Latest news with #Blade
Stuff.tv
a day ago
- Stuff.tv
After weeks of testing, the new Razer Blade 16 is the gaming laptop I'd happily take anywhere
Stuff Verdict The Razer Blade 16 (2025) is a gaming monster, naturally, but also has fantastic battery life and a stunning screen. If you can afford one, it's a fantastic ultraportable powerhouse. Pros Immense gaming muscle and desktop performance Gorgeous, high refresh rate OLED screen Genuinely impressive battery life for a gaming laptop Cons Screen is very reflective Ruinously expensive with an RTX 5090 Introduction I'm not a fan of having to pick between high frame rates and portability. The most powerful gaming laptops are usually the biggest and heaviest – and rarely last more than a few hours as soon as you unplug their brick-like power adapters. Or at least, that used to be the case. Manufacturers have gotten much better at emphasising slimness and sleekness, without compromising on hardware. The new Razer Blade 16 might've just taken that to the extreme. At a mere 17mm thick, it isn't that far off a modern MacBook Pro's dimensions, yet it finds room inside for top-tier Nvidia RTX 5090 mobile graphics. Razer has also opted for AMD internals for the first time to maximise battery life, and brought OLED display tech into the mix. The laptop equivalent of a supercar never comes cheap, of course. The Blade 16 starts $2400/£2100 with an RTX 5060 GPU, but climbs up to a heady $4500/£3900 for the version tested here – and you can push that figure even further if you want extra RAM or storage. That puts it in the same ballpark as the equally svelte Asus ROG Zephyrus G16. Does the Razer do enough to justify its asking price? How we test laptops Every laptop reviewed on Stuff is tested using industry standard benchmarks and apps to assess performance and battery life. We use our years of experience to judge display, sound and general usability. Manufacturers have no visibility on reviews before they appear online, and we never accept payment to feature products. Find out more about how we test and rate products. Design & build: slender fan Side by side with a 2023-era Blade (the last to use the old chassis), it's seriously impressive how much skinnier this new model is – despite having to make room inside for some particularly toasty components, not least the RTX 5090 GPU. Cleverly, Razer has pulled this thinning off by actually making the new laptop larger. The 5mm of depth that's been shaved off has been added to the length of the laptop instead, but you'd only notice with a direct comparison. The footprint has barely grown, and it won't affect the sort of backpacks or laptop bags the Blade will slide into. That's handy, as given the new model is over 300g lighter than the old one, you're going to want to take it on the move a lot more. I've long seen Razer laptops as the yin to Apple's yang, and that rings true again here. There's a clear family resemblance in the milled aluminium unibody, subtle Ouroboros logo on the lid, and green accented USB ports at the sides. The matte black finish is treated to prevent wear, and does a decent job at minimising fingerprint smudges too. It looks mean, without also being shouty; as gaming laptops go, it's wonderfully subtle unless you know what you're looking at. The Blade also gets a big thumbs up for not skimping on connectivity in the name of slimness. You get two USB-Cs (one USB4, one USB 3.2) and three USB type-As, as well as full-size HDMI, a 3.5mm combination headset port, and a full-size SD card reader. Having them all at the sides makes it impossible to keep cables out of sight when gaming at a desk, but convenient for quickly plugging in peripherals. Keyboard & touchpad: happy taps Older Blades weren't the greatest laptops to type on, but this new one is a treat for your fingers. There's 50% more key travel than the last-gen chassis got, and the actuation force has been adjusted so it feels like you're pressing down with purpose before an input is detected. It's fairly quiet to tap away on unless you type like you're hammering nails, and each island-style key is comfortably spaced apart. It did take me a few hours to get used to how flat it all is, with no key recesses to help place your fingers. Sensibly Razer hasn't tried to shoehorn in a numerical keypad, but has found a bit of space at the edge of the board for a few customisable macro keys. Holding down the fn button also switches the per-key RGB backlighting to highlight the top row's multimedia functions, making things like screen brightness and the mute key far easier to find. Doubling up on LEDs for these keys mean each key cap is perfectly lit, with next to no light bleed around the edges. You can customise the lot through Razer's Synapse software, too. While I default to a wireless mouse for pretty much anything outside of the Windows desktop, the Blade's touchpad is a fine substitute when away from a desk. It's huge, with a low-friction surface that makes cursor movement a breeze. It's accurate and has a firm physical click action. Screen & sound: how refreshing Regardless of what spec you choose, every Blade 16 gets the same QHD+ resolution display. I'm not complaining – it's an absolute stunner, and I rarely used the last-gen Blade's dual resolution mode anyway. Here you're getting a 2560×1600 OLED with a rapid 240Hz refresh rate, which is ideal for hectic multiplayer gaming. While some LCD screens claim even faster refresh rates, OLED tech has inherently faster response times, so you're getting a gloriously smooth presentation here. Variable refresh all