Razer Blade 15 RTX update

The heatsink solution on the backplate is pretty nice. THey have done that well. But I hate that screen ribbon cable in the middle. Macbooks had these for about 2 years now and they start to fail, a ribbon cable just isnt as durable as the usual thicker round cables that are gong through the hinges.

More information on the ribbon cable solution can be seen in this Ifixit video and why it is an issue.

 

I hope it’ll hold, still only 9 months though didn’t see something melted inside

Only should be careful with this

 

I see the sound has been altered/improved. Has anyone noticed if the LG panel is able to get any brighter? Literally the only issue I can find with this laptop is that the contrast ratio is a little lower than the AUO80/82 used on the MSI's. Also the overall brightness is just not quite bright enough for a good contrast.
It probably is still the best panel though as the colors are basically accurate out of the box and the screen is very soft to look at. The AUO panels are usually tinted blue out of the box and lose abit of luster once they are calibrated.

 

Correct, the ribbon cable was already failing in my RB 2016 when I sold it. Completely garbage design. Sure the computers look good, but they are **** for reliability. Meanwhile all my Alienwares are still performing in top condition, one of them is 10 years old (M17x R1)

 

On Blade 14 Display cable wasn’t across the heat sink or hot parts like Blade 15, never had Display connectors issues on Blade 2015, 2017, or even that 2016 you had (only a month, replaced for 2017 because other thing, performance and fans behavior didn’t passed my test). Btw I’ve 6 years old Razer tablet, but effectively it was maybe only 3 years until go to retirement, replaced by fresh machine. My 13 years old gaming ultrabook Sony Vaio still works as well, but it sleeps now in my cellar.

 

I just sent my 2080 unit back to Razer because it was overheating in under a minute (using Apex Legends on low settings for testing). Drop into training level and the gpu temp quickly climbs above 90C and the gpu clock would go from 990Mhz (which ran clamped at 144fps) down to 300Mhz (which dropped framerate to <20fps).

I was never able to get the gpu clock above 990Mhz - does anyone know what triggers boost mode on these max q devices?

 

Its not really the heat that affects it. just the play of the cable moving when the lid closes and opens. It does seem to have a bit more space to move freely compared to the Apple Macbook design. Hopefully this is enough.

 

I got your concerning Blade 15 point but about Blade 14 that I mentioned above I’m still on my opinion, it’s completely different display cable ribbon with Blade 15. And over a year user experience will tell better than users that bought only for testing or who bought second hand with already used condition or even defective for price reason.

 

I'm guessing you still can't set the fan speed to 0(even with BIOS mod)? This is pretty much the only laptop that has Windows IR and stuff that can play games and is portable enough :/

 

I cant comment on the RB14, even though I owned one for testing, I returned it quickly because it was too hot and loud and signs where appearing that there was a design flaw with the GPU bios chip under the heatsink. Bought the Gigabyte P34W V3 with the 970M after it, that on was also too loud etc and was bending in my messenger bag, after 3 swaps I have send that one back too . Why I bring this up, the P34W V3 was reviewed as an excellent machine by various review sites but in my experience it was very poor.

Reviews indeed not give a full pictue, but with some insights and knowledge, possible problems can be pinpointed. The RB15 has a cable type that seems to be extremely problematic in the Macbook pro retina with touchbar series. So with this insight I am hesitant to recommend this laptop to anyone.

 

I asked a user that had engineering model rtx since I saw this different fans rpm setting than Blade 15 2018 he didn’t answer if it, i was less care because mostly on mine at paperwork or other things non intensive Blade 15 Fans are 0. Sometimes it may kick in but not annoying and will stop in seconds.
2018

2019

There’re no perfect laptops, there’s always cons, i believe everyone can point that including Blade15. Yes i rejects Owning a model Blade 14 due Fans behavior and performance, but it was addressed per Bios update. Though there’s also poeple who their needs are feeded with the laptops they choose, I can tell dozens cons on Blade 15 and also same thing to other brands, but first maybe have to reference @Papusan comments first
Having thin light categories you’re playing with fire, have to control it better or It’ll burn on your lap So don’t let your kid playing with that

 

Cons are something different than design flaws ofcourse. My current laptop is heavy, thats a con, but as far as I know it doesnt have design flaws (the heatsink could be called one but I remedied that with different thermal pads)

 

You can’t say design flaw if it’s not happening yet and only from a user posting here, I think MacBook that you’re pointed has several users that reported it. So far I don’t see display cable issues because of that placement, though it’s only 9 or 10 months old product at this point can’t say it’s design flaw.

