58 TECH ADVISOR • NOVEMBER 2019GAMING SPECIALsection is between the keyboard and screen, which we
often found too hot to touch. Razer says this is normal
with a metal casing and that heat is drawn away from
where you make contact with the laptop. It’s worth
noting that since the air intake is on the bottom, you
shouldn’t use the Blade 15 on a cushion, bed or similar.Connectivity and audio
There’s a switch to Intel for Wi-Fi and the Blade 15
offers 8021.1ac and Bluetooth 5.0. Connectivity is
decent despite the laptop being thinner than before.
You get three USB-A 3.1 ports (in green, of course),
HDMI 2.0, USB-C Thunderbolt 3, a 3.5mm combo
jack and, for the first time, a mini DisplayPort 1.4. This
means you can support up to three external displays.
There’s also a 720p webcam, which is above the
screen not below it like many new laptops. You’ll also
notice a proprietary power connector. This comes with
an angled cable to feed the cable to behind the laptop.
There are speakers either side of the keyboard. So
while many laptops have speakers on the side or even
underneath, these ones actually point vaguely towards
your ears. They are no replacement for a headset,
but the quality, for a pretty thin laptop, is good and
there’s a decent amount of power should you need to
drown out fan noise. If you’re gaming there’s even a
bit of stereo separation, so you can tell which side an
enemy is coming from.Battery life
It’s no secret that gaming laptops aren’t made for
battery life. The Razer Blade 15 has a 80Wh battery58 TECH ADVISOR • NOVEMBER 2019
GAMING SPECIAL
section is between the keyboard and screen, which we
often found too hot to touch. Razer says this is normal
with a metal casing and that heat is drawn away from
where you make contact with the laptop. It’s worth
noting that since the air intake is on the bottom, you
shouldn’t use the Blade 15 on a cushion, bed or similar.Connectivity and audio
There’s a switch to Intel for Wi-Fi and the Blade 15
offers 8021.1ac and Bluetooth 5.0. Connectivity is
decent despite the laptop being thinner than before.
You get three USB-A 3.1 ports (in green, of course),
HDMI 2.0, USB-C Thunderbolt 3, a 3.5mm combo
jack and, for the first time, a mini DisplayPort 1.4. This
means you can support up to three external displays.
There’s also a 720p webcam, which is above the
screen not below it like many new laptops. You’ll also
notice a proprietary power connector. This comes with
an angled cable to feed the cable to behind the laptop.
There are speakers either side of the keyboard. So
while many laptops have speakers on the side or even
underneath, these ones actually point vaguely towards
your ears. They are no replacement for a headset,
butthequality,fora prettythinlaptop,is goodand
there’sa decent amount of power should you need to
drown out fan noise. If you’re gaming there’s even a
bit of stereo separation, so you can tell which side an
enemy is coming from.Battery life
It’s no secret that gaming laptops aren’t made for
battery life. The Razer Blade 15 has a 80Wh battery