2020 Razer Blade Pro 17 Review: Do you Really Need a 300 Hz Laptop?

Razer recently refreshed their 17.3-inch Blade Pro 17 series for 2020 with 10th gen Core i7 processors, optional GeForce Super Max-Q GPUs, more display options, and a longer Shift key. Our unit here is the least expensive configuration of the latest model that's notable for its 300 Hz display as opposed to "only" 240 Hz on last year's model.
Other than the processor, display, and slight keyboard differences, the 2020 Blade Pro 17 shares essentially the same features and design as the 2019 Blade Pro 17. Thus, we recommend checking out our existing review on the 2019 model to learn more about the chassis, ports, and other physical features of the laptop.
Direct competitors to the Blade Pro 17 include other high-end ultra-thin 17.3-inch gaming laptops like the MSI GS75, Asus Zephyrus S GX701, Dell Alienware m17 R2, or the Eluktronics RP-17.
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Rating | Date | Model | Weight | Height | Size | Resolution | Best Price |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
87.4 % | 06/2020 | Razer Blade Pro 17 RTX 2070 Max-Q 300 Hz i7-10875H, GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q | 2.7 kg | 19.9 mm | 17.30" | 1920x1080 | |
81.2 % | 12/2019 | Asus ROG Zephyrus S GX701GXR i7-9750H, GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q | 2.7 kg | 18.7 mm | 17.30" | 1920x1080 | |
82.9 % | 06/2019 | MSI GS75 Stealth 9SG i7-9750H, GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q | 2.3 kg | 18.9 mm | 17.30" | 1920x1080 | |
84.2 % | 02/2020 | Alienware m17 R2 P41E i9-9980HK, GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q | 2.6 kg | 20.5 mm | 17.30" | 1920x1080 | |
86.5 % | 05/2020 | Aorus 17G XB i7-10875H, GeForce RTX 2070 Super Max-Q | 2.7 kg | 26 mm | 17.30" | 1920x1080 |
Case
SD Card Reader | |
average JPG Copy Test (av. of 3 runs) | |
Aorus 17G XB (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
Razer Blade Pro 17 RTX 2070 Max-Q 300 Hz (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
Dell XPS 15 9500 Core i7 4K UHD (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
Razer Blade Pro 17 4K UHD 120 Hz (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
MSI GS63VR 7RG-005 (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
maximum AS SSD Seq Read Test (1GB) | |
Aorus 17G XB (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
Razer Blade Pro 17 RTX 2070 Max-Q 300 Hz (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
MSI GS63VR 7RG-005 (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
Razer Blade Pro 17 4K UHD 120 Hz (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
Dell XPS 15 9500 Core i7 4K UHD (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) |
Communication
Webcam

Input Devices
Display
The new 1080p 300 Hz display is a distinguishing factor separating the 2020 Blade Pro 17 from earlier versions. The laptop is the first in our database to come with the Sharp LQ173M1JW02 IPS panel compared to "only" 240 Hz on the Blade 15 or Gigabyte Aero 17. Users who prefer last year's 4K UHD 120 Hz panel instead still have that option on the 2020 series.
The 1080p300 panel has some advantages and disadvantages when compared to the aforementioned glossy 4K120 panel other than the obvious resolution and refresh rate differences. Though brightness is almost the same between them, the 4K panel offers a slightly higher contrast ratio with much wider color coverage for deeper and more accurate colors than our 300 Hz panel. In turn, the 300 Hz panel has faster black-white and gray-gray response times to limit ghosting.
Users can quickly switch between 60 Hz, 240 Hz, or 300 Hz refresh rates via Razer Synapse. Needless to say, the 300 Hz refresh rate feels silky smooth even though the visual experience doesn't feel all that much better than 240 Hz during day-to-day workloads.