 

Shame he didn't I had annoying fans on the XPS 15 and Aero 15X that I returned and I really don't want to risk having to return anymore Might just order a GS65 since I know they have proper manual fan control and live without Windows Hello Thanks

 

Yes I saw a lot users jumping here and there, it’s your money get one the feed your needs and worth your bucks. Windows hallo is great to have but not deal breaker to me, idk from gs65 rtx but from stealth thin before not few users jump back to Razer, even maybe for some there’s CS issues or QC with Razer but one you get good unit it’ll hold long of course depends how you handle it. Last month just check gs65 2018 build quality it’s not much different than gs40 that I had, feels cheap compared to Blade, maybe they try to make the body lighter, can’t accept that for 2K price tag after getting used to Blade cassis.

 

I tried a Razer Blade at a store and loved the chassis(it was warm at the touchpad though unlike others I tried), but seeing how manufacturers implement auto fan control I'd rather be in control lol, I don't mind loud fans during gaming though. As long as the GS65 doesn't disintegrate in my backpack with one of those neoprene sleeves with soft inside I'll be okay. Maybe Razer is next if the MSI doesn't work out

I really wish all gaming laptops would have an option for manual fan control, would have loved to have a Blade but my ears wouldn't be happy

 

Any good place to check gaming performance with the 2080 MQ model?
I’ve been looking on YouTube but not much there just some other models with the weaker 80W version.
Typically how much slower is the MQ version from the full RTX 2080 laptop when gaming?
Don’t care about benchmarks like Timespy or Firestrike but purely gaming.
Thanks.

 

This?

 

I’ve seen that and while it’s a good overall review it is lacking some details like fan noise measurement and more gaming performance videos.
I’m looking for something a bit more substantial, thanks .

 

Added video above, that guy runs also superposition far cry benchmarks on other videos, idk the setting (tweak undervolting etc) but it seems the cpu runs hot not my preferred temperature.

 

Do we know already how easy it will be to upgrade the ssd on the Advanced 2070 RTX model ? I was considering buying a 256Gb and then upgrading it to a 512 or 1Tb based on my experience with the product.

You could put a Samsung 970 Evo or Pro for example ?

 

Yes it could be done easily, open the lid and you have access to it directly, though if you’re doing fresh install you should look for drivers your self since the drivers isn’t uploaded yet but it works like this user using 2 Tb 970 Evo on his 2080 model.

 

Does anyone know if the 16gb ram is dual channel?

 

Any Blade comes with dual channel for better default performance, yes it’s 8x2 sodimm ddr4.

 

Alright! Count on Razer for not being cheap and avoiding the problems MSI and the rest of them are having.

 

This is example for laptop that may have dead mobo after a year gaming usage or he’s maybe fine throwing 3K every year

 

So undervolting the CPU is a must with laptop. I don’t have this laptop yet but on average with a decent UV how much does that help with temps? No repasting.
I’m trying to figure out how too cool the CPU without having to open it up and repaste.
Does a laptop cooler help with CPU temps?
I understand eventually I will have to repaste but I’m trying to avoid it since it seems it might be a pain to remove and then replace that ribbon that goes across the heatsink.
Speaking of that ribbon does it come off easy and how hard is it to put back on?
At least it doesn’t seem to throttle much even with such high CPU temps.

 

Sorry always me, not real owner Blade rtx laptop , it seems pretty cool running apex on 2070 model that user posted on Blade 15 2018 owner lounge. I’m not repasting my 2018 15 yet since I can manage cpu not to thermal throttling with only simple xtu UV even on max boost (no clock limitation) but maybe Synapse or ec update made the cpu temperature runs cooler since I recently less power limit throttle, lower cpu wattage but still hitting max 3,9 GHz even on cpu wattage limitation balanced mode.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/attachments/screenshot-401-png.170238/
It’s super easy btw unplugging the ribbon it’s a slot for that and you have only to remove tape that stick on it before, similar with old stealth display cable if you know. About cooling pad I never use it only simple rising the bottom with laptops feet etc for better air circulation on gaming, it’ll output it from keyboard and under screen lid. Well cooling pad may help but personally I am fine with that trick since Blade 2015.

 

Thanks Joikansai you’ve been a real big help.

 

Just keep watch on other forums like Razer subreddit it seems early batch has coil whine issue (on 2018 1070mq was battery buzzing) especially 1080maxq, idk about 2070 maybe I missed that, from 2060 that my friend has it’s 0 coil whine.

