Maintaining the elegant and premium unibody aluminium chassis synonymous with Razer’s Blade models, the Blade 15 Advanced edition has been upgraded to 2020 hardware in the form of a 16-thread Core i7-10875H and Nvidia’s RTX 2080 Super Max-Q. Can Razer prove that the Blade 15 Advanced 2020 model has all the ingredients to form a versatile gaming and productivity powerhouse? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7LTJOudjBw Focussing on the main features of the Razer Blade 15 Advanced 2020, our sampled version ships with the Core i7-10875H CPU, Nvidia RTX 2080 Super Max-Q graphics card, 16GB of DDR4 memory, and a 1TB NVMe SSD. But perhaps the star of the show is the screen. Razer opts for a 15.6” 4K 60Hz OLED touch display that is absolutely stunning. With its high screen-to-body ration thanks to slim and elegant bezels, the factory calibrated display packs a quality punch thanks to 100% DCI-P3 coverage. All of this is bundled into a slim, unibody aluminium chassis that is eye-catching with its dark black design and Razer green contrasts. At a little over 20mm thick and weighing 2.2kg, Razer has clearly built the Blade 15 Advanced to be a portable powerhouse that is just at home on a desk as it is being slung into a backpack. Specifications: Processor: Intel Core i7-10875H (8 core, 2.3GHz/5.1GHz) Memory: 16GB (2x8GB) 2933MHz C21 DDR4 Graphics Card: 8GB Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Super Max-Q (8GB GDDR6 VRAM) Display: 15.6” OLED 4K 60Hz Touch Display (100% DCI-P3, Factory Calibrated) System Drive: 1TB LiteOn CA5-8D1024 PCIe NVMe SSD Cooling: Vapor Chamber Battery: 80Whr + 230W Charger Keyboard: Per-key RGB Lighting (Razer Chroma) Chassis: Black, unibody aluminium chassis with green backlit Razer logo Weight: 2.2kg Operating System: Windows 10 Home Price: £3349.99 RRP, £3150-£3200 common availability, £2898.98 Scan deal price (at time of writing) Starting off with the design of the Razer Blade 15 Advanced, the slim aluminium unibody chassis gives the laptop a total weight of less than 2.2kg. ‘Premium’ is the first word that jumps to mind when handling the dark black laptop. Despite its alluring appearance, stiffness and ruggedness score highly. That’s clearly important for such a sizable investment that will be moved from place to place by many users. With the lid closed, the laptop is around 21mm thick. That figure drops by around 4-5mm with the lid open. And speaking of opening the lid, Razer has nailed the weight distribution and hinge design, thus allowing the one-finger lid open to work consistently. The dimensions are very comparable to the Dell XPS 15 9570/7590 version. I would call that strong praise for the Razer as I personally feel that Dell’s XPS 15 design is superb, but Razer takes it up a notch by squeezing in higher-end hardware. One area where Razer does not score particularly highly for the chassis design, however, is in terms of finish. While the aluminium looks and feels premium, it is a fingerprint magnet and quickly starts to look grubby after being touched even to a minimal degree. Thankfully, Razer includes a much-needed cloth. The backlit Razer logo on the rear of the lid is a cool touch and it can be disabled via software, if you prefer. Quality-wise, the factory calibrated 15.6” 4K 60Hz OLED touch display is wonderful. I am personally a fan of OLED displays, and Razer does nothing to disappoint my preference. 100% DCI-P3 colour coverage allows the items displayed on screen to pop with a strong vibrance, and I was happy with the peak brightness level. Clearly 4K60 is going to be tough for laptop hardware to run in AAA gaming titles. Some users may prefer the alternative Full HD 300Hz option for high-FPS gaming. However, 4K60 on an OLED display is an excellent solution for productivity and dual-purpose use cases where the laptop is being used for more than simply gaming. No doubt, the screen handles gaming very well from an image display perspective. But to get a solid 60FPS average frame rate, you will have to compromise on either the game’s image quality settings or render resolution. Given the choice, though, I’d take a 4K60 OLED screen on a laptop of this ilk if I used it for more than just gaming. Connectivity is a clear strength for the Blade 15 Advanced thanks to Razer’s well-thought set of inclusions. On the right side, you get a 10Gbps USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A port, Thunderbolt 3 Type-C, HDMI 2.0b, a Kensington lock, and a full-sized UHS-III SD card reader. Thunderbolt 3 is a connection that I am particularly happy to see thanks to its flexibility with high-speed external GPU or dock and storage solutions, DisplayPort video output mode, and 20V PD 3.0 charging capability that Razer bakes in. Moving around to the left side, you get the proprietary charging connection, another two 