Razer Blade Pro 17 Early 2021 Laptop Review: The GeForce RTX 30 Difference
Razer has refreshed its 17.3-inch Blade Pro series with new GeForce RTX 30 Ampere GPUs to supplant last year's RTX 20 Turing options. The newer model also introduces a 165 Hz QHD 1440p display option to supplement the existing 300 Hz FHD and 120 Hz 4K panels. Otherwise, everything else about the laptop remains identical year-over-year.
The test configuration we have for this review is the highest-end SKU with the GeForce RTX 3080 and 120 Hz 4K UHD touchscreen retailing for about $3600 USD. We recommend checking out our existing reviews on the 2020 and 2019 Blade Pro models for more information on the chassis and its physical features. The RTX 3080 in the Razer targets a 100 W TGP compared to 135 W on the Asus Zephyrus Duo 15 SE.
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Rating | Date | Model | Weight | Height | Size | Resolution | Price |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
87.8 % v7 (old) | 02 / 2021 | Razer Blade Pro 17 2021 (QHD Touch) i7-10875H, GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU | 3 kg | 19.9 mm | 17.30" | 3840x2160 | |
87.4 % v7 (old) | 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 | |
85.1 % v7 (old) | 01 / 2021 | SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 (Early 2021, RTX 3070, 5800H) R7 5800H, GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU | 2.5 kg | 27 mm | 17.30" | 2560x1440 | |
87.4 % v7 (old) | 10 / 2020 | MSI GT76 Titan DT 10SGS i9-10900K, GeForce RTX 2080 Super Mobile | 4.2 kg | 42 mm | 17.30" | 3840x2160 | |
83.1 % v7 (old) | 10 / 2020 | Asus Strix G17 G712LWS i7-10750H, GeForce RTX 2070 Super Mobile | 2.8 kg | 26.5 mm | 17.30" | 1920x1080 | |
83.7 % v7 (old) | 07 / 2020 | MSI GS75 10SF-609US i7-10875H, GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q | 2.3 kg | 18.9 mm | 17.30" | 1920x1080 |
Case
Connectivity
SD Card Reader
SD Card Reader | |
average JPG Copy Test (av. of 3 runs) | |
Razer Blade Pro 17 RTX 2070 Max-Q 300 Hz (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
MSI GS75 10SF-609US (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 UHS-II) | |
Razer Blade Pro 17 2021 (QHD Touch) (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
MSI GT76 Titan DT 10SGS (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 UHS-II) | |
SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 (Early 2021, RTX 3070, 5800H) (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
maximum AS SSD Seq Read Test (1GB) | |
MSI GS75 10SF-609US (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 UHS-II) | |
Razer Blade Pro 17 RTX 2070 Max-Q 300 Hz (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
MSI GT76 Titan DT 10SGS (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 UHS-II) | |
Razer Blade Pro 17 2021 (QHD Touch) (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 (Early 2021, RTX 3070, 5800H) (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) |
Communication
Webcam
Maintenance
Accessories and Warranty
The retail box includes a small velvet cloth and a few Razer stickers in addition to the usual paper manuals. The standard one-year limited manufacturer warranty applies.
Input Devices
Display
The 4K 120 Hz touchscreen on the 2021 Blade Pro series is identical to the 4K 120 Hz option on the 2020 series as both are B173ZAN03.3 IPS panels from AU Optronics. We'll have to wait for another configuration from Razer to test out the new 165 Hz 1440p panel which will inevitably exhibit different attributes than what we've recorded here on the 4K panel.
Keep in mind that 120 Hz mode is only available if the discrete GPU is active. Native refresh rate will be limited to 60 Hz if switching to the integrated GPU. A system reboot is required if users want to enable Optimus settings.
