Razer Blade 14 (2024) review: Iteration over evolution

❘ Published: 2024-04-04T16:03:03

Dexerto

The Razer Blade 14 is back for 2024, kitted out with AMD’s latest Ryzen processors, and I’ve spent weeks testing one to give you the lowdown on whether it’s worth the eye-watering price tag.

Whenever you’re shopping for a gaming laptop, there are a lot of factors to consider from screen, GPU selection, form factor, and chassis. However, Razer’s Blade 14 might just be the most ideal size for taking serious gaming power on the go.

I have previously reviewed 2023’s Razer Blade 14, and Blade 16, in addition to a handful of other gaming laptops to tell you if this device is worth the asking price or not. I tested the laptop over several weeks before writing this review, running games, working, and living with the laptop.

Key specs

CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS
RAM: 32GB DDR5-5600 MHz
GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070
Display: 14-inch IPS 240Hz (2560 x 1600)
Storage: 1TB PCIe 4.0
OS: Windows 11
Weight: 1.8 KG
Battery: 68.1 Whr (230W power adapter)
Connectivity: 1x HDMI 2.1, 2x USB-A 3.2 Gen 2, 2x USB-C 4.0
Features: Anodized aluminum unibody chassis, vapor chamber cooling, premium glass trackpad
Price: $2799

Buy the Razer Blade 14 (2024)

Design

The Razer Blade 14 doesn’t appear to be too different from its predecessors. It still sports the same premium anodized aluminum unibody chassis that remains best-in-class for gaming laptops. While there are minimal design changes here, why change something that already feels so good?

I usually use an M2 MacBook Air for work, and during the testing period of this device, I never felt as though I was missing anything. Everything from its fantastic-feeling glass trackpad to the chiclet keyboard and speakers all feels great to use.

You’ll not be wanting for ports, either. Sporting two USB-C 4.0 ports, you can attach any kind of port or dock you need for extra IO, if the two USB-A ports and HDMI 2.1 port aren’t quite enough for you.

One thing to note is that the speaker grilles, while producing decent enough sound, can attract all manner of dust as you use it. So, given the matte black finish, expect to dust and clean the laptop regularly. It would have been nice to see Razer make more improvements to the finish here, but it appears that we’ll just have to wait a little bit longer.

You also get 1TB of storage, and 32GB of speedy, upgradable RAM within. This would be fine, but 1TB of storage for such an expensive device makes it feel as though Razer is merely pinching pennies here.

Display

You also get a quality 240Hz IPS panel included here, which looks great and produces good-quality pictures when playing games and watching content. But, for this price, I do wish that Razer offered up an OLED or MiniLED option for users to choose from. The new 2024 Blade 16 has been upgraded with an OLED display, but it appears that the Blade 14 has missed out on this, meaning that the ROG Zephyrus G14 2024 might have an edge over it, in that respect.

The rest of the chassis and system are high-quality, so the lack of a meaningful screen upgrade here appears to be quite jarring, though it looks great in most scenarios.

Trackpad & keyboard

The trackpad of the Razer Blade 14 remains to be a highlight of the entire system. The huge real estate you get, as well as the responsiveness to gestures, is second to none when it comes to Windows-based laptops. It simply has no equal when it comes to Windows devices.

Razer is clearly onto a good thing here, and that extends to its chiclet-style keyboard, which features individually lit RGB keys, which you can customize within the laptop’s software. The keyboard itself is more than good enough, but it’s not quite Apple-levels of quality, unlike the trackpad.

Features

Once again, the Ryzen processor within this particular flavor of Razer Blade offers up Ryzen AI features, which can offload processes from your CPU or GPU and straight onto an NPU integrated within the PC. This works pretty well, and can be found in the camera features, where the tool can auto-track for you, in addition to a handful of other handy features. It doesn’t make a huge difference right now, but as AI features become more commonplace in PCs, it could be a handy tool to have in the future.

Razer’s Synapse is largely clear to understand. and it’s easy to change up performance profiles, tune your fans and more. I didn’t run into any issues with Synapse throughout the duration of the review period, either.

Performance

The Razer Blade 14 2024 is more of an iterative upgrade over its direct predecessor, sporting only a new processor, with very few other upgrades elsewhere. So, the performance here has to matter. As of the time of writing, last year’s model is $300 cheaper and offers largely the same experience.

