Razer Blade 14 - Heat & Noise Reduction Tweaks

Folks,

I'm in the market for a thin and light laptop that will be used for work primarily with casual gaming from time to time.

I like the fit and finish of the Razer Blade 14 and it's among the few laptops I've narrowed my list down to.

To that end, I recognize that it may be a process to get a non-defective unit but once I've got one that's problem free, I'd want to reduce the heat generation and noise as much as possible (without voiding the warranty).

I've been reading these forums and below is what I understand the best ways to do this are.

- Undervolt CPU
- Undervolt GPU
- Disable Turbo Boost

If there are other recommendations / strategies, let me know.

Thanks

 

Why get a rb when aero
15 is available

Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Tapatalk

 

I agree - Aero 15 is a MUCH better device. Also, the unibody of the RB14 causes heat to affect the battery significantly in the long run resulting in possible premature failure. I've seen quite a few people say they've had battery failures in the first year of active gaming use.

 

The Aero 15 is on the list as well and it is a much better device. It doesn't have any of the heat, noise, build quality issues (save for the keyboard problems which we're fixed via a bios update). In addition, it has a larger battery is almost bezel-less. The current TB3 issue does concern me though.

With that said, I had ruled out the Razer Blade a while back based on everything I read (poor customer service, poor build quality, light bleed, heat, noise, etc.). But, after I saw it in person and had a chance to play with it at the Microsoft store, I really liked the fit and finish, enough for me to seriously look at it. I'd get a Toast cover to conceal the snake logo on the front. What I'm looking for now is to understand what can be done to minimize some of the issues it has and then determine if it's worth it over the other options.

Also on the list is the Asus Zephyrus due to its awesome specs (powerful, thin, light, quiet) but I'm concerned about how to conceal the "Republic of Gamers" logos and the ROG symbol on the front to maintain a look that'll be appropriate in a business setting. I'm not concerned about battery life as wherever I'd be, there'd be access to an outlet.

 

Just by aware that the aero 15 does not support TB3, if you're in for an eGPU. They advertise TB3, but don't give you PCIe3.0 4x (it's 2.0 4x). Maybe they will fix it with an firmware/bios update, maybe not. But anyway, they aero 15 is the supperior choice. Alone the potential you can unlock by repasting it with some tweaking is amazing. The RB14 in the other hand is a joke, but only funny when it happens to others!

If you don't mind a little bit heavyer or chunkyer laptop, the AW13r3 with OLED is sweet too.

 

@rickybambi : I own the 2017 Blade FHD. Believe all the negativity you read about Razer, it is all true. Trash company, but I love the Blade. Sounds like you will buy from MS Store which is much safer. If you get a good one you won't have any issues, MS Store is great re: exchanges and you can get the 2 year warranty.

Heat is not a problem if you get a good Blade. I've undervolted my CPU -100mV through the BIOS by modding it, and while gaming (SC2, F1 2016, Forza Horizon, Planet Coaster, Doom) my CPU never hits 80 degrees. Prime95 28.10 AVX SmallFFP it hits 86 max. GPU doesn't throttle either and always stays above rated boost clock. But, I have a very even heatsink and likely a good CPU that doesn't leak that much, which has been one of the main problems with the Blade and causes the very high temps. I went through several exchanges before getting this one due to various issues, bad heatsink being among them.

There isn't much you can do to minimize issues other than test the heck out of it right when you get it. CPU undervolt is really all you need to do. I don't disable turbo boost or undervolt my GPU. I disabled PCI-e ASPM to add performance to the GPU and bring it up to the level that it should be at.

Also primarily use the Blade for work and bring it to court, snake logo and all. Because a glowing Apple is much more "professional" than a glowing snake...please. It fits in fine in a "professional" setting and I have a secure sense of self. I digress. During office use my fans stay totally off all day. Battery life is 7+ hours at 50% brightness and power saver setting w/ the undervolt (MS Office, internet, Adobe reader). This thing is a little beast and you'll enjoy the heck out of it. Everyone who posts on these forums is an enthusiast and those of us who buy the Blade accept the risks. I say go for it if your heart is set on it.

Can't go wrong with the Aero 15. Had it been out when I got my Blade I probably would've gotten it, honestly. But I have no regrets at all and have had zero problems with my Blade in the 5 months I've had it. Do not get the Zephyrus, colossal waste of money in my opinion. Terrible battery life (even though you say it isn't important) and gimped GPU. The sweet spot for mixed use laptops I'd say is anything 14-15" with a full powered 1060 or 1070. Heck if you're considering the Zephyrus you should look at 15" Clevo laptops. Those have zero branding if it's an issue for you.

 

Good points in that write up @jlp0209 , it's nice to read when somebody has a good grasp of things in the grand scheme. I have been looking a for a do it all laptop for the past 6 months in vane.

I am very hesitant of buying a 2017 Blade 14, especially here in Europe where they are under the rock.
Amazon.de being pretty much the only option to buy without import taxes, and no extra insurances.

I am well aware of the problems I might step into when purchasing, but it really is te only gaming / ultrabook im interested in. Flawed it might be but it ticks the right boxes for me. I wish manufacturers would cater to the more mature audiences, instead of the glowing dragons, transformers and squeaky plastics design.

