Razer Blade 15.6" (GTX 1060/1070, 2018 edition) Owner's Lounge

Yes, can't go wrong with Amazon CS.

I ordered a product recently, complained that it states delivered but it wasn't, they apologised and they refunded it to me - and they still delivered the item a week later despite having refunded me.

 

Hownodd! I just tried that Curry's thing and indeed it does it on some models and not others!

More worryingly the models are shown with 8gb ram and this is repeated throughout the webpages! I've emailed them but it's a 5 day turn around...

 

The 8GB is actually the RAM for the graphics card. There are only 16GB DDR4 versions available for this laptop, don't sweat it.

 

So in everyone's opinion, with all things being equal you think Curry's is the best place in the UK to buy the blade due to the 3 year warranty at £300? Or is it better to insure the device through a 3rd party and just get it through Amazon as the returns are easier?

But no one recommends buying it through razer directly? Even tho surely going direct is usually best with these things?

 

Do not use those weird 3rd party warranty/insurance providers - forgot what they are called but I wouldn't trust them one bit.

Go with either Curry's or Amazon - however, maybe wait till later in the week so you can see if they discount these machines/price match to Razer promotions.

I don't believe Razer have a repair center in the UK, so the way you'd repair it is having to ship it to some other country - just seems hassle personally speaking, won't be as simple as taking it into Curry's or using Amazon's amazing return service. As discussed before, you also just have 1 year's manufacturers warranty with Razer, who know's how it will play out after that. They will probably not honour any battery repairs after that 1 year even with the EU/UK CS laws. It just seems a bad idea in every way to buy direct. There is nothing special about buying from them or anyone else, the product is the same - the service isn't going to be better as they just outsource it to some repair center service like anybody else.

 

Hey everyone, it's been awhile since I've posted and just wanted to check in to see how everyone's doing with their blade. I'd love to hear any good thermal success stories, worthwhile mods, painted vs unpainted vapor chamber heat dissipation (proven facts), so on.

As for myself, I've been using my Blade daily since launch, 6 months now (May 25, pg 14 in this forum). Thermals were my greatest concern, as everything else has been solid. The screen, trackpad, keyboard, size and weight of this machine are spot on, and still present no issues. My speaker grille on the right side has an unusual bow on the edge since day 1, but razer didn't have replacements yet so I may reach out for one now. I repasted with Kryonaut months ago and saw a tiny temp decrease, but now days I game around 3.2 - 3.5 GHz limited via Throttlestop for ideal low-80's cpu temps and low noise levels, maintaining over 144hz in Fortnite.
As some have commented earlier, I also have had to apply epoxy to the power-side lid screw point as the flimsy plastic broke. Otherwise sturdy, happy chassis. Overall this laptop would still be my purchase decision in the current market, as it's nearly impossible to beat in every category. I like the zepherus S, but it doesn't appear any better than the blade at anything other than gaming temps. So those are my thoughts, love to hear yall's.

 

also, i played a bit with the device and battlefield v , everything maxed and framerate capped to 60, my cpu runs 85max and my gpu 76 max during play ( 1060 version ) no DX12 enabled .
and suddendly my device jumped from idle 45-49 , to 31-38 after i played for like 4 hours on the device .
i guess the kryonaut just needed some heat and time to settle right ?
ambient is 23 btw undervolt is 140 on core 130 on cache , 60 on igpu i tested the gaming temps on gaming mode and the idle temp was balanced mode

 

Neat. My idle temps vary a lot, 30s and 40s, if they hit 50s the fans cool it off. I leave the machine in gaming mode always, since balanced mode limits me to 25w gaming and unaggressive auto fan curves. I run just under -.150 undervolt stable.

There's no way I can force myself to play at 60hz, but temps go down a LOT when I toyed with it that way. It's just so ugly lol.