|
Brightness Distribution: 90 %
Center on Battery: 407.2 cd/m²
Contrast: 970:1 (Black: 0.42 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 7.25 | 0.5-29.43 Ø4.91, calibrated: 3.62
ΔE Greyscale 8.1 | 0.5-98 Ø5.2
100% sRGB (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
88.1% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
99.9% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
100% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
88.6% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.24
Razer Blade Pro 17 2021 (QHD Touch) AU Optronics B173ZAN03.3, IPS, 17.3", 3840x2160 | Razer Blade Pro 17 RTX 2070 Max-Q 300 Hz Sharp LQ173M1JW02, IPS, 17.3", 1920x1080 | SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 (Early 2021, RTX 3070, 5800H) BOE NE173QHM-NY2 (BOE0977), IPS, 17.3", 2560x1440 | MSI GT76 Titan DT 10SGS AU Optronics B173ZAN03.3, IPS, 17.3", 3840x2160 | Asus Strix G17 G712LWS LG Philips LP173WFG-SPB3, IPS, 17.3", 1920x1080 | MSI GS75 10SF-609US Sharp LQ173M1JW05, IPS, 17.3", 1920x1080 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Display | -16% | -16% | -4% | -21% | -13% | |
Display P3 Coverage | 88.6 | 72.2 -19% | 70.5 -20% | 82.5 -7% | 65.2 -26% | 75.6 -15% |
sRGB Coverage | 100 | 98.5 -1% | 99.5 0% | 98 -2% | 96.8 -3% | 99.8 0% |
AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage | 99.9 | 73 -27% | 71.8 -28% | 96.6 -3% | 66.4 -34% | 75.1 -25% |
Response Times | 42% | 3% | -25% | 9% | 56% | |
Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 15.2 ? | 5.6 ? 63% | 16.8 ? -11% | 23.2 ? -53% | 14.4 ? 5% | 5 ? 67% |
Response Time Black / White * | 12 ? | 9.6 ? 20% | 10 ? 17% | 11.6 ? 3% | 10.4 ? 13% | 6.6 ? 45% |
PWM Frequency | ||||||
Screen | 5% | 23% | 18% | 16% | 19% | |
Brightness middle | 407.2 | 328 -19% | 410 1% | 419.5 3% | 323 -21% | 299.4 -26% |
Brightness | 403 | 329 -18% | 381 -5% | 413 2% | 300 -26% | 299 -26% |
Brightness Distribution | 90 | 78 -13% | 88 -2% | 93 3% | 89 -1% | 84 -7% |
Black Level * | 0.42 | 0.35 17% | 0.37 12% | 0.4 5% | 0.31 26% | 0.31 26% |
Contrast | 970 | 937 -3% | 1108 14% | 1049 8% | 1042 7% | 966 0% |
Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 7.25 | 4.74 35% | 2.55 65% | 3.4 53% | 3.01 58% | 1.82 75% |
Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 12.51 | 8.99 28% | 4.33 65% | 7.4 41% | 7.65 39% | 3.91 69% |
Colorchecker dE 2000 calibrated * | 3.62 | 2.12 41% | 1.28 65% | 3.28 9% | 1 72% | 1.59 56% |
Greyscale dE 2000 * | 8.1 | 6.8 16% | 3.4 58% | 2 75% | 3.8 53% | 2.7 67% |
Gamma | 2.24 98% | 2.2 100% | 2.275 97% | 2.14 103% | 2.154 102% | 2.18 101% |
CCT | 5925 110% | 6446 101% | 6637 98% | 6858 95% | 7507 87% | 6837 95% |
Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998) | 88.1 | 64.8 -26% | 72 -18% | 84.6 -4% | 66 -25% | 67.1 -24% |
Color Space (Percent of sRGB) | 100 | 98.6 -1% | 95 -5% | 97.9 -2% | 90 -10% | 99.8 0% |
Total Average (Program / Settings) | 10% /
6% | 3% /
13% | -4% /
8% | 1% /
8% | 21% /
18% |
* ... smaller is better
Color space covers all of sRGB and AdobeRGB. Razer has confirmed with us that the "100% sRGB" listing on the 4K configuration product page is an error as it should read "100% AdobeRGB" instead. This is one of the few laptops with a 4K panel capable of both fast refresh rates and deep colors for gaming and graphics editing.
X-Rite colorimeter measurements show an overly warm color temperature resulting in poor grayscale and RGB balance. A calibration addresses this to improve the average grayscale deltaE value to just 0.7. Some tweaking is recommended for new owners if colors appear too warm.
Display Response Times
↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
---|---|---|
12 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 6 ms rise | |
↘ 6 ms fall | ||
The screen shows good response rates in our tests, but may be too slow for competitive gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 28 % 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 | ||
15.2 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 7.6 ms rise | |
↘ 7.6 ms fall | ||
The screen shows good response rates in our tests, but may be too slow for competitive gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.165 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 26 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (32.8 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 8705 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 343500) Hz was measured. |
Performance
The Core i7-10875H has returned for all SKUs with no Core i5, Core i7-10870H, or Core i9 options. Razer says the Core i9-10980HK offers no major advantages to gaming which is something we can agree on based on our experiences with the Core i7 and Core i9 MSI GS66 SKUs.
