Razer’s laptop lineup now offers six different systems across various sizes and configs, but its largest and most powerful laptop was past due for a refresh. So today, Razer is updating its 17-inch gaming machine with a bunch of powerful new components — and a slightly tweaked name.
Razer is officially dropping the “Pro” tag from the refreshed Blade 17, which starts at $US2,400 ($3,215) and is available to preorder today. The move is partly to better align with the rest of Razer’s gaming laptops, but it’s also to simply let people know that the Blade 17 isn’t just for game developers or professional digital artists.
Razer is aiming to position its most beastly laptop as a true desktop replacement. The Blade 17 supports up to an 11th-gen Intel Core i9 H-series chip, which is the first time Razer has crammed an i9 into the Blade 17, plus an updated selection of ports. The combination should make the Blade 17 capable of handling any task you can throw at it, but in a chassis that’s a bit easier to lug around.
In addition to new 11th-gen CPUs, the Blade 17 also supports up to an Nvidia RTX 3080 GPU (sorry, AMD fans, there aren’t any AMD CPU or GPU options), two new USB-C ports with Thunderbolt 4 (one on either side for easy access), and the fingerprint-resistant coating Razer has recently added to some of the Blade 17’s small siblings. And depending on the config you choose, the Blade 17 can be equipped with the following display options: a 2560 x 1440 240Hz, a 1920 x 1080 360Hz, or a 4K 3840 x 2160 120Hz.
The Blade 17 is also getting a new higher-res 1080p webcam with Windows Hello support, double the number of mics (four total, up from two), and tweaks to the laptop’s touchpad and cooling to provide better palm rejection and improved thermals. The new port selection is excellent, including the aforementioned dual Thunderbolt 4 ports, along with three more USB 3.2 Type-A ports, HDMI 2.1, 2.5 Gb Ethernet, combo audio jack, and even a full-size UHS-III SD card reader.
Rounding out the package is a 70.5 WHr battery, support for Bluetooth 5.2 and Wi-Fi 6E, and room for up to a 4TB SDD, with an extra open M.2 slot for DIY storage expansion.
Razer is also tuning up the base Blade 15 with new 11th-gen Core i7 Intel CPUs as well. The base model starts at $US1,800 ($2,411) and comes with an Nvidia RTX 3070, Thunderbolt 4, and faster PCIe 4.0 SSDs.
The base Blade 15 will be available directly from Razer today, while the new Blade 17 is scheduled to arrive on Razer.com and select third-party retailers later this summer.
Editor’s Note: Stay tuned for more news on Australian pricing and availability for the refreshed versions of the Razer Blade 15 and Blade 17.