Razer Blade Pro 2017 (i7-7820HK, GTX 1080, 4K) Laptop Review

The high-quality and extremely elegant case is definitely the Blade Pro's greatest strength. Many manufacturers of gaming laptops opt for cases formed out of bulky plastic, with designs seemingly tailored to 12-year-old kids. Razer, on the other hand, offers a simple and discreet chassis (with the exception of the green logo on the cover). According to the manufacturer, the case is an aluminum unibody.

Even if the dark surfaces quickly show dirt such as dust and fingerprints (the latter being readily visible in our photos), the 17-inch device looks and feels like an exceptionally high-quality device. The exquisite materials are complemented by the impeccable manufacturing quality. Every element merges cleanly into the next. In short: Very few high-end laptops attain to the quality of the Blade Pro. Even though the 17-inch competitors (the MSI GS73VR and the Aorus X7 v7) are also constructed out of metal, they cannot hold a candle to the Razer device.

The same applied to the stability of the case. Most laptops at least betray weak points in their lids, but the Razer notebook proves extraordinarily stable in all aspects. Even under vigorous pressure, both the base unit and the cover resist being bent or pressed inwards almost entirely. There is very little Razer could improve here, except perhaps the hinges. They are alright in principle, but the relatively heavy lid tends to tip over in response to substantial (underground) vibrations. Less intense movements only cause the display to bounce gently.

Speaking of weight: At 3.6 kg (~8 lbs), despite its slim construction the Blade Pro is not one of the lightest gaming laptops. With the exception of the HP Omen 17 (3.8 kg/~8.4 lb) and the equally heavy Medion Erazer X7849, the slim competition weighs in at lower numbers. We should note, however, that none of the aforementioned laptops offer the graphics performance of the Blade Pro. Nevertheless, the 17-inch device is only suitable for daily transport to a limited extent. The laptop is simply a few hundred grams too heavy for us to feel comfortable hauling it around frequently.

When it comes to size, no one can criticize the Blade Pro. At a case thickness of 22.5 mm (~0.89 inches), very few high-end laptops in the 17-inch category can beat it (ex. the MSI GS73VR). The remaining slim competition measure in at 2.5 to 3.4 cm (~0.98 to ~1.34 inches). Minor flaws notwithstanding: When it comes to the case, Razer has hit a bull's eye – both in terms of quality and appearance.

The number of ports is in our opinion respectable. Three Type A USB 3.0 ports are just as compulsory on a gaming laptop as an RJ45 port and an HDMI 2.0 port (4K @ 60Hz). These are complemented by a card reader, an opening for a Kensington lock, and a modern Thunderbolt 3 port that also supports USB 3.1 Gen2 and DisplayPort. It is a shame however, that Razer has chosen to forgo a dedicated DisplayPort (which would make connecting to appropriate monitors easier, given that no adapter would be required) and separate audio sockets for headphones and microphones.

Even though the ports are positioned in the middle of the sides of the computer, there is still a reasonable amount of space for moving a mouse around. However, because the back areas lack ventilation slots, Razer certainly could have relocated the ports to the rear. That would have been more practical for gaming, and more comfortable. The back houses the hinges and the fan output; the front is completely free of connections.

The card reader (supports SD, SDHC and SDXC) puzzled us in our tests. In the AS SSD benchmark, which we use to determine the sequential read speeds, it always took a while for the performance to get going. An average of 52 MB/s is a somewhat odd result, given that the card readers generally perform at either USB 2.0 speeds (around 30 MB/s) or else USB 3.0 speeds (around 90 MB/s), as our table demonstrates. The same goes for the transfer test, in which the Blade Pro once again makes itself comfortable in between the competition. The frontrunner proves to be the Aorus X7 v7, which nearly attains to our UHS II card's highest possible speed (max. 260 MB/s).

Products from the manufacturer Rivet Networks are responsible for the Blade Pro's communication devices. A Killer E2500 (Gigabit Ethernet controller) and a Killer Wireless n/a/ac 1535 (Wi-Fi adapter) form a combination of choice for many manufacturers of high-end laptops, thanks to its gaming focus and powerful Killer Performance Suite network software. In the wireless range test with our Linksys EA8500 reference router, which we perform at a distance of 1 meter (~3.25 feet), the Blade Pro does quite well. 528 to 671 Mbit/s is on par with the competition. Only the Aorus X7 v7 and the HP Omen 17 sometimes fail to reach over 500 Mbit/s.