Under the hood, you also get access to AMD’s 780M graphics, which is commonly found in gaming handhelds. So if you wanted to save on some battery life while playing lighter titles at around 1080p, this might be a strategy you want to employ. But, for the sake of this review, I’ve tested the titles using the included RTX 4070, which can drink up to 140W of power. We’ve tested the system at its native 1600p resolution, so you can get a good idea of what realistic performance looks like from the system.

Gaming performance (1600p)

Game	Razer Blade 14 2024 (4070/ 8945HS)	Razer Blade 14 2023 (4070/7 940HS)	HP Omen Transcend 14 2024 (4060 / Ultra 7 155H)	Razer Blade 16 2023 (4090 / 13950HX)	Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 X3D (4090 / 7945HX3D)
Forza Horizon 5 (Ultra, RT & DLSS off)	103 FPS	97 FPS	71 FPS	137 FPS	147 FPS
Cyberpunk 2077 (Ultra, RT Ultra, DLSS 3 Performance, Frame Generation / FSR)	72 FPS	73 FPS	45 FPS	126 FPS	161 FPS
Cyberpunk 2077 (Ultra, RT Ultra, DLSS off)	18 FPS	17 FPS	24 FPS	38 FPS	47 FPS
Overwatch 2 (Ultra)	216 FPS	207 FPS	145 FPS	344 FPS	404 FPS

At 1600p, we fail to see the new Blade 14 make a big difference when compared to its most direct predecessor. This is mostly due to more iterative improvements in the new Ryzen CPUs housed within. But, that doesn’t make it a slouch. It easily outperforms the HP Omen Transcend 14, which houses noticably weaker specs, and can answer Cyberpunk 2077’s demands very well. Do note that a Cyberpunk 2077 update from mid-2023 had a significant performance impact, which is why we’re seeing less gains there.

Synthetic benchmarks

3DMark	Razer Blade 14 2024 (4070/ 8945HS)	Razer Blade 14 2023 (4070/7 940HS)	HP Omen Transcend 14 (4060 / Ultra 7 155H)	Razer Blade 16 2023 (4090 / 13950HX)	Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 X3D (4090 / 7945HX3D)
Time Spy Extreme	5961	5595	3562	9279	9741
Port Royal	7714	7262	4438	11980	12305
Speed Way	3040	2902	1980	4951	5175

In synthetic benchmarks, I found that the Razer Blade 14 was around 7% faster than its predecessor, which isn’t a huge amount, considering the new CPU housed within. If this proves anything, it’s that this model of the Blade 14 is more of an iterative improvement upon what’s come before, than a real revolution.

Thermals, noise & battery

In terms of thermals, the Razer Blade 14’s CPU topped out at a maximum of 89 degrees when pushed to the brink in gaming benchmarks, boosting to 5.2Ghz. Meanwhile, its GPU managed to climb up to 80 degreees, but reach no further than that when playing various games. This is all well and dandy, but the Blade 14 does get incredibly loud.

The Blade 14 2024 can, at its stock fan configurations, begin to kick up to full speed once you are in a game. In Dragon’s Dogma 2, the system managed to fly, and headphones aren’t just recommended here, they’re required, especially if you plan to game for longer periods of time.

In terms of batttery life, I managed to eke out a full day of work on the battery alone, which is commendable from the system. However, don’t try to use it without a power source nearby, as during gaming scenarios, you’ll only get around an hour and a half of juice out of the device. But, given the form-factor of the system, you really can’t complain too much, since it offers this level of performance in such a small package.

Should you buy it?

The Razer Blade 14 (2024) isn’t going to win any innovation awards, especially since it’s largely the same as last year’s model, just with a slightly souped up CPU. However, it still offers as well-built chassis and powerful parts under the hood to deliver a quality experience. However, there are two thorns for the system to contend with. Competition, and its own older, discounted model.

Verdict: 4/5

Razer has once again produced a great-feeling laptop that’s clearly powerful and performant. But, given that the older model can be had for $300 cheaper at a minimal hit to performance, as well as competition with Asus’s ROG Zephyrus G14 heating up, I can’t help but feel as though Razer has missed a trick by not offering an OLED screen option, as well as more storage for the very expensive price they are commanding. Razer might have had an edge in years past, but competition is indeed creeping up.

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