Sorry for this way of starting, but what the hell is this? A laptop review where we see comparisons, not with other laptops but desktop CPUs and what the hell is this battery test? I am no expert in laptops but when from 500nits to 250nits difference, we only get 5 extra minutes, probably the review is withhold until Razer replies. When Razer says 9 hours and the result is no more than 2 and a half hours, withholding the review until Razer replies also makes more sense than publishing the review immediately and finding out latter. This is Anandtech. Quality is more important than speed or quantity. At least that's how we see Anandtech people who started reading it more than 20 years ago.
If I had to guess, the GPU is permanently on or the benchmark is flawed and not using hardware decode from the CPU. I've seen better battery life results from a 10500H with a 54Whr battery while playing back youtube over wifi.
Had a quick look at other sites after posting here. They report from 6+ hours to over 8+ hours of battery time, relative to how they test battery time. When something looks wrong, have a quick check on other sites, contact the company first then post a review.
I've been shopping around for laptops lately, and this is the most unhelpful review I have seen. They included almost no comparisons, and as you mentioned the comparisons they did include are extremely poor choices.
I haven't been on Anandtech in forever and it was definitely weird seeing a review like this... if you don't have all the data just don't put out the review.
I wouldn't hold my breath for more reviews. They basically don't do anything anymore ... they have cut down so massively on hardware reviews they no longer have a good basis of comparison for anything because they have no data points built up. The Bench is a dated wasteland. They haven't done GPU reviews in almost 4 years. The only thing you can reliably depend on them to cover is new CPU releases.. anything else? Forget it
I agree except that I do like having one desktop processor in the benchmarks as I'm more familiar with those results so it's nice to have a reference point.
It's a start perhaps. This is the first time I've seen AT benchmark something other than a PSU or removable drive in ages (an exaggeration, but you get the point) so they don't exactly have a large dataset to draw from. I'd say encouragement is a better idea than criticism since maybe, just maybe, Anandtech will get back to doing more than sharing press releases from faceless companies we don't care about.
i'd also add. All those graphs with one bar is just laughable. It would make more sense to combine all in to one graph and have the name of the bar, be what the name of the graph is now, given that it doesn't compare to anything,,,,
Anandtech has certainly fallen a lot since back in the old days before about 2015.
Unfortunately, if we want to test the Phoenix APU any time in the near future, the Blade 14 was a take it or leave it proposition. While I expect it will eventually come to the desktop in some fashion, for now it's a laptop only part. Which means the only way we can review it right now is as part of the laptop.
To state the obvious, we don't regularly do laptop reviews these days (budget cuts). So we don't have a large collection of comparison systems to run it against. The best we could do (and what we were really interested in anyhow) is how it compares to AMD's Raphael CPU, so that is what we opted to focus our limited testing time on.
Given infinite time and resources, of course I'd prefer to do much more. But with only a few days to test, we did what we could while still meeting the embargo. The alternative would be not reviewing Phoenix at all, and that's simply not a viable option, especially given how important it is to AMD's product stack over the next few years.
Dave2D made a comparison video between the Razer Blade 14 and Asus Rog Zephyrus G14. The Asus with RTX 4060, similarly specced to the Razer, costs $1600 which is 800$ less than Razer. Just ridiculously overpriced.
Similarly spec’ed is the operative phrase. Vendor A similarly spec’ed to vendor B generally has far less variance in performance than often found in pricing.
Razer makes the cleanest looking PC laptops by far, but ya the prices are bonkers. They could gain a much bigger chunk of the marketshare if they would ditch excessive RGB bs and at least try to compete with Asus/Lenovo on price. Also I'd like to see mid range laptop CPUs like 7845HX paired with a 4090, it would perform just as well as a high end Intel/AMD laptop CPU and have much better battery life.
The CPU accounts for a relatively small amount of power budget when compared to a 4090 so I don't believe battery life improvements would be "much better" as you have implied.
