Customers are enthusiastic about the Blade 16's performance and build quality, citing its ability to handle demanding tasks and games with ease, as well as its excellent construction. However, some users have expressed concerns regarding the fan noise, particularly at lower workloads, and the touchpad's functionality. The display received praise for its quality. Overall, the positive feedback on performance and build outweighs the negative comments on the fan and touchpad.
This summary was generated by AI based on customer reviews.
The vast majority of our reviews come from verified purchases. Reviews from customers may include My Best Buy members, employees, and Tech Insider Network members (as tagged). Select reviewers may receive discounted products, promotional considerations or entries into drawings for honest, helpful reviews.
Page 1 Showing 1-20 of 23 reviews
Pros mentioned:
Build quality
Cons mentioned:
Fan noise
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Much better than the 4090 Version!
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Posted . Owned for less than 1 week when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
After rather a bizarre experience with the 4090 and mini-LED version that I almost ordered a Zephyrus, I didn’t expect much from the 4080 and “lower” grade monitor, but I went for it anyways. To my surprise, this unit is 130grams lighter (2382gr) versus 4090 version at 2512grams, and screen is flawless. No more retention and no more horizontal lines and no more color uniformity issues! I am pretty sure Razer has dropped the ball on the mini-LED version and does not offer QHD on 4090 so they can leech off the wealthy to cover their R&D. Razer Mini-LED UHD is seriously flawed, and although it has a better contrast and is more vibrant, no amount of money is worth it to get that one even if they offer it cheaper than QHD. Back to 4080, I got a 990 pro and upgraded the Ram to 64GB (Kingston fury 5600 kit) but it was downgraded to 64GB@5200MHz as stated on Razer website. If I didn’t have a bad experience few other 4090 probably I lowered the star on this one because of the insane price and loud fans, but at least this one works!
I would recommend this to a friend
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
Razer Blade 16: Hot Performance, at a High Price
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Posted . Owned for 1 week when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
tl;dr at the bottom
Introduction & Specs
Razer Blade 16 (Model Number RZ09-0483TEH3-R3U1)
Intel Core i9-13950HX (24c/32t, one ‘bin’ above 13900HX)
RTX 4080 12GB, 175W TGP after Dynamic Boost
32GB DDR5 5600MHz Memory, Dual-Channel
1TB Gen4 NVMe SSD (SSSTC CA6-8D1024, 6800MB/s Read & 4800MB/s Write)
QHD+ 240Hz IPS Display, 500 nits, 100% DCI-P3
95WHr Battery with a 330W GaN Power Adapter
Chassis Design and Port Selection
Doesn’t stray far from the well-known design from prior generations – expect fingerprints, even with their new “anti-fingerprint coating”
Still uses unibody aluminum chassis, albeit thicker/deeper to accommodate the larger vapor chamber and taller 16:10 display
Weighs around 5.3 pounds, with an additional 2 pounds for the 330W charger for a total of 7.4 pounds (compared to 4.4 pounds from prior generations)
Extremely rigid and exhibits little-to-no flex anywhere on the chassis, nor does it creak when picked up from various edges/corners of the laptop
Ports:
1 x Thunderbolt™ 4 (USB-C™) (100W USB PD 3)
1 x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 [Supports Power Delivery 3 (100W)]
3 x USB-A 3.2 Gen 2
HDMI 2.1 output
UHS-II SD Card Reader
3.5mm Combo-Jack
Input Devices (Screen, Trackpad, Speakers & Keyboard)
Display is fantastic – offers great gamut coverage, very fast, and is plenty bright (though, not mini-LED bright)
My unit has very little backlight bleed, but YMMV
Trackpad is insanely spacious – think MacBook Pro 16 spacious. Glass surface, smooth, tracks nicely, and with the recent firmware updates from Razer, handles palm rejection well
Keyboard layout is the same as prior Blade iterations, travel leaves a bit to be desired but is still quite usable; just don’t expect it to be a tactile experience. I was able to get up to my full typing speed with a day or two of familiarization.
Speakers are still not encroaching on the quality of the 16” MacBook Pro lineup, but are much better than much of the Windows competition. I’d say they’re similar in quality to the XPS 15’s top-firing speakers, which are also respectable, but not best-in-class.