|
Brightness Distribution: 78 %
Center on Battery: 328 cd/m²
Contrast: 937:1 (Black: 0.35 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 4.74 | 0.55-29.43 Ø5.1, calibrated: 2.12
ΔE Greyscale 6.8 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
98.6% sRGB (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
64.8% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
73% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
98.5% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
72.2% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.2
Razer Blade Pro 17 RTX 2070 Max-Q 300 Hz Sharp LQ173M1JW02, IPS, 17.30, 1920x1080 | Asus ROG Zephyrus S GX701GXR AU Optronics B173HAN05.1, IPS, 17.30, 1920x1080 | MSI GS75 Stealth 9SG Chi Mei N173HCE-G33 (CMN175C), IPS, 17.30, 1920x1080 | Alienware m17 R2 P41E Chi Mei 173HCE, CMN175F, IPS, 17.30, 1920x1080 | Aorus 17G XB AU Optronics B173HAN05.0 (AUO509D), IPS, 17.30, 1920x1080 | Razer Blade Pro 17 4K UHD 120 Hz AU Optronics B173ZAN03.3, IPS, 17.30, 3840x2160 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Display | -2% | -10% | -1% | -1% | 18% | |
Display P3 Coverage | 72.2 | 70 -3% | 62.6 -13% | 70.8 -2% | 70.6 -2% | 84.8 17% |
sRGB Coverage | 98.5 | 96.6 -2% | 93.5 -5% | 98.5 0% | 97.2 -1% | 99.9 1% |
AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage | 73 | 72.3 -1% | 64.7 -11% | 72.2 -1% | 72.8 0% | 98.6 35% |
Response Times | 11% | -17% | -110% | -106% | -90% | |
Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 5.6 ? | 5.6 ? -0% | 7.2 ? -29% | 17.2 ? -207% | 16 ? -186% | 15.2 ? -171% |
Response Time Black / White * | 9.6 ? | 7.6 ? 21% | 10 ? -4% | 10.8 ? -13% | 12 ? -25% | 10.4 ? -8% |
PWM Frequency | 25510 ? | 26320 ? | ||||
Screen | 23% | 31% | 32% | 31% | 3% | |
Brightness middle | 328 | 288 -12% | 366 12% | 384.2 17% | 293 -11% | 346.7 6% |
Brightness | 329 | 276 -16% | 343 4% | 357 9% | 285 -13% | 332 1% |
Brightness Distribution | 78 | 93 19% | 91 17% | 90 15% | 95 22% | 91 17% |
Black Level * | 0.35 | 0.24 31% | 0.29 17% | 0.29 17% | 0.24 31% | 0.27 23% |
Contrast | 937 | 1200 28% | 1262 35% | 1325 41% | 1221 30% | 1284 37% |
Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 4.74 | 1.92 59% | 1.51 68% | 1.35 72% | 1.27 73% | 5.62 -19% |
Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 8.99 | 4.57 49% | 3.22 64% | 3.45 62% | 2.24 75% | 9.36 -4% |
Colorchecker dE 2000 calibrated * | 2.12 | 1.14 46% | 0.71 67% | 1.42 33% | 1.06 50% | 3.81 -80% |
Greyscale dE 2000 * | 6.8 | 3.08 55% | 1.93 72% | 1.2 82% | 1.34 80% | 5.5 19% |
Gamma | 2.2 100% | 2.42 91% | 2.38 92% | 2.23 99% | 2.38 92% | 2.25 98% |
CCT | 6446 101% | 7055 92% | 6881 94% | 6580 99% | 6542 99% | 6175 105% |
Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998) | 64.8 | 65 0% | 60 -7% | 65.5 1% | 73 13% | 87.2 35% |
Color Space (Percent of sRGB) | 98.6 | 96 -3% | 94 -5% | 98.5 0% | 94 -5% | 100 1% |
Total Average (Program / Settings) | 11% /
17% | 1% /
18% | -26% /
8% | -25% /
8% | -23% /
-6% |
* ... smaller is better
Color space is narrower than on the 4K UHD 120 Hz option. Users can expect full sRGB coverage here as opposed to full AdobeRGB on the 4K alternative. We suspect that this is because there are no widely available 15.6-inch 300 Hz panels in the market at the moment that also have full AdobeRGB coverage.
The display could have been better calibrated out of the box. Color temperature is slightly too warm and the average grayscale DeltaE of 6.8 is relatively high for a flagship laptop such as this. Calibrating the panel ourselves addresses the issues for a more color-accurate display.
Display Response Times
↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
---|---|---|
9.6 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 5.2 ms rise | |
↘ 4.4 ms fall | ||
The screen shows fast response rates in our tests and should be suited for gaming. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 19 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (22 ms). | ||
↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
5.6 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 2.6 ms rise | |
↘ 3 ms fall | ||
The screen shows very fast response rates in our tests and should be very well suited for fast-paced gaming. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.25 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 11 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (34.6 ms). |
Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)
Screen flickering / PWM not detected | |||
In comparison: 54 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 18988 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured. |
Outdoor visibility isn't noticeably better or worse than on the 2019 model or most other gaming laptops for that matter. The ~300 nit display wasn't designed to be overcome such bright ambient lighting regardless of the matte overlay.
Performance
All 2020 options come standard with the 10th gen octa-core Core i7-10875H to succeed last year's 9th gen hexa-core Core i7-9750H. Unlike most other gaming laptops, Razer does not offer the hexa-core Core i7-10750H. Core i9 isn't available here as well, but that is not something we would recommend for thin-and-light gaming laptops based on what we've seen on the MSI GS66.
RAM has been upgraded from DDR4-2667 to DDR4-2933. Two accessible SODIMM slots allow for up to 64 GB.