 

Anybody else unable to access the nvidia control panel on the new RTX razer blades? This prevents me from accessing/tweaking optimus settings. I had changed out the SSD for a samsung evo

 

SSD doesn’t have something to do with nvidia control panel. Did you try reinstall nvidia drivers or use other versions? This is still new respectively new gpu some maybe there’s some bug with that version. Using egpu setting or external monitor may also bugging nvidia controll Panel access, restart may bring it back. Did you also try to access through control panel, there’s also nvidia control panel there, if your driver is installed rightly.

 

I'm having the same issue. Also, my system insists on using a driver from late December even though Nvidia has much newer drivers posted for mobile RTX. What gives.

 

Try use geforce experience to update drive

 

For my part, I bent over backwards to investigate this. I just bought the MaxQ 2070 razer, and initially tried just transplanting my 970 evo pro from my 1070 max q laptop and updating certain drivers. My experience was as follows:
1. Just downloading the latest notebook RTX driver from nvidia (without geforce experience)- the driver would fail to recognize compatible hardware and fail to install altogether. This occurred regardless of installing/uninstalling intel drivers first, cleaning up all previous driver installs with DDU, safe mode, installation, etc. Windows update would identify but then fail to install an appropriate driver.
2. If I downloaded geforce experience, I could download the nvidia driver through that. However, the driver did not include the nvidia control panel, and the nvidia GPU remained active in some form (I didn't have access to optimus settings), so that scenario torpedoed battery life.
3. I tried the original drive (that shipped with the notebook) again, and noticed that the nvidia control panel did work on that install/image. So, I ended up cloning the shipped image from the 256gb drive onto the 970 pro. I lost/gave up everything else that was on the drive, but I can reinstall all that; and now I have the control panel which allows me to use optimus properly; and get appropriate battery life.

We really need razer to post their drivers on the support page (for some reason the razer blade stealth has a 2019 driver page but this razer blade does not).

 

Undervolting is super easy and should be done on any/every laptop.
The stock voltage is designed to meet the requirements of even the worst/ underperforming of each manufacturers laptops. So each one will work 100% out of the box. Its seems a lot of people can get -.140mv undervolt on the blade with the 8750h and it helps a lot!

 

I experienced this with the 417 and 418 drivers. Evenutally I manually installed a generic display driver ( couldn't find basic vga driver) Then reinstalled 418 and the control panel showed up. Weird stuff.

 

This’s a part true but not quite, low wattage ultrabook cpu doesn’t (didn’t) need that at all since it’s already low tdp but nowadays manufacturers slimming their laptops and in other hand intel makes more and more powerful cpu that needs to cool properly and some thin light notebooks and ultrabook can’t handle it well. This video may explain that well and also the reason why a lot manufactures cripple their laptops cpu performance and Apple use weak Y cpu on their MacBook Air 2018 not U cpu that apparently a lot poeple want.

I can say this from my 7 years old MacBook Pro 13 and 2 years old ultrabook experience, I need undervolting when I pair those with eGPU setting but it’s another story.

 

I’m just trying to figure out how much UV helps, I’ve seen stock RB RTX models with very high CPU temps so what I’m trying to figure out is how much actual temps are reduced, if temps are in the high 90’s could you shave 10 degrees off , 5?
This is a very expensive laptop that I want to last for 2-3 years so I’m just trying to cover all the bases before buying.
Thanks for your reply, it does help.

 

Dude, You know by now that nearly all laptop running a 6 core Coffee lake have bad stock temperatures.

I invite you to look at the notebookcheck review of the 2019 ASUS DTR (that HUGE laptop) where in witcher 3 at stock it reaches ...97°C !


So either people still lie to themselves and think current laptops can handle that non 45W CPU, or they take matter in their own hands and decrease the turbo limit, undervolt the CPU and/or (extreme, last resort) use conductonaut.

Only 7/10nm will save us, Intel made a horrible gaming CPU that reaches dangerous temperatures.

For people that want their razer blade to last : I decreased to 3.0Ghz max the turbo when running 4/5/6 cores and put a -125mV on core/cache and -50mV on the iGPU.

max temperatures 80°C and my games run very well (usually low 70s °C buut demanding games can reach up to 77-80°C which for me is perfect) . Razer did nothing wrong here, they have the best max-Q laptop imho, Intel is the culprit.

 

Dude on that clock it’s better buying 7700HQ if I’ve to run 1ghz less. To me that’s nonsense buying 8750H and running and limiting boost on 3gHz it’s your choice though, and yes Notebookcheck runs always on stock so it’s sucks as reference, poeple mostly undervolting on their gaming laptop.
Here my 6 cores cpu inside 2Kg Laptop cassis running Anthem around an hour, no Core limitation stock paste only undervolting @-130. On gaming with turbo boost on, you need to see temperature average not max, Notebookcheck high temperature because maybe it spike to highest temperature but not stay there long, and maybe reviewers doesn’t care at all about temperature unlike owners.

