Customer Ratings & Reviews

Beautiful screen if you know how to use it, Windows doesn't always make HDR easy, but it is great when it works. Performance is amazing given it's size and Razer knows how to build a premium feeling machine. Speakers are fantastic as well, I've had over a dozen laptops in my life none hold a candle in comparison. Quiet when pushed to it's limits given what it is. I'm used to having to repaste machines for better thermals, but have not seen the need here. Love the spacing of nvme slots, it's nice not having to stack them. The bad thing about owning a Razer once, is that if you ever try to switch, all other laptops will feel cheap in comparison. Yes it comes at a cost, but it will put a smile on your face every time.

Had this for two days and now returning. Best Buy, as usual, was awesome. Great shipping speed and tremendous customer service. The Razer Blade 18 (14900HX/RTX4090/32GB RAM) was not. First off, a $5000 computer should not be this slow. Bootup is painfully slow, the windows updates took hours, not to mention anytime I would restart the computer it would take hours on the infitnite “Windows Update” screen. Next - gaming. It’s a GAMING laptop, so I assumed it would be good? Maybe even great? Nope. Horrible. Stuttering in almost every game, GTA5 was unplayable, FPS LOWS in the teens, meaning every second was a hiccuping, stuttering mess. Cyberpunk was also equally awfully, same issue - stuttering catastrophe. My favorite game is Total War: Warhammer 3. What a disastrous experience… Not only were the FPS HIGHS very inconsistent (130-50 average on same benchmarks), the stuttering made the game unplayable. Even Total War: Three Kingdoms (an older game) was absolutely unplayable due to the constant stuttering every 2-3 seconds. And by stuttering I want to clarify - drops from 100 to 11 FPS, or 89 to 3 FPS every few seconds. Meaning, the game looks like a shuttering, blinky blunder. So, I reinstalled everything, and tried again. Still had the same issues. I restarted the PC a couple times and that “fixed” stuttering in GTA5 but only on that session. And “fixed” means drops to the 30’s meaning the stuttering was still there, but less noticeable? However, the next time I logged back onto GTA5 - original, tragic stuttering returns. I messed with the NVIDIA settings for hours - no joy. Finally, when I’d had enough and decided to return it… the RESET PROCESS took hours! Stuck on the reset screen with no movement. Had to reset using F9 Razer Bios reset, Now, I’m fully aware I may have gotten a lemon, but I unfortunately don’t have the funds to buy 3 units to compare at one time. Some online reviews say their model is great and above expectations. Others echo much of my sentiments. OH I ALMOST FORGOT! This is the 2nd Razer I’ve owned and returned (Blade 16 prior) that have had the “trackpad wobbles.” So strange, but the 16/18 trackpads both performed awfully. The mouse cursor jumps all over the screen at it’s worst times, and constantly scroll wobbles 2-3 centimeters during my “best” trackpad sessions. So odd, but now twice I’ve seen this - supposedly it may have something to do with me wearing my Apple watch?? If that’s the case then I return to my initial point - I should not have to take my watch off to use a $5000 laptop. Hopefully this is an isolated incident… but from my experience this gaming laptop is the worst I have ever used. I suggest you avoid purcahsing this, however perhaps you will get a better unit. And I hope you do!

Performance The Blade 18' weight, at 6.75 pounds (3.063 kg), surprised me initially as it seemed unwieldy to carry around. However, once I started using it, the screen real estate, brightness, and clarity, performance, and speakers changed my mind. Value for Money For the price, you could build a faster desktop PC $1500 less. However, then you'd be stuck with that computer being stationary. Portability The Blade 18, being the lightest and most compact 18" gaming laptop, has revolutionized how I game. It fits comfortably in my backpack and allows me to bring a full desktop experience with me wherever I go. Even if it's just moving around my house, it takes <1 minute to setup the laptop and charger in a different spot. Whereas with a desktop, you're sort of stuck where you initially put it. Comparison to Other Laptops I used to think that a 16" light gaming laptop was what I preferred, but those would always run hot, with the fans constantly running at full speed when gaming. The Blade 18 runs all the way up to 175W while still letting the CPU hit 65W, and it runs at comfortable temperatures. Display The Mini LED display is the best I've used, especially in terms of color accuracy, brightness, contrast, and response time. Battery Life The battery life could be better at just 5 hours. However, this is fine for my use cases. I have a USB C charger to take with me and a second charger (SlimQ 330W) for when I need full performance on the go. Customization Options I wish there was more granular control over the TDP and TGP values, as well as fan curves and automations. Sadly, this type of customization is not available on Razer laptops, but they have mostly optimized the settings to be easy to maneuver. Speakers The speakers are wonderful. I just wish we had Dolby Atmos instead of THX. THX' profiles are okay, but I know I could get the sound to be clearer. With four woofers and two tweeters, it should sound a bit better. Overall, I'm really happy with the speakers (I have mine set to Music mode within THX which sounds the best compared to other options). Design The aluminum chassis is solid. The compact, unibody design feels a step above all other 18" options. I wouldn't mind bringing this in public to get work done, whereas I might feel different if it were plastic and unwieldy like some other options. Gaming Performance It has a full-fat 4090 mobile with 14900HX without sounding like a jet engine. I run games maxed out at 1600P with no upscaling and DLAA and still get 120+ fps in games like Horizon Forbidden West. In slightly older games like RE7 running with the DLSS mod, I hit nearly 200 fps running at full resolution with DLAA and maxed out settings. An absolute unit. Cooling System The Blade 18 has two large main fans coupled with the vapor chamber and third fan for the battery. If I want to push the performance even higher, I can max out the fans and overclock the CPU (145W for the GPU and 100-120W for the CPU in high demanding CPU games) without it sounding too loud. Or I can just set the GPU to max and CPU to Boost and get 175W to the GPU and 65W to the CPU. All while the CPU sits at a comfortable 75ºC and CPU at 84ºC Upgradeability There's two upgradable RAM and two NVME slots, so I'm planning on upgrading to 96GB of RAM and at least 4TB. It already comes with Wifi 7 so I'll leave that for now but presumably I could upgrade the Wifi Card down the line as well. Software The Razer software ecosystem is generally okay. There's a new Synapse coming, but the beta doesn't yet support the 2024 models. Supposedly, it runs better than Synapse 3. When I first got the computer, Synapse wasn't opening right away, but after some updates everything runs as expected. Razer even has a Wallpaper all that lets you set live wallpapers. If you want to have fun as a gamer and tweak settings and personalize you computer, I much prefer this software to any of the competitor's out of the box alternatives (e.g. ASUS' Armoury Crate, Alienware CC, Legion Vantage). Overall Having this mobile workhorse with an expansive 18-inch, 1000-nit screen everywhere you go really changes things for me, and I don't think I could go back to anything smaller. Congrats to Razer for making the best all-around and compact 18" laptop. I would 100% recommend to someone stuck between wanting portability but also wanting no compromises when on the go.

Very good powerful laptop very fast with excellent keyboard