AMD is the sponsor of the video and also the manufacturer of the processor and integrated graphics found in the Razer Blade 14. AMD's Ryzen 9 8955HS processor and Radeon 780M graphics are discussed in the context of their performance and contribution to the laptop's overall capabilities.

๐Ÿ’กEco-friendly

The term 'eco-friendly' refers to products or practices that have a reduced impact on the environment. In the context of the video, Razer's packaging is described as being eco-friendly, suggesting a commitment to sustainability by the company.

๐Ÿ’กDisplay

The display of the Razer Blade 14 is a critical aspect of the user experience, with a focus on its 240 Hz refresh rate and 1600p resolution. A high refresh rate ensures smooth visuals, especially important for gaming, while a higher resolution like 1600p provides more detail and clarity.

๐Ÿ’กPerformance

Performance in the context of the video refers to the laptop's ability to run games and applications smoothly and efficiently. This is determined by the hardware components, such as the processor, graphics card, and memory, as well as the laptop's cooling system.

๐Ÿ’กNPU (Neural Processing Unit)

An NPU, or Neural Processing Unit, is a specialized hardware component designed to handle artificial intelligence (AI) tasks. In the Razer Blade 14, the NPU is used to improve the efficiency of AI-related processes, such as background blur effects and auto eye contact, offloading these tasks from the CPU and GPU.

๐Ÿ’กUpgradeability

Upgradeability refers to the ability to modify or improve a device's hardware components after purchase. In the context of the Razer Blade 14, it is noted as a positive feature that the memory, SSD, and Wi-Fi card can be upgraded, which is becoming increasingly rare in compact laptops.

๐Ÿ’กBattery Life

Battery life is the amount of time a device can operate without needing to be recharged. In the video, the Razer Blade 14's battery life is discussed in relation to its capacity and endurance, with Razer claiming over 10 hours of battery life, although the video's testing showed a slightly lower result.

๐Ÿ’กWebcam

A webcam is a video camera designed for use with computers, typically for video conferencing or live streaming. The Razer Blade 14's webcam is noted for its 1080p resolution and a physical switch that allows users to disable it for privacy.

๐Ÿ’กCooling System

The cooling system in a laptop is designed to prevent overheating by dissipating heat generated by the CPU and GPU. The Razer Blade 14 features a large vapor chamber and dual fans, which are crucial for maintaining performance, especially when the laptop is used for demanding tasks like gaming.

๐Ÿ’กWindows Hello

Windows Hello is a feature in Windows 10 and later that allows users to sign in to their devices using facial recognition or other biometric methods. In the Razer Blade 14, this feature is appreciated for its convenience and security, providing a fast and seamless login experience.

Highlights

Razer's eco-friendly packaging with a green theme.

The inclusion of a webcam switch for privacy.

The laptop's fingerprint-resistant matte black finish.

USB 4 and HDMI 2.1 ports for high-speed data transfer and high-resolution video output.

Titanium reinforcement in the laptop's chassis for stiffness.

The display's 240 Hz refresh rate and 16:10 aspect ratio for enhanced gaming and productivity.

Exceptional color accuracy with an SDR color accuracy of 1.3.

Brightness of 526 nits exceeding the stated 500 nits.

Support for MHC2 profile for accurate color mapping in Windows.

Powered by a Ryzen 98945 HS processor with AI capabilities.

Integrated NPU for AI tasks, enhancing battery life and performance in applications like Photoshop and Lightroom.

32 GB of 5600 MT/s RAM and 1 TB Samsung NVMe SSD for fast data access.

WiFi 7 support from Qualcomm for ultra-fast wireless connectivity.

RTX 4070 GPU with up to 140 Watts performance.

AMD Radeon integrated graphics for low-power tasks.

Upgradeable memory, SSD, and Wi-Fi card.

68 watt-hour battery providing around 7 hours of endurance.

Windows Hello facial recognition for secure and convenient login.

The Razer Blade 14's fantastic build quality and performance for content creation and gaming.

