Razer Blade 16 2025 review: A triumph of gaming laptop design

Razer needs you to fall in love with its new skinny and light-weight gaming laptop computer from the second you elevate it out of the field, with its attractive CNC-milled aluminum physique, OLED display screen, glowing Razer emblem, and ingeniously designed RGB keyboard all doing their finest to tug at your feelings and your bank card. The brand new Razer Blade 16 2025 has been lavished with consideration, with the chassis shaved down to simply 15mm at its thinnest level, and it’s full of the most recent elements too.

With a brand new Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 GPU dealing with gaming duties, the Razer Blade 16 even has multi body gen in its arsenal, and Razer has additionally swapped the CPU for a model new AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370. Comparatively, the 2024 Razer Blade 16 mannequin used Intel CPUs, with a Core i9 14900HX within the top-line designs. That’s a quick CPU, but it surely additionally runs sizzling and attracts a whole lot of energy, and the brand new CPU is a significantly better selection for a gaming machine.

In the meantime, Razer has made the good selection to equipment out this laptop computer with a 2,560 x 1,600 display screen, quite than a panel with a ridiculously excessive decision. With a stunning new chassis, and the same old prime construct high quality you count on from Razer, the Blade 16 additionally seems like top-of-the-line gaming laptop computer designs on the market. Does all of it add as much as a winner? To seek out out, I’ve been utilizing the Razer Blade 16 as my fundamental gaming machine for over every week, on my desk and on the transfer, whereas additionally utilizing it for work and operating a great deal of recreation benchmarks on it.

Specs

The brand new Razer Blade 16 2025 has a double whammy of massive specs adjustments, with a brand new AMD CPU and a brand new Nvidia GPU as properly. Let’s begin with the latter, as that’s the actually large draw relating to a gaming laptop computer. Our take a look at pattern comes with the easiest graphics card for laptops that Nvidia has to supply, the mighty RTX 5090, although cheaper variations are additionally accessible, beginning with the lower-spec RTX 5070 Ti.

Whereas the laptop computer RTX 5090 doesn’t have fairly the identical killer spec because the desktop GPU we examined in our RTX 5090 assessment, it’s nonetheless a formidable part, with an identical spec to the desktop RTX 5080. In actual fact, it even has extra VRAM than RTX 5080 desktop playing cards, being outfitted with a large 24GB of GDDR7 VRAM, which is 8GB greater than the RTX 4090 laptop computer chip, and can imply you have got completely no worries about reminiscence being a restrict if you’re gaming at this laptop computer’s 2,560 x 1,600 native display screen decision.

The reminiscence is connected to a 256-bit broad reminiscence interface, which is way narrower than the 512-bit bus on the desktop card, however the truth that the VRAM runs at 1,750MHz (28Gbps efficient) means you continue to get a large 896GB/s of reminiscence bandwidth on this card. Comparatively, the RTX 4090 laptop computer GPU tops out at 576GB/s, so this new chip can shift knowledge far more shortly between the GPU and its reminiscence.

In the meantime, the GPU itself has 10,496 CUDA cores, which is a good distance off the 21,760 of the desktop card, however once more not far off the ten,762 of the desktop RTX 5080. The GPU can also be outfitted with Nvidia’s very newest RT cores and Tensor cores, and totally helps DLSS 4, together with multi body gen. This implies it will probably use AI to insert as much as three frames between each pair of genuinely rendered frames in your recreation, which may massively enhance your body price.

Razer has even given the GPU a bit of little bit of a clock velocity bump. By default, the RTX 5090 boosts to 1,515MHz, however the default Efficiency profile in Razer’s Synapse software program will increase this to 1,597MHz, with the power to provide as much as 160W dynamically to the GPU when it wants it. Mainly, that is an unbelievable quantity of GPU energy that ought to be lots for gaming on the two,560 x 1,600 display screen.

