Razer Blade 15 2022 Review 2022 – Too Hot To Be Cool
Power, Performance, Perfection, And A Lot Of Heat
Razer has become synonymous among gamers because of gaming laptops and other gaming peripherals and accessories. While this laptop series is pretty famous, the Razer Blade 15 2022 edition takes laptop gaming to a whole new level.
Therefore, if you plan to buy a high-end gaming laptop, check this review out. I have used this laptop for two weeks and placed my findings here to help you see whether this laptop is worth your money or not.
Razer Blade 15 Specifications
| Operating System (OS) | Windows 11 Home Version |
| Processor (CPU) | 12th Generation Intel Core i9 12900H (14 cores) |
| Graphics Card (GPU) | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti (16GB GDDR6) |
| Display | 15.6” IPS |
| Memory (RAM) | 32GB DDR5 (Dual Channel 4800MHz) |
| Storage | 1 TB SSD |
| Keyboard | Per key backlit Razer Chroma keys |
| Cooling System | Vapor Chamber |
Display
The Razer Blade 15 Advanced has an impressive 15.6” screen with an IPS panel. One of the most remarkable things about the Razer Blade 15 is that its screen has a response rate of 3ms, which is pretty fast.
The screen also has a wide color gamut that lets you play games and watch movies pretty vividly with clarity.
Unlike other gaming laptops in the market, this screen has three different modes depending on your preference. These settings are:
- 1080p resolution with 360Hz refresh rate: Perfect for hardcore competitive gamers; this gives you higher frame rates than your opponents.
- 2K resolution with 240Hz refresh rate: Best for gamers who want to play newer games at the highest settings. This is perfect for gamers who want to play games at max settings with RTX ray tracing turned on for realistic lighting. This is the setting where I played most of my single-player games.
- 4K resolution with 144Hz refresh rate: If you want a balance between high frames but play games at the maximum graphical settings, then this is for you. In addition, this is great for movie watchers and video editors as well.
Processor
The Razer Blade 15 updates its laptop specifications every year. This makes the 2022 model the unofficial 3rd edition of the laptop.
Compared to its predecessors and the Acer Nitro 5, this version has the 12th Generation Intel Core i9 12900H processor. It has 14 cores and a max clock speed of 5GHz with turbo boost enabled. This processor offers 24MB of L2 and L3 cache memory when it comes to the cache memory.
The processor’s speed, which is also supported by 14 cores, makes multitasking a lot easier in this regard. You can learn how to overclock Razer Blade 15 for better performance but at the cost of voiding your warranty.
I was able to play games like Valorant and Apex Legends at medium settings with 360Hz. Also, I stream my gameplay on my YouTube channel using OBS simultaneously without any dropped frames.
Graphics Card
The Razer Blade 15 2022 is powered by the latest NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080Ti GPU. This is one of the best graphics cards in the market right now, providing 16GB of VRAM.
This GPU is powerful enough to support all the games released so far. Therefore, I was able to play some of the most demanding single-player games like Metro: Exodus, Elden Ring, and God of War at max settings with over 90-100fps at 2K settings.
When it comes to streaming, if you use NVENC encoding settings on OBS, it provides great performance. I was able to stream all these single-player games with probably a few dropped frames. This is to be expected while streaming any game on a laptop, and I was happy that it did not drop too many frames.
RAM
Multitasking is made easier thanks to this gaming laptop having 32GB of DDR5 RAM. This much RAM is enough to support multitasking, being similar to other laptops like the Alienware M15.
I browsed youtube videos and edited videos using apps like Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects without any lag. It also has a 4800MHz dual-channel system to make everything faster.
Storage Space
The Razer Blade 15 has good storage space to store all your games, apps, music, videos, and lots more. It also has a 1TB NVMe SSD card, with an additional PLCe slot to add another SSD to it.
Having an SSD card in a laptop makes it easier to load up all files and boot up the laptop. Therefore, loading up different levels in open-world games felt pretty smooth.
