The Razer Blade 14 (2023) Laptop Review: Ryzen 9 7940HS Tested With GeForce RTX 4070 Graphics
by Gavin Bonshor on June 20, 2023 11:00 AM ESTRazer Blade 14 (2023): Compute Performance
Typically in previous notebook reviews, we lump basic compute and general performance in with our system performance summary. As we advance into 2023 and beyond, we'll split the sections up and use some of our 2023 CPU Suite benchmarks to measure performance, not just from a compute standpoint but also from memory and other compute-related variables that can substantially affect compute performance.
As we move into 2023 and beyond, we'll also have more data points as we test more notebooks, and for now, we've included our data from some of our more recent yet relevant CPU reviews to judge performance. This includes AMD's Ryzen 7 7700, which is also an 8C/16T part as the Ryzen 9 7940HS within the Razer Blade 14 is; both also use Zen 4 cores, making comparing performance relevant.
In our 3DPM v2.1 benchmark, the lower powered Ryzen 9 7940HS and the Razer Blade 14 perform very similarly to AMD's desktop Ryzen 5 7600, a 6C/12T part with a 65 W TDP. As a Zen 4 part, it comfortably beats the Ryzen 5 5600G (6C/12T) APU in compute. As AMD enabled support for the AVX-512 instruction set within the Zen 4 architecture, there's a performance boost associated with AVX-512 workloads, something the previous Zen 3 cores can't benefit from.
Moving through our short-form compute performance comparisons, Blender is a popular benchmark to determine a processor's ability to process multiple samples when rendering. Across the three tests, including the BMW27, Classroom, and Pabellon Barcelona tests, the Razer Blade 14 and its Ryzen 9 7940HS perform exceptionally well compared to desktop chips with similar architecture (Zen 4) and core/thread configuration/count.
In our Crysis CPU rendering benchmark at 1080p medium settings, the Razer Blade 14/Ryzen 9 7940HS also performs very well, similar to the AMD Ryzen 5 7600 processor.
In our C-Ray benchmark, the Ryzen 9 7940HS within the Razer Blade 14 comfortably beats the Ryzen 5 7600 and is only around 15% behind the Ryzen 7 7700, which also has a 20% higher TDP attributed to it. This is another win for AMD's Zen 4 efficiency.
One of the most popular CPU benchmarks for users is CineBench R23, which offers both a single-thread and multi-threaded test. In the single-threaded test, the Razer Blade 14 and its Ryzen 9 7940HS have solid ST and IPC performance, even operating with lower power. In the multi-threaded test, performance is as good as expected from an 8C/16T chip, considering its only around 19% off the Ryzen 7 7700.
The last benchmark in our short-form compute performance suite is WinRAR 5.90, which is not only a good judge of compute performance but also includes elements where memory performance also comes into play. Comparing the Razer Blade 14 (2023) with the mobile Ryzen 9 7940HS processor to other chips, it's only 9% behind the desktop Ryzen 7 7700, with the gap closed with the use of faster DDR5-5600 memory on the Blade 14 versus the DDR5-5200 on the desktop chips when we tested them.
We test memory at JEDEC specifications in our CPU reviews, and using DDR5-5600 over DDR5-5200, considering AMD's Infinity Fabric interconnect, shows some performance benefits in memory-intensive and sensitive benchmarks.
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yannigr2 - Tuesday, June 20, 2023 - link
What the hell is this?Sorry for this way of starting, but what the hell is this? A laptop review where we see comparisons, not with other laptops but desktop CPUs and what the hell is this battery test? I am no expert in laptops but when from 500nits to 250nits difference, we only get 5 extra minutes, probably the review is withhold until Razer replies. When Razer says 9 hours and the result is no more than 2 and a half hours, withholding the review until Razer replies also makes more sense than publishing the review immediately and finding out latter. This is Anandtech. Quality is more important than speed or quantity. At least that's how we see Anandtech people who started reading it more than 20 years ago.
meacupla - Tuesday, June 20, 2023 - link
If I had to guess, the GPU is permanently on or the benchmark is flawed and not using hardware decode from the CPU.I've seen better battery life results from a 10500H with a 54Whr battery while playing back youtube over wifi.
Gavin Bonshor - Tuesday, June 20, 2023 - link
Yeah I'm currently looking into the battery life testing. It's currently on test as we speak. Apologies for thatyannigr2 - Wednesday, June 21, 2023 - link
Had a quick look at other sites after posting here. They report from 6+ hours to over 8+ hours of battery time, relative to how they test battery time. When something looks wrong, have a quick check on other sites, contact the company first then post a review.Anyway, ....
brandonicus - Tuesday, June 20, 2023 - link
That's a good initial question.I've been shopping around for laptops lately, and this is the most unhelpful review I have seen. They included almost no comparisons, and as you mentioned the comparisons they did include are extremely poor choices.
I haven't been on Anandtech in forever and it was definitely weird seeing a review like this... if you don't have all the data just don't put out the review.
ballsystemlord - Tuesday, June 20, 2023 - link
I have to go along with you guys, having nothing to compare to makes this review rather worthless.Hopefully, they'll benchmark more laptops and we'll get some decent comparisons.
temps - Thursday, June 22, 2023 - link
I wouldn't hold my breath for more reviews. They basically don't do anything anymore ... they have cut down so massively on hardware reviews they no longer have a good basis of comparison for anything because they have no data points built up. The Bench is a dated wasteland. They haven't done GPU reviews in almost 4 years. The only thing you can reliably depend on them to cover is new CPU releases.. anything else? Forget itHulk - Tuesday, June 20, 2023 - link
I agree except that I do like having one desktop processor in the benchmarks as I'm more familiar with those results so it's nice to have a reference point.yannigr2 - Wednesday, June 21, 2023 - link
One desktop CPU, yes I agree with you. But with half a dozen laptops next to that CPU.PeachNCream - Tuesday, June 20, 2023 - link
It's a start perhaps. This is the first time I've seen AT benchmark something other than a PSU or removable drive in ages (an exaggeration, but you get the point) so they don't exactly have a large dataset to draw from. I'd say encouragement is a better idea than criticism since maybe, just maybe, Anandtech will get back to doing more than sharing press releases from faceless companies we don't care about.