That's because Razer is trying to be like Apple, but without Apple Silicon. Razer uses a metal enclosure, it's thinner like Macs which requires more expensive parts and more engineering. Whenever PC makers try to make something like the Macbook, it results in prices at or more expensive than Macs because they can't mass manufacture like Apple can.
I imagine they didn't have any systems like it to test it against, not being known as a laptop reviewer and not having the budget to just buy them (which is pretty sad, come on Future Plc).
Don't mean to add to the criticism already present, but I can't help but why aren't you guys using a proper professional camera to take the pictures? The images are smartphone-low quality and that lowers the quality of the review.
You would be surprised by how much of our photography has been with smartphones - and has been for years. We don't have a dedicated photography department, so what we use and when is very situational (especially since smartphone cameras can produce something useful without requiring a bunch of pre and post tweaking).
In this case, Gavin was in the middle of a move while putting together this article, so we had to work with what was on-hand.
I'd personally prefer no fans. After using mostly ultra low budget stuff since Bay Trail came out, I find fan noise of any sort rather annoying. I just wish those low end laptops had dual channel RAM, but generally they only have 1 soldered down DIMM.
The Supermicro footer (banner ad) for Xeon Platinum Scalable at the bottom of the review page, if paid to Anandtech directly by Intel, and in specific instance subsidized (indirect payment) by Intel through Supermicro offsetting Supermicro Intel inventory administrative (sales out) cost reporting to Intel, or said 'cooperative ad subsidy' does violate FTC Docket 9341 consent order at Part IV(A)(1)(7) "conditioning any Benefit to a Customer or End User on that person's agreement to use or purchase Relevant Products".
The fix is to cut in an equivalent AMD Epyc logo weighed against the Intel Logo that would render the infraction moot. There was a similar infraction at HUB recently where in Australia exclusive dealing laws apply that are not associated Docket 9341 or EUCC 37.990 within Australian national sovereignty and that Skytech ad was pulled apparently the fix adding an equal weight AMD Inside Logo was somehow unacceptable.
Explain to Don Clegg the ad needs to be modified presenting Supermicro as other than an Intel exclusive dealer.
I will also note HP was caught up in the reemergence of Intel Inside associated Intel gamer's promotion two years back and HP's response was to cease all processor branded advertising reinforcing the fact that HP personal computers are HP and in this case Omen gaming desktops are HP desktops and not Intel HP Omen desktops. Subsequently you can see how HP's remedy reinforced who is the brand owner / producer in addition to correcting the Part IV (A)(1)(7) violation of the consent agreement. mb
Review is interesting. I agree with some of the comments here there seems to a sparse comparison to other gaming laptops, even if the previous generations would be kind of nice. For example, I own the 2021 model with the 5900HX & 3080 combo, so knowing how this compares would nice comparison.
If I had to offer an opinion... I don't know anyone that really cares about productivity (Office) benchmarks nor SSD speeds. Most, if not all, major brand SSDs are basically the same bread and butter these days. Let's be real, nobody shopping for a laptop to do Excel's going to check benchmarks for it. They would care more about screen readability (do I need to clean it a lot or can I neglect it a little still see what I'm doing), how the keyboard and trackpad feels (is the spacing good or does the trackpad work well), is the webcam any good in different lightning for video calls. Is the login process easy like a fingerprint reader or IR camera. Does Windows Hello properly? On my 2021 model all these answers are they are excellent except the trackpad is hard to use when you need click and drag stuff; I use mine for work; a professional review should address these for productivity instead of nonsensical productivity benchmarks.
Thanks for sharing this post. It's fascinating to see how Razer has continuously evolved its Blade series over the years, offering various configurations to cater to different user preferences. The inclusion of AMD's Ryzen 9 7940HS processor with its powerful Zen 4 cores and integrated RDNA 3 GPU sounds promising for performance. Additionally, the option for either the GeForce RTX 4060 or RTX 4070 Laptop GPU adds flexibility to the lineup.
