Razer's new Blade 18 is 1 kg lighter than the Alienware 18, but just as fast and even a bit quieter

18-inch gaming laptops are usually among the fastest devices you can get in the mobile segment. This is also true for the two high-end gamers Razer Blade 18 and Alienware 18, both of which we tested with the Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX as well as the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop. Both devices are also equipped with IPS panels.

Whether an 18-inch laptop is really portable can be debated, but the two devices are pretty different when it comes to the weight. While the Alienware 18 is almost 4.2 kg, the Razer Blade 18 only tips the scale at 3.2 kg, so it is 1 kg lighter. This is a substantial difference, especially since Razer uses a metal chassis. The Alienware also has a much bigger footprint.

You might think that the weight and size difference also affect the performance or the fan noise, but this is not really the case here. Yes, the Alienware 18 manages to squeeze out a bit more performance out of the Core Ultra 9 275HX, but the GPU performance as well as the gaming performance are pretty much identical. This means both are currently among the fastest laptops on the market. Quite surprisingly, the Razer Blade 18 is even slightly quieter, and ~48 dB(A) while gaming is a good result for both machines and they also beat other 18-inch gamers. The Alienware 18 manages lower surface temperatures under load, but the temperatures of the Blade 18 are hardly critical, so this is not a decisive factor.

Finally, there is the price, and neither machine is a bargain considering the high-end configurations we reviewed. The Blade 18 with the highest memory/storage specs retails for $5199.99; the Alienware 18 with comparable specs (64 GB RAM, 4 TB SSD storage) has a list price of $4899.99, but there is currently a discount of $450 ($4349.99). Please see our comprehensive review of the new Blade 18 2025 for further information.