Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition (2020) Laptop Review: Small changes, better overall package

The Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition is a workstation with an Intel Core i7-10875H and an NVIDIA Quadro RTX 5000 Max-Q. The crown jewel of the Blade 15 is a 4K OLED touchscreen, which was also used in last year’s identically built Blade 15 2019. The competing devices include: the Lenovo ThinkPad P53, the MSI P65 Creator 9SF and the Dell Precision 5540.
Because the Blade 15 2020 and the Blade 15 2019 are identically built, we shall not provide extensive descriptions of the case, ports, input devices and the speakers - with the exception of any changes. You can find all the relevant information in our review of the Blade 15 Studio Edition (2019).
Rating | Date | Model | Weight | Height | Size | Resolution | Price |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
87 % v7 (old) | 08 / 2020 | Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition 2020 i7-10875H, Quadro RTX 5000 Max-Q | 2.2 kg | 13.98 mm | 15.60" | 3840x2160 | |
86.6 % v7 (old) | 12 / 2019 | Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition i7-9750H, Quadro RTX 5000 Max-Q | 2.2 kg | 17.8 mm | 15.60" | 3840x2160 | |
89.8 % v7 (old) | 11 / 2019 | Lenovo ThinkPad P53-20QN000YGE i7-9850H, Quadro RTX 5000 Max-Q | 2.7 kg | 29.4 mm | 15.60" | 1920x1080 | |
85 % v7 (old) | 06 / 2019 | MSI P65 Creator 9SF-657 i9-9880H, GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q | 1.9 kg | 18 mm | 15.60" | 3840x2160 | |
86.9 % v7 (old) | 11 / 2019 | Dell Precision 5540 i9-9980HK, Quadro T2000 Max-Q | 2 kg | 17 mm | 15.60" | 3840x2160 |
Connectivity - USB 3.2 Gen 2 replaces Mini DisplayPort
Razer has made a few minor changes when it comes to the selection of ports. The MiniDP port has been replaced by the USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port, which can output a DisplayPort signal. The three Type-A ports now operate at USB 3.2 Gen 2 speeds.
SD Card Reader | |
average JPG Copy Test (av. of 3 runs) | |
Lenovo ThinkPad P53-20QN000YGE (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
Dell Precision 5540 (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
Average of class Workstation (49.6 - 200, n=13, last 2 years) | |
Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition 2020 (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
maximum AS SSD Seq Read Test (1GB) | |
Lenovo ThinkPad P53-20QN000YGE (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
Dell Precision 5540 (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
Average of class Workstation (85.1 - 227, n=13, last 2 years) |

Display - OLED panel delivers a superb contrast ratio
The Razer Blade 15 has a 15.6-inch OLED touchscreen with a native resolution of 3840x2160. The display offers a superb contrast ratio (21111:1), an impressive black value (0.018), a good maximum brightness (388.4 cd/m²) and fast response times. It covers 100% of the sRGB colour space. Positive: The screen does not suffer from PWM flickering.
The Blade 15 2020 comes with the same panel as the predecessor model. Nevertheless, there is some difference between the two panels. However, this is quite normal, because two similarly built screens are never 100% identical.