Processor
CPU performance is within a few percentage points of the average Core i7-10875H CPU in our database based on at least 30 other laptops. This is good in the sense that the Blade Pro 17 isn't underperforming, but it also means that the CPU could have been faster had there been additional thermal headroom. The same processor in the Schenker XMG Neo 15, for example, is about 10 to 20 percent faster than our Blade Pro 17.
Turbo Boost sustainability is average. The smaller 15.6-inch MSI GS66 Stealth and Schenker XMG Neo 15 are able to sustain higher clock rates for longer to return higher initial CineBench R15 xT numbers as shown by our comparison graph below.
Gaming laptops with the Ryzen 7 4800H or Ryzen 7 5800H are able to offer even faster processor performance than the Core i7-10875H.
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 5.5: Single-Core | Multi-Core
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2: 4k Preset
LibreOffice : 20 Documents To PDF
R Benchmark 2.5: Overall mean
Cinebench R20 / CPU (Multi Core) | |
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Comet Lake | |
SCHENKER XMG Core 17 (Early 2021, RTX 3060, 5800H) | |
MSI Alpha 17 A4DEK | |
Alienware m17 R3 P45E | |
Razer Blade Pro 17 2021 (QHD Touch) | |
Average Intel Core i7-10875H (1986 - 4176, n=32) | |
MSI GF75 Thin 10SDR | |
Razer Blade Pro 17 4K UHD 120 Hz | |
MSI GF75 Thin 10SCXR | |
Lenovo Legion Y540-17IRH | |
Asus TUF FX705DT-AU068T |
Cinebench R20 / CPU (Single Core) | |
SCHENKER XMG Core 17 (Early 2021, RTX 3060, 5800H) | |
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Comet Lake | |
Razer Blade Pro 17 2021 (QHD Touch) | |
Average Intel Core i7-10875H (430 - 524, n=32) | |
MSI Alpha 17 A4DEK | |
MSI GF75 Thin 10SDR | |
Alienware m17 R3 P45E | |
MSI GF75 Thin 10SCXR | |
Razer Blade Pro 17 4K UHD 120 Hz | |
Lenovo Legion Y540-17IRH | |
Asus TUF FX705DT-AU068T |
Cinebench R15 / CPU Multi 64Bit | |
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Comet Lake | |
SCHENKER XMG Core 17 (Early 2021, RTX 3060, 5800H) | |
MSI Alpha 17 A4DEK | |
Alienware m17 R3 P45E | |
Average Intel Core i7-10875H (1003 - 1833, n=38) | |
Razer Blade Pro 17 2021 (QHD Touch) | |
MSI GF75 Thin 10SDR | |
Razer Blade Pro 17 4K UHD 120 Hz | |
Lenovo Legion Y540-17IRH | |
MSI GF75 Thin 10SCXR | |
Asus TUF FX705DT-AU068T |
Cinebench R15 / CPU Single 64Bit | |
SCHENKER XMG Core 17 (Early 2021, RTX 3060, 5800H) | |
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Comet Lake | |
Alienware m17 R3 P45E | |
Average Intel Core i7-10875H (190 - 220, n=37) | |
Razer Blade Pro 17 2021 (QHD Touch) | |
MSI GF75 Thin 10SDR | |
MSI Alpha 17 A4DEK | |
MSI GF75 Thin 10SCXR | |
Razer Blade Pro 17 4K UHD 120 Hz | |
Lenovo Legion Y540-17IRH | |
Asus TUF FX705DT-AU068T |
Blender / v2.79 BMW27 CPU | |
MSI GF75 Thin 10SCXR | |
MSI GF75 Thin 10SDR | |
Average Intel Core i7-10875H (259 - 535, n=30) | |
Razer Blade Pro 17 2021 (QHD Touch) | |
SCHENKER XMG Core 17 (Early 2021, RTX 3060, 5800H) | |
MSI Alpha 17 A4DEK | |
Alienware m17 R3 P45E | |
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Comet Lake |
7-Zip 18.03 / 7z b 4 -mmt1 | |
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Comet Lake | |
Alienware m17 R3 P45E | |
Average Intel Core i7-10875H (5071 - 5780, n=31) | |
