Razer has introduced a new version of the Razer Blade gaming laptop for 2018. The new model carries quite a number of upgrades including new design, bigger display and of course, new hardware.
With a design that seems to be adopted from last year’s Razer Blade Stealth, the 2018 Razer Blade is now equipped with a bigger 15.6-inch display instead of 14-inch display that was present in 2017 model. The baseline 15.6-inch laptop sports a full HD display that runs at a 144Hz refresh rate, with the option to bump it up to a 4K touch display.
Inside is a much newer Intel Core i7-8750H processor paired with 16GB RAM. Naturally the memory can be expanded to 32GB. Also new to the Razer Blade is a choice between an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Max-Q or GTX 1060 Max-Q graphics. Both of these were practically designed for thin and light gaming laptops like the Blade; although they sacrifice a portion of their processing power in order to meet the size requirements.
Rounding out the specifications are up to a 512GB SSD (with support for up to 2TB), a Thunderbolt 3 port (for use with the Razer Core), a USB 3.1 port, and a mini-Display Port 1.4.
At the same time, Razer has introduced a new Razer Core X eGPU enclosure. This looks to be yet another update; having bumped the power supply up to 650W. It still supports most existing desktop grade graphics cards from both NVIDIA and AMD.
The real news is probably due to the introduction of eGPU support on MacOS; meaning that these enclosures can be used with new Macbooks. Turning them from slow lifestyle devices into full blown graphics powerhouses. A point that is not lost on Razer in its announcement.
Of course, the Razer Core X will also work with any Windows based system that also supports Thunderbolt 3 connections. Including the Razer Blade Stealth.
The Razer Blade is on sale now in select markets for starting from $1,899.99 (RM7500) for the 60Hz FHD display version. The Razer Core X is priced at $299 (RM1200); although the actual graphics card is sold separately.