The accessories that come with the Blade Pro include a cleaning cloth, a handbook, several logo stickers, and the mandatory power supply. Razer has chosen a 250-watt model here (330 watts is more common for GTX 1080 laptops) that weighs just under 0.7 kg (~1.5 lb). At a thickness of 1.9 cm (~0.75 inches; 2.8 cm or 1.1 inches including the protrusion for the power cord), it is surprisingly slim. A recovery disc and driver DVD would be sought in vain. System recovery is executed through the hard drive (press F9 during the boot process).

The Blade Pro's maintenance options and upgradability prove mediocre. Because there is no special hatch, the bottom of the device must be completely removed to gain access to its inner workings. The bottom is attached with 12 Torx screws and 2 Phillips screws. Caution: The Phillips screws are hidden behind two small removable plates on the rubber strips that run the length of the bottom of the device.

After the user has gone to the painstaking effort of removing the bottom of the case, the 17-inch laptop's components are finally exposed. That is, some of the hardware is within reach – the graphics card and processor are located on top of the motherboard, which is inconvenient for users who want to have full control. The CPU and GPU cannot be switched out in any case, as they are both soldered on. This is common for today's laptops. But Razer does not stop there: the RAM is also affixed to the motherboard. This is a bad idea both for buyers and the environment (buzzword: throw-away product). Because there are no normal DDR4 slots, if the RAM fails the whole motherboard would need to be replaced. At least the user can switch out the solid-state drives and/or the wireless module if desired. Two fans with matching fins and several heat pipes are responsible for cooling the laptop. 

When it comes to the Blade Pro's warranty period, we encountered conflicting information. While notebook.de mentions a duration of 12 months, amazon.de claims 24 months. Please see our Guarantees, Return Policies & Warranties FAQ for country-specific information.

Touchpad

As previously mentioned, Razer has chosen to position the touchpad to the right of the keyboard, rather than underneath it (à la Asus GX501). Ergonomically, this is certainly not a bad solution, and it gives the laptop a unique look with the wide, uninterrupted palm rest. The combination of the smooth surface and luxurious size (10.5 x 8.5 cm/~4 x 3.4 inches) make use of the touchpad comfortably fluid, and enable the user to move the pointer across large images without readjusting the position of his or her fingers. Our only criticizm is that the pad could function a bit more accurately. Even so, the multi-touch support works flawlessly. Zooming and scrolling across websites and documents with 2 finger gestures is a comfortable experience.

In general, the ClickPad is a very good specimen of its kind. Because the pad lacks dedicated mouse buttons, right and left clicks are executed by pressing on the lower portion of its surface. Due to its stability, this functions better than on many other laptops. The stylish RGB backlighting is one of the Blade Pro's great strengths. It sets off both the keyboard and the (framed) touchpad even in total darkness. With its various colors and modes, an appropriate setting should be available for any user.

The Sharp LQ173D1JW33 4K panel leaves us with mixed feelings. While the black value (0.2 cd/m²) and contrast (1150:1) match the laptop's high price, at around 207 cd/m², the luminosity is disappointingly low. The brightness level is generally good enough for indoor use, but outdoors the UHD edition of the Blade Pro is no fun. Even in the shade, the display content is hardly visible.

This has a lot to do with the highly reflective surface. Razer's choice of a glossy rather than a matte surface (unlike the Full HD model) has to do with the display's capacitive touch capabilities. Whether touch functionality is sensible on a 17-inch gaming notebook is a question each reader must answer for themselves. Personally, the author considers the touchscreen unnecessary and would certainly prefer a matte display surface.

The laptop receives penalty points for the display's mediocre reaction times. 38.4 ms black-to-black and 60.8 ms gray-to-gray are longer than most IPS panels. Compared to quick TN panels like the N173HHE-G32 (MSI GT73VR 7RF), the Blade pro has no chance. Even so, we did not observe any streaking or the like in our benchmarks. Those with sensitive eyes still ought to think twice before purchasing this device, in part because up to a brightness level of 20%, the display flickers at around 205 Hz.