Nvidia Optimus is not included, but users can manually switch between the integrated and discrete GPUs via the Razer Synapse software. A reboot will be required each time. Manual graphics switching usually implies G-Sync support, but that is not available here.
Annoyingly, Razer Synapse will always be stuck on its login screen if booting up the system with wireless disabled. You'll have to re-enable wireless and then completely restart Synapse to get past the login screen.
Processor
CPU performance is slightly slower than the average Core i7-10875H processor in our database. Even so, raw multi-thread performance is about 45 percent faster than on last year's Blade Pro 17 with the Core i7-9750H. This won't translate to 45 percent faster frame rates, of course, but content creators will almost certainly benefit more from the additional cores. It's too bad that Razer doesn't offer any Ryzen 7 4800H options as AMD has been putting a lot of pressure on Intel with its impressive Ryzen series thus far.
When running CineBench R15 Multi-Thread in a loop, the initial high score of 1494 points would dip to 1360 points by the second loop to represent a performance drop of about 9 percent.
See our dedicated page on the Core i7-10875H for more technical information and benchmark comparisons.
Cinebench R15: CPU Multi 64Bit | CPU Single 64Bit
Blender: v2.79 BMW27 CPU
7-Zip 18.03: 7z b 4 -mmt1 | 7z b 4
Geekbench 5.4: Single-Core | Multi-Core
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2: 4k Preset
LibreOffice : 20 Documents To PDF
R Benchmark 2.5: Overall mean
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2 / 4k Preset | |
MSI GE66 Raider 10SFS | |
Asus TUF A17 FA706IU-AS76 | |
Asus Zephyrus G14 GA401IV | |
MSI GE75 9SG | |
Average Intel Core i7-10875H (7.27 - 14.1, n=27) | |
Acer Nitro 5 AN517-52-77DS | |
Acer Nitro 5 AN515-44-R5FT | |
MSI GF75 Thin 10SCXR |
LibreOffice / 20 Documents To PDF | |
Acer Nitro 5 AN515-44-R5FT | |
Asus TUF A17 FA706IU-AS76 | |
MSI GF75 Thin 10SCXR | |
Razer Blade Pro 17 RTX 2070 Max-Q 300 Hz | |
MSI GE66 Raider 10SFS | |
Average Intel Core i7-10875H (30.2 - 84.3, n=30) | |
Acer Nitro 5 AN517-52-77DS |
R Benchmark 2.5 / Overall mean | |
MSI GF75 Thin 10SCXR | |
Acer Nitro 5 AN517-52-77DS | |
Acer Nitro 5 AN515-44-R5FT | |
Asus TUF A17 FA706IU-AS76 | |
Average Intel Core i7-10875H (0.546 - 0.662, n=29) | |
MSI GE66 Raider 10SFS |
* ... smaller is better
PCMark 8 Home Score Accelerated v2 | 5217 points | |
PCMark 8 Work Score Accelerated v2 | 6317 points | |
PCMark 10 Score | 6290 points | |
Help |
DPC Latency
DPC Latencies / LatencyMon - interrupt to process latency (max), Web, Youtube, Prime95 | |
Asus TUF A17 FA706IU-AS76 | |
MSI GF75 Thin 10SCXR | |
Asus Zephyrus G14 GA401IV | |
Razer Blade Pro 17 RTX 2070 Max-Q 300 Hz |
* ... smaller is better
Storage Devices
Almost all Razer laptops comes with either a Samsung or Lite-On SSD, but it's difficult to know exactly which one of the two you might be getting. Our particular unit comes equipped with the 512 GB Lite-On CA5-8D512 NVMe drive for generally slower performance than the Samsung SSD PM981a. Unless if you're a content creator working with numerous small files, however, then you're probably not going to notice the difference.
