For gamers
If you're looking at a Razer Blade for gaming, then the regular model is the one to get, with a lower starting price and more options to suit needs and budgets, while still having enough power for all the latest titles.
For
- NVIDIA RTX GPUs
- High refresh rate displays
- More options for gaming on different budgets
- Slim chassis
Against
- 4K OLED not standard
- Significantly cheaper
For creators
The Blade 15 Studio is not the laptop for most people, but that's perfectly fine because the creative and professional markets it is targeted at will be blown away by the power inside it and the absurdly good looking display.
For
- NVIDIA RTX Quadro GPU
- Calibrated 4K OLED display standard
- Same great design
- Slim and portable
Against
- Significantly more expensive
- No Core i9 model
On the outside, these two laptops look virtually identical, and that's a good thing. The form factor of the Blade 15 is already pretty special. Still, with the Studio Edition, Razer and NVIDIA crammed in a ridiculous workstation GPU, more RAM, more storage, and a gorgeous 4K OLED display as standard to make it the ultimate laptop for creators. But at $4,000, it's expensive, and gamers should still look towards the regular Blade 15.
Razer Blade 15 vs. Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition tech specs
| Header Cell - Column 0 | Razer Blade 15 | Razer Blade 15 Studio |
|---|---|---|
| Graphics | NVIDIA GTX 1060 NVIDIA RTX 2060 NVIDIA RTX 2070 NVIDIA RTX 2080 | NVIDIA Quadro RTX 5000 Studio Edition (16GB GDDR6 VRAM) |
| Processor | Intel Core i7-8750H Intel Core i7-9750H | Intel Core i7-9750H 6 Core |
| RAM | 16GB DDR4 | 32GB DDR4 Upgradeable to 64GB |
| Storage | 128GB SSD (SATA-III) + 1TB HDD (5400rpm) 256GB SSD (NVMe PCIe 3.0 x4) + 2TB HDD (5400rpm) 256GB PCIe SSD 512GB PCIe SSD | 1TB PCIe SSD |
| Display | 15.6" Full HD 60Hz/144Hz/240Hz (non-touch) 4K OLED 60Hz (touch) | 15.6" OLED 4K Touch 60Hz 100% DCI-P3 HDR400 Factory calibrated |
| Ports | USB 3.1 or 3.2 Thunderbolt 3 USB-C HDMI miniDP | USB 3.2 Gen 2 (USB-A) x3, Thunderbolt 3, USB-C |
| Battery | 65 Wh/80Wh | 80Wh |
| Price | From $1,500 | $4,000 |
Why the Blade 15 Studio is special (and expensive)
What makes the Blade 15 Studio Edition different from the regular Razer Blade is its focus on professionals and creators. The normal Blade 15 is the best gaming laptop you can buy right now, but the Studio Edition has some key hardware changes.
For one, the Blade 15 Studio Edition comes with a 4K OLED touch display as standard, and to ensure its the best it can be for the target audience, it's factory calibrated and supports 100% of the DCI-P3 color gamut.
The big upgrade for the Studio Edition, though, is the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 5000 GPU, which is also the most expensive bit of equipment inside. It's not the same as the desktop version of the RTX Quadro 5000, but for context, that GPU alone for a desktop workstation costs over $2,000, and its performance isn't a massive amount higher than the mobile version.
The Quadro RTX 5000 comes with 16GB of GDDR6 VRAM, 3072 Cuda cores, a peak performance of 9TF, and 48 ray tracing cores. Despite the performance, power draw is low, and the Blade 15 Studio is powered by just a regular old 270W power brick.
NVIDIA also gets a ton of credit for the Studio program as well. It's not just about slapping massive, powerful GPUs into laptops; the Studio drivers are about optimizing performance for several popular applications, such as the Adobe suite. These drivers are available for several GPUs, covering the entire ten series GeForce lineup, so you can even use them on the regular Razer Blade 15 if you wish.
But the combination of the drivers, the insanely powerful workstation GPU, and other features like the calibrated 4K OLED display is what makes the Blade Studio stand out.
The regular Blade 15 is better for gaming
If gaming is your number one preference, then the regular Blade 15 is the one to get, and not just because it's substantially less expensive to buy. You have more choice over the spec you want to meet the type of games you want to play and the budget you want to keep to.
There are a range of GPUs and display options to choose from, with the GTX 1660 Ti at the bottom end, a sweet spot RTX 2060 in the middle, and an RTX 2080 at the highest end. You also get an entry-level model that's relatively affordable and some fantastic display options, including 144Hz panels and even a 4K OLED just like the Studio Edition.
Even if you fancy a bit of content creation as well as gaming, NVIDIA allows you to install Studio drivers to improve optimization for the apps and processes you'll be using here. It's also incredibly easy to switch between Studio and GeForce drivers, so you always have the best experience whatever you're doing.
Sat side by side with the Blade 15 Studio Edition, the regular model is virtually indistinguishable. But it's the best choice for gamers.
The better choice for gamers
If you're a gamer first, then the regular Razer Blade 15 will be the smarter choice. It's still extremely powerful and will cost you an awful lot less.
All the power you need
Between the killer hardware specs and the stunning 4K display, the Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition is an out-of-this-world choice for photo and video editing, as well as any other creative task and complex professional applications.