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Brightness Distribution: 93 %
Center on Battery: 380 cd/m²
Contrast: 21111:1 (Black: 0.018 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 5.47 | 0.5-29.43 Ø4.9, calibrated: 3.04
ΔE Greyscale 5.3 | 0.5-98 Ø5.2
100% sRGB (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
86% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
97.3% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
100% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
99.9% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.15
Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition 2020 Samsung SDCA029, OLED, 3840x2160, 15.6" | Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition Samsung SDCA029, OLED, 3840x2160, 15.6" | Lenovo ThinkPad P53-20QN000YGE N156HCE-GN1, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.6" | MSI P65 Creator 9SF-657 AU Optronics AUO41EB, IPS, 3840x2160, 15.6" | Dell Precision 5540 SDCA029, OLED, 3840x2160, 15.6" | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Display | -0% | -26% | -5% | 0% | |
Display P3 Coverage | 99.9 | 99.9 0% | 63.2 -37% | 84.4 -16% | 99.9 0% |
sRGB Coverage | 100 | 100 0% | 92.9 -7% | 100 0% | 100 0% |
AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage | 97.3 | 96.4 -1% | 64.3 -34% | 98.5 1% | 97.3 0% |
Response Times | 13% | -695% | -925% | 25% | |
Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 4 ? | 3 ? 25% | 38.4 ? -860% | 51 ? -1175% | 2.8 ? 30% |
Response Time Black / White * | 4 ? | 4 ? -0% | 25.2 ? -530% | 31 ? -675% | 3.2 ? 20% |
PWM Frequency | 26040 ? | 240.9 ? | |||
Screen | -2% | -163% | -272% | 14% | |
Brightness middle | 380 | 361 -5% | 510 34% | 445 17% | 427 12% |
Brightness | 388 | 357 -8% | 468 21% | 462 19% | 411 6% |
Brightness Distribution | 93 | 89 -4% | 89 -4% | 83 -11% | 89 -4% |
Black Level * | 0.018 | 0.015 17% | 0.36 -1900% | 0.5 -2678% | |
Contrast | 21111 | 24067 14% | 1417 -93% | 890 -96% | |
Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 5.47 | 5.3 3% | 2.3 58% | 4.75 13% | 3.2 41% |
Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 8.19 | 11.5 -40% | 5.5 33% | 7.79 5% | 8.4 -3% |
Colorchecker dE 2000 calibrated * | 3.04 | 4.7 -55% | 1.2 61% | 2.8 8% | |
Greyscale dE 2000 * | 5.3 | 2.1 60% | 3.2 40% | 4.49 15% | 1.8 66% |
Gamma | 2.15 102% | 2.14 103% | 2.34 94% | 2.49 88% | 2.15 102% |
CCT | 6128 106% | 6149 106% | 7036 92% | 7374 88% | 6176 105% |
Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998) | 86 | 86 0% | 59.4 -31% | 87 1% | 86.8 1% |
Color Space (Percent of sRGB) | 100 | 100 0% | 93.1 -7% | 100 0% | 100 0% |
Total Average (Program / Settings) | 4% /
0% | -295% /
-204% | -401% /
-305% | 13% /
13% |
* ... smaller is better
Display Response Times
↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
---|---|---|
4 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 2 ms rise | |
↘ 2 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 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 13 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (20.9 ms). | ||
↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
4 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 2 ms rise | |
↘ 2 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 0.165 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 12 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (32.7 ms). |
Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)
Screen flickering / PWM not detected | |||
In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 8627 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 343500) Hz was measured. |
Performance - Two additional CPU cores for the Blade 15
The Blade 15 Studio Edition from Razer is a 15.6-inch workstation. It offers enough performance for all current applications. Our review device retails for 4,700 Euros ($5,526). Other hardware configurations are not available.
System Settings
The preinstalled “Synapse” utility offers options for the customisation of the CPU and GPU performance. We conducted all of our benchmarks with the fan speed set to “Auto”. We also used the "balanced" power plan. However, some of our benchmarks were carried out with the CPU and GPU performance maxed out. We clearly marked all the benchmark results that we got with the power limits disabled.
Processor
The Core i7-10875H in the Blade 15 is an octa-core Comet Lake-based processor. It has a base clock of 2.3 GHz and a boost clock of 4.3 GHz for eight cores and 5.1 GHz for one core. The CPU supports Hyper-Threading, which means that one core can process two threads at the same time.
In the multi-core Cinebench R15 benchmarks, the CPU operates at 2.6 to 3 GHz for a short time. Subsequently, the CPU frequency drops to 2.1 to 2.2 GHz. In the single-core benchmark, the processor runs at 4 to 4.9 GHz. When running on battery power, the processor runs at 1.6 to 1.7 GHz in the multi-core CB15 benchmark and at 2.2 to 3.3 GHz in the single-core CB15 benchmark.
