Best Razer laptops in 2023

The best Razer laptops offer powerful performance, but in a slim package that’s easy to take on the go. Designed for gamers and creators, Razer makes high-quality, premium machines that are arguably more grown-up than some brands. Although its laptops are relatively expensive, they’re a sound investment if you want a machine that’s built to last.

Razer’s thin and light laptops are some of the best gaming laptops available, bristling with high-end components ranging from the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060, up to the beastly Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 graphics cards in the Razer Blade 18.

With 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18-inch models in the lineup, you get real choice over the size and spend. We’ve tried and tested the best Razer laptops for gaming with options for everyone, be it for esports aficionados, ray-tracing fanatics, or those needing the most portable solution. The Razer Blade 16 (2023) is the best laptop for most – not too big or too small and in the middle for pricing, but you can’t beat the larger laptops as desktop replacements.

The best Razer laptops for gaming are:

1. Razer Blade 16 4080 – best choice for most
2. Razer Blade 18 – best desktop replacement
3. Razer Blade 15 FHD 360Hz – top esports Razer laptop
4. Razer Blade 16 4070 – best midrange Razer laptop
5. Razer Blade 17 – best 17-inch machine
6. Razer Blade 14 – best compact Razer laptop
7. Razer Blade 15 Base – best budget Razer laptop

1. Razer Blade 16

The best overall Razer gaming laptop.

Razer Blade 16 specs:

Pros:

• Plenty of power
• Sleek design
• 16:10 display

Cons:

• Expensive

The Razer Blade 16 laptop offers a sweet spot of pricing and size. Starting at $2,600, you can level up to an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 graphics card, 2TB SSD, and 32GB of memory. Opting for 32GB of RAM will ensure dutiful service for many years to come and what’s more – the RAM is entirely user-replaceable. There’s also an additional M.2 slot.

Razer does lock some of its features behind particular specifications, though. For example, the Mini LED dual-mode display isn’t available with an RTX 4080 GPU and requires that you opt for an RTX 4090 or 4070, with 2400p feeling mismatched on the latter.

The Blade 16 doesn’t offer the best value or the most convenient combination of specifications, but it’s difficult to be unhappy with whatever configuration you decide on. And if you think black is boring, try the Mercury or Lamborghini special editions.

Read our Razer Blade 16 (2023) review.

2. Razer Blade 18

The most powerful Razer gaming laptop.

Razer Blade 18 specs:

Pros:

• About as powerful as a laptop can be
• Huge display
• Plenty of VRAM

Cons:

• Not as portable
• Even more expensive
• No numpad

If you’re looking for a powerful desktop replacement, the Razer Blade 18 is the best that money can buy. It’s surprisingly svelte (for 18 inches), but at 6.8 lbs you’re not likely to be carrying it much further than your house.

Despite excelling in its 64GB maximum RAM and graphics, the Blade 18 lacks the Mini LED technology of competitors like the Acer Predator Helios 18. That’s not going to affect gameplay or graphics directly, as the 4090 will handle the most demanding games you can throw at it. Similarly to the Blade 16, the display has a 16:10 aspect ratio so there is absolutely no wasted space.

Despite its size, the Blade 18 curiously doesn’t have a numpad which is commonplace amongst other 17 and 18-inch laptops. If you need performance, and a lot of it – you can’t do any better than the Razer Blade 18 in a semi-portable form factor.

3. Razer Blade 15 FHD 360Hz

An epic 360Hz refresh rate for esports.

Razer Blade 15 FHD 360Hz specs:

Pros:

• Fast 360Hz panel
• Great GPU for esports
• Great value when discounted

Cons:

• Not 16:10
• 1080p

Esports titles demand that players have high refresh rates to command an edge over others. The Blade 15 FHD 360Hz has Razer’s fastest panel and is well-optimized for titles like Counter-Strike, Apex Legends, and Valorant.

There is some wasted space at the bottom of the screen, as it’s a 16:9 panel as opposed to the latest generation of 16:10, but the high refresh rate is the standout feature here.

At 1080p, you might struggle a little to parse some details in the distance but again it’s the frames that are important here. It’s worth considering though and you may be better served with a 240Hz panel that is QHD.

4. Razer Blade 16 4070

The best midrange option.

Razer Blade 16 4070 specs:

Pros:

• Better price-to-performance value
• Upgradeable RAM and storage

Cons:

• VRAM limitations
• Older models have more VRAM

If you want the taller display but don’t need the full power of the RTX 4080, the Razer Blade 16 with the RTX 4070 should serve you very well. Make no mistake, the 4070 is still a very capable card and will provide years of valuable service seeing as more and more titles are adopting technologies such as DLSS 2 and DLSS 3, the latter coming especially in clutch in CPU bound titles and the Crysis’ of the future come out.

We really cannot gush enough about how transformative 16:10 aspect ratio displays are, so we are going to again – it is truly unbelievable how much bigger a display feels when it fills in the bottom chin and lets you see more of everything, be it a sniper on the roof or extra rows of code.

The 4070 only has 8GB of VRAM available to it, which is a downside for running games that are either unoptimized. With the aforementioned DLSS and optimized settings, this laptop should see you through at least a few years of play, but it is certainly worth considering.

5. Razer Blade 17

The best 17-inch option.

Razer Blade 17 specs:

Pros:

• Still powerful
• More affordable

Cons:

• No 16:10 display
• Last gen

In the realm of reason, great deals can be had and the Razer Blade 17 is a good option for those who need extra screen real estate without entirely breaking the bank. Games and text alike will look crisp and sharp on the QHD panel with beautifully smooth motion owing to the 240Hz refresh rate.