but prevents tearing when frame rates dip below 60fps, too. OLED also means there's none of the light bloom or halo effect you got on the old Blade's mini-LED panel – just perfect blacks and impeccable contrast, which give dimly lit movie scenes and dark game levels outstanding amounts of depth. Colours are deliciously vibrant, helping Cyberpunk 2077's Phantom Liberty expansion feel even more immersive than usual. There's a decent amount of brightness on tap, which helps give HDR content some welcome extra pop. Pretty much the only downside is how reflective the panel is; even at full whack, sitting by windows or underneath bright lights can be quite distracting. The six-speaker sound system is a great match to the screen, getting impressively loud and with decent amounts of bass for a laptop. The mid-range is clear, and THX Spatial Audio does a convincing impression of surround sound. Treble could use just a little extra bite, but I didn't ever feel the need to plug in a headset unless I was gaming – and that was partly down to fan noise. The internal fans spin up to a noticeable degree as soon as you boot into a game, and are impossible to ignore when run at their maximum. Performance: graphical greatness Razer used to be all-in on Intel, but has made the switch to AMD power for this laptop generation. The Blade 16 kicks off with an AMD Ryzen AI 9 365, but steps up to a Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 once you add RTX 5090 graphics to your order. I've seen this twelve core, 24-thread chip in larger gaming laptops, but this is the first time I've tried one in such a skinny chassis. In my review unit it's paired with a 2TB NVMe SSD and 32GB of RAM. For desktop duties, AMD's silicon trades back and forth with the last-gen Intel Core chips. The gap is fairly small, and there's ample oomph for all sorts of creative jobs like image editing. Synthetic tests show very little in the way of penalty for going slim, being roughly on par with the 18in MSI Stealth A18 AI+. Certain tasks – like video encoding – are just better suited to Intel's architecture, so keep in mind that newer doesn't always mean better – though AMD comfortably wins out on efficiency. More on that below. Razer Blade 16 (2025) productivity benchmark scores Geekbench 6 single-core 2966 Geekbench 6 multi-core 15488 Geekbench AI 7643 You don't buy a Blade 16 to just work on the Windows desktop, of course. It's gaming where this laptop truly shines, the RTX 5090 GPU and its whopping 24GB of video memory absolutely churning through modern titles. At the 2560×1600 native resolution, none of the titles I tried ever dipped below 60fps as long as ray tracing stayed disabled. Counter Strike 2 comfortably saw frame rates in the 100-200fps range, which should be ideal for serious esports gamers. Ray Tracing can still make the hardware sweat, Nvidia's upscaling tech is on hand to assist. DLSS 4.0 and multi-frame generation are scarily good, creating entirely new frames without the tearing, blurriness or input delay seen on previous iterations. Cyberpunk 2077 saw huge gains, from a barely playable 24.4fps with maximum path tracing but no upscaling, to a far smoother 53.9fps with DLSS. Doom: the Dark Ages was equally impressive, running smoothly even when the screen was filled with demons. This is the fastest mobile GPU money can buy, hands down – but native rendering performance isn't a huge leap from the previous generation, and the RTX 5080 isn't that far behind. It's only with DLSS and multi-frame generation enabled that the 5000 series shows a truly generational leap from the 4000 series, and even then 4K gaming at maximum settings with ray tracing still looks out of reach in some titles. The Blade 16's more restrictive thermals also limit the 5090's potential a little, but not to the extent that games aren't playable. Frame rates never dipped at any point, even during a marathon play session. Razer Blade 16 (2025) gaming benchmark scores Native rendering (2560×1600) DLSS upscaling 3DMark Steel Nomad 5821 N/A Cyberpunk 2077 (RT Overdrive) 24.43fps 53.9fps Cyberpunk 2077 (Ultra, RT off) 91.42fps 111.05fps Shadow of the Tomb Raider (RT on) 119fps 148fps Shadow of the Tomb Raider (RT off) 156fps 161fps Gears Tactics 130.6fps N/A Arguably what impressed me most when benchmarking the Blade 16 was how long it lasted while away from the mains. When looping a local video at 50% brightness, I was getting close to ten hours. That's way more than I managed from the old Intel-powered Blade. Desktop working should see you closer to six or seven, which might be enough to see you through an entire working day – if you aren't tempted to game during your lunch break. Depending on the title it can last between one and three hours here. That's still not a bad showing for a laptop with a green this big and a GPU this power-hungry. Razer Blade 16 (2025) verdict Razer laptops have always carried a certain gravitas, but I think the latest Blade 16 might be one of the first to truly deserve it. This is a gloriously potent gaming laptop, with the sort of screen you could happily stare at all day and enough ports at the sides to become a very effective desktop replacement. Yet it also has a long-lasting battery and is light enough that you can happily take it on the move. OK, it's expensive, especially in 5090 guise – but name a laptop with that GPU that isn't. The 'Razer tax' does mean you pay a premium over the likes of Asus, MSI or Lenovo, but you're getting a design that's almost on par with Apple for your money. If you have the funds, it'll demolish any game you