It's impressive how AMD's Ryzen processors have reshaped the premium gaming laptop market, bringing healthy competition and more choices for consumers. This competition has undoubtedly driven both AMD and Intel to push the boundaries in terms of efficiency, performance, and affordability. As a potential buyer, it's essential to carefully consider the different configurations available and find the one that best suits individual needs and budget.
Ultimately, the Razer Blade 14 (2023) seems like a compelling option for gamers and power users alike, especially with its combination of Ryzen processing power and NVIDIA's latest mobile GPU technology. When making a decision, it's always a good idea to research and compare benchmarks to ensure it meets specific performance requirements. Happy gaming!
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yannigr2 - Tuesday, June 20, 2023 - link
What the hell is this?Sorry for this way of starting, but what the hell is this? A laptop review where we see comparisons, not with other laptops but desktop CPUs and what the hell is this battery test? I am no expert in laptops but when from 500nits to 250nits difference, we only get 5 extra minutes, probably the review is withhold until Razer replies. When Razer says 9 hours and the result is no more than 2 and a half hours, withholding the review until Razer replies also makes more sense than publishing the review immediately and finding out latter. This is Anandtech. Quality is more important than speed or quantity. At least that's how we see Anandtech people who started reading it more than 20 years ago.
meacupla - Tuesday, June 20, 2023 - link
If I had to guess, the GPU is permanently on or the benchmark is flawed and not using hardware decode from the CPU.I've seen better battery life results from a 10500H with a 54Whr battery while playing back youtube over wifi.
Gavin Bonshor - Tuesday, June 20, 2023 - link
Yeah I'm currently looking into the battery life testing. It's currently on test as we speak. Apologies for thatyannigr2 - Wednesday, June 21, 2023 - link
Had a quick look at other sites after posting here. They report from 6+ hours to over 8+ hours of battery time, relative to how they test battery time. When something looks wrong, have a quick check on other sites, contact the company first then post a review.Anyway, ....
brandonicus - Tuesday, June 20, 2023 - link
That's a good initial question.I've been shopping around for laptops lately, and this is the most unhelpful review I have seen. They included almost no comparisons, and as you mentioned the comparisons they did include are extremely poor choices.
I haven't been on Anandtech in forever and it was definitely weird seeing a review like this... if you don't have all the data just don't put out the review.
ballsystemlord - Tuesday, June 20, 2023 - link
I have to go along with you guys, having nothing to compare to makes this review rather worthless.Hopefully, they'll benchmark more laptops and we'll get some decent comparisons.
temps - Thursday, June 22, 2023 - link
I wouldn't hold my breath for more reviews. They basically don't do anything anymore ... they have cut down so massively on hardware reviews they no longer have a good basis of comparison for anything because they have no data points built up. The Bench is a dated wasteland. They haven't done GPU reviews in almost 4 years. The only thing you can reliably depend on them to cover is new CPU releases.. anything else? Forget itHulk - Tuesday, June 20, 2023 - link
I agree except that I do like having one desktop processor in the benchmarks as I'm more familiar with those results so it's nice to have a reference point.yannigr2 - Wednesday, June 21, 2023 - link
One desktop CPU, yes I agree with you. But with half a dozen laptops next to that CPU.PeachNCream - Tuesday, June 20, 2023 - link
It's a start perhaps. This is the first time I've seen AT benchmark something other than a PSU or removable drive in ages (an exaggeration, but you get the point) so they don't exactly have a large dataset to draw from. I'd say encouragement is a better idea than criticism since maybe, just maybe, Anandtech will get back to doing more than sharing press releases from faceless companies we don't care about.olde94 - Wednesday, June 21, 2023 - link
i'd also add. All those graphs with one bar is just laughable. It would make more sense to combine all in to one graph and have the name of the bar, be what the name of the graph is now, given that it doesn't compare to anything,,,,Anandtech has certainly fallen a lot since back in the old days before about 2015.
