The ASUS Zenbook 14 offers affordability and portability, making it suitable for everyday tasks and light work. In contrast, the Razer Blade 17, while more expensive, excels in performance, making it ideal for gaming, 3D applications, machine learning, and demanding engineering software. The Razer Blade also generally has better display quality and build, but it's heavier and may have shorter battery life. If you need high performance for specialized tasks and can afford the price and weight, the Razer Blade 17 is the better choice; otherwise, for typical use, the ASUS Zenbook 14 offers cost-effective practicality and easier handling. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the ASUS Zenbook 14
Very good portability
Good battery life
Advantages of the Razer Blade 17
Very good for general use
Excellent for engineering and design
Very good for gaming and AI
Very good for software development
Very good for content creation
Very good overall build quality
Excellent speakers
Excellent keyboard
Key differences
General Use
7.2/10
8.5/10
2880 x 1800
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2160
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
339.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
486.0 nits
8.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
5.5 Hours
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
8.6/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.7/10
The Razer Blade 17 is very good for general use, while the ASUS Zenbook 14 is good.
The ASUS Zenbook 14, being lighter and offering longer battery life, is easier to carry and use on-the-go, yet it has a less powerful CPU and less RAM than the Razer Blade 17, which may limit its performance in demanding tasks. In contrast, the Razer Blade 17's superior screen quality, robust CPU, and ample RAM make it excellent for intensive applications but its heavier weight and shorter battery life reduce its portability.
Gaming and AI
6.1/10
8.6/10
3.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.2/10
2880 x 1800
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2160
90Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
6.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.2/10
The Razer Blade 17 is very good for gaming and AI, while the ASUS Zenbook 14 is only fair.
The ASUS Zenbook 14 has a lower-end integrated GPU and a screen refresh rate of 90Hz, which are reasonable for casual gaming, but not for intense 3D applications or competitive gaming, while the Razer Blade 17 boasts a high-end dedicated Nvidia graphics card and a higher 144Hz refresh rate suitable for demanding 3D tasks and high-frame-rate gaming.
Engineering and Design
7.2/10
9.1/10
7.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.2/10
3.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.2/10
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
The Razer Blade 17 is excellent for engineering and design, while the ASUS Zenbook 14 is good.
The Razer Blade 17 boasts a significantly more powerful main processor and graphics card, larger storage capacity, and more RAM, which explains its excellence in engineering and design use where high performance is crucial. In contrast, the ASUS Zenbook 14's moderate specs and smaller screen size affirm its good standing, but compromise in precisely those areas that are paramount for intensive tasks.
Content Creation
7.3/10
8.5/10
7.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.2/10
2880 x 1800
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2160
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Razer Blade 17 is very good for content creation, while the ASUS Zenbook 14 is good.
PerfectRec’s Content Creation Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for photo editing, video editing and other content creation tasks.
Software Development
7.2/10
8.5/10
7.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.2/10
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
2880 x 1800
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2160
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
The Razer Blade 17 is very good for software development, while the ASUS Zenbook 14 is good.
PerfectRec’s Software Development Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for software developers.
Screen Quality
8.3/10
8.6/10
14.0in
SIZE
17.3in
2880 x 1800
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2160
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
90Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
339.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
486.0 nits
The Razer Blade 17 has a better screen than the ASUS Zenbook 14 for gaming and AI, content creation, and software development.
For general use, the ASUS Zenbook 14 and Razer Blade 17 both feature displays with clear resolution and brightness, making text, images, and videos look sharp and vibrant, which is essential for activities like web browsing, watching movies, or working with documents. In engineering and design, accurate color reproduction is critical; both laptops have displays that cover a wide range of color gamuts, ensuring that designers see true-to-life colors when working on projects that require precise color matching. However, for gaming and 3D applications, where fast motion is common, the lower refresh rates on these laptops' screens may result in visual artifacts and less smooth transitions, despite their adequate resolution and panel quality.
Battery
8.0 Hours
5.5 Hours
The ASUS Zenbook 14 has 8 hours of battery life. The Razer Blade 17 has 5.5 hours of battery life.
Battery life estimate is based on a mix of common use patterns. More portable and higher performing laptops tend to have less battery life.
Portability
Very Good
Fair
14.0in
SIZE
17.3in
3.0 lbs
WEIGHT
6.0 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The ASUS Zenbook 14 has very good portability, while the Razer Blade 17 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.8/10
8.5/10
The Razer Blade 17 has very good build quality, while the ASUS Zenbook 14 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$300
$4,300
$0
$1,000
$2,000
$3,000
$4,000
The ASUS Zenbook 14 has a price of $300 and the Razer Blade 17 costs $4,300.
"Users who travel frequently and are looking for a portable laptop are in the right place with the Asus ZenBook 14. The sleek case is extremely light (1.2 kg) and surprisingly thin (1.5 cm). Outdoor use is also enjoyable thanks to the bright Full HD display, which is something that can rarely be said about laptops with TN or IPS panels. The excellent battery life complements this as well. Longer trips are no problem with the ZenBook 14. Another plus point is the high-performance Ryzen 7 5700U, which often leaves the Intel competition in the dust thanks to its large number of cores."
"Our test configuration of the Blade 17 targets gamers and creative professionals. A Core i9-12900H processor, GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU (175 watts TGP after the BIOS update, 16 GB of VRAM), and 32 GB of working memory equip the laptop for video processing, rending, and 4k gaming at the highest level. In addition, a fast PCIe-4 SSD (1 TB) ensures short load and storage times. With the Blade 17 (Early 2022), Razer delivers a successful and powerful work device for creative professionals. But this also has its price."
Get a great deal on the ASUS Zenbook 14 or the Razer Blade 17
About ASUS
ASUS, a Taiwanese electronics brand, is one of the largest personal computer vendor by market share. The majority of their laptops are targeted towards personal use or gaming. Their most popular product lines include the budget-friendly VivoBook, more premium ZenBook, and their TUF and ROG gaming laptops, the latter of which has a reputation for excellent gaming performance.
About Razer
Razer is an American-Singaporean technology company. Razer is best known for their Blade series laptops, well known for their strong performance and sleek design. Although Razer charges a premium price tag for their laptops, buyers can expect a stealthy laptop with clean fit and finish and strong performance. All of their models offer great portability and build quality compared to other gaming laptops.
This information was produced and vetted by the PerfectRec laptops team. We are a product research and recommendation organization that meticulously reviews and evaluates the latest laptop information and makes it digestible for you.
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