Transcripts

00:00

swing it's a blade and AMD has sponsored

00:03

this video to have a look at

00:05

it there we go as is expected razer's

00:09

packaging is very nice and it's even a

00:12

bit green now go green with razor soy

00:15

ink eco-friendly nature I guess it's

00:18

good you

00:21

can there we

00:23

go for gamers by Gamers oh

00:28

wow all right let's have a look here

00:31

plug it in turn it on oh and it has a

00:34

webcam switch I really like those it's

00:36

the rules you include stickers they go

00:37

on everyone has to comply business team

00:40

not happy right now oh wait I went and

00:43

grab my microfiber cloth cuz I got

00:44

fingerprints on it but they also include

00:46

a microfiber claw this does seem pretty

00:48

necessary as an inclusion as well cuz

00:50

even though this matte black finish does

00:52

look really cool it also is a massive

00:54

fingerprint magnet which is a bit too

00:56

bad now for a 14-in laptop the iio on

00:58

this is actually pretty decent so on the

01:00

right hand side we have Thunderbolt 4

01:02

wait no no no USB 4 which is basically

01:06

the same thing but this is an AMD laptop

01:08

USB type a full sizee HDMI 2.1 other

01:13

side we have headphone microphone combo

01:15

Jack another USB 4 full size type A and

01:18

that's where we plug in our power

01:20

adapter I know it's fully expected with

01:22

Razer laptop but dang it does feel good

01:26

like Twisted it here this new razor

01:29

blade has has titanium inside of it to

01:32

make it extra extra stiff and yep that's

01:36

that's a really really stiff laptop I am

01:39

not surprised in the slightest Razer has

01:40

been making really really high quality

01:42

chassis for a long time much longer than

01:45

basically every other windows OEM one

01:48

thing that I just noticed that I really

01:49

like is that even though they do have

01:52

this stupid sticker right here that

01:53

tells you all of the stuff there's a

01:55

little tab so oh all of that's gone love

01:58

it there's nothing course and you have

02:00

one of those great big stickers right

02:01

here and it it just never comes all the

02:04

way off do we do it yeah yeah first

02:08

thing I can see easily is that this

02:10

display is fantastic it's 240 HZ so

02:14

gaming on it going to be great and also

02:16

it is it's not 1440p it's 1600p so

02:19

that's the 16 by10 version of 1440p

02:23

which is absolutely perfect for a laptop

02:26

like this I love it so much that laptop

02:30

makers have moved towards 16x 10

02:31

displays that are,

02:33

1600p high refresh rate it is incredible

02:37

and also incredible is the color

02:39

accuracy of this thing in SDR the color

02:41

accuracy of this display is

02:45

1.3 that is exceptional you expect less

02:48

than two for professional color work so

02:51

that means that if you want to be doing

02:52

video editing or photo editing or stuff

02:54

like that on this display you can 100%

02:57

trust that the colors that you see are

02:59

the the actual colors also great is the

03:02

brightness Razer says this can do 500

03:04

nits and we measured it at 526 so full

03:08

marks there excellent this right here

03:10

has mhc2 profile tags bit nerdy tangent

03:14

in the past on a Windows laptop you just

03:16

have to select a color space and hope

03:20

for the best whatever your content is

03:22

gets mapped to that so say that your

03:24

display like this one right here is able

03:26

to cover all of DCI P3 so if you have

03:28

SDR content which does doesn't cover as

03:30

many colors it's going to get

03:33

oversaturated to fit into that dcip P3

03:36

color space going back to the mhc2

03:39

profile Windows now knows the

03:42

capabilities of this display so it's

03:43

able to take what the app wants what the

03:46

display can do and figure out the most

03:49

accurate way to put those together this

03:51

is something that Apple has been doing

03:53

for a while with their MacBooks but it's

03:56

very difficult on a Windows ecosystem

03:58

because so many display is every single

04:01

display needs its own profile so if

04:02

you're making more than like four

04:04

laptops it's a lot of them that said

04:06

though this right here is one of the

