Razer Blade 15: Flawed but not that bad?

[Arondight]

Hey guys,

 

Please before destroying me hear me out. Everytime I see people suggesting or considering the Blade 15, the answer is "Razer laptops are garbage" and I fully agreed back when this is what Razer was providing (Blade 14):

 

 

This was a joke of a cooling solution resulting in laughable thermals.

 

However this year it seems that Razer actually tried. This is what we get this year:

 

 

 

This actually looks better than basically every other thin and light.

 

While every review will tell you the thing is still crazy hot, it's not hotter than others in its category (thin and light) anymore, sometimes even doing better (the Asus is still king in that regards though) and the cooling solution seems fairly smart, providing coverage for VRMs.

 

So don't you guys think it might be worth considering the Blade 15 as a viable answer when people ask for a thin and light? Obviously this is NOT the godly gaming beast Razer's marketing wants you to buy but in its category (T&L) I honestly think it's pretty good.

 

Still there's the question of the Razer support but that's not what I want to discuss here. Sensible people buying a blade will buy it from a vendor with proper support.

[Jurrunio]

10 minutes ago, Arondight said:

(the Asus is still king in that regards though)

if you're willing to pay for the most expensive model, that is.

 

11 minutes ago, Arondight said:

So don't you guys think it might be worth considering the Blade 15 as a viable answer when people ask for a thin and light?

But can the majority of Blade 15s last 3 years without going back to the manufacturer's hands because of malfunctions?

[Arondight]

12 minutes ago, Jurrunio said:

But can the majority of Blade 15s last 3 years without going back to the manufacturer's hands because of malfunctions?

Definitely a valid concern but from what I've seen the issues with the older blades seem mostly linked to the oh so shitty thermals of the laptop. They basically cooked themselves so that's to be expected. The much better engineering this year could and should make a difference in that regard. With vital components  like VRMs finally being actively cooled I expect at least some of the issues to be resolved.

[genexis_x]

Razer quality is still meh

@Pendragon

[Arondight]

2 minutes ago, ZM Fong said:

Razer quality is still meh

Until I get proof that it actually got better, agreed.

 

I'm just saying that we might want give this laptop a chance considering that Razer seems to be going in the right direction. I'm sure they sold plenty of Blade 14 despite it being a polished piece of shit so they could have just went with something similar with the 15 but instead we get an all around ok product and close to best in class in its category.

 

 

[forregacc02]

As we all know, every new laptop model is uncertain to last. We usually just get our opinions from teardowns and initial reviews. And it is never indicative that because the Blade 14 was bad, the Blade 15 is bad as well. And as for the other brands, having done well in their previous notebooks is still not an indicator of durability for their new model (I'm looking at you Apple).

 

For me personally, I think that the Razer Blade 15 is a good laptop to consider. They've done some incredible engineering with that machine, and the design is well thought. It's a risk to buy just like any other Thin and Light gaming laptops out there. I wouldn't say it's a good value, since it's a price premium even for its category. But I would love to suggest it to people still. Since laptops are not all about performance and thermals. The appeal to its user plays a part as well. 

[Pendragon]

11 hours ago, Arondight said:

Until I get proof that it actually got better, agreed.

Hi, I have the Razer Blade 15, 1070MQ, 512gb version. No it's still pretty hot garbage. But don't talk about it here. I talked about it and posted benchmarks recently and the thread got wiped with no explanation. 

 

tl;dr

CPU: SUPER hot at stock. 95c+

GPU is fine.

The VRMs are indeed better.

The power adapter is by far the worse I've seen in a while. 2 have broken on me.

Quality control is non-existent. I went through 3 blades in the 1 month I had with it (MStore I'm sorry for draining your entire RB inventory)

 

There are still alot of unknowns with the new 6 core chip, but its basically just hotter. Nothing can handle it, sans liquid metal. 

 

1 thing they did well is use that sexy screen. It is 100% the best screen for laptops. I don't need aRGB but high refresh rate is amazing. My unit had NO BLB but I know others that have some pretty severe issues. 

 

The laptop is actually TOO sharp. Idk. I used my macbook pro and I don't notice the alumninum edges cutting into my arm, but the Razer Blade I definitely noticed.

 

Also this thing is noisy at IDLE. 50c. PLEASE. 

[Pendragon]

1 thing I would say, is that Razer has no eclipse the XPS15 in thermal design. Jesus XPS, get your shit together. 

[Arondight]

17 minutes ago, Pendragon said:

Hi, I have the Razer Blade 15, 1070MQ, 512gb version. No it's still pretty hot garbage. But don't talk about it here. I talked about it and posted benchmarks recently and the thread got wiped with no explanation. 

 

tl;dr

CPU: SUPER hot at stock. 95c+

GPU is fine.

The VRMs are indeed better.

The power adapter is by far the worse I've seen in a while. 2 have broken on me.

Quality control is non-existent. I went through 3 blades in the 1 month I had with it (MStore I'm sorry for draining your entire RB inventory)

 

There are still alot of unknowns with the new 6 core chip, but its basically just hotter. Nothing can handle it, sans liquid metal. 

 

Damn that's so bad. I could take the temps being shit it's kind of to be expected with the 8th gen CPUs and a 1070 in this package but that doesn't excuse the ever so shit quality control. I was hoping that with the improvements to the internals Razer also improved their QC...

 

Mind sharing what were your issues that needed replacements?

 

It's crazy how Razer seems to nail certain things like the design and the build quality (as in good materials, good finish) but fail so hard at basic things like QC. They'd own the thin and light market by now if their laptops actually lasted.

 

I'm getting most of the thin & lights laptops to compare them, already got the Aero 15x and I'm getting the Blade tomorrow so we'll see how my experience goes. Gigabyte also pulled some next level bullshit with the aero 15x btw, while typing my name at the windows install the T key literally popped off and wouldn't stay in place anymore (I had to kinda tweak the metal bracket holding that key to get it to stay). That and the right shift key isn't illuminated (or it is but with 10% the intensity of the other keys) which is apparently the case for every single unit. How come companies don't even try anymore.

 

13 minutes ago, Pendragon said:

1 thing I would say, is that Razer has no eclipse the XPS15 in thermal design. Jesus XPS, get your shit together. 

 

Yeah, I had a 9560 which was already bad, but the 9570 is a straight up joke. How lazy can you be, throwing a CPU with 50% more cores on your already shit cooling solution without any adjustments.

[Pendragon]

37 minutes ago, Arondight said:

Mind sharing what were your issues that needed replacements?

1) Power brick didn't work, wouldn't charge the laptop out of the box

2) CPU started out at 105c, lemon chip i got it replaced

3) Lines started popping out of my screen (could have been my own doing, it was seeing if CRU could OC the screen past 144hz)