Performance & Thermal Comparison
(LOOK AT SCREENSHOTS FOR BENCHMARKS AGAINST LEGION PRO 7I 4080)
All tests were run with a -75mV Core Offset and a +150/+500 GPU Overclock, both modest tweaks that most silicon should allow for without instability
All tests run with max fans in a 71f room
Miscellaneous Callouts
Battery life is slightly better on the Blade when compared to the Legion, even with the smaller battery; I’m seeing closer to 6 hours in iGPU mode at 60Hz vs. 5 hours on the Legion Pro 7i
The 330W GaN Charger is really compact for the power output – it is smaller than the new Legion 330W and Dell’s 300W Gallium Nitride chargers, which further adds to the Blade’s portability, but still has that right-angle connector that can block the left USB port when plugged in a particular way.
Synapse can often interfere with CPU settings from ThrottleStop or XTU – be sure to toggle CPU Overclocking off and on after applying your own settings (Thanks, GQ!) to ensure they apply.
My Razer Factory Image of Windows “broke” the internal display – I had to wipe Windows and reinstall drivers and software to use the laptop properly again.
My thoughts:
For $3599+tax, this thing should have liquid metal or some other better thermal interface material, because it stifles an otherwise nice machine with poor thermals. It's built well, is compact, and performs well, but just runs too hot out of the box and calls for the end-user to repaste with aftermarket materials.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend
Pros mentioned:
Performance
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Rtx
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Posted . Owned for 3 weeks when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
It’s very good condition and it’s very nice for gaming
I would recommend this to a friend
Rated 1 out of 5 stars
“Excellent” condition was “Terrible” condition
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Posted . Owned for less than 1 week when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
I bought an open-box in “Excellent” condition. It had a large scratch on the bottom and screes were missing, showing clear signs of being opened. There were oil fingerprints all over the keyboard, and some white bread-crumb lime particles on the screen. The advertised condition was a complete lie and waste of my time and money.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend
Cons mentioned:
Fan noise
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
Looks and feels great, as long as you dont use it.
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Posted . Owned for less than 1 week when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
As it says in the title. I really wanted to like this computer but consider its outrageous price i also wanted perfection which this is not. Contrary to other youtube reviews this laptop is not silent. The fans would not shut up even with turbo disabled in BIOS, in quiet mode watching youtube video. I understand if the fans are loud under heavy load but fans running in quiet mode when watching youtube is unacceptable. Also no miniLED on a $4000 (3700+tax) laptop is not very attractive considering other laptops have this feature for $1000 less. I ended up buying/keeping asus M16 as it has mini LED and an actual passive quiet mode for $1000 less and i am ok with having ~10% less performance in games.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend
Pros mentioned:
Performance
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Solid Performance, Great Aesthetics, Good Choice
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Posted . Owned for 2 weeks when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
I wanted something that was both portable, could perform well, and didn't look like a stereotypical gaming system. I was skeptical about this gen at first, but after updating drivers and firmware the Razer Blade 16 with a 4080 has performed fantastically. It manages around 3-4 hours of battery life with settings turned down, and performs graphically and computationally intensive tasks with ease with settings turned up, giving the laptop solid balance/all-around performance. I'd still recommend trying to snag the laptop during a sale or as an open box item, but I don't have any complaints.
I would recommend this to a friend
Pros mentioned:
Build quality, Performance
Cons mentioned:
Touchpad
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Great powerful sleek laptop
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Posted . Owned for 3 months when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Great laptop, fast and runs my games really well. Battery life is so so, about 4-6 hours depending on what I'm doing. But I don't need a lot of battery from this powerhouse. It runs all my games max settings and high framerates, web cam is good, keyboard is good. The only negative for me is that razer synapse can be buggy, and the track pad is probably too big, but I changed the settings and made it so it is press to click not tap to click.
I would recommend this to a friend
Pros mentioned:
Build quality, Performance
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
Too Many Early Issues. Hold Off A bit!
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Posted . Owned for less than 1 week when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Best build quality in a windows laptop and great benchmarks, but a month after launch and there are simply too many problems with the first run of these units. Hopefully Razer will be able to correct. If you are going to buy this laptop I would wait a bit. Maybe wait till early Summer 2023.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
Excellent But Faulty?
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Posted . Owned for 1 week when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
I'm not sure how to rate this laptop as I may have a bad one.
PROS:
I love the build quality, the aluminum chassis feels really good. The keyboard is okay, but not great - the low travel distance I think makes it feel odd to me. Others may like it.
The 1600p screen is really nice. The G-Sync is glassy smooth for gaming. Performance is excellent. 30000+ Cinebench R23 scores. 65-85 FPS in Hogwart's Legacy Ultra mode without DLSS. 100+ FPS with DLSS on.
