**The 2019 Razer Blade: A Premium Gaming Laptop with a Steep Price Tag**

As I took my Apple sticker off my laptop and beeped it on, I couldn't help but think about the latest gaming system from Razer - the 2019 Blade. With its advanced RTX Cards and powerful performance, this laptop is almost always on the expensive side of things. But does it deliver some of the best build quality around? And is it worth the hefty price tag?

**Powerful Performance**

Inside the Blade, you'll find the latest RTX Cards, including an advanced version that starts with an RTX 2060 but can be spec'd up to a RTX 2070 Max-Q or a 2080 Max-Q - which is what my review unit was rocking. There's no doubt that it's powerful, and the Blade can handle pretty much any game maxed out at 1080p with decent frame-rates. I tested it with Apex Legends, Battlefield V, Black Ops 4, and more - and it delivered.

**Similar Specs, Different Price**

Now, let's talk about price. The Razer Blade has always been a premiumly priced laptop, but on top of that, RTX has inflated the price of pretty much every gaming laptop it's gone into. At a full $3000 for the 2080 version I have here and $2600 for the 2070 version, it's just difficult to justify that kind of price when other options like the 15-inch Zephyrus S come in with very similar specs for about $2000.

**Key Features**

One of the key features that sets the Razer Blade apart from its competitors is Thunderbolt 3. As someone who uses a Thunderbolt 3 dock and monitor every day, this feature is a must-have for me. I also appreciate the solid Razer keyboard with per-key RGB backlighting, large touchpad, good speakers, and Windows Hello facial recognition.

**Design and Build Quality**

The design of the Blade is one of the nicest pieces of laptop hardware out there, right up with MacBooks and MacBook Pros. It's all CNC aluminum, which is a very expensive process to pull off, especially with this anodization. But it shows in the build quality - it's solid, sturdy, and feels great.

**Is it Worth it?**

Now, I know some people might say that the Razer Blade is worth the price, but for me, there are just too many other options out there that offer similar specs at a lower price. The 15-inch Zephyrus S, for example, comes in with very similar specs for about $2000.

**New Options Coming Soon**

But don't get me wrong - I'm excited to see what's coming next from Razer. At CES, I got to take a look at two new options: a 240Hz panel and a 4K OLED panel. The 4K OLED panel was incredible, with contrast and brightness that blew me away.

**Conclusion**

In conclusion, the 2019 Razer Blade delivers a rock-solid build and good performance, but it comes at a steep cost. If you're in the market for a premium gaming laptop, the Blade might be worth considering - but if you're on a budget or looking for similar specs at a lower price, there are other options out there.

And as for me? I'm still holding out for that OLED panel - and I think it's going to cost an arm and a leg.

