Blade 15 Optical - My thoughts

I took ownership of the Blade 15 Optical keyboard a few weeks ago. I'm really enjoying using and thought I'd share my experience.

I've owned just about every Blade type from the original 17, Edge pro, through today's latest 13, 15 and 17's, about a dozen in total. My favorite to date has been the 14" 6700/7700HQ model as I find it the most enjoyable to handle and use. While I enjoyed the performance boost of the 15" 8750h 1070q 144hz, I couldn't tolerate the keyboard travel distance as well as the arrows/shift key positioning and passed that laptop onto my son. I tried the 17" when that one came out and returned it 2 days later - I had hoped the keyboard would have been better on a 17" chassis but it was no different. I had given up on this keyboard type until this optical release. I still hate the right shift key and arrow key layout - The 14" chassis keyboard layout is the best in my opinion. Back to the new 15" optical - it's fantastic to type on. I average the same typing WPM on the new optical as my desktop keyboard where as the regular 15" I average about 10-12 less and the 14" about 3-5 less WPM. I'm probably one of the few, if not only, who doesn't like the secondary function keys backlit. So this is a bonus for me on the Blade optical. In my opinion - it just doesn't look as clean with secondary backlit functions and there is more light bleed-through on the edges of the keys with that additional LED in those keys. To each his own.

While the thicker chassis isn't very appealing to handle this laptop, I am pleasantly surprised that Razer has reintroduced the black coating on the vapor chamber / heatsink in this model. My only hopes for future revisions are WQHD display and reverting the right shift / arrow keys back to 14" layout.

Here are some photos of the new 15" optical, the original 15" and the 14".

 

Thank you so much!

Can't find enough people talking about this system. This gives me hope for the 2020 RB15 ... which I intend on buying later this year provided it has 3000 series graphics in it.

Very good to hear. Hopefully they'll roll out the Optical Keyboard to all their systems going forward.

 

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Can you confirm this machine has a mux like the new late 2019 17"? There should be an option in synapse under the performance tab that allows you to run it in dedicated graphics only mode after a reboot. If true, this machine becomes even more interesting for many folks.

 

Can confirm. Bios option under Chipset called "GPU MODE" with 2 options; Dedicated GPU only and NVIDIA Optimus

 

But it doesn't have gsync does it?

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Does this mean the unit has Gsync? Or is the sole purpose to mitigate the performance hit that happens with Optimus?

 

Im pretty sure it doesn't otherwise they would advertise the **** out of it. But just to be sure..... Let's wait for an owner

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Hmm, just checked - no GSYNC option when using dedicated GPU only. I even reloaded drivers to be sure. However, I did notice further brightness level adjustments are available and the monitor can get way darker at the lowest level and appears even brighter to me at the max level. Interesting...

 

I wonder if this means we can expect G-Sync on future models.

 

No Razer Blade has g-sync. The purpose of dedicated GPU mode only is a great feature though. So you don't have to worry about a Laptop not using the NVIDIA gpu. And yes I've had hands on experience.

 

The 2017 Blade Pro most recently had g-sync, but all the devices made since (except the new 4k, 120hz, late 2019, Blade Pro and this new optical switch Blade) are optimus only. There is no functional reason for this current optical switch Blade to have a mux, unlike the new Blade Pro which needs it to support 4k, 120hz. Including a mux is a substantial engineering change and Razer did not suddenly make this change just to earn goodwill with the 19 people on NBR that espouse the benefits of a mux. (I include myself in that list)

I interpret this to mean the motherboard design of the optical Blade will be adopted by all other versions of the Razer Blade Advanced in the future. G-sync will be a further differentiator between basic and advanced iterations. Why not include g-sync today on this optical blade? Buying a new Razer system is confusing enough without supporting (and paying Nvidia to validate) g-sync on some configurations and not others. Aside from the resulting confusion, g-sync is popular enough that it will entice new purchases from Razer's loyal following when 10th generation Intel H processors and 'super' GPUs don't offer much of an improvement. I'm sure Razer also need to clear out old inventory of this motherboard configuration that has effectively been unchanged for years and they don't want to discount them too heavily by trying to sell them along side a superior, g-sync enabled version.