On the other hand, gaming fans will be pleased about the support for Nvidia's G-Sync technology. This balances the frame rate with the frequency of the display, which creates a smoother image without screen tearing. It also prevents coil whining at higher frame rates. For our tests, G-Sync was always inactive.

It is simply astonishing how much manufacturers can squeeze into a slim laptop chassis these days. Thanks to M.2 technology, more than one SSD is not a problem. The amount of RAM and the performance power of both CPU and GPU need not be inferior to what is found in a classic tower PC.

The performance of the two quad-core CPUs – both of which can process eight threads in parallel with Hyperthreading – is in practice very similar. In the Cinebench R15 and Cinebench R11.5 benchmarks, the Core i7-7820HK leads by a maximum of 10%.

The Turbo Boost feature, i.e. automatic overclocking, is used to the fullest possible extent. Depending on the level of load, the Kaby Lake CPU reaches between 2.5 GHz (multi-core) and 3.9 GHz (single-core).

We used Cinebench R15 to test whether this good level of performance continues over a longer period. After 50 repetitions, the results were equally good.

As we recently observed while testing the Acer Triton 700, the PCMark benchmarks have some difficulties with RAID systems. As a result, the laptop's significant deficit in the PCMark 8 Work test and its weak score in PCMark 10 are not truly informative or worthy of comparison. We had no problems with the PCMark 8 Home test. Here the Blade Pro does well, landing third place behind the HP Omen 17 and the Acer Helios 300. In everyday use, the solid-state drives perform particularly well; both the boot procedure and the load times benefit significantly.

In our test model, Razer combines two NVMe SSDs from Samsung (MZVLV256HCHP a.k.a. PM951) in a RAID 0 system. Both 256 GB M.2 drives score points in the storage benchmarks for very good read speeds. On the other hand, in some cases the write speeds come in behind the competition. To some extent, the computer fails to take full advantage of the PCIe technology that eliminates the 500 MB limit on SATA III SSDs. Some gaming laptops reach higher speeds with just one SSD. The Aorus X7 v7's Samsung SM961 attains to speeds almost twice as high in the sequential write test. Note: Because the 4K version of the Blade Pro lacks a 2.5-inch bay, users will have to be satisfied with the two M.2 slots.

Because the new edition of the Blade Pro was released before the launch of Nvidia's Max-Q design, the 17-inch laptop is equipped with a standard GTX 1060 or GTX 1080. This has its advantages and disadvantages. While laptops with Max-Q tend to remain quieter and use less energy, those who want lots of performance power are still better off with the "normal" Pascal chips. Razer has chosen display resolutions that match the power of the respective graphics accelerators. 3840x2160 pixels would overtax a GTX 1060 in almost every game; thus 1920x1080 is the better choice there. The GeForce GTX 1080 is certainly capable of running today's titles at higher settings in 4K.

No wonder: Nvidia's most powerful laptop chip offers 2560 shader units and 8 GB of GDDR5X video memory, connected though a 256-bit interface. The clock rates are pretty impressive too. At around 1670 MHz in 3D mode, the core's speed falls within Nvidia's guaranteed turbo spectrum (1557-1734 MHz). In optimal circumstances, the computer even reaches up to 1873 MHz (source: the GPU-Z tool's render test).

It thus surprised us even more that the Blade Pro falls behind other GTX 1080 laptops in the GPU benchmarks, sometimes by a margin of 10-20% – for no obvious reason. The overall performance tends to come in at the level of the GTX 1080 Max-Q, which hardly achieves better results than the substantially cheaper GTX 1070. Thus the Razer Blade Pro's advantage over the Aorus X7 v7 and the HP Omen 17 in the 3DMark 13 and 3DMark 11 benchmarks only comes to around 10%. GTX 1060 laptops, on the other hand, are significantly slower (60-70% of our test device's speed). At first we singled out the power supply as the culprit, given that it is barely large enough for a GTX 1080 card. But even under full load, the Razer Blade Pro consumes a maximum of 258 watts (212 watts @ “The Witcher 3”). Considering the estimated efficiency rate, this lies well within the specifications. Because the driver (ForceWare 382.05) did not give us any trouble and the GPU temperature did not reach a critical level, the reason for the laptop's relatively poor performance in the graphics tests remains a mystery. 

Update September 28 2017: We have been told that Razer has lowered the GTX 1080's TDP, which would explain its inferior performance.