Ryan Smith - Wednesday, June 21, 2023 - link
Unfortunately, if we want to test the Phoenix APU any time in the near future, the Blade 14 was a take it or leave it proposition. While I expect it will eventually come to the desktop in some fashion, for now it's a laptop only part. Which means the only way we can review it right now is as part of the laptop.To state the obvious, we don't regularly do laptop reviews these days (budget cuts). So we don't have a large collection of comparison systems to run it against. The best we could do (and what we were really interested in anyhow) is how it compares to AMD's Raphael CPU, so that is what we opted to focus our limited testing time on.
Given infinite time and resources, of course I'd prefer to do much more. But with only a few days to test, we did what we could while still meeting the embargo. The alternative would be not reviewing Phoenix at all, and that's simply not a viable option, especially given how important it is to AMD's product stack over the next few years.
cohed - Tuesday, June 20, 2023 - link
Dave2D made a comparison video between the Razer Blade 14 and Asus Rog Zephyrus G14. The Asus with RTX 4060, similarly specced to the Razer, costs $1600 which is 800$ less than Razer. Just ridiculously overpriced.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEEc65x4SMs
WestPole - Tuesday, June 20, 2023 - link
Similarly spec’ed is the operative phrase. Vendor A similarly spec’ed to vendor B generally has far less variance in performance than often found in pricing.Duwelon - Tuesday, June 20, 2023 - link
Razer makes the cleanest looking PC laptops by far, but ya the prices are bonkers. They could gain a much bigger chunk of the marketshare if they would ditch excessive RGB bs and at least try to compete with Asus/Lenovo on price. Also I'd like to see mid range laptop CPUs like 7845HX paired with a 4090, it would perform just as well as a high end Intel/AMD laptop CPU and have much better battery life.PeachNCream - Thursday, June 22, 2023 - link
The CPU accounts for a relatively small amount of power budget when compared to a 4090 so I don't believe battery life improvements would be "much better" as you have implied.lemurbutton - Wednesday, June 21, 2023 - link
That's because Razer is trying to be like Apple, but without Apple Silicon. Razer uses a metal enclosure, it's thinner like Macs which requires more expensive parts and more engineering. Whenever PC makers try to make something like the Macbook, it results in prices at or more expensive than Macs because they can't mass manufacture like Apple can.anshu87 - Tuesday, June 20, 2023 - link
Battery life in tests by Tom's and Hothardware ranged from 7.5-8.5 hours.StevoLincolnite - Wednesday, June 21, 2023 - link
Comparing notebook against desktops is fine.But to omit any like-for-like testing? Wow;.
GreenReaper - Wednesday, June 21, 2023 - link
I imagine they didn't have any systems like it to test it against, not being known as a laptop reviewer and not having the budget to just buy them (which is pretty sad, come on Future Plc).techmar - Wednesday, June 21, 2023 - link
310.7 x 228 x 117.99 mm - really? Is that a 2023 notebook in a shape of cube?peevee - Wednesday, August 23, 2023 - link
It's the box it came in.And 17.99 mm, really? It is 18 mm! Stop supporting their marketing BS. Everything above .4 should be rounded up too.
rUmX - Wednesday, June 21, 2023 - link
Don't mean to add to the criticism already present, but I can't help but why aren't you guys using a proper professional camera to take the pictures? The images are smartphone-low quality and that lowers the quality of the review.Ryan Smith - Thursday, June 22, 2023 - link
You would be surprised by how much of our photography has been with smartphones - and has been for years. We don't have a dedicated photography department, so what we use and when is very situational (especially since smartphone cameras can produce something useful without requiring a bunch of pre and post tweaking).In this case, Gavin was in the middle of a move while putting together this article, so we had to work with what was on-hand.
