Gaming laptops tick a lot of the required boxes for video editing laptops too, which is why the Razer Blade 17 is going to appeal to gamers and creatives alike. It's been one of the best laptops in this field for some time, and has been updated again for 2022.
This is the largest and most expensive in the Razer Blade series, which covers a number of screen sizes and a host of different configurations. If this laptop isn't exactly what you're looking for, you've got plenty of other options from the same range.
The Razer Blade 17 comes with a rather large price tag attached, which is going to limit its appeal – but it's clearly one of the best laptops on the market at the moment, and has the performance to blow almost everything else out of the water.
Specifications
- CPU: Intel Core i7-12800H (14-core, 1.8GHz)
- Graphics: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti
- RAM: 32GB
- Screen: 17.3-inch, 2,560 x 1,440 pixel, IPS LCD
- Storage: 1TB SSD
- Ports: 2 x Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C), 1 x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2, 3 x USB-A 3.2 Gen 2, 3.5mm headphone jack, HDMI, microSD
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2
- Camera: 1080p
- Weight: 2.75 kg (6.06 lbs)
- Size: 395 mm x 260 mm x 19.9 mm (15.55 inches x 10.24 inches x 0.78 inches)
In terms of specs, the Razer Blade 17 is hard to beat: it has an Nvidia RTX 3080 Ti GPU inside, which isn't just a good graphics card, it's one of the very best (and most expensive) in the business. That's backed up by a 12th-gen Intel Core i7-12800H processor, 32GB of RAM and 1TB of SSD storage. Not only will the Razer Blade 17 cope with the most demanding games around at the moment, it'll top the benchmark charts.
As usual with a Razer Blade series, you don't have to go for those exact specs – less powerful, less expensive variations are also available, laptops which still keep the 17.3-inch display and the ultra-cool Razer aesthetic. It's really a question of balancing price against performance.
You get all the latest and greatest Nvidia graphics tech with this laptop, including DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling) and 4th-generation Max-Q technology – don't worry if those terms are new to you, all you need to know is that they maximize gaming performance. Throw in support for the latest Wi-Fi 6E wireless standard and THX Spatial Audio from its eight (!) speakers, and this is a truly impressive overall package.
Key features
If you're going to buy this particular model of the Razer Blade 17, it's going to be for that phenomenal GPU that comes inside it – though you're going to have to make sure you'll be using the RTX 3080 Ti to its full capabilities in order to justify the cost of the laptop. If you don't want the highest possible frame rates on the latest games, save yourself some money and opt for a cheaper model.
The 17.3-inch display is a stunner, with a native resolution of 2,560 x 1,440 pixels and a refresh rate that tops out at 240Hz – another spec where the Razer Blade 17 is very difficult to beat. Creatives will be pleased that there's 100 percent coverage of the DCI-P3 color space, and the laptop does a fantastic job of offering top-end gaming power while not neglecting features that matter when you're not gaming.
Port selection is good too: two Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports, one USB 3.2 Gen 2 (USB-C) port, and three USB 3.2 Gen 2 (USB-A) ports. There's a 3.5 audio jack as well that does double duty as a port for a microphone or for a pair of headphones (or for a gaming headset that may well offer both together).
Build and handling
As if the Razer Blade 17 didn't already have enough going for it, it's also really well built and stylishly finished: like other Razer laptops before it, it's a perfectly formed, smooth slab of aluminum and plastic, finished in a deep black. Perhaps more than any other laptop maker, Razer is able to make gaming laptops that don't look much like gaming laptops while keeping an ultra-premium feel.
One of the few giveaways that this is aimed primarily at gamers is the RGB lighting behind the keys on the keyboard. The laptop comes bundled with software you can use to tweak the lighting in all kinds of ways, from subtle fades to vivid flashes, and you can of course turn it off completely too (or just stick with a static white).
If you want to measure out some desk space before you pick up the Razer Blade 17, it measures 395 mm x 260 mm x 19.9 mm (15.6 inches x 10.2 inches x 0.8 inches) and tips the scales at 2.75 kg (6.06 lbs). You're never going to get a 17-inch laptop that's also ultra-portable – it's just basic physics – but this particular model manages not to come across as overly bulky or difficult to lug around.
Performance
The Razer Blade 17 with the configuration that we're reviewing is going to beat just about every laptop on the market at the moment in terms of performance and benchmarks – it's that good. From the latest and most demanding games, to the biggest image files, to the longest 4K video encoding projects, this laptop is going to take it all in its stride.
The 3DMark Time Spy benchmark score of 12,298 is almost into premium desktop gaming PC territory – which isn't bad considering the components are crammed into a laptop chassis here. The laptop scored an impressive 6,263 in our PCMark 10 test: 8,747 on Essentials, 8,069 on Productivity, and 9,448 on Digital Content Creation.
Looking at the specs of the Razer Blade 17, you probably wouldn't expect too much in terms of battery life, and you'd be right not to. When gaming, you're going to struggle to get much more than an hour away from a mains socket, though with less demanding tasks (like movie watching and word processing) you can usually squeeze out a little over two hours. That's poor battery life relative to laptops in general, but it's about par for the course for a gaming laptop.
Verdict
How much do you need to spend to get one of the most powerful gaming laptops on the planet at the moment? Well the configuration of the Razer Blade 17 that we had in for review was retailing for around $4,000 or £4,000 at the time we were writing this review, which gives you some idea.
Yes, that's a lot of money to be paying for a laptop – but you get levels of performance that are above just about everything else on the market. If you have the budget to get the best there is then the Razer Blade 17 is certainly a contender for that slot, whether you're planning on using it for high-end gaming on Steam, or large video editing projects, or both. That retail price is going to go a long way to determining whether or not this is going to be your next laptop upgrade.
Razer not only makes some of the most powerful laptops around, it also makes some of the most stylish as well, as you can see from the photos we've taken of the laptop. If you don't want to spend quite so much money, look for the lower-spec configurations and the 14-inch and 15-inch models in the Razer Blade series.
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