We check if the Turbo boost can be used consistently by running the Cinebench R15 multi-core benchmark in a continuous loop for 30 minutes. The results drop from the first to the second benchmark run. After that, they stay consistently on the same level. The Turbo boost is utilised but at a low level.
If users select the maximum CPU performance mode in Razer’s “Synapse” utility, then the CPU will be able to boost higher, which will result in a greater level of performance.
Cinebench R15 | |
CPU Single 64Bit | |
Average of class Workstation (166.2 - 301, n=26, last 2 years) | |
Average Intel Core i7-10875H (190 - 220, n=37) | |
Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition 2020 (Max. CPU, max. GPU) | |
Lenovo ThinkPad P53-20QN000YGE | |
MSI P65 Creator 9SF-657 | |
Dell Precision 5540 | |
Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition 2020 | |
Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition | |
CPU Multi 64Bit | |
Average of class Workstation (1863 - 4363, n=26, last 2 years) | |
Average Intel Core i7-10875H (1003 - 1833, n=38) | |
MSI P65 Creator 9SF-657 | |
Dell Precision 5540 | |
Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition 2020 (Max. CPU, max. GPU) | |
Lenovo ThinkPad P53-20QN000YGE | |
Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition 2020 | |
Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition |
LibreOffice - 20 Documents To PDF | |
Average Intel Core i7-10875H (30.2 - 84.3, n=30) | |
Average of class Workstation (36.5 - 95.2, n=26, last 2 years) | |
Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition 2020 |
R Benchmark 2.5 - Overall mean | |
Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition 2020 | |
Average Intel Core i7-10875H (0.546 - 0.662, n=29) | |
Average of class Workstation (0.3825 - 0.54, n=26, last 2 years) |
* ... smaller is better
System Performance
PCMark 8 Home Score Accelerated v2 | 3654 points | |
PCMark 8 Creative Score Accelerated v2 | 3874 points | |
PCMark 8 Work Score Accelerated v2 | 4638 points | |
PCMark 10 Score | 4884 points | |
Help |
DPC Latencies
DPC Latencies / LatencyMon - interrupt to process latency (max), Web, Youtube, Prime95 | |
Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition 2020 |
* ... smaller is better
Storage Devices
Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition 2020 Samsung PM981a MZVLB1T0HBLR | Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB1T0HALR | Lenovo ThinkPad P53-20QN000YGE Samsung PM981a MZVLB1T0HBLR | MSI P65 Creator 9SF-657 2x Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB512HAJQ (RAID 0) | Dell Precision 5540 SK hynix PC400 512 GB | Average Samsung PM981a MZVLB1T0HBLR | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
CrystalDiskMark 5.2 / 6 | -23% | -4% | 12% | -29% | -0% | |