meacupla - Friday, June 23, 2023 - link
Good looking pictures can be taken with a decent phone camera. It just requires good lighting equipment.timecop1818 - Wednesday, June 21, 2023 - link
If only they'd put a real processor in this and not AMD junk lolbpherbst - Wednesday, June 21, 2023 - link
why can't we just get a laptop with dual fan good cooling with no dgpuPeachNCream - Thursday, June 22, 2023 - link
I'd personally prefer no fans. After using mostly ultra low budget stuff since Bay Trail came out, I find fan noise of any sort rather annoying. I just wish those low end laptops had dual channel RAM, but generally they only have 1 soldered down DIMM.Bruzzone - Friday, June 23, 2023 - link
Ryan and Gavin,The Supermicro footer (banner ad) for Xeon Platinum Scalable at the bottom of the review page, if paid to Anandtech directly by Intel, and in specific instance subsidized (indirect payment) by Intel through Supermicro offsetting Supermicro Intel inventory administrative (sales out) cost reporting to Intel, or said 'cooperative ad subsidy' does violate FTC Docket 9341 consent order at Part IV(A)(1)(7) "conditioning any Benefit to a Customer or End User on that person's agreement to use or purchase Relevant Products".
The fix is to cut in an equivalent AMD Epyc logo weighed against the Intel Logo that would render the infraction moot. There was a similar infraction at HUB recently where in Australia exclusive dealing laws apply that are not associated Docket 9341 or EUCC 37.990 within Australian national sovereignty and that Skytech ad was pulled apparently the fix adding an equal weight AMD Inside Logo was somehow unacceptable.
Explain to Don Clegg the ad needs to be modified presenting Supermicro as other than an Intel exclusive dealer.
Mike Bruzzone
FTC Docket 9341 auditor monitor
Mike Bruzzone
Bruzzone - Friday, June 23, 2023 - link
Ryan and Gavin,I will also note HP was caught up in the reemergence of Intel Inside associated Intel gamer's promotion two years back and HP's response was to cease all processor branded advertising reinforcing the fact that HP personal computers are HP and in this case Omen gaming desktops are HP desktops and not Intel HP Omen desktops. Subsequently you can see how HP's remedy reinforced who is the brand owner / producer in addition to correcting the Part IV (A)(1)(7) violation of the consent agreement. mb
alphaod - Saturday, June 24, 2023 - link
Review is interesting. I agree with some of the comments here there seems to a sparse comparison to other gaming laptops, even if the previous generations would be kind of nice. For example, I own the 2021 model with the 5900HX & 3080 combo, so knowing how this compares would nice comparison.If I had to offer an opinion... I don't know anyone that really cares about productivity (Office) benchmarks nor SSD speeds. Most, if not all, major brand SSDs are basically the same bread and butter these days. Let's be real, nobody shopping for a laptop to do Excel's going to check benchmarks for it. They would care more about screen readability (do I need to clean it a lot or can I neglect it a little still see what I'm doing), how the keyboard and trackpad feels (is the spacing good or does the trackpad work well), is the webcam any good in different lightning for video calls. Is the login process easy like a fingerprint reader or IR camera. Does Windows Hello properly? On my 2021 model all these answers are they are excellent except the trackpad is hard to use when you need click and drag stuff; I use mine for work; a professional review should address these for productivity instead of nonsensical productivity benchmarks.
obed51815 - Thursday, July 20, 2023 - link
Thanks for sharing this post. It's fascinating to see how Razer has continuously evolved its Blade series over the years, offering various configurations to cater to different user preferences. The inclusion of AMD's Ryzen 9 7940HS processor with its powerful Zen 4 cores and integrated RDNA 3 GPU sounds promising for performance. Additionally, the option for either the GeForce RTX 4060 or RTX 4070 Laptop GPU adds flexibility to the lineup.It's impressive how AMD's Ryzen processors have reshaped the premium gaming laptop market, bringing healthy competition and more choices for consumers. This competition has undoubtedly driven both AMD and Intel to push the boundaries in terms of efficiency, performance, and affordability. As a potential buyer, it's essential to carefully consider the different configurations available and find the one that best suits individual needs and budget.
Ultimately, the Razer Blade 14 (2023) seems like a compelling option for gamers and power users alike, especially with its combination of Ryzen processing power and NVIDIA's latest mobile GPU technology. When making a decision, it's always a good idea to research and compare benchmarks to ensure it meets specific performance requirements. Happy gaming!