Subsequent up is the CPU, with the brand new Razer Blade 16 coming fitted with a model new AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 Strix Level chip. This 12-core CPU is split into 4 full AMD Zen 5 cores, with an additional eight Zen 5c cores. The latter nonetheless use the identical core structure because the full-fat ones, however they’ve much less cache and a decrease increase clock of as much as 3.3GHz, in comparison with 5.1GHz on the complete Zen 5 cores.

This CPU has one other trick up its sleeve too, which is an built-in Radeon 890M GPU with 16 compute models and an honest neural processing unit (NPU). Whereas the latter doesn’t have anyplace close to the AI energy of the GPU, it hits the 50 TOPS required for Microsoft CoPilot+, which means it can save you energy by not partaking the Nvidia GPU if you wish to use fundamental AI from the desktop (the keyboard even has a CoPilot key). Comparatively, the NPUs in Intel’s present Arrow Lake chips are a lot much less highly effective.

You additionally get 32GB of 8,000MT/s LPDDR5 RAM on this laptop computer, with an choice to spend extra and get a 64GB mannequin. Sadly, the RAM is soldered to the motherboard, so that you gained’t have the ability to improve it to your personal selection of the most effective gaming RAM your self. On the plus aspect, nevertheless, all of the configurations include at the least 32GB, not like the meager 16GB discovered on a number of the similarly-soldered Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 fashions from final yr.

One half which you can improve is the SSD, with a pair of M.2 PCIe 4.0 ports offered for storage, every of which may settle for as much as a 4TB single-sided SSD. A 2TB Samsung PM9A1 drive is put in by default in our pattern, which is a quick sufficient drive that doesn’t overheat, but it surely’s good that there’s additionally room to improve it to the most effective gaming SSD you possibly can afford at a later date.

Options

Razer needs you to really feel a way of pleasure if you open up this laptop computer, and nowhere is that extra seen than within the consideration to element relating to options. The Blade 16 may be costly, however you’re not simply paying for the most recent elements right here – you’re additionally paying for the function set, with a number of little touches that elevate it past the usual laptop computer.

One which I actually like is the keyboard, which has the everyday per-key RGB lighting you’d count on from Razer, however with an added further. There are two RGB LEDs in a number of the keys, and the lighting shifts from one set of LEDs to the opposite, so you possibly can immediately see whether or not you’re enabling a Shift-key operate or Fn-key operate earlier than you press it.

This may appear gimmicky, however I discovered it genuinely helpful on a variety of events. Press the Fn key, and solely the secondary capabilities gentle up, so you possibly can see whether or not you’re going to truly press F5 to refresh your app, or rewind an audio monitor as a substitute. Press the Shift key, and the lights on the quantity and punctuation keys will flick to the suitable symbols – it’s invaluable for moments when you might want to sort in a protracted password stuffed with symbols and numbers, and it immediately tells you what you’re about to press.

Handily, there are additionally 5 customizable macro keys on the aspect, which double up as different options, reminiscent of PgUp and PgDn keys, and there’s a extremely helpful mic mute button within the backside proper nook too. It’s nice to have a devoted key for this now often used function, quite than making it a secondary operate of one other key. It’s a membrane keyboard, so there are not any mechanical keyswitches, however there’s an honest quantity of journey within the keys (1.5mm in accordance with Razer) if you press them, the keycaps are sensibly sized, and the entire unit feels safe and agency beneath your fingers.

The keyboard even helps Razer’s new SnapTap function, which lets you overlap the activation of the A and D keys if you’re strafing left and proper, which means you don’t have to elevate your finger off one key earlier than you activate the opposite. It’s helpful in case you’re holding down D to strafe proper, for instance, however then in a short time have to strafe left – you don’t have to elevate your finger off D; you possibly can simply hit the A key together with your different finger. It’s so efficient that it’s even been banned in some video games, reminiscent of CS2.

