Razer has launched the Razer Blade 18 laptop with what the company says are two firsts: an optional 18-inch, 200Hz 4K panel and Thunderbolt 5 capabilities.

Pricing on the updated, new Razer Blade 18 is apparently somewhat variable: it starts at $2,899.99, but Razer is apparently selling it for $2,699.99. however, Razer's purchase page The Razer Blade 18 says prices start at $3,099.99.

Razer is positioning the Blade 18 as a creator-class laptop, pre-installing Nvidia's content-linked Nvidia Studio drivers instead of its game-ready drivers. But make no bones about it: it is the one. Top of the line gaming laptopyou'll also have the option of buying either a 13th-gen Core i9-13950HX, or a more recent Core i9-14900HX model and pairing it with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060, 4070, 4080, or 4090.

Memory options range from 16, 32, or 64GB of DDR5-5600 memory, paired with either a 1TB, 2TB, or 4TB PCIe 4.0 SSD configuration. (The latter are shipped as a pair of 2TB drives in adjacent M.2 slots.) Razer says all Blade 18s will ship with two available M.2 slots, one filled with a stock SSD. Will be.

Interestingly, one of the Blade 18's features trumps the other.

The Razer Blade 18 is the first laptop we've heard of with Thunderbolt 5 support, the latest version of Thunderbolt 4 found in most. Thunderbolt docking stations. Thunderbolt 5 supports 80Gbps, or 120Gbps unidirectional bandwidth. The idea is that Thunderbolt 5 specifications It will be used to support a pair of 4K displays at refresh rates up to 144Hz, which combines high resolution with high refresh rates.

Razer, however, already ships an optional 4K, 200Hz internal display — which means, somewhat ironically, that an external display connected to the Thunderbolt 5 dock won't achieve the same refresh rate as That Blade 18 already offers. On the other hand, Razer's Blade 18 also offers the option of a more traditional 18-inch 300Hz 2560×1600 miniLED display, potentially offering an interesting combination of a sharp 4K external display paired with an even sharper laptop display. does.

That's all for now, since Thunderbolt 5 docks don't exist and probably won't until later this year. But Razer has plans for them, too: Razer reps told my colleague Adam Patrick Murray that the company plans to ship the Thunderbolt 5 dock, which is probably a surprisingly good thing. Razer Thunderbolt 4 Dock Chroma.

Another possibility that Thunderbolt 5 opens up again is the chance to ship an external GPU docking station — and Razer apparently has at least one prototype in the back room, Murray reports. Again, buying a laptop with a GeForce RTX 40-series GPU inside it pretty much skews that feature – but GeForce RTX 50-series parts can't be far off?

Razor

Razor

Razor

If Thunderbolt 5 is important to you, however, make sure you buy the version of the Blade 18 with an RTX 4080 or 4090, as Thunderbolt 5 won't be in the 4070 and below models. You'll find other ports on the top and bottom of the Blade 18 lineup, however: 2.5Gbps Ethernet, a second USB 3.2 Gen 2 (with DisplayPort) port, a UHS-II SD card reader, and HDMI 2.1. Inside is either Wi-Fi 6e or Wi-Fi 7, depending on the model.

The laptop measures 15.74 x 10.84 x 0.86 inches, and weighs 6.8 pounds, even with the aluminum finish. A GaN power adapter (280W/330W, depending on model) will charge the internal 91.7Wh battery.

Further reading: The Best Gaming Laptops We've Tested

Additional reporting by Adam Patrick Murray.