Razer - Blade 15 Base - 15.6" Gaming Laptop - Intel Core i7 - 16GB Memory - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti - 256GB SSD - Black
Model: RZ09-03289E21-R3U1
SKU: 6411702
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Customers regard the Blade 15 Base laptop very favorably, particularly praising its strong performance for both professional and gaming tasks. The battery life is considered adequate by most users, though experiences vary. Positive feedback also highlights the build quality and screen quality. There were no significant negative comments reported.
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This laptop is fantastic for anyone who needs a great gaming experience along with outstanding build quality and a touch of RGB. The keyboard is a typical Razer keyboard with somewhat shallow strokes and a bit more spacing between the keys than what some people would be used to, but the keys do feel fantastic once you get used to them. As for gaming, this is definitely a formidable machine for just about anything you throw at it. GTA 5 runs exceptionally smooth at high settings, Far Cry 5 is handled by this laptop with ease as well. Now onto a different topic that can not be avoided when reviewing a Blade, Stealth or otherwise, the heat. Before tweaking settings, and turning Turbo off for the CPU, the temps would reach up to 89 degrees celsius, which can get uncomfortable very quickly. After turning off Turbo through ThrottleStop, the highest temperature reached after gaming for approximately 3 hours was a much better 65 degree maximum. The base model also has an upgradeable WIFI card as well as RAM. There is a second SATA slot above the occupied one that can accommodate a second SSD. The chassis of the laptop is very rigid with no flex, and the screen flex is very minimal. Over all I would give this laptop a 9 / 10.
Posted by HonestReviewer
For what I expected this computer to be, it is five stars. However, it is not perfect. Compared to other gaming laptops, it is definitely the most sleek and portable that I have experienced. It's not an ugly "gamer" aesthetic. However, the size does factor into the cooling. It runs HOT. Playing Forza Horizons 4 became to uncomfortable to leave on my lap due to the heat. I have a small lap desk I use now when playing games. Another big issue is battery life. In my normal daily usage, I'm only getting 2.5 hours not playing games. This is a small battery, and Windows isn't very good at optimizing for battery life. It needs a bigger battery. There's no legitimate excuse for this size battery. That being said, I don't use it away from my home often, so I always have a charger nearby. A positive to note is that there is a second NVMe M.2 drive bay inside. I went with the 256 GB model because I just bought a second NVMe drive and installed it myself. It is easy to open and there's no warranty indicators when you open it. Razer's website even mentions that you can open it and expand the parts. The other parts able to be user upgraded are the RAM and the WIFI card. If you intend to remove the back panel, keep in mind you do need a special screwdriver. It requires a T5 screwdriver. Look one up on Amazon and you're set. Ultimately, the performance gaming is excellent. On Forza Horizons 4 I am getting 120 FPS average. Red Dead Redemption 2 usually runs between 70 and 100. I do usually run it on a QHD monitor too, so it would perform better using the built in 1080p display. Speaking of the display, it is everything I want from a laptop display besides high resolution. It's a bummer there's no QHD or 4K option for an affordable price, but the quality of this display is exceptional. Great colors. The brightness has also been good, but I haven't used it outdoors or in public places like a coffee shop given the pandemic, so I can't say for certain it will hold up outside of my apartment. The keyboard is what you would expect from a fairly thin laptop. The keyboard is similar to any ultrabook I've used, so not much travel, but each key is stabilized well and feel as satisfying as they can. Note, they did fix the right shift issue from previous models. The trackpad is as good as a trackpad can be today. Very responsive and a great texture. The clicks are satisfying, and the size is incredible. Only problem is the drivers still aren't great at palm rejection, so I do move my cursor by accident when typing sometimes. Not necessarily this trackpad's fault, but the software. Hopefully trackpads will only continue to improve. One last note is that the power brick is somewhat large and gets very hot. Please keep it in a safe place because it gets almost alarmingly hot. I can confirm this is true of these laptops, but I was very surprised when I first noticed how hot it was. However, it is made of high quality material, and the cable seems durable. Hope it lasts, because an official replacement is around $120 from Razer. Ultimately, it is the gaming laptop I wanted. I want a machine with some power under the hood, and I was willing to compromise on features like battery life going into this. There have been no unexpected complaints other than the compromises I already knew going into it. The build quality is incredible, and the performance is more than I expected. I am thoroughly satisfied, and I would say it meets all expectations and promises it made. It definitely earns my five stars due to being exactly what it promises to be, and maybe more. Just be aware of the terrible battery life and the heat. Also look into adding a second SSD. The SSD I used is listed on Amazon as "Samsung (MZ-V7E500BW) 970 EVO SSD 500GB - M.2 NVMe" so I can confirm compatibility (and it is affordable too). TL;DR Meets all expectations I had for it. It gets very hot and has poor battery life, so be aware before buying. Also use the second SSD slot that is inside to expand storage. 5/5
Posted by BiggusDiccus
So far I haven't had any issues with this laptop. Battery life for me has been pretty nice; after applying some tweaks (which have not reduced performance that much), I can get up to around 5 hours. Screen is excellent, and performance is top notch when connected to AC power. My only complaint is the shallow keys in the keyboard, but I've been able to adapt to it. I especially like the Razer software that is available, which allow you to remap keys and control performance of the machine as needed. If it wasn't already obvious, you do pay the premium for the Razer product design, but I think it's worth the extra bit of money.
Posted by RazerNewb