I’m additionally actually glad to see an honest port choice on this laptop computer. There’s a USB-C port on each the left and proper sides, each of which assist high-speed USB 4 with 100W charging (nice if you wish to plug in your Steam Deck), and there are additionally three customary USB A ports, which means you don’t have to connect a number of dongles to connect your units.

Razer has additionally put a whole lot of work into its Synapse software program, from which you’ll be able to customise your lighting, monitor temperatures, modify the refresh price, change the efficiency profile, modify fan speeds, and set which GPU you’re utilizing, plus a great deal of different options. I had it arrange to make use of the Nvidia GPU for video games and the AMD GPU for the Home windows desktop, utilizing Optimus, but it surely’s good to have the pliability.

Then there’s that display screen, which has the identical core spec because the panel discovered on final yr’s Blade 16. This OLED show has a really fast response time of simply 0.2ms, and it additionally helps Nvidia G-Sync, so you possibly can synchronize its refresh price with the body price output of the GPU. It tops out at a 240Hz refresh price, so it’s actually fast as properly, particularly with that tight response time, and its decision is excellent for the ability of the GPU.

Colours look brilliant and vibrant, with excessive distinction and deep blacks, and its OLED panel seems nice when it’s displaying motion pictures and video games with HDR enabled. I additionally a lot desire the 16:10 side ratio to 16:9 on a laptop computer, particularly if you wish to do some work on it too, as you get some further display screen actual property on the backside. If there’s one criticism, it’s that the shiny floor of the display screen could be overly reflective in some lighting situations.

Even the sound system is surprisingly succesful for such a slim machine, with six audio system (three audio system on all sides of the keyboard) pumping out an honest frequency vary. I by no means count on to get unbelievable sound from a laptop computer, however the audio high quality from the brand new Razer 16 doesn’t sound tinny or treble-heavy, and there’s an honest quantity of bass. Ideally, you’d plug in a headset or a pair of audio system, however the audio high quality is ok for listening to music or gaming in a resort room.

Design

With its stable, chilly aluminum physique and slimline profile, the Blade 16 seems and looks like a high quality machine in your palms, with not one of the low cost, flimsy plastic seen on cheaper laptops. Razer’s use of a fingerprint-resistant black anodized coating can also be an enchancment on the 2024 mannequin, though touching it does generally end in a little bit of a smeary impact as a substitute of a fingerprint. In the meantime, the snaky Razer emblem on the lid glows inexperienced when the machine is powered on, and this new machine can also be a lot slimmer than final yr’s (already svelte) mannequin.

There’s a little bit of a catch right here, although, as the underside of the Blade isn’t all the identical thickness – it’s a bit of chunkier on the again the place the cooling system is held, after which tapers to a thinner edge on the entrance, going from 0.69 inches (17mm) to 0.59 inches (15mm). Each measurements are considerably decrease than the 22mm of the 2024 mannequin, although, and this can be a genuinely slim machine, particularly when you think about the highly effective elements inside it.

The discount in chassis measurement has additionally diminished the load from 5.4lb (2.5kg) to 4.72lb (2.41kg). That is nonetheless comparatively heavy on this subject, nevertheless, with the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (which additionally has an aluminum chassis) weighing in at 4.29lb (1.95kg), for instance. I had no bother carrying the Blade 16 in my backpack for a three-mile stroll, although, and the thickness of the aluminum used within the Blade 16’s well-built chassis is undoubtedly an element right here too. There are lighter laptops accessible, however the Blade 16 continues to be extremely transportable.

One other issue right here, although, is the dimensions of the ability brick, and the one with the Razer Blade 16 is severely chunky. That is what occurs if you pack a lot part energy right into a gaming laptop computer – in case you don’t wish to restrict the ability equipped to your GPU and CPU, then your laptop computer additionally wants an honest PSU.

These two elements are saved in verify by Razer’s cooling system, which has two followers on the underside, every with a grille beneath, plus a big vapor chamber unit and a load of exhaust vents on the again of the machine, with the latter sitting behind the display screen when the laptop computer is open. One quirk I discovered with this cooling system, nevertheless, is that it seems to direct a whole lot of warmth towards the highest of the chassis above the keyboard, which may get sizzling to the contact in case you’re gaming.

