Razer updates its Blade 18, the ultra-powerful large format evolves smoothly

Razer is renewing its Blade 18 for 2024 with a rebalancing of the graphics cards used, the integration of a 14th generation Intel Core -HX processor and two new 18-inch screen options.

The first Thunderbolt 5 laptop

The chassis of the Blade 18 barely changes, it is still a block of aluminum with rounded corners housing an 18-inch panel. Inside, the keyboard without a numeric keypad seems a little lost in this large space despite the presence of speakers on each side. The touchpad is still in XXL format, the connectivity is very varied and wifi 7 is included.

The Blade 18 is also the first laptop PC equipped with Thunderbolt 5. This standard announced in September 2023 by Intel makes it possible to go to 120 Gb/s in asynchronous mode or 80 Gb/s symmetrically, to which is added the possibility of transmitting up to 240 W. This allows for example to connect up to three 4K screens with a single socket, as Razer demonstrated during CES 2024.

Mini-Led QHD+ 300 Hz or UHD+ at 200 Hz

Two types of 18-inch screens are offered: an IPS panel with Mini-Led backlight displaying 2560 x 1600 px with a frequency of 300 Hz and a maximum brightness of 1000 cd/m², and a 3840 x 2400 px panel with frequency of 200 Hz and brightness limited to 400 cd/m². The latter, however, is only offered with Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 4090.

Inside, the components change little. The processor upgrades to Intel’s 14th generation Core -HX with the Core i9-14900HX, which can be accompanied by 32 or 64 GB of RAM and 1 to 4 TB of storage.

On the GPU side, in the absence of new models from Nvidia, we must make do with the GeForce RTX 4070, 4080 and 4090 with TGPs pushed to the maximum at 140 W for the first and 175 W for the other two.

The Razer Blade 18 will be available very soon at €3,599 in RTX 4070, €4,299 in RTX 4080 and €5,199 in RTX 4090. Add €700 for the UHD+ panel. It will therefore have a hard time facing the Asus ROG Scar 18 and other MSI Titan 18 HX, sold in the same price segment, but which do not have the sobriety of the Blade 18.