 

I want to have low temperature and maximum safety, it’s my choice to limit to 3.0Ghz not something I MUST do for my laptop to work, but I have exactly your temps (max 93C) without any turbo limit, the 125mV undervolt and with a 2080max-Q. I only care about max temp since throttling or thermal shutdown occurs when max temperature is reached, on average I’m 10C+ lower than you (with turbo limit of course) but It’s my choice, games use GPU nowadays and 6-cores running @ 3Ghz is enough for me. I don’t care if I have 112fps and not 120.


For me the CPU are badly designed whereas the GPU are great so no point in buying a 7700HQ since it’s paired with a last gen Pascal, I still have a significant fps increase.

My 6700hq used to reach 95C ln my AW15R3 so it’s the whole 14nm process that is flawed, can’t stop reading horror stories about CPU thermals since broadwell tbh, can’t wait for the real new CPU

 

Yes it’s users preferred tweaking their core clock, I meant it’s to me. On that video I showed before, it was not good temperature for his device, need undervolting and use balanced mode if it’s spike stable on high 90ish. Btw above was gaming mode, with balanced it’s never crossed mid 80ish. But I don’t want to make my cpu lazy , if it’s not thermal throttling I push it on its max, if it throttle even on crippled balanced mode I’ll repasting it, if it doesn’t bring improvement I’ll send it back let manufacturer do their job fixing it .
Yes I’m agree and want to see as well new mobile cpu that is more energy efficient without loosing huge performance on thin light category laptop.

 

How much does this affect performance when gaming and does it help with the fan noise under load?
I like the idea though as long as it helps with temps and noise levels when gaming, so you have a RTX RB 2080MQ?

 

How much does it affect ?

Since I'm always above 60fps I didn't notice anything.

Regarding noise, I noticed a good improvement since I'm 10+°C lower the fan are running on another treshhold. tbh regarding noise I'm really satisfied because I had an Alienware before that and it was so noisy, even on stock the razer felt comfortable.

 

That’s great the hear! Thanks.
How is the 1080P matte screen? Speakers? and does yours have coil whine that I’ve been hearing too many owners have.
I’m coming from RB 14 with GTX 870M and the screen was great even though it was glossy, screen was nice and bright with pretty good color reproduction.

 

Yes definitely coil whine is here in game when the Nvidia GPU is under heavy use. if you play with low noise with earphone (not headphone, earphones) you will not hear them. It's sadly a common thing nowadays, I had a dell XPS 13 and the coil whine was horrendous. Here it's high but I don't care, in the end I look at the pros and cons and the pros win by far .

Screen is awesome, approx 300nits, well-lit, good contrast and color reproduction. Speaker is solid. Matte is different from Glossy, I prefer Glossy because it has a better image quality feel but this is clearly one of the best matte screen I tried.

If you can't stand coil whine one bit I think Razer will disappoint you, the majority of Blades have coil whine.

 

Is the 2080MQ able to fully utilize the 1080p 144Hz Gsync screen for most games at Ultra/Very high settings?
I’m also looking at a full RTX 2080 laptop but with a discount the RB is cheaper so just wondering if going with a full RTX 2080 is worth the extra $200-$300.
You have been very helpful and I thank you.

 

If raw performance is important for you and you don’t really care about the form factor/battery life etc the normal RTX2080 is really more powerful, I find myself between 60 and 120fps most of the time. The normal 2080 is like 20-30% more powerful it’s huuge so really if you don’t mind things like thickness, weight and battery life, just take a beast 2080 you will have a more future-proof laptop. The 2080max-Q is as powerful as a notebook 2070.

 

I've had the RB 15 with 2080 since Thursday last week and it's been pretty positive overall. There is a bit of screen bleed and some coil whine, but the machine runs very cool when gaming and almost whisper quite.

However, I'm having huge issues with the trackpad.

It works fine upon boot and restart but then it suddenly stops registering swipes and taps and becomes pretty unresponsive in general. A restart or turning the trackpad on and off does fix the issue, but then it returns after a while.

More interestingly, I observed that it starts instantly misbehaving when I change something in Synapse - for example, chaning the refresh rate to 60Hz when on battery, or activating gaming mode. the trackpad instantly becomes a mess. Does anyone else have any issues?

Some benchmark scores in anyone's interested - sorry, I'm at work and I can't post the detailed results/screen caps:
Firestrike (auto fans, stock profile, -0.0125 UV): 17,842 overall, 21,004 graphics. CPU Max 85C and GPU Max 76C