One in every of my fundamental criticisms of the Blade 2024 was that its cooling followers made a horrible quantity of noise if you have been gaming, and whereas the noise from the 2025 mannequin isn’t as unhealthy, the followers nonetheless make a cacophony if you hearth up a recreation.

Fortunately, you possibly can scale back the noise significantly by partaking the ‘Silent’ mode in Razer’s Synapse software program, and whereas that has an affect on body charges (extra on that later), that’s a sacrifice price making in some circumstances, significantly in case you’re gaming in the identical room as different folks. It’s removed from truly being silent on this mode, in fact, however the noise is extra in step with what you’d count on from a typical desktop gaming PC.

Efficiency

I’ve run the Blade 16 2025 by means of our new take a look at suite of recreation benchmarks, which incorporates each previous and new titles, a few of which assist multi body gen and excessive ranges of ray tracing, whereas others stress pure rasterization efficiency.

The Razer Blade 16 2025 isn’t only a fairly face, with the corporate utilizing the very newest elements from AMD and Nvidia to supply a severely highly effective gaming machine inside that slim chassis. Razer despatched me a pattern with the brand new RTX 5090 and AMD Ryzen 9 AI HX 370, and its efficiency is totally excellent – you possibly can genuinely play the most recent video games on the display screen’s 2,560 x 1,600 decision on this machine, and so they look unbelievable.

Cyberpunk 2077

I’ll begin with in the present day’s ‘however can it run Crysis?’ equal, which is Cyberpunk 2077. It may be an previous recreation now, however CD Projekt Crimson has continued so as to add new options to it, the most recent of which is assist for Nvidia’s new DLSS 4 tech. This consists of Nvidia’s new transformer mannequin for upscaling, the place the GPU renders the textual content, menus, and HUD parts of a recreation on the chosen decision, however renders the sport at a decrease decision, then makes use of AI to scale it up.

Nvidia’s older CNN mannequin labored properly sufficient, however usually resulted in ghosting, shimmering, blurriness, and smearing, and the brand new transformer mannequin principally clears this up – now you can allow DLSS upscaling in Cyberpunk 2077 and the picture can be secure and sharp, with clean movement. On this new GPU, the sport also can now use multi body era, utilizing AI to insert as much as three further frames between each genuinely rendered pair, and the result’s transformative.

I ran the sport at each 1,920 x 1,080 and a pair of,560 x 1,600 to get a variety of outcomes. As you possibly can see within the graph above, the sport is nearly playable at 1080p with the extremely ray tracing preset even with out DLSS, however enabling DLSS on the High quality setting takes the typical as much as 76fps, then enabling multi body gen makes this determine rocket all the way in which as much as 286fps. Enabling the trail tracing mode on the similar settings, the place the lighting seems extremely life like, resulted in a mean of 227fps, with the sport feeling and looking nice in motion.

Curiously, on this one recreation, the minimums reported by the sport have been considerably greater than the 1% lows reported by Nvidia FrameView (with a a lot bigger disparity than normal). I exploit the latter to get a extra correct determine for the worst case situation of body charges, and whereas 86fps for the latter outcome continues to be nice, it’s price noting that Cyberpunk 2077 itself was reporting a minimal 200fps, and the sport labored rather well once I was taking part in it at these settings.

Extra remarkably, shifting as much as the display screen’s native 2,560 x 1,600 decision continues to be doable on this recreation, which averages 63fps on the extremely ray tracing preset with DLSS upscaling on the High quality setting, and goes up to an enormous 200fps with multi body gen enabled. Once more, you possibly can even run it at this decision with path tracing enabled, the place it runs at 147fps. Our outcome within the above graph was achieved with DLSS on the High quality setting, however what’s nice in regards to the transformer mannequin is that it nonetheless seems first rate on the decrease settings, so you possibly can run this recreation on the Efficiency or Balanced preset to get a good sooner body price.

