Razer Blade Pro 17 (Full Review)

The Razer Blade Pro 17 is still the laptop to buy if you’re looking for a dead-serious, minimalist gaming computer. Its aluminum-clad style resembles Microsoft’s Surface Laptop 4 more than a gaming laptop would. The Blade line is unmatched by the competition when it comes to building quality, port variety, and having a fantastic keyboard and trackpad combo.

Razer offers a selection of Blade gaming laptops in different sizes and pricing ranges. But the 2022 Blade 17 brings the heat without getting that much heat for those who desire the most enormous, most potent Blade in the Razer knife block.

From the appearance, the Blade 17 (formerly known as the Blade Pro 17) resembles earlier models, but Razer’s upgrades to its cooling system and fans keep it running more relaxed and quieter than before. This is true even if it now has even more full specifications. That includes improved RTX graphics, faster DDR5 RAM, and a faster Intel 12th Gen processor for 2022.

Razer Blade Pro 17

The Blade 17’s black metal chassis feels as unified and premium as it appears. Compare these images to those from the 2019 Razer Blade review and 2020 review to see how little Razer has altered its design over the years.

Apart from the company’s three-headed snake logo on the lid of the display and the RGB backlit keys, there are scarcely any bright colors or edgy engravings on the case. Otherwise, this laptop is in a dark mode in solid form.

The new fingerprint-resistant covering performs as promised; as I remarked in my review of the thinner-than-ever 2021 Blade 15 Advanced the bar was low. In contrast to the past, where Blades frequently appeared as though I had directly rubbed my face against them after routine use, it is now simpler to maintain a presentable-looking laptop.

After a day of use, the Blade 17 still accumulates some smudges and fingerprints. That right there is a grease multiplier that will transform your Blade’s matte finish into a glossy one if you are the kind to take breaks and run your fingers through your hair or over your face.

Regarding the 17.3-inch display, Razer offers a range of panels with various resolutions and refresh rates, allowing you to choose the ideal screen specification for your gaming or creative demands.

The 4K / 144Hz screen option may attract the attention of some video and photo editors, but the QHD / 240Hz G-Sync panel on our review model is the ideal setting for gamers. Its native resolution is supported by a more comprehensive selection of games than 4K is, and it provides a notable increase in detail over FHD at no extra expense (it costs the same as the FHD / 360Hz display option, which I would only recommend to the most competitive players).

Design

There hasn’t been a significant update to the Razer Blade design in many years. Instead, the recipe receives a few minor updates each year to keep it current with fashion. But if you contrast it to a Razer Blade 17 from a few years ago, you probably won’t see much difference.

Because the Razer Blade was already far ahead of other designs, it has maintained its beauty, unlike many other premium gaming laptop makers. Numerous other gaming laptops, such as the HP Omen 16 or ROG Zephyrus G15, have adopted similar stylings thanks to the all-black, minimalist design.

However, the Razer aesthetic still has a very expensive feel to it. There isn’t a single powerful laptop that can compete with a single piece of machined metal. Although other brands have caught up, The Blade has always aimed to be the MacBook of the gaming industry.

Even with its larger size, the Blade 17’s aspect ratio of 16:9 is not inherently problematic for a conventional laptop. The bulky bottom bezel is the sole drawback in this situation. Again, it’s less severe than on the smaller devices, but I wouldn’t be shocked if Razer switched to 16:10 like the Lenovo Legion 5 Pro in the future.

The redesigned speaker grill on the keyboard deck is the only noticeable modification to the Razer Blade 17. The power button has been migrated to the top right corner of the keyboard, and they are now more subdued.

It’s a modification that also affects the new 15-inch model, but I view it favorably. There is no getting around the Razer Blade 17’s size, though; if you’re thinking about buying one, you presumably already know that. It is pretty heavy, weighing 6.1 pounds.

In addition to raising it off the table, the substantial rubber feet on the bottom add to the piece’s already critical 0.78-inch thickness. Last year, the introduction of the larger MacBook Pro removed the pressure to create the smallest laptop possible.

Which goes against much of what the Razer Blade brand has always stood for. And sure, the Razer Blade 17 still attracts fingerprints despite having some indiscernible anti-fingerprint coating. Although less so than in past generations, cleaning is nevertheless a hassle.

Touchpad And Keyboard

The keyboard on the Razer Blade 17 is excellent. The switches have been made more responsive and gratifying, significantly improved over earlier models. Of course, Razer’s RGB gaming experience is among the best, featuring per-key illumination with extensive color and brightness customization. The function key even illuminates the function row, much like in earlier models. This keyboard is fantastic.

I feel exactly the opposite way with the touchpad. It looks beautiful and is a perfect size. However, this palm rejection is terrible. There are several accidental clicks and strange cursor cramps when I use this beautiful laptop. It makes me angry.

When used, the touchpad tracks well and features a glass surface that is easy for your fingertips to move across. It takes too much pressure to register a press with the click mechanism because it is louder and heavier than I desire. It is an excellent illustration of why Razer should switch to a haptic feedback trackpad like Apple, Lenovo, Microsoft, and Dell. This would make it possible to adjust how forceful the feedback is.

Razer is in front of many others since gaming laptops frequently overlook the quality of their touchpads. However, given the pricing Razer charges and the company’s high standards, this issue must be resolved.