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en- So, your Apple sticker'sstill on my laptop.Just gonna take this off now.(beeping)Hey guys, this is Austin!When it comes to gaming systems,Razer is almost always onthe expensive side of things.That doesn't mean that they don'tmake really nice stuff,but value is not really goingto be the strong suit here.For the money though,this delivers some of thebest build quality around,but with the brand new2019 Razer Blade 15,is this the new king of the hillor is it straight up not worth it?Inside you'll find the latest RTX Cards.The advanced versionstarts with an RTX 2060,but you can spec itup to a RTX 2070 Max-Qor a 2080 Max-Q,which is what my review unit is rocking.There's no doubt that it's powerful.The Blade can handle pretty much any gamemaxed out at 1080p.Pretty decent frame-rates.This includes Apex Legends, Battlefield V,Black Ops 4, you name it.It can't quite hang withthe 17 inch ROG Zephyrus Swith it's crazy over the top cooling,but as far as performance goes,the Razer Blade lines rightup with what you would expectout of a standard 2080 Max-Q design.A lot of the other specs are basicallyidentical across all ofthe Razer Blade models.You're getting the same six core i7-8750H,You're getting 16 gigs of RAM,really the main choices besideyour SSD size and your screenis the 2060, 2070 or 2080.But there is a huge pricedifference between the three.Just going from the 2070 to the 2080 addsa full $400 to the price of the Blade.Okay, so let's just take a secondand talk a little bit about price.Now of course the RazerBlade has always beena premiumly pricedlaptop, if that's a word,which I think it mightbe, but on top of that,RTX has inflated the price of pretty muchevery gaming laptop it's gone intoand this is absolutely no exception.At a full $3000 for the2080 version I have here,and $2600 for the 2070 version,it's just difficult tojustify that kind of pricewhen other options suchas the 15 inch Zephyrus Scome in with very similarspecs for about $2000.The Razer also has acouple of key featuresthat the Zephyrus is missing.Mainly Thunderbolt 3.Now I get that this is not going to bea deal breaker for everyone, but for me,I actually do use aThunderbolt 3 dock and monitorpretty much everydayso that's a big featurethat I want includedin pretty much any kindof gaming laptop or, well really,any laptop I buy at this point.Now you can't talk about the Razer Bladewithout mentioning the design.Now as far as I'm concerned,this is about one of thenicest pieces of laptophardware out there,right up with MacBooks andthe MacBook Pros of the world.It's all CNC aluminum, I knowit's a very expensive processto pull off, especiallywith this anodization,and put simply it's a very solid, very sturdy,very nice feeling piece of technology.You're paying more, butat least some of thatcost is definitely in theactual build qualityand some of the design workthat they've done here.You also get the generallysolid Razer keyboardwith the per-key RGB backlighting,you get the nice large touchpad,the good speakers, you even haveWindows Hello facial recognitionand there's a lot of good stuff here,but does it justify that $3000 price tag?I will definitely admit, I have had issueswith quality on someRazer laptops in the past,but as far as I can tell,they basically nailed it this generation.I mean, hardware wise, there'snot a lot to complain aboutwhich is always a good thing whenyou're spending thismuch money on a laptop.Is it getting old?I'm complaining aboutthe price of the laptop?It's a big issue, it legitimately is.It's a very very expensive piece of tech,and you're paying a lot of extra moneyand I think pretty much everyone expectsto get something when they pay that.And you're getting some stuff,like hardware wise it'sa little bit nicer,but performance wise you can get a lotmore performance or basicallythe same performance for a lot less.Which I think is a compellingargument for almost everyone.As a surprise to basically no oneyou're getting a very solid display.Now this model has the 1080p 144Hz panel,but there is an optional 4K unit as well.Now it's solid, but it's reallynothing all that exciting.I mean, basically everyother gaming laptopin this class has avery very similar panel.What is a little bit more exciting,are some of the newoptions that are comingfor the Blade a littlebit later this year.At CES I got to take a look attwo of these new options.One of which is a 240Hz panel,which, let's be real, I don't know ifall that many peoplecan tell the difference,but for some people it might be nice,specifically people who are playingvery very high frame rate games,but more importantly than that,for me is a 4K OLED panel.Now I know I mentioned earlierthat there was already a 4K optionthat you can get for the Blade,but it's still a standard panel,I mean it looks nice, but the OLED panelI was able to take a lookat in the Razer boothwas incredible, I mean thecontrast, the brightness,it was such a massive, massive step up.Now it doesn't supportthose higher frame rates,but as far as I'm concerned,I want OLED all up in my Razer Blade.And well basically, everywhereelse in fact just everywhere.The 2019 Razer Bladedelivers a rock solid buildand good performance, butit comes at a steep cost.Now if this was sort ofa no price comparisonwhere I just pick the absolute favoritepiece of hardware on the market,I actually might go with the Blade.But when you look at that Zephyrus S,for a significantly cheaper price,you're getting that better performance,you're getting a littlebit of an unusual design,but I think for most people,it is totally worth the trade off.So, is the Razer Blade worth it?Well for some people, yes,but as far as I'm concerned,I'm holding out for that OLED panel.That, that is what'sgoing to get the moneyand oh, I just realized,think about how expensivethe OLED's gonna be.Oh no, I was all excited about gettinga new Razer Blade with OLED.Oh no...