10Gbps USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, 10Gbps USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, and a 3.5mm combo audio jack. That Type-C port also supports DisplayPort video output and PD 3.0 charging capability, but not Thunderbolt 3. I like the way that Razer spreads the Type-A ports meaning that chunky connectors will not block all Type-A ports on the laptop. Of course, that’s assuming that you orientate to reversible connector from the 230W power brick to not block the two left-sided Type-A ports. The only clear omission in terms of connectivity is a Gigabit Ethernet jack. Given the limitations of the slim chassis design, I am personally fine with this compromise and would happily use a USB to Ethernet adapter as required. Plus, you get WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1 through an Intel AX201 adapter that comfortably maxed out our 550Mbps Virgin fibre connection in our WiFi speed test. One area where I was particularly impressed by the Blade 15 Advanced connection option was in terms of display outputs. The combination of HDMI 2.0 and two DisplayPort-capable Type-C connectors make powering three external high-resolution and high refresh rate monitors a possibility. We successfully tested this using monitors running simultaneously at 1080P 165Hz, 1440P 165Hz, and 4K 60Hz. Aptly, Razer wires these three display outputs from the Nvidia GPU (which is not an obvious preference, given the XPS 15 7590 TB3 port’s wiring to the Intel iGPU). This permits for the powering of the aforementioned triple-monitor setup whilst maintaining the laptop screen that runs via the Intel iGPU. What’s more, the Nvidia display connections permit for G-Sync on a compatible adaptive refresh rate monitor, as we tested with the Aorus FI27Q screen. Four total displays consisting of three external monitors, plus G-Sync capability to those bigger gaming screens, is an absolutely fantastic setup for a laptop. Even at the price point we are dealing with, it is not common for a gaming or workstation style laptop to offer such a high degree of display connectivity. Excellent job, Razer. They keyboard is pleasant to type on thanks to the minimal flex enabled by the premium aluminium chassis. I would, however, have liked more travel for a better typing experience that was more comparable to my Dell XPS 15 preference. Nevertheless, Razer is certainly offering one of the better laptop keyboards that I have come across (as should be the case on a £3K+ machine!). The small enter key is not ideal for productivity usage and did not fit my personal preference. However, it does allow for a larger right-side shift key and that is likely to please gamers, even if it does result in smaller arrow keys. Razer’s Synapse software can perform gaming-orientated control functions for the keyboard, such as disabling the Windows key and Alt+F4 whilst gaming or all the time. It can also switch the preference between media keys or function keys being permanently set. Razer Chroma RGB backlight on each individual key is smooth and has a good level of brightness. Of course, the lighting modes can be adjusted to a user’s preference. Swift movements were a common theme for the sizable glass trackpad. At no point did I foul any gestures or slow down my movements thanks to the low friction trackpad. There are no segregated left or right click buttons, as is common for modern trackpads. A solid, tactile click is a clear strength for the trackpad, alongside its minimal flex thanks to the stiff aluminium chassis. High volume would seem to be the critical design goal for the upwards facing left and right speakers. I was generally happy with the volume level running at around 25% for day-to-day usage in my office. Pushing up to 100% was very loud but did result in a drop-out in clarity, as expected. Bass is OK, but a lack of distinct punch is certainly an area for feedback. Provided you do not go to ludicrously high volume levels, the audio quality is very good. I would put this final point down to proper drivers being installed within the chassis, in addition to the logical upwards-facing mounting position next the keyboard. Removing the bottom panel and gaining access to the internal hardware is an easy task with a Torx T5 tool. Underneath the vapor chamber cooling hardware and dual blower fans with dedicated heatsinks are the CPU and GPU silicon. At this point, it is worth highlighting that I was impressed to see Razer taking extra steps to ensure sensible cooling provisions for the VRM power delivery hardware. The eight-core, sixteen-thread Core i7-10875H CPU is given its own cooling fan and heatsink. This will aid with allowing the chip to boost towards its 5.1GHz upper limit. Of course, the actual clock speeds of this 45W nominal TDP chip will depend upon the chosen power mode in Razer’s