Razer Blade 16 Review (2023)

Razer are the kings of consistency when it comes to setting the benchmark when it comes to the blade lineup. Over the years Razer have set the benchmark of what is the peak of gaming laptop performance, and taken what the Blade 15 started and elevates and refines it in the Blade 16.

Build Quality

As a desktop replacement the Razer Blade 16 is an optimal choice for consumers that require a practical chassis with high-end performance. The build quality emphasises this as the chassis is made of CNC milled aluminium along with the colour options that the Blade 16 provides.

IO

As someone who uses hardware predominantly for content creation the IO that is equipped on the Razer Blade 16 ensures its fully equipped. On the left side, There are two USB-A ports with 3.2 Gen 2 Speeds, one USB-C port with 3.2 Gen 2 speeds, one 3.5mm audio port and the reversible power port. On the right side is another USB-A port with 3.2 Gen 2 speeds, a Thunderbolt 4 port in the shape of USB-C, my absolute favourite being a full size HDMI 2.1 port with the full 48 gbps bandwidth for 4K 120Hz and 8K 60Hz support, with Display Stream Compression (DSC), you even get access to 4K 240Hz. The most important port for me as a content creator has got to be the full size SD card slot which runs at UHS-II speeds. 

For wireless connectivity, there is Wi-Fi-6E and the latest Bluetooth 5.3. I’ll touch more on power, battery and cooling later, but for quick reference as to why Razer are able to make the profile and form factor of the Blade 16 very compact, it’s down to the internals with their full vapor chamber cooling system, custom fans and materials.

Display

With the sad lack of touch support an OLED panel comes with a 4K+ resolution panel on a laptop, but the Blade 16 is working something special here not seen on any display. It’s a mini-LED backlight LCD/IPS Panel, with a 3840x2400 resolution, thanks to the use of a 16:10 aspect ratio, which is so much better for vertical viewing and productivity, and a 120Hz high refresh. That alone would be enough for a top tier experience, but this display has a secret trick up its sleeve with a second native resolution and refresh at 1920x1200 and a super 240Hz high refresh rate all with Nvidia G-Sync VRR support. Furthermore, since the  display has two native resolutions and refresh rates which means this SKU of the Blade 16 is the world’s first dual mode mini LED display.

If you're more into content creation and value a sharp, colour accurate and bright panel with a touch of the smoothness that comes with 120Hz then this is all you(or in this case all me). But if you’re someone that into esports games and wanted to maximise on seeing all the fps on tap at 1080p 240Hz then you can have that too. Backed with the thin 4.66mm bezels, the high screen to body ratio and the improved front webcam with Windows Hello face unlock.

Trackpad

I usually struggle with track pads, speakers and especially getting used to the keyboard experience on Windows laptops, but here, this was not the case with the Blade 16 which was a pleasant surprise, backed with use of Windows precision drivers and a smooth glass surface, this track pad out of the box is a work of art and yes when gaming you’re definitely going to use a mouse but for content creation and normal use.