G-sync will also be way more important on a 15.6", 4k, 120hz display compared to the high refresh 1080p displays we have now. When this option becomes available, I expect both Blade and Blade Pro to have a mux on all models (except the basic Blade) to maintain product consistency and we'll finally see g-sync return. </speculation>

 

I'm pretty sure what's going to happen isn't gsync but 'freesync' coming to razerblades to get those Gsync compatible displays on laptop's. Cheaper to make and achieves similar results to native g sync module

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For the last few years, laptops with g-sync already use a form of adaptive sync without requiring a g-sync module. Whether Razer pays to license the g-sync branding is debatable, but I would expect it. G-sync is a recognizable name Razer buyers are likely to value.

 

Yes I missed keyboard on my old Blade stealth and Blade 14, hope they change it ASAP, Stealth 2019 key travel is better than Blade 15 but that optical is Blade is my next keyboard.
And yes black vapor chamber looks to me more like a finished product. That also holds me also getting a new Blade


About gsync maybe I’ve bad eyes I sold my Predator 144Hz 1440p since I don’t feel really the difference between Blade 144Hz and that monitor only bigger screen and better resolution so I sold that and kept only 4K LG monitor that can g sync, need to go to doctor maybe

 

You know I forgot about the blade pro 2017. But, that made sense on a 4k display. Even modern laptop gpu's have trouble running most games at 4K. And I see your point on the MUX switch. I only learned of it in recent times. But, now that I know it exists I always welcome it.

I used to say if a machine does not have g-sync then it's not worth buying. But having used 1080p 240hz displays have changed my mind. Most titles I have a hard time noticing any screen tearing at such high fps. But, I would like to see it since there are a fair amount of games that make even running 1080p difficult. ((I'm looking at you RDR2 ))

And are you so sure G-sync will make a come back? It honestly seems to be dying out on laptops. Some brands that used to have it on their laptops seem to have abandoned it.

 

Agreed on the high refresh rate displays. I don't miss G-sync at all on 120hz+, 1080p displays. My thought is the upcoming 4k 120hz displays will definitely spark interest in adaptive sync tech again. RDR2 is a perfect example of a popular, yet poorly optimized game. Even a 2080ti can't get 60fps at 4k and needs to drop settings down to medium to even get close. This is where adaptive sync will shine again for sure.

Even if adaptive sync doesn't come to future Razer laptop displays, I'm thrilled this machine has a mux. Not only is it one of very few on the market to have one at all, a lot of other companies appear to follow Razer's lead. Although in this case, I suspect other manufactures won't have a choice but to add a mux if they want the new hot displays. While ice lake graphics support 4k120, comet lake, thus far, does not.

 

Lenovo has been using mux switches in its Legion Y5XX/7XX laptops for some time.

 

Wait is that USB C on the left side (charging port area) beside A one instead 2 usb A like on my picture?

 

Does this blade 15 have the USB c connected directly to the dgpu?

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You just noticed that now? I figured you would have already known that it has 2 USB C. All USB ports 3.2 gen2 10Gbps, two are USB C, one Thunderbolt (right one).

I don't know. The right port (TB3) supports display port just like the previous revisions.

 

Yea BUT mag 15 has it hooked up to dgpu so it can also do gsync over thunderbolt 3

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GSync works with no problem on this blade optical as well as the first gen 15 blade using USB-C displayport cable. I've done it on both. Not sure if that answers your question.

 

Nope that’s only Blade stealth and pro 2019, on Blade 15 it’s new.
Take a look port number 2. So theoretically you can hook up to 3 external monitor without dongel or Razer Core.

 

Update - my first issue with this blade. It's only a few months old, yet the hinges started creaking and sometimes even a loud friction snap when closing the lid. I went ahead and lubricated the hinges on the inside with 3-in-1 oil and a little bit of grease, the problem is fixed now. None of my blades have had this problem before.

 

Hopefully, with the proliferation of AMD IGP and newer Intel IGP getting Adaptive Sync support (not on 14nm, of course...), we'll start seeing more of these panels in laptops.