The number of USB and Thunderbolt ports is good. I have a Razer Naga and Tartarus Pro in 2 of them, Wireless headset receiver in one and USB-C Ethernet in one of the Tunderbolts.
I have a wireless AC access points in my place and I'm getting 600Mb download with the WiFi 6E card in this laotop. My router is 6E and I'm getting my full 1.2Gb download when connected directly to the router's WiFi. Wireless networking is fast and stable.
CONS:
The overclock ability seems useless. It will bluescreen due to overheating even with a good undervolt and fans on Max setting. Maybe there is a perfect setting that will keep temps from hitting high 90's C and even 100 C, but I haven't found it yet.
Mine has a MAJOR problem. I've had probably 15 BSOD's since I picked it up only 5 days ago. All of them GPU related except the overheat crash.
Mine also is constantly losing video. Mouse and keyboard lock up, then video goes black. However, the laptop isn't crashed. I can use TeamViewer to connect to it and it's working fine, but the physical screen is essentially off. This happens way too often. Maybe 50 times in the 5 days I've owned it. Very frustrating.
As of 3/16, as I write this I have all of the Nvidia and Razer updates installed. Firmwares, Drivers, everything. Razer released a Panel Update for this model, but whatever it does (the site isn't clear on what it addresses), it doesn't resolve my problem.
The crash happens the most when I have the GPU set to discreet graphics only. But the blank screen happens either on discreet or integrated.
I haven't decided if I'll return it or swap it for another of the same model. Maybe I just have a bad one, but I've been reading that this is a pretty common problem, and not just with Razer. I first bought a Gigabyte Aorus 17X AZF but traded it for this Razer Blade 16 because it had the same issue. I've seen a YouTube video of a review of the ASUS Strix 16 that also has the same issue. I think the problem might be with Nvidia because the common denominator is the graphics card.
I hope this is helpful to someone. If I do swap it for the same model and the problem goes away, I'll update this review and maybe even give it 5 stars. Besides the video issue, I really do like this laptop.
I ticked that I'd recommend, but only if this one I have is faulty. If it's a problem with this model, I'd definitely NOT recommend.
I would recommend this to a friend
Pros mentioned:
Build quality
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
Constant Thermal Throttling While Gaming
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Posted . Owned for 3 weeks when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Terrible thermal performance which results in constant thermal throttling. Sometimes the die would reach temperatures of 111*C
Do not buy this unit if you want a machine that will last. It is a shame because the machining and build quality are great, but the thermal solution Razer had chosen to use to cool this Insanity powerful CPU just cannot keep up. Even a non demanding title like World of Warcraft was causing this thing to constantly throttle. Not to mention the terrible firmware and Optimus implementation, no mux switch, janky drivers and interaction of windows with the screen (which is beautiful btw, great colors and refresh rate did get up 250hz but again very janky with Optimus) this machine could have been great but it just sucks. Dropping frames always because of throttling issues. I was considering doing an RMA to Razer but even then I am sure it would not have helped seeing the experience and results from Razer support on the reddit threads made me cancel this thought. I decided to return to Best buy and will unfortunately be going to a larger 18" unit, the Strix 18 from Asus. From what I have read the thermals are much better. Do not buy this overpriced trash.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
Amazing laptop for a certain niche
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Posted . Owned for 2 weeks when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
I have always liked Razer laptops, and this will be the next one that I purchase. I have a desktop so I haven't upgraded my laptop since the one I purchased 4 years ago which I have loved but since I am not going to be able to use my desktop, I needed to upgrade. I need a powerful laptop with a GPU in order to work on my Deep Learning projects and research (I do not really play video games) and this laptop delivers. The laptop feel, look, and performance + battery life are unmatched compared to any of the other laptops I have seen. This laptop is tasteful enough unlike most other gaming laptops to be able to take it to meetings and not have everyone laugh at the bright colored loud fan that you brought but capable enough to be a desktop replacement. I installed Linux on a second SSD I added (easy installation) and even though there is not yet a port of razer synapses for the 16' razer laptop on linux, every system worked with minimal configuration except the speakers and microphone which are not detected no matter what I do (since that is the only problem, I can easily live with this). I think that if you are willing to spend the money, this laptop brings an unparalleled experience that just is not obtainable from any other product on the market.