04:08

very first ones that comes with that

04:10

color mapping so you can trust it you

04:12

can trust it quite a bit also awesome

04:15

the performance of this thing in here we

04:17

have a ryzen

04:19

98945 HS which is eight course 16

04:22

threads and it has the AI right here AI

04:25

you can see it AI right now we can show

04:27

off this AI by going in here if you go

04:30

to manage camera integrated camera right

04:33

here we have background effects heck

04:35

yeah so this right here you're only able

04:38

to do it within Windows if you have an

04:40

npu so that's a neural processing unit

04:42

and it does AI stuff for you if you

04:45

don't care so much about just blurring

04:47

the background or having Auto eye

04:49

contact which I I feel really strange

04:51

using but anyway it uses AI to do that

04:55

but also if you're in Photoshop or

04:57

Lightroom the npu is going to be doing

05:00

that offloading that processing from

05:02

your CPU or your GPU that means you have

05:05

better battery life things run smoother

05:07

it's overall just good it's too bad that

05:09

so many people have

05:11

just taken Ai and driven it into the

05:14

ground cuz in stuff like this it's

05:15

actually pretty nice npu you want it AI

05:20

in your doorbell maybe not and here we

05:22

also have 32 GB of 5600 megga transfer

05:26

per second ram a 1 terb Samsung nvme SSD

05:31

WiFi 7 from Qualcomm so that is going to

05:35

be the extra fast Wi-Fi so you can have

05:38

so many bits traveling over the air at

05:40

once and also an RTX 4070 and this is a

05:44

very very fast 4070 up to 140 Watts now

05:49

you don't get a whole lot above 90 100

05:52

Watts on these but at the same time

05:54

faster is faster and this one's really

05:56

really fast also there's AMD radon and

05:59

integrated Graphics it's a 780m you can

06:02

use that if you like go on an airplane

06:03

and want to play a 2d platformer while

06:05

on battery for a couple hours you play

06:07

some game you guys want to see some

06:09

games yeah we're here full screen

06:12

recording and like rocket league is not

06:14

a demanding game but at the same time

06:17

we're easily getting over 200 FPS and

06:20

this is working just great the latency

06:23

of the

06:24

display it's really really good

06:27

unsurprisingly a 240 HZ gaming display

06:30

is very very good for gaming no I scored

06:32

it oh

06:33

wow 10 km per hour goal yeah

06:40

12 what else do we want to play cyberp

06:42

Punk or valheim 22 GB update do valheim

06:47

it

06:48

is oh yeah this is running great look be

06:51

walking along here bam

06:54

180ยฐ bam that display is instant we are

06:58

only getting 70 FPS but we do have it

07:00

maxed out this is one of those displays

07:02

where you can actually like see what

07:03

you're doing while you're flicking like

07:05

flick aside from valheim our Labs did

07:08

test this cyberpunk 2077 they were able

07:11

to get 110 FPS F1

07:15

2023 166 FPS and total Warhammer was 78

07:20

which means this thing goes pretty

07:23

freaking fast and while we did talk

07:25

about the keyboard being nice for gaming

07:27

we haven't talked about it as just a

07:28

thing to type on

07:36

it's not bad which is pretty much a

07:39

compliment for Razer it's not perfect so

07:42

like if we look right here there is a

07:45

fair bit of key deflection so if I push

07:47

on the side I can basically get that key

07:50

Capa down below the chassis before it

07:53

actuates almost the larger problem is

07:55

that it's not super consistent so some

07:58

of these Keys seem be a little bit

08:00

stiffer than the others which can make

08:02

it kind of difficult to get used to it

08:06

that said if your primary use is gaming

08:08

it's really good for that the action is

08:11

super fast so if you want to do like

08:13

super duper quick like you can do that

08:16

sort of a thing below the keyboard

08:18

though is our massive touchpad and this

08:21

is an area that Razer has just been

08:23

absolutely killing it for years and

08:25

years massive touchpad tracking's

08:28

accurate it's really really nice just

08:31

use it's one of the best on the market

08:34

good

08:36

