ZDNET’s key takeaways
- The Razer Blade 14 (2025) is on sale now beginning at $2,000.
- It is a beautiful laptop computer that redefines portability for gaming machines.
- Nevertheless, the ultraportable kind issue leads to trade-offs in terms of efficiency and upgradability.
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The Blade 16 has been Razer’s flagship gaming laptop computer for years, however the thinner, sleeker design on 2025’s Blade 14 (the thinnest Blade mannequin but) offers nothing wanting a surprising first impression.
The brand new mannequin is 11% thinner and 11% lighter than its predecessor, weighing simply 3.5 kilos and 0.6 inches thick, with a slick, matte black end that appears and feels premium. The shape challenges the model’s personal aesthetic with a tool that appears extra like a Dell XPS 14 or MacBook Pro than a gaming laptop computer.
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The bodily construct is definitely one among this laptop computer’s finest options. Regardless of its skinny and lightweight body, it feels expressly sturdy, with minimal flexing or display screen wobble. I additionally love the big rubber posts on the underside of the gadget that hold it from sliding round and permit for extra airflow.
By highlighting this new and improved kind issue, Razer is taking goal at competing 14-inch gaming laptops, notably the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14, which reigns supreme as among the finest 14-inch gaming laptops on the market (one of our favorites, as nicely).
There are a handful of variations between these two laptops, nevertheless, with the Blade 14 buying and selling somewhat little bit of that energy for its svelte kind issue, opening up a use case as a tool that is equally succesful on the Steam dashboard as it’s within the workplace.
The 3K, 120Hz OLED show is beautiful, going proper as much as the very edge with ultrathin bezels mere millimeters thick. Equally, the trackpad is giant (however not ridiculously so), going as far to the perimeters because it probably can, exuding a exact, expertly crafted bodily aesthetic.
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There are trade-offs to this design, nevertheless. The thinner kind means much less sturdy cooling and limits {hardware}, which The Blade 14 opts for in trade for the additional portability. You’ve got bought an AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 processor paired with Nvidia’s new Blackwell structure within the GeForce RTX 50 sequence, as much as the 5070, and as much as 32GB of soldered RAM.
Certain, it isn’t the highly effective loadout you will get on a gaming laptop computer, however that is not actually the purpose right here. Razer scaled issues again with the Blade 14 for a succesful machine that errs on the aspect of battery effectivity, somewhat than making an attempt to strongarm efficiency with heavy {hardware}.
For instance, the Blade 14 helps 100W of whole graphics energy, going as much as 115W with Dynamic Enhance on, so technically this laptop computer has greater than sufficient energy to assist a higher-end GPU just like the RTX 5080. Nevertheless, Razer seemingly opted for the 5070 to reign in warmth and energy consumption.
To match, the 14-inch Asus Zephyrus G14 has the 5080, and that factor will get sizzling. Even with the followers cranking (which aren’t quiet), the fact of gaming on a 14-inch means accounting for these elements, of which the Blade 14 mitigates with this {hardware}.
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Gaming efficiency whereas plugged in is implausible, with easy, lag-free visuals in “Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered”, “Diablo IV”, and “Cyberpunk 2077”. The latter, at 3K decision, pushes issues to the highest finish, with a mean proper round 40 FPS and a few mild visible stuttering, however nothing that feels problematic. Swapping to a extra manageable 1200p decision drastically improved efficiency.
By way of benchmarking, the Blade 14 holds its personal in opposition to two highly effective 16-inch gaming laptops we have examined this 12 months, the MSI Stealth 16 AI, and the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i, however reveals a slight dip in uncooked energy to the {hardware} in these (a lot bigger) methods.
The Blade 14 has good I/O protection, as nicely. You’ve got bought two USB4 Sort-C ports with Show Port 2.1 and energy supply assist on both aspect, two USB-A ports on both aspect, an HDMI port (on the best aspect), and a MicroSD card reader.
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On the left aspect, you even have the proprietary charging port for the 200W energy brick. That is essentially the most environment friendly type of energy supply, however it is going to cost by way of USB-C so long as you have got the suitable wattage. Simply do not anticipate plugged-in efficiency should you’re gaming on this with a 65W charger.
The RGB lighting results on the keyboard do not disappoint, both. Razer does an incredible job at maximizing the depth and punch of every particular person key, with minimal mild leakage from the corners of the keys for a dramatic impact.
For those who like per-key customization, the keyboard right here has all the consequences you may ask for within the accompanying Razer Chroma app. If you wish to gown issues down with a extra refined, office-ready aesthetic, you are able to do that simply as simply.
The keyboard itself feels good, with silent activation except you are actually hammering away. Nevertheless, I can see some players not being utterly happy with the journey distance, as though it feels premium, it errs extra towards a MacBook or enterprise laptop computer than an specific gaming board. Conversely, the audio system are alright. They’re higher than common, however somewhat missing in bass or richness.
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The Razer Synapse app acts because the gadget’s dashboard for controlling the whole lot from efficiency modes to overclocking to at-a-glance metrics like working temps and CPU utilization. Nevertheless, the app itself feels somewhat unfinished, and it turned unresponsive just a few instances throughout my testing. It is helpful sufficient to handle settings, nevertheless.
Simply word that if you’re on battery, the laptop computer forces you into Balanced mode — with no possibility to modify out of it. Clearly, that is the popular setting for if you’re untethered from the outlet, however eliminating the choice for brief sprints of efficiency on battery energy is not my favourite factor.
Hopping into Balanced mode goes a great distance towards maximizing battery life, nevertheless. Turning the refresh price all the way down to 60Hz and decreasing brightness to half resulted in somewhat over 9 hours of runtime throughout our battery testing — superb for a gaming laptop computer.
For sustained gaming on battery, you may anticipate two to 3 hours, which is kind of customary, though much less demanding video games will undoubtedly push that previous that to 4 to 5. The takeaway right here is that the Blade 14 can keep alive in low-demand classes or whereas idle for much longer than most gaming laptops, which are typically quite a bit thirstier.
ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation
The Razer Blade 14 is a gaming laptop computer, nevertheless it’s not restricted to that use case. You’ll be able to take it to the workplace or pack it in a journey bag simply as simply as you will get these headshots within the newest top-tier gaming titles on Steam.
It is a beautiful laptop computer, and it resonates with me personally as a “mature” gamer whose all-day gaming classes are (principally) a factor of the previous, however nonetheless enjoys an everyday portfolio of video games to log into.
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I would suggest this laptop computer to anybody on the lookout for a succesful gaming laptop computer, however who isn’t concerned about a large 16- or 18-inch behemoth. In that sense, the Blade 14 speaks to the patron who’s comfy with the trade-offs mentioned and appreciates the light-weight kind issue.
The Blade 14 is available in a number of totally different configurations, with 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB of soldered RAM and both the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 or 5070 GPU. Probably the most high-end loadout retails commonly for $2,999, which is not precisely low cost and requires dedication to its area of interest use case. Nevertheless, proper now, it is on sale for $2,599 — a worth that is much more palatable.