software. We opted for the Turbo mode throughout testing. This mode permits a 90W short-duration power limit for the CPU that registers around 3.6GHz all-core clock speed. Once this time limit expires, the steady-state operating parameters are 55W TDP at around 2.9-3.0GHz, provided the GPU is not fully loaded simultaneously. Alongside the CPU is the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Super Max-Q GPU. This is a 3072 core, 12nm-fabbed GPU with 8GB of GDDR6 VRAM. During our long duration 3DMark Time Spy stress test, the chip consumed 90W of power alongside a fully loaded CPU and thus returned a GPU Boost clock speed of around 1300MHz on average. I would consider this to be a worst-case scenario type of stress test, as proven by the general GPU Boost core clock frequencies in the vicinity of 1400MHz and above during high resolution gaming. Of course, the usual Nvidia technology is supported, such as Ray Tracing, DLSS, and G-Sync. One area that disappointed me was the choice of memory. A 2x8GB set of 2933MHz DDR4 is perfectly fine given the CPU’s memory speed limitations. However, 16GB feels a little underwhelming on a £3K+ laptop. Razer does not offer higher capacity configurations for sale, either. Thankfully, the two memory slots are SODIMM and can therefore be switched out for a 32GB or 64GB set with ease. The 1TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD is a PCIe Gen 3 x4 LiteOn CA5-8D1024 model equipped with 3D TLC NAND. We have seen many alternative Razer Blade laptops ship with premium Samsung OEM drives using the Korean manufacturer’s latest hardware. It is therefore disappointing to see our Blade 15 Advanced sample ship with an underwhelming SSD when examining the rated performance figures. Another negative is the limitation of a single M.2 SSD slot. If you want to increase your storage capacity, the only option is to switch out the current drive and get a bigger model. That is disappointing when many competing solutions at this price point offer a secondary M.2 slot. That would have been a far better solution for increased flexibility. Hopefully, Razer will take on the challenge of squeezing a secondary M.2 slot into the next Blade 15 revision. The Blade 15 Advanced features an 80Whr battery manufactured by Shenzhen’s BYD. 80Whr is lower capacity than I would have liked when competing solutions are offering 90Whr+ models in this price range. 65W Type-C charging will alleviate some of the pressure on extended battery life, but good charging infrastructure is not an alternative for a bigger battery. One positive for the battery, in light of its lower capacity than competitors, is the manufacturer. BYD is a well-renowned battery manufacturer with a variety of applications for its lithium ion products. As such, I have confidence in the quality of the unit shipped in the Razer Blade 15 Advanced. We are examining the Razer Blade 15 Advanced laptop for use as a gaming machine as well as a compute workstation. Razer Blade 15 Advanced Laptop Test Configuration: Processor: Intel Core i7-10875H (8 core, 2.3GHz/5.1GHz) Memory: 16GB (2x8GB) 2933MHz C21 DDR4 Graphics Card: 8GB Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Super Max-Q (8GB GDDR6 VRAM) Display: 15.6” OLED 4K 60Hz Touch Display (100% DCI-P3, Factory Calibrated) System Drive: 1TB LiteOn CA5-8D1024 PCIe NVMe SSD Cooling: Vapor Chamber Battery: 80Whr + 230W Charger Keyboard: Per-key RGB Lighting (Razer Chroma) Chassis: Black, unibody aluminium chassis with green backlit Razer logo Weight: 2.2kg Operating System: Windows 10 Home Comparison Systems: Dream Machines RG2070S-17EU31 (Core i7-10750H / RTX 2070 Super) Tests Cinebench R20 – All-core & single-core CPU benchmark (CPU Compute), Stress test (Temperatures & Power Consumption) Blender 2.90 – All-core rendering of the Classroom scene (CPU Compute), Stress test (Temperatures & Power Consumption) V-Ray - CUDA GPU rendering (GPU Compute) SiSoft Sandra – Memory bandwidth (Memory) AIDA64 – Memory bandwidth, memory latency (Memory) PCMark 10 - Battery Life Test (Battery Life) 3DMark – Fire Strike (1080p) test, Time Spy (1440p) test (Gaming) F1 2020 – 2560x1440 & 4K Ultra High quality preset, DX12 (Gaming) Red Dead Redemption 2 – 2560x1440 & 4K High settings manually applied, DX12 (Gaming) Shadow of the Tomb Raider – 2560x1440 & 4K Highest quality preset, no AA, DX12 version (Gaming) The Division 2 – 2560x1440 & 4K Ultra quality preset, no AA, DX12 version (Gaming) Blender Classroom Benchmark Cinebench R20 Solid performance is shown in the CPU-heavy rendering tasks. The long-duration power limit of 55W TDP for the Core i7 CPU allows for a clock speed of 2.9-3.0GHz across all eight cores. Cinebench R20 Back-to-Back Only a small loss of performance is observed with successive Cinebench R20 nT runs. The short duration - 90W - CPU power usage delivers around 3.6GHz clock speed on the eight-core processor. The back-to-back runs hold the chip in its 55W, 2.9-3.0GHz operating state. V-Ray GPU V-Ray highlights reasonably potent GPU compute performance from the RTX 2080 Super Max-Q graphics card. AIDA64 Engineer Sandra Memory Bandwidth DDR4 2933MHz is a benefit over 2666MHz alternatives. However, the bandwidth and latency are not particularly impressive when 3200MHz and higher are common from competing AMD SODIMM or AMD/Intel LPDDR4X solutions. This is purely a limitation of the Intel CPU and not Razer's memory choice. 