 

My Blade 15 1070 FHD is still “virgins” almost 6 months only popping out the ssd for 1tb, just tested battlefront 2 since I played more often with the core for 1440p or 4K gaming , at ultra setting 1080p, on that game I got 80 to 90ish FPS, some cores hit second 90ish but mostly stay at 80ish with average mid 80 after long gaming session. As I mentioned in early early pages, the down side maybe only minimum backlight Bleeding which I just remember when writing this to look for its downside.

 

Ah sounds fine then. Ultimately high 80s isn't horrible for this platform, but having that extended warranty helps me relax. I didn't have much backlight bleed, is yours really that bad or just relate to a perfect panel?

 

Kind want perfection I think I posted here long time ago the screen shot, noticed when i put attention on bottom screen on dark scene in the dark room

 

Gottcha, I'm sure I've seen yours awhile ago. Honestly at least it isn't too noticeable, unlike some laptops in the past including the blade 14 Still can't beat a lovely glass panel though, I'd kill for a glass 144hz 1080p or 1440p version...

 

Anyone play Black ops 4 / Battlefield 5 on their 1070 blade yet? Ultimately performance is really good - 80-100 fps on BF5 w/ full ultra. Black Ops 4 same thing with 150% res scale.

The issue is the temps have been wild. I was happy to see Shadow of the Tomb Raider barely broke a max of 91c cpu / 82c gpu over an hour.

However Black OPs CPU temps max high 90s over an hour (max 98c) and GPU hits 84c max. Battlefield 5 hit 99c and 86c GPU. Damn girl wtf

Edit:

I'm probably better off just sticking to normal mode. I have a habit of using gaming mode 100% of the time because I like milking the extra performance. However, after an hour of normal mode Battlefield 5, max CPU temp was 92c and GPU max was 84c. Averages clearly dropped too from high 80s to low 80s (CPU). Didn't even truly notice a big performance change. FPS low remained the same, still 60+, and average was 70-80 still. The highs weren't as high with gaming mode on, being around 90 fps to 105+

 

I’ll get maybe BFV today, Black OPS and that game are still new, still not unoptimized like SoTR and gaming mode is overclocking GPU by 100/300 with max its cpu tdp so
the cpu would be also max stressed, I believe mine will also break that area. Gaming on such games usually i use balanced mode.

 

Can someone who owns the 144Hz FHD + 1070 Blade confirm something for me please? I want to know if you can set a custom resolution + refresh rate in the Intel graphics control panel, to say 1080p and 120 Hz? Or even 100 Hz? I won't rehash my main question / issue that I posted earlier in this thread / why I want to do this. I simply would like to know if this can be done AND whether the display will then support say a 120 Hz refresh rate. I know there's not a perceptible difference between 120 and 144 Hz. Not asking about capping FPS either. Just want to know if this works, that's it. Thank you to anyone who tries for me.

 

i also tested bfv in balanced mode, and it ran around 5ish frames worse than on gaming mode .. but still hitting mostly 60 and sometimes high 40s with the 1060

 

No there’s only two options there 144 or 60Hz, on some games graphics setting, forgot which one, there’s several Hz (not FPS) options which is not default. On using external monitor, in nvidia control panel is also only monitor default refresh rate option.

 

Hey guys so I just bought the Razer Blade 15 Base, it’s being shipped to me right now but I was wondering if anyone else had experience with the base model?

Also does it share the same bios/drivers as the normal Blade 15? On Razers website I saw no drivers or anything listed

 

On my Matebook X Pro that has Optimus I can go into the Intel control panel and set a custom resolution and refresh rate. So there is no such option that pops up on the Blade when you open the Intel control panel?

 

I have a base model and it's been really good so far. I am not a gamer but use the machine as a business machine running business software, a graphic robotic programming software package, a virtual computer, and standard email/internet browsing/youtube. I've upgraded the m.2 ssd (cloned original ssd) and 2.5" ssd as well as the memory (2tb/4tb/36gb) and so far so good. No issues with over heating and very seldom does the fans throttle. I am pleased so far.

I am not sure why the drivers are not being listed currently. They were a couple of weeks ago.