Write 4K | 132.9 | 100.4 -24% | 147 11% | 105.6 -21% | 98 -26% | 139.7 ? 5% |
Read 4K | 46.73 | 42.03 -10% | 48.3 3% | 46.32 -1% | 41.25 -12% | 49.9 ? 7% |
Write Seq | 2214 | 1185 -46% | 1402 -37% | 2910 31% | 1295 -42% | 2036 ? -8% |
Read Seq | 2018 | 1132 -44% | 1503 -26% | 2820 40% | 1441 -29% | 2014 ? 0% |
Write 4K Q32T1 | 478.9 | 371.4 -22% | 475.2 -1% | 545 14% | 429.2 -10% | 461 ? -4% |
Read 4K Q32T1 | 540 | 422.6 -22% | 581 8% | 632 17% | 400.1 -26% | 499 ? -8% |
Write Seq Q32T1 | 2975 | 2379 -20% | 2936 -1% | 3349 13% | 1366 -54% | 2903 ? -2% |
Read Seq Q32T1 | 3195 | 3222 1% | 3539 11% | 3333 4% | 2201 -31% | 3479 ? 9% |
AS SSD | -12% | 27% | 6% | -29% | 9% | |
Seq Read | 1982 | 2328 17% | 2655 34% | 2860 44% | 1743 -12% | 2553 ? 29% |
Seq Write | 2252 | 2344 4% | 2454 9% | 2604 16% | 930 -59% | 2084 ? -7% |
4K Read | 47.13 | 43.68 -7% | 59.1 25% | 45.15 -4% | 39.1 -17% | 53.1 ? 13% |
4K Write | 88.2 | 10.28 -88% | 138.1 57% | 100.2 14% | 92.1 4% | 131.2 ? 49% |
4K-64 Read | 1481 | 1469 -1% | 2009 36% | 1428 -4% | 956 -35% | 1477 ? 0% |
4K-64 Write | 1842 | 992 -46% | 1907 4% | 1401 -24% | 863 -53% | 1805 ? -2% |
Access Time Read * | 0.087 | 0.067 23% | 0.054 38% | 0.049 44% | 0.074 15% | 0.04983 ? 43% |
Access Time Write * | 0.04 | 0.035 12% | 0.028 30% | 0.037 7% | 0.053 -33% | 0.04222 ? -6% |
Score Read | 1726 | 1745 1% | 2333 35% | 1759 2% | 1170 -32% | 1786 ? 3% |
Score Write | 2155 | 1328 -38% | 2291 6% | 1762 -18% | 1048 -51% | 2144 ? -1% |
Score Total | 4781 | 3968 -17% | 5810 22% | 4411 -8% | 2781 -42% | 4826 ? 1% |
Copy ISO MB/s | 1982 | 1609 -19% | 2098 ? 6% | |||
Copy Program MB/s | 501 | 445.1 -11% | 500 ? 0% | |||
Copy Game MB/s | 1140 | 1089 -4% | 1132 ? -1% | |||
Total Average (Program / Settings) | -18% /
-16% | 12% /
14% | 9% /
9% | -29% /
-29% | 5% /
6% |
* ... smaller is better
Dauerleistung Lesen: DiskSpd Read Loop, Queue Depth 8
Graphics Card
The Turing-based Quadro RTX 5000 Max-Q offers a base clock of 600 MHz and a boost clock of 1350 MHz. The GPU can boost even higher as long as it does not exceed thermal and power limits. The highest clock speed that we observed in our review was 1889 MHz. In our stress test with The Witcher 3, the GPU had an average clock speed of 1222 MHz in balanced mode and 1300 MHz in performance mode. The GPU comes with 16 GB of fast GDDR6 memory.
The 3DMark results are on a normal level. The integrated UHD Graphics 630 in the Core i7-10875H is enabled, which is why NVIDIA’s Optimus technology is utilised.
If users select the maximum GPU performance mode in Razer’s “Synapse” utility, then the TGP (Total Graphics Power) rises slightly. This results in a slight boost in benchmark scores. The frame rates also rise, but not by a lot. We saw a slight increase in frame rates in The Witcher 3.