3DMark 3DMark shows strong performance and an impressive balance between the CPU and GPU in the Blade 15 Advanced. F1 2020 We run the game quality set to Ultra High. Red Dead Redemption 2 We run the game with image settings manually set to High and the DirectX 12 mode enabled. The Division 2 We run the game with quality set to Ultra, VSync disabled, and DX12 mode. Shadow of the Tomb Raider We use the DirectX 12 mode, anti-aliasing disabled, and the Highest quality preset. 1080P gaming is comfortable with the under-the-hood hardware. However, 4K gaming on the native UHD screen proves too much stress in demanding AAA titles. Low image quality settings at 4K or decreasing the resolution to 1440P is likely a better compromise if outputting to an external monitor, but Nvidia DLSS is also an option if the game supports it. Nevertheless, 1080P gaming looked good on the OLED display and ran very smoothly at ultra-level image settings. M.2 PCIe Performance We test performance of the LiteOn CA5-8D1024 1TB PCIe NVMe SSD. Performance from the LiteOn M.2 SSD is underwhelming for such a high-end laptop. I am disappointed to see Razer opting for a cheaper alternative to the Samsung OEM SSDs typically supplied with its higher-end laptops. The performance drop-offs from the LiteOn drive are particularly noticeable when running simultaneous or write-heavy operations. WiFi Performance We test performance of the Intel AX201 WiFi-6 adapter by running by running a simple speed test to check our Virgin Media fibre connection when connected to an 802.11ax access point. WiFi performance was perfectly capable of holding a 1.2Gbps connection rate according to Windows. This was sufficient in maxing out the 550Mbps download rate of our internet connection. Connectivity - USB 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps & Thunderbolt 3 We test performance of the USB 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps and Thunderbolt 3 ports using the relevant adapters with a Corsair MP600 PCIe NVMe test SSD. Hitting full speed on the USB ports was done without hassle. We also managed the typical 2.5GBps transfer rate over Thunderbolt 3. System Power Consumption For CPU plus GPU load results, we run Cinebench R20 nT and 3DMark Time Spy stress tests for an extended time period and take readings. The power consumption of the laptop at the wall (when fully charged so that no power is being diverted to topping up the battery) is shown in the chart. Razer's included 230W power brick does a stellar job of powering the laptop at full whack whilst also leaving a small amount of headroom for charging on top. Clearly, running the laptop with a 65W Type-C charger connected will result in battery depletion, albeit slowly, even under idle or low-load conditions. Of course, that 65W power input is fine for charging the laptop when it is shut down or in sleep mode. Battery Life We run the PCMark 10 Gaming and Modern Office tests. Battery life from the 80Whr BYD battery is underwhelming at just under an hour for gaming or roughly 1.5 hours for general office type tasks in the PCMark 10 benchmark. Of course, adjustments such as lower display brightness can be made to extend the battery life a little further in real world usage. Razer should have opted for a larger capacity battery that is more in line with what the competitors offer at this price point. System Temperatures We use the same test procedure to record system temperatures. Ambient temperature during the readings was around 24°C. Even with the Blade 15 Advanced running in its Turbo power delivery and cooling modes, the cooling for the vapor chamber unit and dual fans holds up very well. CPU temperatures were nothing to worry about and the GPU temperature was low enough to allow for solid boost clock behaviour. Notably, the GPU steals some power budget from the CPU when both are stressed simultaneously, so this helps to reduce temperatures on the Core i7 chip. With higher power budget allocated to the CPU, such as during 90W short duration all-core loading or 55W long duration loading, the temperature does creep past 90C. But we did not see instances of heavy or aggressive thermal throttling; the chip typically backs down its clock speed due to TDP throttling instead. System Noise