Razer Blade 15 Base Model Laptop Review: 95 W GeForce RTX 3060 Holds Up Well

[Redaktion]

The latest Razer Blade 15 laptop with GeForce RTX 30 graphics starts at $1699 up to $3299 for the highest-end configuration. We test the lowest-end configuration to see how it stacks up against the previous generation of Blade 15 RTX 20 options.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Razer-Blade-15-Base-Model-Laptop-Review-95-W-GeForce-RTX-3060-Holds-Up-Well.527245.0.html

[amasondev]

I note that there is an option in Synapse for "Dedicated GPU only". Does this blade model now have a mux switch?

[Hanzzz]

It would be a small breakthrough in laptop reviewing if some reviewer would be able to record laptop fan noise profiles in a comparable way. Many reviewers give dB measurements but it means nothing to an average reader. I have no idea what 40 or 50 dB means in a practical application. Similarly words like quiet or loud means nothing. To one person quiet is loud to another person.

[Spunjji]

It would be a small breakthrough in laptop reviewing if some reviewer would be able to record laptop fan noise profiles in a comparable way. Many reviewers give dB measurements but it means nothing to an average reader. I have no idea what 40 or 50 dB means in a practical application. Similarly words like quiet or loud means nothing. To one person quiet is loud to another person.

Unfortunately this is actually really difficult to do. You need to have a very high-quality microphone, make sure you have comparable ambient noise levels, make sure the test environments are acoustically similar (same size room, same composition walls) and make sure that the measurements are taken from the exact same distances and angles.

I'd love it if it could be done, but with the financial state of most review sites these days, it's unlikely to ever happen.

[LL]

So this notebook with several issues have better evaluation than the MSI that had almost no issue...

[Warney]

Excellent gaming performance from the 3060. Better than the 2080max q model from last year. I thought Razer said that all 2021 models have a Mux with the exception of the Oled models and the 144hz models. This is a 144hz model and looks like it has dedicated GPU mode in synapse. Did you check that it worked NBC?

[dellfan]

How is a contrast ratio of 1000:1 excellent? The competition has similar or way higher values.

[Ksyruz]

Reviewers should add serviceability, reliability and customer service when recommending devices. Then Razer will truly come out to be the worst option anyone can take. And it will allow proper buying decisions to be made.

I purchased the Razer Blade 15 4k when it came out. 6 months in the Touch screen went. It took 1 month just to go back and forth as they communicated every 24 hours, does not matter if your send the message 7am in the morning, you will still get a replay the next day.  It took them 2 months to repair. another 6 months in and the screen went again.

Even though I RMA'ed the device before my warranty . They didn't even touch my device until April. then they accused me of cracking the screen. Which was a ploy to get me to just pay for the screen as I was out of warranty. I pay and then they come back to say that they can't get the parts, because of corona virus. Well if they fixed by device in January that would not have even mattered. No that I was already close to £4K in, I managed to get them to replace replaced the device with a 4K screen, This was a Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition, after 7 months of fighting with Razer. This device has failed again in November 2020.

They have failed to honour their own T&C and that of the UK Consumer Act 2015. The Act say if multiple occurrences of failure full payment of the device and cost associated to be returned.

In Razers T&C: Consumer Law. This Limited Warranty gives you specific legal rights, and you may have other rights that vary by your country, province or state, as applicable. Other than as permitted by law, Razer does not exclude, limit or suspend other rights you may have. For a full understanding of your rights, you should consult the laws of your country, province or state, as applicable.

I messaged them with "This is a right I have under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 section 19 subsection 5: "If the trader is in breach of a term that section 12 requires to be treated as included in the contract, the consumer has the right to recover from the trader the amount of any costs incurred by the consumer as a result of the breach, up to the amount of the price paid or the value of other consideration given for the goods."
" and asking to refund me the money.
they replay with
"Hello, Ahmed.

Thank you for patiently waiting for my update. After discussing the case further with our internal team, they have advised for further troubleshooting instead since we see that not much troubleshooting was done with Technical Support to attempt to fix the issue. We can only go with a repair or replacement for your unit thereafter.