Though not our absolute top pick for esports, the Blade 17 will shine here too as the 3070 Ti will easily max out the display with the right settings and while it may not do so in the latest demanding titles, G-Sync will save the day and shield us from any screen-tearing no matter the refresh rate.

Being larger than its siblings – the Blade 17 has an absolute plethora of useful ports on offer such as the two Thunderbolt 4 ports which provide Display Port functionality allowing for multiple displays for immersive gaming or massive productivity potential.

Being last-gen though we have to make do with some concessions such as the 16:9 screen meaning we will have a plastic chin under our display – though at 17 inches there is still plenty of space. The 3070 Ti also isn’t able to make use of DLSS 3 frame generation but DLSS 2 should keep you going for a good few years to come – especially when paired with sensible optimized settings.

6. Razer Blade 14

The best compact Razer laptop.

Razer Blade 14 specs:

Pros:

• Powerful despite its small form factor
• Great value
• Efficient iGPU

Cons:

• Last gen device

The Razer Blade 14 is a pocket rocket, equipped with up to a whopping 3080 Ti. The version we have included here will be future-proofed for many years to come, owing to the graphical performance of the card and the 16GB of VRAM – which is only seen in the 4090 elsewhere in the Nvidia mobile stack.

The AMD Ryzen 6900HX is a beat of a CPU, which can chew through almost anything you throw at it, especially multithreaded tasks which Ryzen CPUs have been known to excel at for years now. The 6900HX also has a very capable iGPU in the form of the AMD Radeon 680M which is more powerful than what the Steam Deck offers. Whilst you might not be playing Cyperbunk 2077 with Overdrive ray tracing, it’s very handy for when you want to play some lighter or older games away from the wall or just to save on the energy bill.

The 680M is more than enough to power the display when watching YouTube and doing tasks such as light photo editing too so battery life is very good for a gaming laptop.

The dreaded 16:9 aspect ratio rears its ugly head and given the smaller screen, the chin effect is more pronounced here. The latest generation of the Blade 14 does have a 16:10 display but it is much more expensive and only tops out at a 4070 which only has 8GB of VRAM.

7. Razer Blade Base 15 3060

The best on a budget.

Razer Blade Base 15 3060 specs:

Pros:

• Cheapest option
• Respectable performance

Cons:

• VRAM limitations at 1440P
• Not as future-proof

The Razer Blade Base 15 is proving to be a great value option now that they have been coming down in price in the wake of the new generation of Blades. The RTX 3060 is still a capable little card if you get your settings dialed in, and will serve you extremely well if you stick to older games or well-optimized esports titles.

The QHD 240Hz display and G-Sync ensure that games are running smoothly, while the DLSS 2 helps to eke out more performance as more demanding titles are released. CPU-wise, the i7-12800H is a reasonable inclusion at this price point. If you’re after a CPU performance champ for work and only want to play a few games in the evening then the balance between the 12800H and 3060 is ideal.

To increase the longevity of the Razer Blade Base 15 3060, you can upgrade the RAM up to 64GB to help draw out some extra performance too. One point of concern though is the 6GB of VRAM, and how viable it is at 1440P long-term. With DLSS, this is less of a problem, but soon you might feel like you are running out of performance.

How to choose the best Razer gaming laptop

The Razer laptop lineup is sensibly named, from the 14-inch Razer Blade 14 to the 18-inch Razer Blade 18. As well as display size, consider the display quality, as a high refresh rate (e.g., 144Hz or 240Hz) and resolution contribute to a better gaming experience.

It’s important to get the balance between portability and performance right, so think about where you’ll use the laptop most. On a desk? On your laptop? While traveling? If portability is most important you’ll want a smaller screen, whereas an 18-inch model will give you more real estate if you only game or edit at home.

Razer laptops typically feature NVIDIA GeForce graphics cards and start with an Intel Core i7 processor. Paying more to upgrade to an i9 will enable you to handle more demanding games and tasks.

It feels obvious to say that the price of Razer laptops varies depending on the specs and size you get. And while getting the cheapest model will cost you less upfront, we’d always recommend getting the best specs you can afford at the time to future-proof your purchase.

What’s the newest Razer laptop?

The newest Razer laptop is the Razer Blade 14 which was released on June 20, 2023. This svelte little machine can pack up to an Nvidia RTX 4070 with a Ryzen 9 7940HS, can be upgraded to have up to 64Gb of RAM, and makes use of every last bit of space with a 16:10 display despite its size.

Is Razer better than Alienware?

Neither brand is better than the other, but they do excel in different areas. Razer might be a better choice for creators, especially if you want a machine that can blend in at work or in a cafe. Alienware gaming laptops lean into the gamer aesthetic and are typically thicker and less portable, but with the added benefit of having more cooling room.

Why is Razer a good gaming laptop brand?

Razer has been making gaming peripherals since 2005 and has routinely set new industry standards for gaming laptops in a similar way that Apple has done for phones. Razer was arguably the first company to make a truly portable and slim gaming laptop. Its laptops are made with premium materials and are among the best when it comes to fit and finish. Razer also has a huge ecosystem of peripherals, making it possible to get a uniform look with a Razer gaming mouse, keyboard, headphones, and monitor.

Not found what you need? Check out our guides on the best Asus gaming laptops, and the best Dell gaming laptops.