On every laptop, the base models are always important as consumers prefer buying them instead of some mid-rangers or high-end ones because of their affordability. However, the Razer Blade 15 is not actually a base notebook but Razer really tagged it as a “Base Model” since they introduced a more improved variant. The new improved variant has been launched to the public with the name “Razer Blade 15 (2021).
| Features | Razer Blade (2021) | Razer Blade (2020) |
|---|---|---|
| Display | 15.6-inch Full HD (1920 x 1080), 144 Hz, IPS or 15.6-inch QHD (2560 x 1440), 165 Hz, IPS | 15.6-inch Full HD (1920 x 1080), 144 Hz, IPS or 15.6-inch 4K UHD (3840 x 2160), OLED |
| Dimensions | 355 x 235 x 19.9 mm (13.98″ x 9.25″ x 0.78″) | 355 x 235 x 19.9 mm (13.98″ x 9.25″ x 0.78″) |
| CPU | Intel Core i7-10750H | Intel Core i7-10750H |
| GPU | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 (Laptop, 95W), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 (Laptop, 95W) | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 (Laptop), NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti (Laptop) |
| Weight | 2.09kg | 2.10kg |
| Price | ₦698,000 ($1699) | ₦468,000 ($1150) |
From the outside, the two devices are quite similar to Razer’s distinctive design that’s easily recognizable. The two notebooks have thin bezels surrounding the screen with the lower part being a bit thicker. Also, the Razer Blade 15 (2021) weighs 2.09kg just like the old one, and with the same 19.9mm dimensions.
However, it seems Razer has decided to keep the keyboard and touchpad design unchanged. The Razer Blade 15 (2021) keyboard offers a single Chroma RGB backlight. Also, the touchpad is big which brings enough space for your fingers to easily swipe and will help in situations where you don’t have any available mouse.
On the display side, there’s the same 144 Hz IPS panel with a 1080p resolution. For crisp display, Razer equipped the laptop with a QHD option and 165Hz refresh rate but that will cost you additional money. However, this plus RTX 3060 or 3070 combined will give you a better gaming performance than the base 1080p display.
Meanwhile, the real upgrades are hidden under the hood. With Intel Core i7-10750H, the original Razer Blade 15 (2020) comes with a 6 cores processor and 12 threads which are enough for a decent gaming experience. However, the new Razer Blade 15 (2021) features a NVIDIA Ampere GPU, with either GeForce RTX 3060 or RTX 3070.
Also, it can be picked with more powerful graphics cards compared to the original Razer Blade 15 (2020) which’s limited to just GeForce RTX 2070. However, the default GPU option is the GeForce GTX 1660 Ti which is on the base model and quite affordable, offering you a decent performance without RTX capabilities.
