Review: Razer Blade 15 (2018)

by Parm Mann on 15 June 2018, 10:00

Tags: Razer, Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA)

Quick Link: HEXUS.net/qadull

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Test Methodology

Comparison Laptops - Part One

System Name
Form Factor
15.6in
15.6in
15.6in
15.6in
15.6in
CPU
Intel Core i5-7300HQ
Intel Core i7-8750H
Intel Core i5-7200U
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
Intel Core i7-8750H
CPU Base Frequency
2.5GHz
2.2GHz
2.5GHz
2.8GHz
2.2GHz
CPU Turbo Frequency
3.5GHz
4.1GHz
3.1GHz
3.8GHz
4.1GHz
CPU Cores / Threads
4 / 4
6 / 12
2 / 4
4 / 8
6 / 12
CPU TDP
45W
45W
15W
45W
45W
Memory
8GB DDR4 (1x8GB)
16GB DDR4 (1x16GB)
8GB DDR4 (1x8GB)
8GB DDR4 (2x4GB)
16GB DDR4 (1x16GB)
Memory Speed
2,400MHz at 17-17-17-39-2T
2,666MHz at 19-19-19-43-2T
2,133MHz at 15-15-15-35-1T
2,400MHz at 17-17-17-39-2T
2,666MHz at 18-18-18-43-2T
Integrated GPU
Intel HD 630
Intel UHD 630
Intel HD 620
Intel HD 630
Intel UHD 630
Dedicated GPU(s)
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 4GB
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 8GB
Nvidia GeForce 940MX 2GB
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 4GB
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 Max-Q 8GB
Display
15.6in BOE06BA Full-HD TN (1,920x1,080)
15.6in AUO71ED Full-HD IPS (1,920x1,080)
15.6in AUO21ED Full-HD IPS (1,920x1,080)
15.6in CMN15E8 Full-HD IPS (1,920x1,080)
15.6in LGD05C0 Full-HD IPS (1,920x1,080)
Battery Capacity
53Wh
55Wh
42Wh
73Wh
94Wh
Wireless
Intel Wireless-AC 7265
Intel Wireless-AC 9560
Intel Wireless-AC 8265
Intel Wireless-AC 8265
Intel Wireless-AC 8265
Network
Realtek Gigabit Ethernet
-
-
-
Realtek Gigabit Ethernet
Primary Storage
128GB SK Hynix SC308 M.2 SSD
512GB Samsung SM961 M.2 SSD
256GB Micron 1100 M.2 SSD
512GB Micron 1100 M.2 SSD
512GB Toshiba XG3 M.2 SSD
Secondary Storage
1TB Toshiba MQ01ABD100 2.5in HDD
1TB Seagate FireCuda 2.5in HDD
-
-
-
Power Supply
135W
230W
65W
120W
200W
Operating System
Microsoft Windows 10
Microsoft Windows 10
Microsoft Windows 10
Microsoft Windows 10
Microsoft Windows 10
Dimensions (W x D x H)
389mm x 266mm x 28.9mm
384mm x 262mm x 19.9mm
361mm x 244mm x 17.9 mm
365mm x 251mm x 18.9mm
356mm x 250 x 18.9mm
Weight
2.5kg
2.5kg
1.7kg
1.8kg
2.0kg
Standard Warranty
One year
Two years
One year
One year
Two years
Date Reviewed
June 2017
June 2018
February 2018
August 2017
April 2018
Price When Reviewed
£800
£2,200
£620
£1,600
£2,200