 

Done! Just bought the razer blade 15 1070 256gb 144hz model from Amazon. On sale cheaper than razer! It's £210 off today! So put that towards the 2 years accidental damage and extended warranty. Sadly Curry's said they don't do an extended warranty on the 1070 models.

 

Great discount, yes 2 years protection is worth it at least for using convenience.

Yes unfortunately, idk on bios if we mode it like on 2017.

Just tried opening BFV, depends on area I got 58 (land) to over 100fps (Air fighting) on max setting, in an area FPS changes isn’t huge, it’s butter smooth imo. Synapse setting balanced 4800rpm. Temperature max cpu 91, mostly on 80ish with average 77, well it’s only opening though, not finished downloading, damn I’ve to go to work, can’t wait messing around with RTX on

 

Honestly was just expecting maybe that £180 tomorrow if I was lucky! So that was a lovely surprise! It's getting delivered tomorrow and then I'm getting home from Dubai on Sunday and can spend all of Monday with it!!

In terms of upgrading the SSD, I can pretty much do that before I turn the device on as the 970 Evo 1tb is waiting at home already. Is there anything I should be copying off it? Drivers, wallpapers, admin accounts? Or just clean install as per https://theunlockr.com/2018/06/05/how-to-upgrade-the-razer-blade-15-ram-ssd/ and just install synapse 3.0?

Just ordered a dbrand skin for it too, to personalise it and protect it from scuffs. Went for red dragon skin. Sort of matches my YouTube channel stuff.

Is there anything else I should be looking to buy or do (other than the undervolt stuff that I can look at later). I'm going to hold off 32gb ram until the prices come down! It's not something I super need at the moment.

 

Razer now offers extended warranty for its laptops and phones.

https://www.pcgamer.com/razer-now-o...options-in-the-us-for-its-laptops-and-phones/

 

Haha about time. Now bring it to EU...

 

Cute name, Razer Care I think I remember that name from somewhere else

We’re step daughter in term new products and services availability, US alway first.

 

It is silly as EU by far out-revenue US in terms of gaming.

 

I mostly plan on using mine for productivity as well, however I'm just a little concerned about longevity. That being said I do have a Xiaomi Notebook pro right now so I figured it would be better than that.

 

I think their biggest market is in US, so just like other limited item new released hardware they put concentrations there first.

Idk about the pro, but I had Mi Air 13, full of issue, thermal was the main issue and after almost a year display issue. I didn’t have such hardware issues on Blade 2015 2 years gaming usage (2017 model was only 14 months before sold it), and from where I live repair mi notebook is very difficult. Even Razer is small company they have longer experience making light weight laptops than Xiaomi.

 

Yeah that's what I figured, however I still opted for the two year warranty from best buy just because I want it to last for at least two years. I heard the Air had alot of heat problems due to to the size but I haven't had any issues with my pro, I'll probably miss the battery life the most as when just typing and browsing it lasts around 8-9 hours. But when I do renders and stuff it's plugged into my desk anyways so. I'm very excited as this is my first razer and I've been looking at their laptops for a longgggg time. It feels nice to finally own one, now I just have to wait for it to arrive

 

How are you guys applying undervolt to your Razer Blade's? XTU or TS?

Is there a way to undervolt it within the BIOS rather than having to rely on these programmes (which can be flaky)?

What battery life improvements does the undervolt make for you guys?

 

I investigated modding the BIOS for this exact purpose ( https://www.reddit.com/r/razer/comments/9jq0w0/temporary_fix_for_razer_blade_15_high_cpu_idle/), but found that all settings are controlled from elsewhere or are simply not regarded when the machine boots.

ThrottleStop is not flaky at all for me though. It doesn't forget the settings and seems to be a decent app. I wouldn't use XTU, that can indeed be flaky if you don't use the command line version of it.

In that Reddit thread you'll also find my findings in terms of battery life.