3DMark 11 Performance | 20883 points | |
3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score | 32096 points | |
3DMark Fire Strike Score | 16179 points | |
3DMark Time Spy Score | 7326 points | |
Help |
3DMark 11 - 1280x720 Performance GPU | |
Average of class Workstation (9356 - 59715, n=27, last 2 years) | |
Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition 2020 (Max. CPU, max. GPU) | |
Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition 2020 | |
Average NVIDIA Quadro RTX 5000 Max-Q (24156 - 28524, n=9) | |
Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition | |
Lenovo ThinkPad P53-20QN000YGE | |
MSI P65 Creator 9SF-657 | |
Dell Precision 5540 |
3DMark | |
1280x720 Cloud Gate Standard Graphics | |
Lenovo ThinkPad P53-20QN000YGE | |
Average NVIDIA Quadro RTX 5000 Max-Q (50993 - 126073, n=7) | |
Average of class Workstation (40615 - 152418, n=14, last 2 years) | |
Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition 2020 | |
MSI P65 Creator 9SF-657 | |
Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition | |
Dell Precision 5540 | |
1920x1080 Fire Strike Graphics | |
Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition 2020 (Max. CPU, max. GPU) | |
Average of class Workstation (6121 - 45600, n=27, last 2 years) | |
Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition 2020 | |
Average NVIDIA Quadro RTX 5000 Max-Q (18247 - 21115, n=10) | |
Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition | |
Lenovo ThinkPad P53-20QN000YGE | |
MSI P65 Creator 9SF-657 | |
Dell Precision 5540 | |
2560x1440 Time Spy Graphics | |
Average of class Workstation (1997 - 19741, n=27, last 2 years) | |
Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition 2020 (Max. CPU, max. GPU) | |
Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition 2020 | |
Average NVIDIA Quadro RTX 5000 Max-Q (6999 - 7977, n=10) | |
Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition | |
Lenovo ThinkPad P53-20QN000YGE | |
Dell Precision 5540 |
Gaming Performance
The Blade 15 can run all current games smoothly. It can usually achieve playable frame rates at 1080p on the highest settings. Modern titles are also playable at resolutions above 1080p, but only on lower settings - especially at 4K.
The Witcher 3 - 1920x1080 Ultra Graphics & Postprocessing (HBAO+) | |
Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition 2020 (Max. CPU, Max. GPU) | |
Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition 2020 | |
Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition | |
Average NVIDIA Quadro RTX 5000 Max-Q (71 - 88.5, n=10) | |
MSI P65 Creator 9SF-657 | |
Lenovo ThinkPad P53-20QN000YGE | |
Average of class Workstation (23.3 - 156.5, n=20, last 2 years) | |
Dell Precision 5540 |
BioShock Infinite - 1920x1080 Ultra Preset, DX11 (DDOF) | |
Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition 2020 (Max. CPU, max. GPU) | |
Average NVIDIA Quadro RTX 5000 Max-Q (167.2 - 174.3, n=3) | |
Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition 2020 | |
Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition | |
MSI P65 Creator 9SF-657 | |
Dell Precision 5540 |
Shadow of the Tomb Raider - 1920x1080 Highest Preset AA:T | |
Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition 2020 (Max. CPU, max. GPU) | |
Average NVIDIA Quadro RTX 5000 Max-Q (85 - 90, n=3) | |
Lenovo ThinkPad P53-20QN000YGE | |
Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition 2020 |
Metro Exodus - 1920x1080 Ultra Quality AF:16x | |
Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition 2020 | |
Average NVIDIA Quadro RTX 5000 Max-Q (55.4 - 59.2, n=2) | |
Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition |
Control - 1920x1080 High Quality Preset (DX11) | |
Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition 2020 | |
Average NVIDIA Quadro RTX 5000 Max-Q (66.5 - 69.9, n=2) | |
Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition |
Total War: Three Kingdoms - 1920x1080 Ultra (incl textures) | |
Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition | |
Average NVIDIA Quadro RTX 5000 Max-Q (57.5 - 64.9, n=2) | |
Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition 2020 |
Red Dead Redemption 2 - 1920x1080 High Settings | |
Average NVIDIA Quadro RTX 5000 Max-Q (54.8 - 63.9, n=2) | |
Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition 2020 |
Doom Eternal - 1920x1080 Ultra Preset | |
Average NVIDIA Quadro RTX 5000 Max-Q (137.8 - 145.3, n=3) | |
Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition 2020 |
We use the video game The Witcher 3 to check if the frame rates can be maintained consistently over an extended period of time. For this, we run the game on the highest settings at 1080p for one hour. Over the entire run of gameplay, the player-controlled character just stands still. There are no frame-rate drops to report.