Razer Blade Pro 17

The Blade is back to blow you away

- CHRISTIAN GUYTON

WE SHOULD STOP reviewing Blade laptops, because we never want to give them back. The Blade Pro 17 is no exception; just a few days with this laptop and we’re already in love. We’ve got the top-spec model of the Pro 17, which comes with a gorgeous 4K touchscreen at 120Hz, ideal both for gaming and creative endeavors.

This particular Blade retails at an eyewatering $3,799.99, but you definitely get a lot of bang for your buck. The processor is a shiny new 10th-gen Intel Core i7 chip, the 10875H—a speedy eight-core mobile CPU with 16 threads thanks to Intel’s Hyper-Threading technology. Backing that up is 16GB of SODIMM memory and an Nvidia RTX 2080 Super with 8GB of video memory, and a Max-Q design that makes it smaller and less power-hungry.

Yes, the Max-Q models of the GeForce Super cards are here, and Razer was quick to take advantage. Although beefy gaming laptops are capable of running the regular 2080 Super at its recommended 115W TDP (or even higher), the TDP for the 2080 Max-Q is a mere 90W. The processor TDP is also just 40W, meaning that this system squeezes a lot of performance out of very little power. The Pro 17 also doesn’t run as hot or loud as many previous Blade models, but this could be due to the larger chassis and vapor chamber cooling solution.