Im pretty sure any of the big brands could muster a 14-15" machine with "sleek" minimalistic design housing a 7820HK & 1060 or 1070, a FullHD or WQHD 120hz screen etc. It doesn't have to be aluminium, could be thinkpad like with magnesium & plastics etc.

The Dell XPS 9560 & Lenovo Yoga 720 have the only steps in the right direction in the portable gaming notebooks sector. But they both still lack in quality & design imo.

 

and adding to my ramblings, Razer could also pick up things with better QC, customer service and design choises

 

The EVGA SC15 has the clean non gamer look that I like, although it is thin it is built like a tank and much heavier than the blade or the aero. Hopefully others will start putting out designs like that, solid builds with a minimalistic look.

 

@Zuuk - You should definitely check out the EVGA SC15 if you are in Europe as @Vistar Shook says. Their support is top notch and the SC15 looks very solid. @rickybambi you should also take a look. I've exclusively bought EVGA for my graphics cards since the GTX 480 and power supplies (Super Flower). Complete opposite type of company vs. Razer. EVGA has me as a customer for life.

 

This is a nice tutorial on how to unlock the Bios for Razer Blade 2017, and the ability to undervolt in the Bios and disable ASPM to get the GTX1060 to perform as it should.

 

The thing about the EVGA SC15 to keep in mind is that is G sync enabled, so the battery life will be dismal compared to the RB or the Aero, if that is important. On the other hand, it does have a 120Hz screen, even though the GTX1060 won´t take full advantage of it, with G sync, the gaming should be a lot smoother than the RB or Aero with Optimus. Also the SC15 has the motherboard flipped over, so to change the NVME drive, repaste and such, there is a bit more work involved. Other than that, it seems like a very good solid machine, but since I have a RB, I am interested in the new SC17 1080, but most likely I will wait till next year with Volta to try it out.

 

The SC15 looks allright, but it still has some limitations as mentioned @Vistar Shook. Chassis is not aluminium rather aluminium veneers over a plastic frame. Upside down mobo arrangement, poor batterylife and high price even when compared to the RB14.

 

As far as chassis, I believe it is pure aluminum, not sure though, either way it is the most solid chassis in its class, with no flex, hence the weight, even though it is relatively thin.

 

Great information, thanks!

I'm on the fence now between the RB 14 and the EVGA SC15.

What testing regime do you recommend for the RB 14 to see if it's working properly and isn't defective, especially from a heat perspective?

I checked out the EVGA SC15 and it looks good. The only negatives for me are the weight and though I like the 120 hz g-sync display, the 18 ms response time is not ideal. Though, based on the type of gaming I do (MMO's), I don't really know if it'd make too much of a difference for me.

 

You can run OCCT or Aida to stress the CPU, see if there is a big core differential. And for GPU, a Firestrike loop, or Heaven. Then for more maximum heat to test the limits of the cooling system, test with OCCT/Aida and FS loop/Heaven together.

 

I recently purchased a FHD and 4k UHD Razer Blade 14 with Kaby Lake. Due to screen flickering I returned the FHD and immediately replaced with a 4k version. Below are the tweaks completed for both laptops resulting in dramatically better battery life and reduction in overall heat. Under heavy load the CPU and GPU both showed better temperatures. The CPU temps reduces significantly while the GPU typically stays below the 80C mark during game loads.

I know there are plenty of people looking for battery tweaks. Since I saw success with both models of Blades I thought to post. I cannot promise these tweaks will work in all cases.

During normal work load for myself including Chrome web browsing, emails and Word document creation I am getting 9 hours on the 4K at 50% screen brightness. Temperatures are ranging between 33c and 38c.

Below are some of the changes I made. Obviously, all of this is at your own risk. Be careful in the Services section. Take a quick Google if you do not know what the service does before disabling.


· Uninstall Cortana

· Disable Synapse

· Review Services for all internet connected apps (Razer and Intel). Razer has GameScanner, SDK something and Synapse (disable all). Intel has a number of "Connect" applications to disable.

· Add Throttlestop - link to guide below

· Undervolt GPU using MSI Afterburner - Keep this undervolt applied even when not gaming

· Uninstall Killer Wireless Manager

· Use balance mode in battery settings

· Limit CPU to 99% in Advance Power Settings

· Lower CPU maximum frequency to 2750

· Disable Turbo in BIOS

· Disable Screen Refresh – Intel Settings

· Disable OneDrive


I am not 100% sure if all of the tweaks are resulting in the better battery life or just a combination thereof. My gut tells me it is the CPU/GPU undervolting and disabling services that are constantly pinging a external server looking for an update and or sending back diagnostic data.


ThrottleStop Guide:

https://www.notebookcheck.net/How-t...ife-The-ThrottleStop-Guide-2017.213140.0.html


Cortana Uninstall Guide: Read carefully and read again. Uninstalling Cortana changes access to the Search bar. Other than the search bar being disabled I have not seen any other negative effect.

https://winaero.com/blog/how-to-uninstall-and-remove-cortana-in-windows-10/

It would be great to see similar results from other users.