Keyboard And Trackpad
If you want a flashy but durable keyboard, this laptop provides that with great results.
All the keys are full RGB backlit, which is powered by the use of Razer Chroma RGB. This makes each key have multiple changing colors – something not present in previous versions and the Razer Blade 14.
The lighting changed according to in-game actions while I played Apex Legends, which was fun to watch. However, this was distracting as well, making it suitable for single-player games but not for competitive multiplayer titles.
However, I was pretty disappointed to see that the keys were not mechanical. This is something I expected from gaming laptops at this price range. The touchpad is also smooth, being made with precision glass input technology.
Battery
This laptop is powered by an 80WHr Lithium-ion battery. While it may look impressive, it has the same limitations as most other gaming laptops. The battery rains significantly faster if you play games at 4K with 144Hz or Full HD with 360Hz.
While playing unplugged games, I was able to clock only game sessions of 4.5 – 5 hours of playtime sessions. Therefore, I would recommend always playing games on this laptop while charging. If you want to use it for productivity uses, it should clock around 6-7 hours of use.
Connectivity Options
When it comes to connectivity, this laptop has left no holes barred when it comes to connectivity. The various ports in this laptop are:
- UHS-II SD card reader.
- Thunderbolt 4 USB C Type port x2
- USB Type-A port
- An HDMI 2.0 port for extra screens
- A Gigabit ethernet plug-in port
- A 3.5mm headphone and mic combo jack port.
Sound System And Webcam
To my surprise, I was blown away to hear a 7.1 surround system on a laptop. Most other gaming laptops in this price range do not offer this. This works better if you use 7.1 surround sound headphones (like that of Logitech and HyperX) to have the best gaming experience.
The main update to the laptop from previous versions comes in the form of having a 1080p webcam instead of the older 720p. It’s decent for video calls but not for streaming.
Cooling
The Razer Blade 15 boasts a vapor chamber cooling system. This dissipates heat using internal fluids, nanoparticle thermal blockers, and four different fans.
While this may sound impressive on the surface, it is also the laptop’s most disappointing feature. After gaming for 2 hours, the laptop’s chassis started heating up progressively faster.
Razer Blade 15 Review – What I Learnt After Using This Laptop
While I got the chance to use this laptop for two weeks, I tested its gaming performance. In addition, I also tested out how productivity apps work on this laptop, along with watching movies and listening to music.
I found the pros and cons of this laptop:
| Pros | Cons |
| Great gaming performance with high frame rates and low response times.High-quality 7.1 surround sound system with spatial audio enhancements.Super sharp laptop display, with three different modes. Razer Chroma-powered RGB keyboard and trackpad. The laptop looks sleek and is super slim. | Significant heating issues after 2 to 3 hours of gaming.Poor battery life. The keyboard could have been mechanical. |
Frequently Asked Questions By Gamers (FAQ):
Ans: Yes, the laptop supports 4K gaming and watching 4K videos as well. There is a setting to see 4K videos and games with a refresh rate of 144Hz.
Ans: Yes, the Razer Blade 15 is food for both audio and video editing. As a bonus, it comes packed with a free subscription to FL Studio when you buy this laptop.
Ans: Yes, this laptop is worth it for gaming and for productivity purposes. While it has heating and battery life issues, the performance outweighs them all.
Ans: Yes, this laptop has a 1080p webcam that is great for video calling on Discord or social media. It is an upgrade from the 720p webcam on the previous editions.
Final Verdict – To Game Or Not To Game?
The Razer Blade 15 is a great laptop for gaming and for doing graphically productive tasks. Its 12Gen i9 processor and the RTX 3080 Ti graphics card make it pretty beefy and powerful for gaming.
However, its poor battery life and heating issues significantly mar this laptop from being the ultimate gaming laptop.
Therefore, if you do not mind the heating and battery life issues because you will not carry it around a lot, definitely buy this laptop. Otherwise, look for other alternatives.
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