Razer Blade Pro 17 2021 (QHD Touch) | |
SCHENKER XMG Core 17 (Early 2021, RTX 3060, 5800H) | |
MSI GF75 Thin 10SDR | |
MSI Alpha 17 A4DEK | |
MSI GF75 Thin 10SCXR |
7-Zip 18.03 / 7z b 4 | |
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Comet Lake | |
SCHENKER XMG Core 17 (Early 2021, RTX 3060, 5800H) | |
MSI Alpha 17 A4DEK | |
Alienware m17 R3 P45E | |
Razer Blade Pro 17 2021 (QHD Touch) | |
Average Intel Core i7-10875H (29844 - 49562, n=31) | |
MSI GF75 Thin 10SDR | |
MSI GF75 Thin 10SCXR |
Geekbench 5.5 / Single-Core | |
SCHENKER XMG Core 17 (Early 2021, RTX 3060, 5800H) | |
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Comet Lake | |
Alienware m17 R3 P45E | |
Razer Blade Pro 17 2021 (QHD Touch) | |
Average Intel Core i7-10875H (1233 - 1371, n=29) | |
MSI GF75 Thin 10SDR | |
MSI Alpha 17 A4DEK | |
MSI GF75 Thin 10SCXR |
Geekbench 5.5 / Multi-Core | |
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Comet Lake | |
Razer Blade Pro 17 2021 (QHD Touch) | |
MSI Alpha 17 A4DEK | |
Alienware m17 R3 P45E | |
SCHENKER XMG Core 17 (Early 2021, RTX 3060, 5800H) | |
Average Intel Core i7-10875H (5715 - 8620, n=29) | |
MSI GF75 Thin 10SDR | |
MSI GF75 Thin 10SCXR |
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2 / 4k Preset | |
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Comet Lake | |
SCHENKER XMG Core 17 (Early 2021, RTX 3060, 5800H) | |
Alienware m17 R3 P45E | |
MSI Alpha 17 A4DEK | |
Razer Blade Pro 17 2021 (QHD Touch) | |
Average Intel Core i7-10875H (7.27 - 14.1, n=27) | |
MSI GF75 Thin 10SDR | |
MSI GF75 Thin 10SCXR |
LibreOffice / 20 Documents To PDF | |
MSI Alpha 17 A4DEK | |
MSI GF75 Thin 10SCXR | |
MSI GF75 Thin 10SDR | |
SCHENKER XMG Core 17 (Early 2021, RTX 3060, 5800H) | |
Average Intel Core i7-10875H (30.2 - 84.3, n=30) | |
Alienware m17 R3 P45E | |
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Comet Lake | |
Razer Blade Pro 17 2021 (QHD Touch) |
R Benchmark 2.5 / Overall mean | |
MSI GF75 Thin 10SCXR | |
MSI GF75 Thin 10SDR | |
Razer Blade Pro 17 2021 (QHD Touch) | |
Average Intel Core i7-10875H (0.546 - 0.662, n=29) | |
MSI Alpha 17 A4DEK | |
Alienware m17 R3 P45E | |
SCHENKER XMG Core 17 (Early 2021, RTX 3060, 5800H) | |
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Comet Lake |
* ... smaller is better
System Performance
PCMark benchmarks are nearly identical to the GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q configuration meaning day-to-day workloads aren't going to feel all that much faster just because of the newer GeForce RTX 30 GPU.
The Razer Synapse software will sometimes fail to launch if not connected to the internet. Cold boot ups or waking from sleep, for example, may cause Synapse to not launch or auto-login properly. Terminating the software via Task Manager would be the fastest way to reset it should the problem occur. This has been an annoying issue for years and it's disappointing to still see it unfixed.
PCMark 8 Home Score Accelerated v2 | 4087 points | |
PCMark 8 Work Score Accelerated v2 | 4748 points | |
PCMark 10 Score | 6531 points | |
Help |
DPC Latency
LatencyMon shows DPC latency issues when opening multiple browser tabs and pages on our homepage. 4K video playback at 60 FPS is otherwise smooth and with no process interruptions or dropped frames.