Noise levels are barely audible at idle and low load when using the 'Balanced' fan mode. With the CPU load ramped up, the noise levels certainly get audible. However, adding a 90W GPU load into the mix does not contribute to significantly higher noise output on top of the CPU-loaded configuration. In fact, with the GPU stealing some power budget and therefore heat output from the CPU, that seemed to allow its dedicated fan to spin slower and quieter. At full load, the system is clearly loud at 50dBA. However, the noise level is far more tolerable than many other gaming laptops with high-end hardware that I have used. Of course, headphones users will not have much cause for complaint. Razer should implement a better user controllable set of fan modes in the Synapse software. Manual fan speed control that allows a user to set a static fan speed RPM in a limited range is not good enough. Fan speed curves such as 'Silent', 'Gaming', and 'Best Cooling' should be available to users. The Razer Blade 15 Advanced in its 2020, Core i7-10875H, RTX 2080 Super Max-Q form really is a well-balanced, well-built powerhouse laptop. Proficient in games and impressive for productivity usage, I feel that Razer has struck a superb balance between performance, cooling, and a sleek design. Speaking of that sleek design, cramming the level of hardware that Razer provides into a chassis that weighs around 2.2kg and is less than an inch thick is highly impressive. Plus, the aluminium unibody shell is rugged, stiff, and aids cooling capacity. Cooling is another area where Razer does well. This is not just because of the use of a dual fan vapor chamber cooling system. But the smart decision to run sensible TDP and TGP limits for the Core i7-10875H CPU and RTX 2080 Super Max-Q GPU, respectively, help. Plus, the noise output is tolerable and is better than many other high-end gaming laptops that I have used. It's just a shame that Razer does not offer better user control for fan speed curve behaviour. Of course, there are areas of disappointment. The 80Whr battery struggles to push past an hour of runtime for heavy gaming usage. The LiteOn SSD feels undeniably basic compared to Samsung alternatives and there is no room for a second drive. Plus, 16GB of RAM, with no higher capacity options available, is not great for a £3K+ laptop. Thankfully, the SODIMM modules are easy to switch out and Razer excellent build quality makes removing the bottom panel and dealing with internal hardware a straightforward task. Versus the competition from the likes of ASUS, Gigabyte/Aorus, and MSI, the Razer Blade 15 Advanced has many positives going for it. Gigabyte's competing solution is the toughest candidate for Razer to take on, especially with that model offering better memory and SSD options. However, Razer fights back aggressively with the stunning 4K OLED touch display on the Blade 15 Advanced, market-leading build quality and design, and a superb set of connectivity options especially for multi-display usage. At around £3200 typical availability, or currently on sale for £2900 at Scan, I feel that the Razer Blade 15 Advanced in this form is an excellent option for users who need competent productivity performance from their multi-monitor workstation by day and then want to kick back and play AAA titles at appealing settings by night. The Blade 15 Advanced performs that blend of usage very well and does so without looking out-of-place or offering up significant weakness in either usage scenario. It really is impressive to see a high-end laptop that is equally as appealing to gaming users as it is to those who yearn a productivity powerhouse that can quickly be shoved into a backpack. Good job, Razer, now please give me a second SSD slot, bigger battery, and higher memory options on the next version. Until then, I am very impressed by the Razer Blade 15 Advanced and consider it to be a strong candidate on anybody's high-end laptop shortlist. We found the laptop priced at £3199.99 at Overclockers UK HERE. Discuss on our Facebook page HERE. Pros: Stunning 4K60 OLED touch display. Superb build quality, chassis design, and aesthetic appearance. Slim, compact, and lightweight for excellent portability. True desktop replacement calibre hardware - Core i7-10875H and RTX 2080 Super Max-Q. Good cooling performance thanks to sensible CPU/GPU operating powers. Perfectly tolerable noise output. Excellent connectivity options, especially with regard to demanding multi-monitor setups. Cons: No secondary M.2 SSD slot. The LiteOn SSD is not great for such a high-end laptop. Only 16GB of memory, though this can be upgraded manually. 80Whr battery delivers disappointing runtimes. KitGuru says: A stunning and stunningly powerful laptop that would certainly be at position one or position two in my list of go-to high-end mobile powerhouses.