The reason it is not 5 stars:
I benchmarked my laptop when it arrived, and it was at spec. Unfortunately, the touchpad stopped responding to tactile movement 3 days after the return window ended (it has faulty switches). I went into BestBuy to get this issue sorted out and they diagnosed correctly that it was a manufacturing defect, even approved an exchange, but they were unable to complete the exchange or help me in any other way since Best Buy's system would not allow them to since this laptop is ordered to spec. I am currently in the process of dealing with Razer customer support which has so far been pleasant, but I will update this review when I learn more.
Final thoughts:
Overall amazing product that is unmatched for quality and performance. Razer is known for having "Interesting" quality control and until now, I have avoided getting a dud. If you are outside of the return window (I was by 3 days) when a problem occurs, BestBuy will not be able to assist you in any way, which is something to consider given the price and the likelihood of problems occurring. Even still with the touchpad issue, I would have still purchased this again if I could go back.
I would recommend this to a friend
Cons mentioned:
Touchpad
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
Should be a little better for the price
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Posted . Owned for 11 months when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Its alright. Runs most games pretty well. Nice looking. Some issues with the razor software and the tochpad not working correctly. Not quite worth the higher price than other gaming laptops.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
Don't recommend.
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Posted . Owned for more than 2 years when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Looks great and to be fair functions well for the first year then a lot of components start to breakdown and theres no easy fix or even worse no fix at all, eventually the video card gave up and from some research its a common issue with this product.
It got so bad to the point that I got refunded the full amount (with the protection plan) and had to go with a different computer.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend
Pros mentioned:
Build quality, Performance
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
You won't regret it.
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Posted . Owned for 3 weeks when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
I'm loving my laptop. It runs everything on ultra. Doesn't get too hot. Beautiful screen.
I would recommend this to a friend
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
Great but runs very hot out of the box.
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Posted . Owned for 2 months when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
This is definitely the best gaming laptops in terms of aesthetics, but its small form factor causes the CPU and chassis to run very hot out of the box when under load. My CPU constantly gets to 99-100 degrees in balanced or boost mode, but it does reach a reasonable 75-80 degrees celcius when in silent mode. My issue might be from factory pasting RNG, but the point still stands regardless. The display is excellent and the RGB is probably the best I've seen on any gaming laptop. Overall, great build quality and definitely a strong candidate if you're looking for a high end, portable, and beautiful machine.
I would recommend this to a friend
Cons mentioned:
Fan noise, Touchpad
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
Too many issues for a $3.6k laptop!
Posted .
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
For $3,599, this laptop has way too many issues. As others mentioned in the 4090 variant of this laptop, the touchpad sucks! There are ghost clicks and drags, constantly. The speakers are tinny and have absolutely no bass to them whatsoever, even with THX audio disabled. My unit also emits a high pitch whine whenever audio comes through the speakers. The Synapse 3 software is also awful, it forgets the profile often which results in a broken performance and lighting menus, requiring you to constantly restart it. The fan curve and setup are also done horribly, as doing any light web browsing will result in a constant ramp-up and down on the fans, even in silent mode! The fan noise during the ramp-up and down sound like a jet engine taking off.. at higher speeds it's alright. Lastly, there's coil whine in my unit, and you can definitely hear it. For $3,599, you'd expect a higher quality control... I'd look elsewhere until Razer fixes these issues.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Very strong machine after a few tweaks
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Posted . Owned for 3 weeks when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Incredible strong notebook in a top of the line metal chassis. This machine is able to play everything I've thrown at it on the highest settings... with a bit of heat. I was able to tame some of the heat off this machine by undervolting the CPU and applying some better quality thermal paste. After doing this and installing all the latest drivers and firmware, it runs like a charm.
I would recommend this to a friend
Pros mentioned:
Build quality
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
No problems, great performance, quiet so far.
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Posted . Owned for less than 1 week when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
I've owned several top and near-top of the line PC and Mac laptops over the year. The build quality on this is amazing. The engineering and materials behind keeping this as cool as it is with its thinness is quite a feat.
I would recommend this to a friend
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Great build & performance
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Posted . Owned for 2 months when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Build quality is close to a MacBook. The performance is absolutely amazing. The only problem I found is thermals. If you use it on hot environments, it will suffer greatly. Due to its aluminum body, the heat can get pretty annoying sometimes. If you do heavy tasks, consider buying a laptop stand that gives it additional breathing room for optimal performance.
I would recommend this to a friend
Pros mentioned:
Performance
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Best
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Posted . Owned for 1 week when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Works perfectly is the best laptop on the market for sure