Comparison Laptops - Part Two

System Name
Form Factor
15.6in
15.6in
14.0in
15.6in
15.6in
CPU
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
Intel Core i7-8750H
Intel Core i7-8750H
CPU Base Frequency
2.8GHz
2.8GHz
2.8GHz
2.2GHz
2.2GHz
CPU Turbo Frequency
3.8GHz
3.8GHz
3.8GHz
4.1GHz
4.1GHz
CPU Cores / Threads
4 / 8
4 / 8
4 / 8
6 / 12
6 / 12
CPU TDP
45W
45W
45W
45W
45W
Memory
8GB DDR4 (1x8GB)
16GB DDR4 (2x8GB)
16GB DDR4 (2x8GB)
16GB DDR4 (2x8GB)
16GB DDR4 (2x8GB)
Memory Speed
2,400MHz at 17-17-17-39-2T
2,400MHz at 16-16-16-39-2T
2,400MHz at 17-17-17-39-2T
2,666MHz at 19-19-19-43-2T
2,400MHz at 16-16-16-39-2T
Integrated GPU
Intel HD 630
Intel HD 630
Intel HD 630
Intel UHD 630
Intel UHD 630
Dedicated GPU(s)
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 4GB
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 Max-Q 8GB
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6GB
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 Max-Q 8GB
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6GB
Display
15.6in AUO61ED Full-HD IPS (1,920x1,080)
15.6in AUO52ED Full-HD TN (1,920x1,080)
14.0in LGD046D Full-HD IPS (1,920x1,080)
15.6in LGD05C0 Full-HD IPS (1,920x1,080)
15.6in CMN15D7 Full-HD IPS (1,920x1,080)
Battery Capacity
45Wh
55Wh
70Wh
80Wh
47Wh
Wireless
Qualcomm Atheros QCA61x4A
Intel Wireless-AC 8265
Killer Wireless-AC 1535
Intel Wireless-AC 9260
Intel Wireless-AC 9560
Network
Realtek Gigabit Ethernet
Realtek Gigabit Ethernet
-
-
Realtek Gigabit Ethernet
Primary Storage
128GB Samsung PM951 M.2 SSD
256GB Samsung PM961 M.2 SSD
256GB Samsung PM951 M.2 SSD
512GB Samsung SM981 M.2 SSD
250GB Samsung 960 Evo M.2 SSD
Secondary Storage
1TB Seagate Mobile 2.5in HDD
1TB Seagate FireCuda 2.5in HDD
-
-
1TB Seagate BarraCuda 2.5in HDD
Power Supply
135W
180W
165W
230W
150W
Operating System
Microsoft Windows 10
Microsoft Windows 10
Microsoft Windows 10
Microsoft Windows 10
Microsoft Windows 10
Dimensions (W x D x H)
380mm x 265mm x 25.8mm
380mm x 249mm x 18.6mm
345mm x 235mm x 17.9mm
355mm x 235mm x 16.8mm
359mm x 236mm x 19.9mm
Weight
2.5kg
1.9kg
1.9kg
2.1kg
2.0kg
Standard Warranty
One year
Three years
One year
One year
Two years
Date Reviewed
July 2017
January 2018
March 2017
June 2018
May 2018
Price When Reviewed
£1,000
£1,500
£1,800
£2,330
£1,400

CPU Benchmarks

HEXUS PiFast Our number-crunching PiFast test is used to benchmark the computational power of each system's CPU.
Cinebench Using Cinebench's multi-CPU render, this cross-platform benchmark stresses as many cores as possible.
HandBrake Free-to-use video encoder that stresses all CPU cores.

Memory and Storage Benchmarks

AIDA64 Benchmark that analyses memory bandwidth and latency.
CrystalDiskMark Popular free-to-use storage benchmark, used to gauge sequential performance and aggregated 4K QD32 speeds.

System and Gaming Benchmarks

3DMark DX12, Time Spy test.
Gaming A selection of modern titles are tested at various resolutions.

Miscellaneous Benchmarks

Display Datacolor's Spyder 4 Elite professional monitor analyser is used to return a quantitative assessment of display quality.
Power Consumption Noted for system idling, under HandBrake video-transcoding load, and for GPU playing F1 2017.
Temperature Noted for CPU idling, under HandBrake video-transcoding load, and for GPU playing F1 2017.
Battery Life Measured while looping a high-definition movie clip with 50 per cent screen brightness and flight mode enabled.