Please know that this decision is made by Razer management. We hope you consider to go with either.


Sincerely,

Kim
Razer VIP Response Team"

Given that I had to succumb to their cruel ways as taking them to court will be to expensive. Asking for a replacement of a device that is the same spec as the Razer blade 15 Studio addition the give try to give me a device that costs 2,399 when the device I had costs £4,299

"Hi Ahmed,

I hope you're doing well today.

I'm sending an email in regards to your RMA RZC-XXXXXXX

We would like to offer you RZ09-03304W42-R3W1 RazerBlade15AdvancedModel(CH5NT156FHD-300HZi716GBRTX2070S512GB)-UK Packaging. This unit is non-touch but we assure you that the specs are higher than your original device as it has 300Hz display and RTX 2070S.


Please confirm that you agree to the offered unit so we can proceed with shipment to the address below:

Street Address: XXXX
City: XXXX
State/Province: XXXX
Postal (Zip) Code:XXXX
Country: United Kingdom

We look forward to hear from you soon. Thank you for your understanding and we're hoping for your continued support to Razer.

Sincerely,

Dana
RΛZΞR| Customer Service Support"

I then replay with
"
Hi Dana,

This is unacceptable. Last time I had to wait 7 months before stock could be allocated. I have already waited 1 month since RMA'ing the device, this is bad service and I demand this gets escalated and replacement with the same specs of a 4K screen, 1TB hdd, 32GB memory, and Quadro equivalent GPU  is sent to me within the next 3 days.", basically asking for a device with the same specs as the Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition I already had

And Razer rudely replies back to me when I asked them if they can provide me a device with the same specs as the Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition.

"Hello Ahmed,

Good day!

We apologized for the delay and inconvenience this has caused you. I completely understand the urgency of your request.

Please be informed that we are doing our best to provide you a replacement unit as soon as possible, however, there's no guarantee that you will receive your preferred unit which is an upgraded model.

As stated on our Razer will (at its sole option) exchange the Product with a Product that is new or which has been manufactured from new or serviceable used parts and is at least functionally equivalent to the original Product. For more information, please visit: Razer.com/warranty

We made a follow up today to our dedicated team and rest assured specs of the replacement unit is comparable to your original device.

Thank you for your patience and cooperation with us.

Sincerely,
 
Dana
RΛZΞR| Customer Service Support "

Anyone that wants one of these devices just don't go get a better machine with better Customer Services

[RB15 User]

To add to the post below, I've owned a early 2019 RB15 Advanced (i7-8750H/2070MQ) for almost two years now, no issues. No battery bloat and battery still lasts 5-6 hours for very light usage (like watching Youtube videos). I changed thermal paste twice during this time.

I read into all the reddit horror stories but my general advice with laptops is lemons exist, you can find horror stories about products like the Macbook Pro/Dell XPS as well. However in my experience, 99% of customers (ones who are knowledgeable and read websites like notebookcheck anyway) miss out on these lemons, tackle issues if any and never have to really contact support for any of their laptops. If you are paranoid you may be among the 1%, buy the Blade from Amazon/Microsoft Store/Best Buy as Razer online isn't the best option - the customer service stories are probably true. Then again, Dell's CS isn't much better - they recently told Linus to ship back a gaming system when all that was needed was re-inserting the RAM.

It makes me chuckle everytime I see someone forewarn others about Razer as if every laptop is cursed. Then, 20 other guys quote that guy's experience without having owned a Razer product in some reddit thread. If you are still wary, try your luck with another manufacturer and hope for the best.

[RB15 User]

Actually the 2080MQ models were launched in 2019, the 2080 Super Max-Q in 2020 and is still better. Of course there's also overclocking, my early 2019 2070MQ Blade maxes out at around 7400 in Time Spy Graphics (no BIOS mods, just MSI Afterburner overclocking) - within 400 points of this 3060.

Excellent gaming performance from the 3060. Better than the 2080max q model from last year. I thought Razer said that all 2021 models have a Mux with the exception of the Oled models and the 144hz models. This is a 144hz model and looks like it has dedicated GPU mode in synapse. Did you check that it worked NBC?