The 2024 version of the Razer Blade 18 gaming laptop computer was introduced just a few days in the past at CES 2024 and pictures of the beast have circulated on-line (right here, right here and right here), displaying the annual refresh of the favored DTR (desktop PC substitute) laptop computer is a considerable one.
Whereas its main market is – and stays – players, there’s no denying that the whole bundle will attraction to creatives and even additional afield, for a variety of causes; a cell workstation to rule all cell workstations?
In contrast to fairly just a few of its opponents (Asus ROG Strix Scar 17, MSI GT77 Titan, Lenovo Legion 7i Professional) the Razer Blade 18 doesn’t appear like a gaming laptop computer in any respect. Actually, it wouldn’t look misplaced in any respect in an government management group assembly in an nameless London-based boardroom. With its lack of a devoted keypad, a protracted hinge and brushed steel end, it seems to be extra like a 16-inch Apple MacBook Professional albeit at virtually twice the burden.
Then there’s the Thunderbolt 5 (TB5) connector, able to delivering a bandwidth of 120 Gbps, and is extra helpful for content material creators than players. Razer’s personal advertising and marketing literature refers to “sooner information backup/archiving and faster export and rendering” because of twice the quantity of bandwidth for exterior SSD, exterior GPU and different creator instruments. I’ve seen a variety of docking stations (e.g. J5 Create) and moveable SSD (e.g. OWC) that assist TB5 at CES 2024; count on that quantity to develop this yr.
Workstation-class specs
Thunderbolt 5 additionally helps refresh charges of as much as 540 Hz at low resolutions, 144Hz on three 4K displays, as much as two 8K displays and a single 10K/16K show, the latter most likely at 30Hz (ed: nonetheless haven’t seen a single mainstream 8K monitor on sale but for the previous few years, so gained’t maintain my breath for a 16K one).
If the specs of the smaller Razer Blade 16 are the identical for its larger brother, count on a 14th era Intel Core i9 CPU (14900HX) and a desktop-grade Nvidia RTX 4090 with a 175W TDP. Based mostly on Geekbench benchmark CPU take a look at outcomesI count on the 14900HX – which Intel calls the world’s quickest cell CPU – to be aggressive with crème-de-la-crème from AMD (inside an identical energy envelope).
And in a thinly-veiled nod to content material creators and professionals, it virtually sure that – primarily based on the present specs of its 2024 16-inch brethren – the brand new Razer 18 will include as much as 8TB SSD and 96GB of RAM, a really vital increase from its 2023 model which might solely muster 32GB of RAM and 2TB SSD, sufficient for players however not for Professionals. Count on to pay north of $5,000 (about £4,000, AU$7,500) only for these two upgrades although, mainly doubling the worth of the bottom configuration.
It’s not the proper cell workstation although, let’s not child ourselves. It doesn’t supply Home windows 11 Professional by default, comes with 12 months guarantee solely with no choice for longer intervals or onsite guarantee. There’s no numeric keypad, a should for professionals, there’s no fingerprint reader or assist for vPro, Intel’s administration platform.
Nonetheless, I’d gladly put it in our greatest laptop computer for engineering college students or greatest laptop computer for video modifying shopping for guides when it goes on sale later this yr.
