New Razer Blade Pro (2017) - Review 2022

Last yr'southward version of the Razer Blade Pro blew us abroad with its loftier-quality build and stunning brandish, delivering peak-end gaming capability in a premium (though pricey) package. This year's update ($3,999) is identical, just has a new Kaby Lake processor inside, and the screen color profile and audio are certified by THX, the audiovisual company famously founded past George Lucas and now endemic by Razer. The increased benefits for multimedia, plus the speed boost from the new processor, make this a pocket-sized refresh of a fantastic gaming laptop. The changes aren't revolutionary, still, so you shouldn't upgrade from terminal year's Blade Pro, and the competition is merely getting more tearing. If y'all prefer slightly more power and a lot of storage over the sleeker, simply still sizable, course gene of the Blade Pro, the Alienware 17 R4 is an appealing culling, while the Asus ROG Zephyrus is a truly portable loftier-end pick.

Same Sleek Silhouette

As with the previous iteration, the Bract Pro is one of the best-feeling pieces of hardware I've ever held. Information technology just feels similar a premium production. This version is physically identical to the terminal, with the same sleek blackness all-aluminum body, which measures 0.88 by 16.7 past 11 inches (HWD) and weighs 7.72 pounds. It'south still one of a kind given the power it holds.

But the contest is getting closer. The Alienware 17 is just over an inch thick, just weighs 9.77 pounds, but the gap is starting to close much more quickly thank you to Nvidia'due south Max-Q technology. Used to design laptops like the ROG Zephyrus, Max-Q enables high-end graphics cards to fit in much smaller bodies by managing their rut and power demands through operation caps and new thermal solutions. Max-Q laptops will challenge Razer'due south identify atop the powerful, thin gaming laptop pyramid, since they can offer greater power in smaller bodies than Razer'due south current offerings. Razer could create Max-Q laptops of its own, however, which is an exciting proffer.

That said, some may still desire the sprawling 17-inch screen the Zephyrus lacks, and the Blade Pro'south is gorgeous. In fact, it'southward the primary casher of the THX integration, every bit the color and display profile is customized before aircraft. The 4K bear on display of the previous generation is vivid, with indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO) technology for vibrant colors and a claimed 100 per centum Adobe RGB color coverage. The THX-certified panel improves information technology further. According to Razer, the screens are tested for resolution, color accuracy, and smooth video playback. Color accuracy matters for users and professionals who need to stand for real-life colors digitally for press, photos, and more. Some profiles artificially alter colors by going for a sure look (think of your TV'due south Theater or Sports modes), merely the Bract Pro's wasn't significantly altered, save for the colour contour existence on the cool side out of the box.

To become a quantitive conclusion of how the Blade Pro fares, I ran a color accurateness examination on the display using Datacolor's Spyder5Elite colorimeter and software. The results were very positive, posting 100 percent sRGB coverage, 91 percent NTSC coverage, and 95 pct of the Adobe RGB spectrum. That may be slightly short of the 100 per centum claimed, simply it's a very proficient score, and in fact better than even the 2022 27-inch Apple iMac (100 percent sRGB, 87 percent NTSC, 92 pct Adobe RGB). Afterward running the software and activating the new profile, the colors were visibly warmer, just the display'south overall coverage capability should give conviction to professionals.

As for what a 4K resolution means for content consumption, it'due south the same as with the previous Blade Pro. The screen shows photos with loftier detail, and you can edit and view 4K footage in its native resolution. For gaming, it's not particularly ideal, even with the Nvidia GTX 1080 graphics card here. Most less-strenuous games will run at xxx frames per second (fps) in 4K, merely reliable 60fps performance is beyond near every unmarried-GPU computer. Yous tin can reject the resolution to QHD when playing mod titles to achieve 60fps, or dial down some visual furnishings, but I prefer the former since it will still look plenty sharp.

The THX certification also extends to the audio jack, optimized for what Razer describes every bit a "flat response and high output betoken with depression distortion." Note that this does not apply to the internal speakers, just devices continued to the audio line, whether they are headsets or other speakers. I will admit to not expecting too much of a difference between the audio jacks on the 2022 Blade Pro and the THX version before testing, but adjacent comparisons did indeed demonstrate an comeback. Playing the aforementioned samples on each, I could hear that the THX Bract Pro was a picayune flake crisper and the bass was deeper, resulting in improved overall sound. Outside of the headset audio, its speakers are unchanged, and notwithstanding perform admirably. They're loud and clear, if a bit defective in bass, simply they don't distort at loftier volumes. I'g still not a fan of the speaker grilles' look, as they slightly blemish the Pro's sleek aesthetic for me, but it'southward a minor complaint.