DPC Latencies / LatencyMon - interrupt to process latency (max), Web, Youtube, Prime95 | |
MSI GT76 Titan DT 10SGS | |
Asus Strix G17 G712LWS | |
SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 (Early 2021, RTX 3070, 5800H) | |
Razer Blade Pro 17 2021 (QHD Touch) | |
Razer Blade Pro 17 RTX 2070 Max-Q 300 Hz | |
MSI GS75 10SF-609US |
* ... smaller is better
Storage Devices
Razer Blade laptops usually come with Samsung or Lite-On SSDs and the 2021 model is no different. Our configuration uses a 1 TB Samsung PM981a which is both faster and pricier than the 1 TB Intel SSD 660p as found on many Asus laptops. Perhaps the next generation Blade Pro 17 may integrate PCIe 4.0 slots for even faster transfer rates.
More storage benchmarks and comparisons can be found on our table here.
Razer Blade Pro 17 2021 (QHD Touch) Samsung PM981a MZVLB1T0HBLR | Razer Blade Pro 17 RTX 2070 Max-Q 300 Hz Lite-On CA5-8D512 | Asus Strix G17 G712LWS Intel SSD 660p 1TB SSDPEKNW010T8 | MSI GS66 Stealth 10UG WDC PC SN730 SDBPNTY-1T00 | SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 (Early 2021, RTX 3070, 5800H) Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus 500GB | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
AS SSD | -30% | -29% | 4% | 26% | |
Seq Read | 2068 | 2019 -2% | 1778 -14% | 2198 6% | 3020 46% |
Seq Write | 2047 | 1314 -36% | 1478 -28% | 2596 27% | 2631 29% |
4K Read | 47.85 | 46.61 -3% | 49.76 4% | 43.81 -8% | 60.3 26% |
4K Write | 87.4 | 90.2 3% | 117.9 35% | 115.5 32% | 171.6 96% |
4K-64 Read | 1932 | 665 -66% | 591 -69% | 1692 -12% | 1410 -27% |
4K-64 Write | 2017 | 813 -60% | 875 -57% | 2162 7% | 2324 15% |
Access Time Read * | 0.055 | 0.058 -5% | 0.082 -49% | 0.056 -2% | 0.045 18% |
Access Time Write * | 0.128 | 0.167 -30% | 0.041 68% | 0.098 23% | 0.024 81% |
Score Read | 2187 | 913 -58% | 818 -63% | 1956 -11% | 1773 -19% |
Score Write | 2309 | 1034 -55% | 1140 -51% | 2537 10% | 2759 19% |
Score Total | 5612 | 2392 -57% | 2377 -58% | 5513 -2% | 5429 -3% |
Copy ISO MB/s | 2400 | 1715 -29% | 1495 -38% | 2236 -7% | |
Copy Program MB/s | 684 | 622 -9% | 446 -35% | 690 1% | |
Copy Game MB/s | 1629 | 1506 -8% | 697 -57% | 1546 -5% | |
CrystalDiskMark 5.2 / 6 | 6% | -9% | 11% | 31% | |
Write 4K | 123.5 | 119 -4% | 141.1 14% | 163.1 32% | 206.1 67% |
Read 4K | 45.96 | 51.9 13% | 60.9 33% | 48.97 7% | 53 15% |
Write Seq | 1861 | 2258 21% | 1681 -10% | 2607 40% | 3018 62% |
Read Seq | 1584 | 2283 44% | 1602 1% | 2316 46% | 2575 63% |
Write 4K Q32T1 | 466.4 | 491 5% | 406.6 -13% | 338 -28% | 535 15% |
Read 4K Q32T1 | 566 | 540 -5% | 470.2 -17% | 475.6 -16% | 608 7% |
Write Seq Q32T1 | 2981 | 2253 -24% | 1759 -41% | 3090 4% | 3242 9% |
Read Seq Q32T1 | 3260 | 3172 -3% | 1932 -41% | 3421 5% | 3617 11% |
Total Average (Program / Settings) | -12% /
-17% | -19% /
-22% | 8% /
7% | 29% /
28% |
* ... smaller is better
Disk Throttling: DiskSpd Read Loop, Queue Depth 8
GPU Performance
The mobile GeForce RTX 3080 in the latest Razer is about 20 to 30 percent faster than the RTX 2080 Max-Q in last year's configuration. It's a moderate gen-to-gen gain that pales in comparison to the desktop GPU of the same name. Desktop gamers with their "proper" GeForce RTX 3080 GPUs can run games at least 50 percent faster than the mobile version here.
3DMark 11 Performance | 29409 points | |
3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score | 54618 points | |
3DMark Fire Strike Score | 21677 points | |
3DMark Time Spy Score | 10777 points | |
Help |