 

You can undervolting directly through bios if you flash the bios (moding) by changing the setting from default to user I believe, I did that on my previous Blade, on Blade 15 I couldn’t flash the Bios somehow but other users said could, anyway xtu is fine to me. By appropriate undervolting and windows and synapse energy saver mode, I can get easily 6 to 7 hours non gaming or dGPU usage, sometimes windows told 9 hours though. It’s around 2 hours or more battery improvement than default. Note first week it may look bad due windows update and hardware optimization, got 3 hours at first time.

 

Noticed Amazon have a very long return policy of up to end of January for mine.

Pretty cool.

 

Where is the energy saving mode in the synapse program. The only 2 profiles I have are the balanced and gaming modes?

 

I meant in windows battery saver and synapse balanced. Kind rush seeing deals today

 

Thanks all.

My GTX 1060 model should be coming today.

Without undervolt, what battery life can be expected for productivity/development tasks?

Also, how do you guys find using this on your lap for such tasks? For gaming it'll be on the desk, but I may do a lot of reading/coding while sitting on a sofa or bed - is it comfortable like it is on say a MacBook Pro 15?

 

So after yesterday's Battlefield 5 update, I play the game in normal mode and the CPU doesn't break 90c / 81C GPU after an hour. Not sure if the update had to do with optimization, but the only other thing I simply changed was increasing the normal mode fan to a max of 4700rpm instead of 4600. So it stays quiet now, doesn't break 90c CPU, and sustains 60-90fps, 60 being the absolute lowest in big fights / detailed areas.

 

Did you order the advanced or base model?

 

Advanced, 144hz.

 

Hope you enjoy your Razer Blade 15! Looking forward to your personal impressions on the notebook

 

Had anyone successfully replaced the SSD with a Samsung 970 EVO 500 GB - M.2 2280 - MZ-V7E500BW ? I'd like to get the extra performance of it over the OEM drive.

 

I will replace it successfully with one. It's an M.2 drive just like the one in there by default. Just throw it in there, reinstall Windows on it, done.

 

I’m using it, only the 1tb version, it’s fine only slightly low the graphics performance than original one somehow, on real gaming performance it’s maybe unnoticeable but it’s on Graphics benchmarks like 3Dmark.

 

Do you mean you saw a lower 3DMark score on the system after replacing the OEM SSD with a Samsung 970 EVO 1TB NVMe? That is odd - I wonder if something else affected the benchmarks other than the SSD.

 

Amazon failed, no delivery today

 

Yes it may from somethings else, maybe default one comes with something that optimized graphics performance, idk.
Here the old ssd, I got also 15,3K but didn’t saved it online.
https://www.3dmark.com/fs/16153079
Right after installation It was hardly to pass 15K, but after sometimes maybe after some update etc it was fine again, but never touch higher than that again. This is the best I got.
https://www.3dmark.com/fs/16667603
Other comparison driving egpu with 2080TI
Original ssd
https://www.3dmark.com/fs/16524814
New ssd
https://www.3dmark.com/fs/16521842
But again in real gaming performance it isn’t noticeable.

 

Amazon failed to deliver mine in the UK. Now expected Sunday. Apparently they ran out and had to pull down some more from razer.

I ordered the firefly may and mamba elite mouse too as they were cheaper on Amazon. Figured if you're getting chroma you may as well live chroma. And just remembered I can sync with my Philips hue lights, so that will be fun!

I'm all set for my SSD upgrade. Got the drivers page saved and got my Windows usb sorted. Cant wait to get stuck in!

Tho the worst part will be reinstalling all the virus software, Vpn, office suite, video suite, photo editing suite, etc etc. Need to find the licence keys!

Tho I'm torn what games to get! I want to play the latest Wolfenstein again as on the 870m I always felt the game had more than the card could process!

 

Ah, so that explains why my one didn’t arrive yesterday...

Razer appear out of stock too, could this mean we have a long wait at our hands?

 

Nah Amazon have dispatched it just waiting for delivery! Bit annoying that I was told next day and that didn't happen. But there's a chance it will get delivered today. My bro in law is at home hopefully to receive it! Then I can play with it when I get back from Dubai tomorrow!