job it sounds very clear but I suspect

08:40

that there's going to be no low end when

08:42

the drop hits it sounds really nice and

08:44

wide like they do have that staging from

08:47

THX which is appreciated here

08:52

but it's not bad it's not bad it's not

08:56

super loud and there's very little in

08:59

the way of of Base but at the same time

09:02

it's clear it's not

09:04

distorting so good job overall up next

09:07

is our webcam it's a 1080p webcam so

09:10

good stuff there and almost more

09:13

importantly it has a little switch on it

09:15

so you can just fully disable it

09:17

absolutely love that turn her back on

09:19

and it looks pretty decent it's doing

09:21

quite a good job of exposing for my face

09:23

let's turn around here and see if it

09:24

still exposes for my

09:26

face oh it's struggling pretty hard but

09:29

in Ness it is pointed directly at a

09:31

studio light move around here figure it

09:35

out figure it out come

09:39

on there we go it sorted in it it's

09:42

getting the color temperature a little

09:44

bit strange like I'm I'm kind of sickly

09:47

looking at the moment but if if if if we

09:50

figure it out if come on come on come

09:53

on there we go I gave it a shake now it

09:55

looks good again overall it's quite good

09:58

but sometimes it does seem to get

10:00

confused at T5 screws later that are all

10:02

the same size and we are in an

10:05

unsurprisingly massive Vapor chamber

10:08

this thing has been very well cooled

10:10

getting 140 Watts out of a GPU on a

10:14

14-in device is incredibly impressive

10:16

and the only real way to do that Vapor

10:19

chamber and this one is massive all the

10:23

way around here up along there down the

10:26

sides we've got our fins right there

10:27

that exhaust out the back and two great

10:30

big fans I'm almost surprised that there

10:32

isn't

10:34

thir oh my God holy crap Razer you have

10:39

done it I was really not expecting to

10:41

see upgradeable memory in here it is

10:44

something that is just dying out almost

10:47

completely especially on Compact and

10:49

Powerful 14-in laptops massive Frost so

10:53

good guys also upgradeable we've got our

10:55

SSD right there and our Wi-Fi card over

10:57

here which is awesome so the stuff that

10:59

you expect to be able to replace on a

11:01

laptop is actually very replaceable and

11:04

very easy on this one right here now

11:05

down below we have our 68 wat hour

11:07

battery which is just excellent It's not

11:11

the most battery that you can get in

11:12

this sort of a class but you are kind of

11:14

trading off the extra GPU horsepower for

11:17

just the space that this battery is able

11:19

to take up now Razer claims that you're

11:21

able to get over 10 hours of battery

11:23

life on this thing although that said in

11:26

our Labs testing our endurance test ran

11:28

for 6 hours and 55 minutes so 7ish hours

11:33

is pretty good just not the 10 that

11:36

Razer said one final thing that I missed

11:39

before is that this does have Windows

11:40

hello facial recognition you can see the

11:42

little IR blasters right there which is

11:45

just the best way to get into a Windows

11:48

laptop you just open it up it sees your

11:50

face and boomy boom you are in well not

11:53

here cuz I didn't set it up but you get

11:55

the picture now the tough question

11:57

though do you you actually want one of

12:00

these it is a really great laptop I do

12:03

really like the Razer Blade 14 but it

12:06

starts at

12:07

$2200 for the 4060 version this one that

12:10

we have been showing off with the 4070

12:13

and the 32 GB of RAM is

12:17

$2,700 now this is a sponsored video so

12:19

we're not going to be making any value

12:22

judgments here so you can do that for

12:24

yourself overall though this thing is a

12:26

fantastically built Windows machine that

12:29

is great for Content creation and gaming

12:32

and huge thanks to AMD for sponsoring

12:34

this video thanks guys and thank you the

12:37

viewer for watching this video hit like

12:39

get subscribed and just have a great all

12:41

day see you later

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Related Tags
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