Security And Cameras

The webcam in the Razer Blade 17 has a 1080p resolution, an upgrade from the 720p module used in the prior model. Razer accomplished this without enlarging the top bezel or thickening the lid, which is a common justification offered by laptop makers. It’s good to have more resolution, and it’s an improvement over earlier models.

That doesn’t necessarily mean this is an “excellent” camera. They undoubtedly incorporated a suitable sensor. However, picture processing is subpar. It doesn’t do a great job accentuating skin tones and faces, and images frequently appear darker and grainier than they should. IR cameras for Windows Hello facial recognition are typically absent from DJ laptops, but the Razer Blade 17 does have them.

Ports

Numerous ports are present on the sides of the chassis of the Razer Blade 17. They consist of a full-sized SD card slot, a USB-A 3.2, a Thunderbolt 4, and HDMI 2.1. The L-shaped power adapter, a 2.5GbE Ethernet jack, two more USB-A ports, a USB-C Thunderbolt 4 port, and a headphone jack are all on the left.

Although it can charge, the USB-C port has a 54-watt maximum power rating. As of the right moment, only this Razer Blade model has an Ethernet port for wired connectivity. That’s a good selling point, and the SD card slot is great for anyone who wants to upload photographs straight from their camera.

Display And Speakers

The 17.3-inch screen on the Razer Blade 17 features a crisp 2560 x 1440 resolution. It has a matte finish to reduce reflections and glares, like most gaming laptops. While beneficial for video games, the flat layer lessens the perceived clarity and contrast of the visuals. Even at 100% brightness, the 890-1 contrast ratio isn’t the best. Because of this, it is less suitable for Razer Blade users who wish to conduct creative work.

Fortunately, the screen’s lack of brightness won’t disturb you too much. It has a maximum brightness of 313 nits, matching other Razer Blade laptops, but is less bright than comparable gaming laptops like the HP Victus 16 and Legion 5 Pro. However, it is bright enough for most settings at over 300 nits.

The Razer Blade 17 continues the trend of having exceptional color saturation and accuracy, just like the 14-inch model. With 100% sRGB, 90% Adobe RGB, and a Delta-E of 0.84, this gaming laptop screen is the best available outside of pricey OLED 4K models. Razer did a fantastic job with the tuning.

As quick as you’ll find on screens this sharp, the Razer Blade 17 also offers a 240Hz refresh rate. You may also choose between a 1080p 360Hz panel and a 4K 144Hz screen, but I believe most people should select this QHD 240Hz model because it offers a good balance between the two.

The speakers, meanwhile, continue to be unremarkable. You might be persuaded that you are receiving better music by the more svelte, laser-cut speaker grille and the THX label on the palm rests.

Sadly, these speakers still leave much to be desired, and the spatial audio capability becomes a bit gimmicky. Even though Razer claims to have added four subwoofers this time to improve the bass, it is still noticeably weak when playing video games and listening to music.

Editors Rating

3.9 Out Of 5 Stars

Product Testing

With our video export test in Adobe Premiere Pro, we check how long it takes to export a 5-minute, 33-second 4K file, Razer’s Blade 17 kept up its winning streak. The few 12th Gen Alder Lake-equipped laptops we evaluated share a common trait: they quickly export video. It took this one-two minute, and 29 seconds, to finish the export.

The speedier Core i9-12900HK processor in MSI’s GE76 Raider results in a faster export that completes in only one minute, and 56 seconds. However, even the Core i7-12700H in the 14-inch X14 from Alienware is quick, with an export time of 3 minutes, and 1 second.

If you’re creative, you might desire the fastest CPU on the market, but knowing that we’ve succeeded with various options so far might give you peace of mind. The Puget Bench benchmark for Premiere Pro on the Blade 17 fared nearly as well (an 842 rating) as it did on the thicker, more potent Alienware X17 R1 from 2021. (872). 

Product Comparison

For its 17-inch screen, Razer offers a wide variety of specification options. There are three different configuration options: Full HD, QHD, and 4K. The refresh rate ranges from 144Hz to 360Hz. Unfortunately, there won’t be an OLED option in 2022, but gaming laptops don’t exactly have a lot of OLED displays.

I was impressed by the quality when playing games on the Razer Blade 17. Our colorimeter measured on-screen colors at an above-average brightness and a good 1140:1 contrast, which gives them a vibrant, lifelike appearance.

In terms of performance, the Razer 15 is equipped with the newest 12th-generation Intel H-series and Nvidia RTX 30-series GPUs. The 2022 Blade 15 includes an i7-12800H, 16GB of RAM, and an RTX 3060 Ti, but the drawback is that these parts are expensive.

Battery life is the Blade 15’s main flaw (apart from cost). It only lasted 5 hours, and 42 minutes on our local video rundown test. That’s comparable to what we learned with the Asus Flow Z13 (5:38), a mini PC gaming tablet if you recall.

Final Verdict

The Razer Blade Pro 17  has a lot of positive aspects, but it is still a specialized item in the lineup. The Razer lineup laptop performs the best in terms of fan noise and surface temperature. However, the computer is massive, the battery life is subpar, and the touchpad needs to be corrected.