The aforementioned issue notwithstanding, Razer's Blade Pro is one of the fastest slim 17-inch gaming laptops on the market. Only the Aorus X7 DT v7, which is also equipped with a GTX 1080 and currently in the midst of our review process, can challenge the Blade Pro with its case thickness of under 3 cm (~1.2 inches). Given their considerably bulkier cases, most high-end notebooks are hardly worthy of comparison.

As with the CPU, we also analyzed the GPU's performance over a prolonged period. The 17-inch laptop had no problem running 60 minutes of “The Witcher 3” at 1920x1080 pixels and maximum detail settings. Small variations in the frame rate are typical, due to fluctuating clock speeds and the day and night cycles in the game. We were only able to make the Blade Pro throttle (drop below the base clock speed) under full load with the FurMark and Prime95 tools running simultaneously. Such a scenario is hardly relevant in practical, everyday use. 

As long as the user is prepared to forgo the Ultra preset when using the display's native resolution, most games run smoothly, even at 3840x2160 pixels (>40 FPS). If a game does stutter, generally it is because the developer has, shall we say, room to optimize. Here we feel compelled to name the hyped multi-player games “PUBG” and “Ark Survival Evolved”, both of which require a reduction in both detail settings and resolution.

Additionally, the benchmark table reveals that the UHD edition would hardly have benefited from a 120 Hz panel. Over 60 FPS is seldom possible in 4K, even with a GTX 1080. Only light games such as “Rocket League” pass the 100 FPS mark at full details.

Without headphones, the fans become irritating very quickly. The Aorus X7 v7 and HP Omen 17, both of which are equipped with a GTX 1070 and are only marginally slower, remain at a substantially quieter 45-47 dB(A). The Blade Pro's maximum sound pressure level is also quite intense at 58 dB(A). It is not for nothing that the 17-inch laptop is chiefly criticized for its volume in the comment section on amazon.de. The main culprit is not the GPU, but rather the CPU – as we will explain shortly.

But the components reach the truly critical temperatures. The processor heated to up to 98 °C (~208 °F) in the stress test, even with Turbo Boost inactive. The graphics card, which throttled a little, reached just under 80 °C (~176 °F) after an hour under full load. Overall, many facts lead us to conclude that the cooling system is taxed to its limit. In a computer with the combination of a Core i7-7820HK and a GeForce GTX 1080, the cooling system needs to be more powerful.

Razer advertises the Blade Pro as equipped with THX certified video and audio reproduction. However, checking the speakers positioned on the sides of the device reveals that the THX seal only applies to the audio output, i.e. audio plug. At a price this high, many consumers would assume the computer offers better sound quality than this.

As with most laptops, it lacks bass and does not produce a precise and balanced sound. Films, music and games sound too tinny and impure for our taste. We would certainly connect external speakers or a headset. According to our audio analysis, the Blade Pro's toughest competitor, the Aorus X7 v7, offers a more pleasant sound. The pre-installed Dolby Digital Plus Home Theater audio software, which contains various sound profiles and improvements, is unfortunately unable to make a difference here.

Frequency diagram in comparison (checkboxes above selectable/deselectable!)

Because the Blade Pro lacks graphics switching, even in idle mode, it uses a considerable amount of energy. Gaming notebooks that support Nvidia's Optimus technology easily beat our test device's 31-44 watts here. The Medion Erazer X7849, for example, consumes only 14-24 watts. In 3D mode, the numbers fall along the same lines as the Aorus X7 v7. The Aorus uses 107-259 watts, while the Razer device consumes a nearly identical 107-258 watts.

Razer's choice to go without Optimus reduces the battery life more than anything. Although the Blade Pro is equipped with a 99 Wh battery (the largest of any competitor), its results in our tests are only convincing to a limited extent. Some of the competition cuts out even earlier, but 3:17 hours surfing the internet over WLAN and 3:24 hours of HD video playback are still no reason to rejoice. Gamers who travel often would be better served with a different device. Laptops with graphics switching usually achieve better results. Theoretically, the Blade Pro would be an excellent choice for gaming on the go, given that its performance in battery mode "only" sinks by a margin of around 30% (tested with “The Witcher 3”). Other gaming laptops experience over 50% drops in frame rates.