The keyboard'due south customizable backlit keys are mechanical, and are low profile enough to not jeopardize the laptop's slim form, but have more than tactile feedback than standard keys. The keyboard feels excellent, and the touchpad (as well trimmed in customizable lighting) is equally well-built and tracks smoothly. Its position to the correct of the keyboard re-creates the typical mouse and keyboard desktop (though is unfortunate for lefties), and I got used to information technology after short adjustment—I don't effort to type and pan simultaneously, anyway. The book curl wheel located just to a higher place the touchpad is also handy.

Connectors include two USB iii.0 ports, an Ethernet port, and the audio jack on the left, with another USB 3.0 port, an HDMI connection, an SD card slot, and a USB-C with Thunderbolt iii port on the right. Inside the laptop, there's Bluetooth four.1 and KillerDoubleShot Pro, which prioritizes different programs' use of the Ethernet connection and the 802.11ac wireless.

Our unit is the base model, which comes with 512GB of storage via two 256GB SSDs in a RAID 0 array. You tin guild the 1TB version (2 512GB SSDs) for $4,399 or the 2TB model (2 1TB SSDs) for $4,899. Other than the storage sizes, everything else is equal across these models. Razer supports the Blade Pro and all its laptops with a 1-year warranty.

High-End Speed

The New Bract Pro's processor is the other big change from the last model, jumping from a last-generation Intel Skylake chip to a Kaby Lake Core i7-7820HK CPU. Its base clock speed is two.9GHz, with a three.9GHz Turbo and 4.3GHz overclock potential, which is great to have in a laptop if you need the actress speed, and it keeps the same 32GB of retentiveness from the previous model. Given that the jump from the terminal-generation Intel CPU to the current 1 isn't massive, the gains over the 2022 Bract Pro are pocket-sized, but scores were consistently improve across general productivity benchmark PCMark 8 and the multimedia tests. Compared with competition like the ROG Zephyrus and the Alienware 17, the New Bract Pro has the border, though the Origin EON17-X 10 Series (overclocked out of the box) leads the pack.

In terms of 3D and gaming bent, the Blade Pro is notwithstanding a top performer. The new processor doesn't alter results likewise much in this area, and the numbers largely autumn in line with the previous Blade Pro. That's good news, though, as the GTX 1080 is a very capable graphics carte, and it's overnice to take in such a sleek arrangement. The Zephyrus is much smaller thanks to the Max-Q design, but its GTX 1080 is capped to prevent overheating in its compact body, then the Bract Pro's full version has the operation advantage. The EON17, with its higher-clocked processor and bigger body (for more than cooling), leads the pack, but the Blade Pro is right backside. It averaged 118fps and 120fps on the Heaven and Valley gaming tests at 1080p on ultra-quality settings, and 29fps and 38fps on those tests at 4K. If you need to lower some titles to QHD resolution to get more consistently polish frame rates, that's an like shooting fish in a barrel prepare, merely it will be able to play less-enervating games (and easily handle VR) at or higher up 30fps at 4K.

I will say, as with the previous version, the fans get very loud nether load. They are bottom-facing, and, whirring at high speed to proceed the large chassis cool, they make a consistently loud dissonance while playing. Most gaming laptops make noise, but the ROG Zephyrus gets credit for being particularly quiet as a issue of its thermal solutions and Max-Q graphics pattern, tweaked to consider acoustics.

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Bombardment life isn't a strong indicate: Due to the system'southward high-end components and power-hungry 4K screen, it lasted 3 hours and 46 minutes on our rundown examination. That'due south virtually identical to the previous Bract Pro (3:48), and while it's not long bombardment life past any means, information technology is meliorate than the EON17 (2:07), the Acer Predator 17 X (GX-791-758V), and the ROG Zephyrus (two:34).

Slap-up Laptop Gets Better, but Then Does the Competition

The New Blade Pro delivers sound, visual, and performance improvements over the previous version, and makes a generally excellent laptop even ameliorate for most the same toll. It'south not a huge upgrade, but information technology does refresh one of the best 17-inch options on the market. It'south slimmer than other 17-inch laptops, if you need a high-powered, 4K machine to have with you, but it'southward still not exactly portable compared with 15-inch systems. If more power and storage are more important than portability, the Alienware 17 R4 is your best bet for less coin, while the much-less-expensive Asus ROG Zephyrus takes size and power in the opposite direction for a truly portable GTX 1080 laptop.