Indiana Jones and the Nice Circle

Subsequent up is Bethesda’s brutally robust (for {hardware}) Indy journey, which forces you to make use of ray tracing at each setting, and has an incredible-looking path tracing mode you probably have a strong sufficient GPU. We’ve seen this recreation drop to unplayable ranges on even a number of the newest GPUs at prime settings, because of a scarcity of VRAM, however that’s not a fear with the 24GB of GDDR 7 reminiscence related to this machine’s GPU.

Firstly, you possibly can merely run the sport on the Extremely preset at 2,560 x 1,600 with out even needing to change on any DLSS options – it averages 93fps with a 63fps 1% low, and is totally nice to play. I then tried maxing it out on the Supreme preset with full RT path tracing enabled, enlisting some assist from multi body gen and DLSS upscaling on the High quality setting. At these settings, it averaged a clean 128fps and appeared excellent.

As this isn’t a quick motion recreation, aside from a bit of fistfight motion, I discovered it was nice to play in my time with it at these settings. Nonetheless, with out multi body gen, the typical drops all the way down to 40fps with a 33fps 1% low, which isn’t nice as a place to begin. If I have been operating the sport at maxed-out settings, I’d once more run DLSS upscaling on the Balanced or Efficiency settings at this decision (the place it nonetheless seems nice with DLSS 4), so you have got the next place to begin for body gen.

F1 24

Excessive-speed racing at prime settings can also be a breeze on this laptop computer, and I used to be capable of utterly max out F1 24 at 2,560 x 1,600 and nonetheless common 82fps, even with none DLSS options enabled. Allow body gen and set DLSS to the High quality setting and this determine climbs all the way in which to 162fps, with a 1% low of 95fps, and it seems and feels nice in motion.

I additionally tried this recreation with the Silent preset enabled in Razer’s Synapse software program, to get an concept of its affect, and was pleasantly shocked by the outcome. The typical body price dropped from 162fps to 136fps, however the recreation was nonetheless actually clean, and the followers have been considerably quieter.

Name of Responsibility Black Ops 6

Not all the most recent video games are packed stuffed with fancy ray-traced lighting, although, and their customary rendering strategies could be demanding as properly. A working example is Name of Responsibility Black Ops 6 if you actually flip up the settings. Nonetheless, the Razer Blade 16 had no bother with this recreation in any respect. Even with out DLSS enabled, it averages 112fps at 2,560 x 1,600, with a 71fps 1% low. Allow DLSS on the High quality setting, together with body gen, and this goes as much as 173fps – an important outcome.

Cinebench

With Razer swapping to a brand new AMD CPU with this lineup, I used to be additionally to see how its utility efficiency in comparison with final yr’s Blade mannequin. The Blade 16 2024 used an Intel Core i9 14900HX, which is extraordinarily highly effective in each video games and multi-threaded software program, however can also be sizzling and power-hungry, with a dramatic affect on fan noise and battery life. We will already see that the brand new Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 copes nice with gaming calls for, however how does it fare in multi-threaded software program

To seek out out, I ran Cinebench R24 on the brand new machine, and the outcomes have been attention-grabbing. The Core i9 14900HX is unquestionably faster in each single-threaded and multi-threaded functions, however the AMD chip is considerably sooner than the brand new Meteor Lake Core Extremely 9 185H used within the ROG Zephyrus G16. The latter result’s attention-grabbing, because the Core Extremely 9 185H has 16 cores (six P-Cores and ten E-Cores), in contrast with 12 on the brand new AMD CPU, however the latter is faster throughout the board.

In the meantime, the Core i9 14900HX continues to be the efficiency king, however that’s hardly stunning with 24 cores and a excessive clock velocity at its disposal. Crucially, the margin isn’t large, and the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 is cooler and extra power-efficient.

