Second-generation Razer Blade 18 arrives today with big improvements

Something stood out in Razer's laptop line from last year. In addition to updates for the Blade 14 and 16, the hardware manufacturer unveiled something bigger. It was the larger Razer Blade 18, touted as a potential desktop replacement for on-the-go users. The Blade 18 contained some eye-opening features and the second-generation model unveiled earlier this year looks to go even bigger. Razer announced on Thursday that the Blade 18 is now available on its website. During our time at this year's Game Developers Conference, Shacknews stopped by Razer's San Francisco offices to give it a first look.

The first thing to note is that the Razer Blade 18 sports a visual quality not seen in last year's model. This year's iteration features an 18" 4K 200Hz Calman Verified display, which the company is touting as a first for any laptop. What makes this laptop interesting is its versatility with two different display options to suit a user's needs. For those into gaming, there's the aforementioned 4K 200Hz setting with 3.0ms response time and support for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 GPU and DLSS 3. For the more creative user, there's an alternate QHD+ 300Hz Mini-LED display option with full support for NVIDIA Studio and its emerging AI features. All of it is powered by the Intel Core 14th Gen i9-14900HX processor, cut down to its thinnest form factor to allow for a lighter weight and portable design.

Razer has also designed the Blade 18 for the future by making it the first laptop to support Thunderbolt 5 connectivity. This technology isn't available just yet. Thunderbolt 5 is expected to debut later this year. When it does, the Razer Blade 18 will support it, allowing for multiple high-resolution monitor display usage. During my time at GDC, I witnessed a Blade 18 connected to three high-res display monitors all running Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered, allowing for a wider view of Manhattan than I thought imaginable. There appeared to be no display lag and the resolution came across crisp and clear.

As one might imagine, the Blade 18 does a lot of work, so cooling will understandably be a concern. Razer has designed the Blade 18 with a three-fan system across its biggest vapor chamber ever. The laptop will expel heat across its thin exhaust fans to allow for peak and prolonged performance. With only a brief meeting, it's hard to judge cooling over an extended period, but Razer appears to have anticipated the amount of work this laptop can perform and how much heat will need to be dissipated over time.

Finally, expect the type of high-end features that come with just about every Razer laptop. There's a 5MP webcam, a THX spatial audio six-speaker layout, and Wi-Fi 7 support. The 330W GaN charger will keep it running at a smaller size than comparable chargers.

Those interested in checking out the Razer Blade 18 can pick it up starting today, but it's not going to be cheap. It retails at a whopping $3,099.99 USD and is designed for travelers who desire to be a jack-of-all-trades wherever they go. If that sounds like it's for you, it's available now on the Razer website only for the time being. Look for it to hit Razer Stores and select retailers soon.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?