Razer Blade Pro 17 RTX 2070 Max-Q 300 Hz Lite-On CA5-8D512 | MSI GS75 Stealth 9SG 2x Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB1T0HALR (RAID 0) | Alienware m17 R2 P41E 2x SK Hynix PC601 NVMe 512 GB (RAID 0) | Aorus 17G XB Samsung SSD PM981a MZVLB512HBJQ | Razer Blade Pro 17 4K UHD 120 Hz Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB1T0HALR | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
AS SSD | 41% | 26% | 68% | 54% | |
Seq Read | 2019 | 2855 41% | 1938 -4% | 1791 -11% | 1881 -7% |
Seq Write | 1314 | 2687 104% | 2094 59% | 2193 67% | 2354 79% |
4K Read | 46.61 | 30.31 -35% | 25.88 -44% | 50.7 9% | 43.42 -7% |
4K Write | 90.2 | 96.3 7% | 100.8 12% | 116.8 29% | 104.1 15% |
4K-64 Read | 665 | 1460 120% | 1217 83% | 1525 129% | 1805 171% |
4K-64 Write | 813 | 1224 51% | 1137 40% | 1958 141% | 1775 118% |
Access Time Read * | 0.058 | 0.054 7% | 0.051 12% | 0.07 -21% | 0.049 16% |
Access Time Write * | 0.167 | 0.038 77% | 0.107 36% | 0.032 81% | 0.106 37% |
Score Read | 913 | 1776 95% | 1437 57% | 1755 92% | 2037 123% |
Score Write | 1034 | 1589 54% | 1447 40% | 2294 122% | 2115 105% |
Score Total | 2392 | 4259 78% | 3624 52% | 4972 108% | 5215 118% |
Copy ISO MB/s | 1715 | 2226 30% | 1926 12% | 1877 9% | |
Copy Program MB/s | 622 | 426.4 -31% | 626 1% | 539 -13% | |
Copy Game MB/s | 1506 | 1152 -24% | 1533 2% | 1368 -9% | |
CrystalDiskMark 5.2 / 6 | 4% | -3% | 5% | -10% | |
Write 4K | 119 | 95.5 -20% | 110.6 -7% | 123.4 4% | 121.7 2% |
Read 4K | 51.9 | 42.59 -18% | 41.46 -20% | 45.02 -13% | 43.81 -16% |
Write Seq | 2258 | 2851 26% | 2378 5% | 2526 12% | 1276 -43% |
Read Seq | 2283 | 2696 18% | 2114 -7% | 2062 -10% | 1183 -48% |
Write 4K Q32T1 | 491 | 402.6 -18% | 445.4 -9% | 497.9 1% | 527 7% |
Read 4K Q32T1 | 540 | 443.9 -18% | 509 -6% | 579 7% | 592 10% |
Write Seq Q32T1 | 2253 | 3420 52% | 2735 21% | 2982 32% | 2379 6% |
Read Seq Q32T1 | 3172 | 3514 11% | 3206 1% | 3440 8% | 3213 1% |
Total Average (Program / Settings) | 23% /
28% | 12% /
15% | 37% /
41% | 22% /
31% |
* ... smaller is better
Disk Throttling: DiskSpd Read Loop, Queue Depth 8
GPU Performance
We noted in the past that the performance differences between the older Max-Q and newer Super Max-Q GeForce GPUs can be so narrow that certain laptops with older Max-Q GPUs could sometimes outperform their newer Super Max-Q counterparts. In this case, the RTX 2070 Max-Q in our Razer is able to consistently outscore the newer RTX 2070 Super Max-Q in the Aorus 17G and even the RTX 2080 Super Max-Q in the MSI GS66. Razer offers an RTX 2080 Super Max-Q option as well, but don't feel like you'll be missing much if you decide to "settle" with the RTX 2070 Max-Q.
See our dedicated page on the GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q for more technical information and gaming benchmarks.
3DMark 11 Performance | 23306 points | |
3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score | 48701 points | |
3DMark Fire Strike Score | 18543 points | |
3DMark Time Spy Score | 8236 points | |
Help |
The Witcher 3 | |
1920x1080 Ultra Graphics & Postprocessing (HBAO+) | |
Aorus 17 YA | |
MSI GE66 Raider 10SFS | |
Lenovo Legion Y740-17IRHg-81UJ001VGE | |
Razer Blade Pro 17 RTX 2070 Max-Q 300 Hz | |
MSI GS66 10SGS | |
Aorus 17G XB | |
Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q (56 - 83.8, n=31) | |
Acer Nitro 5 AN517-52-77DS | |
Asus TUF A17 FA706IU-AS76 | |
EVGA SC15 | |
Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3i 15IMH05 | |
1920x1080 High Graphics & Postprocessing (Nvidia HairWorks Off) | |
MSI GE66 Raider 10SFS | |
Razer Blade Pro 17 RTX 2070 Max-Q 300 Hz | |
Lenovo Legion Y740-17IRHg-81UJ001VGE | |
MSI GS66 10SGS | |
Aorus 17G XB | |
Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q (86.5 - 151.4, n=22) | |
Acer Nitro 5 AN517-52-77DS | |
Asus TUF A17 FA706IU-AS76 | |
EVGA SC15 | |
Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3i 15IMH05 |
Dota 2 Reborn - 1920x1080 ultra (3/3) best looking | |
Aorus 17 YA | |
Aorus 17G XB | |
MSI GE66 Raider 10SFS | |
Razer Blade Pro 17 RTX 2070 Max-Q 300 Hz | |
Lenovo Legion Y740-17IRHg-81UJ001VGE | |
Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q (105.8 - 126, n=13) | |
EVGA SC15 | |
Acer Nitro 5 AN517-52-77DS | |
MSI GS66 10SGS | |
Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3i 15IMH05 | |
Asus TUF A17 FA706IU-AS76 |