Battery

Razer might have solely outfitted the brand new Blade 16 with a 90Whr battery (in comparison with 95.2Whr on the 2024 mannequin), however the brand new elements have had a dramatic affect on battery life. That is significantly the case with the CPU, because the Blade 16 2025 lasted an unbelievable 508 minutes (eight and a half hours) within the PCMark Trendy Workplace battery life take a look at, with the display screen set to half brightness. You may genuinely take this laptop computer out for work on lengthy journeys with out having to fret about energy.

Gaming battery life can also be considerably higher, with Nvidia making large-scale enhancements to the ability gating and frequency switching of its new GPUs when operating on battery energy. The Blade 16 2025 lasted for 108 minutes within the PCMark Gaming battery life take a look at, in comparison with simply 85 minutes on the 2024 mannequin (which solely had an RTX 4070 in our take a look at pattern).

I additionally put this to the take a look at myself, taking part in Civilization 7 on a prepare journey. I performed for a superb hour and ten minutes, and the battery was nonetheless at 47% once I reached my station and shut the machine down. One other constructive in regards to the Blade’s CPU and GPU setup can also be the choice to make use of the built-in AMD GPU if you wish to save on battery energy. You may select which GPU you wish to use within the Synapse Software program, and I discovered that Civilization 7 was simply playable with out partaking the Nvidia GPU, for instance.

Value

Razer gear seldom comes low cost, and as with Apple {hardware}, you pay a premium for it. The model is a giant issue within the worth, in fact, however so are the premium supplies, design, and options. There’s no getting round the truth that this can be a very costly laptop computer, although. Our pattern with an RTX 5090 prices $4,499 / £3,899, and that’s a severe outlay.

It can save you some cash by choosing a less expensive part setup, with $2,999 / $2,699 shopping for you a machine with an RTX 5070 Ti, and we’re additionally happy to see that each laptop computer within the lineup comes with at the least 32GB of RAM, even on the cheaper finish of the dimensions. Even so, these are premium costs, and also you’ll have the ability to purchase machines with related specs for much less cash elsewhere. What you’re shopping for right here is the standard of the construct and design.

Options

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16

Asus’ nearest equal of the Blade 16 doesn’t have fairly the identical stage of aptitude and wow issue, but it surely’s not far off, and it’s less expensive. With a stunning OLED display screen, aluminum chassis, and highly effective GPU choices, this can be a nice various in case you can’t afford the Razer premium. Just like the Blade, it additionally has soldered reminiscence, so we advocate beginning with 32GB at the least.

Learn our full Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 assessment.

Verdict

With wonderful gaming efficiency, a surprising display screen, a stunning chassis, and a helpful function set, the Razer Blade 16 is a triumph of gaming laptop computer design. Because of the RTX 5090, now you can genuinely play the most recent video games maxed out on the display screen’s 2,560 x 1,600 decision, even with path tracing enabled, and the AMD CPU maintains stable efficiency with out overheating or shortly operating the battery dry.

The truth that you will get over eight hours of life out of this rig can also be a giant bonus, and I like Razer’s consideration to element with the design. Each side, from the twin RGB LEDs within the keyboard, to the slimline aluminum chassis and efficient cooling system, has been thought by means of with precision. The Synapse software program can also be actually helpful, supplying you with full management over the laptop computer’s fan curves and show settings, in addition to which GPU to make use of when.

Sure, it’s ridiculously costly, and no, I couldn’t afford to purchase the Razer Blade 16 with this spec myself, however I actually want I may. You’ll virtually definitely have the ability to purchase cheaper laptops with related elements, and people machines can be higher decisions in case you don’t have deep pockets. If I had the cash, although, this pretty metallic slice of unadulterated gaming energy is totally the laptop computer I’d purchase.

For extra transportable gaming concepts, try our information to the most effective laptop computer video games, in addition to our information to the most effective handheld gaming PC, the place we take you thru all our suggestions at a spread of costs.