can throw at it for years to come. Stuff Says… Score: 5/5 The Razer Blade 16 (2025) is a gaming monster, naturally, but also has fantastic battery life and a stunning screen. If you can afford one, it's a fantastic ultraportable powerhouse. Pros Immense gaming muscle and desktop performance Gorgeous, high refresh rate OLED screen Genuinely impressive battery life for a gaming laptop Cons Screen is very reflective Ruinously expensive with an RTX 5090 Razer Blade 16 (2025) technical specifications Screen 16in, 2560×1600, 240Hz OLED Processor AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 Memory 32GB RAM Graphics Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop w/ 24GB RAM Storage 2TB Operating system Windows 11 Connectivity HDMI, 1x USB4 Type-C, 1x USB 3.2 Type-C, 3x USB, 3.5mm headphone port, SD card reader Battery 90Whr Dimensions 355x251x17.4mm, 2.14kg
Scoop
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Scoop
RC Hobbies Highlights Range Of Slot Cars And Drones For New Zealand Hobbyists
RC Hobbies, a New Zealand-owned and operated retailer specialising in radio-controlled and model hobby products, continues to offer a diverse selection of slot car sets and drones for enthusiasts across the country. The company's online platform features a wide range of Scalextric slot cars, including sets that cater to both beginners and experienced collectors. The Scalextric range encompasses micro to full-size tracks, with sets themed around motorsport events and iconic vehicles. Recent additions include Bathurst Legends, Formula 1, and rally car sets, as well as micro-scale options suitable for younger users. Each set is supplied with the required track, cars, controllers, and accessories, and is shipped nationwide. Alongside slot cars, RC Hobbies also provides a selection of drones for sale in NZ, with models suitable for a variety of skill levels. The drone range includes camera drones, mini drones, FPV (first-person view) drones, and racing drones from established brands such as Blade and DJI. Information on the website indicates that both ready-to-fly and bind-and-fly options are available, with several models featuring advanced imaging and flight control systems. Accessories and spare parts are also offered to support ongoing maintenance and upgrades. RC Hobbies operates primarily online and delivers throughout New Zealand. The business stocks a broad catalogue of products for radio-controlled cars, planes, boats, and other hobbyist interests, in addition to its slot car and drone offerings. The company's website provides detailed product information, customer support, and secure online ordering. For more details about the available slot car sets or drone models, customers can visit the RC Hobbies website.
Geek Tyrant
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Geek Tyrant
Kevin Feige on BLADE Delays: 'We Didn't Want to Simply Put a Leather Outfit on Mahershala Ali and Have Him Start Killing Vampires' — GeekTyrant
Marvel Studios' highly anticipated Blade reboot has faced years of delays and multiple creative shake-ups, but according to Kevin Feige, that's all been in service of making sure the film lives up to its potential. The Marvel Studios chief recently opened up about the challenges and why fans are still waiting for Mahershala Ali's debut as the iconic vampire hunter. First things first… Ali is absolutely still committed to the role. Feige confirmed: 'Mahershala is still attached.' The actor signed on to play Blade back in 2019, stepping into the role made famous by Wesley Snipes in the late '90s and early 2000s. For now, Ali remains ready and waiting. As he said last month: 'Call Marvel. I'm ready. Let them know I'm ready.' So why the massive delay? Feige admitted the root cause was Marvel's own push for quantity during the early Disney+ era. 'We had spent 12 years working on the Infinity Saga, saying, 'That's never going to happen to us.' 'We always had more characters that people were asking about than we could possibly make, because we weren't going to make a movie a month — that's crazy. 'Suddenly there's a mandate to make more, and we go, 'Well, we do have more' … But maybe that's what we fell into.' This led to what Feige described as the first time 'quantity trumped quality,' which was previously echoed by Disney CEO Bob Iger. Blade was originally slated for November 2023, but got caught in the middle of this pivot, which forced Marvel to slow down and reassess. 'We didn't want to simply just put a leather outfit on him and have him start killing vampires. It had to be unique,' Feige explained. 'It fell into the time when we started pulling back and saying, 'Only accept insanely great.' And it wasn't 'insanely great' at the time.' Unlike other MCU projects that can start strong and improve during production, Feige said Blade wasn't there yet. 'We didn't feel like, as we often do, you can have a good script and make it a great script through production. We didn't feel confident that we could do that on Blade, and we didn't want to do that to Mahershala and didn't want to do that to us.' Since its announcement, the film has gone through multiple directors and scripts. Bassam Tariq ( Mogul Mowgli ) was initially on board before leaving in 2022, and Yann Demange ( White Boy Rick ) exited in June 2024. Feige revealed the project has had 'three or four' different versions, including two that were period pieces. The latest plan? Keep it modern-day. 'Which is why we could give those costumes back to Ruth, and that's what we're focusing on,' Feige joked, referencing a humorous anecdote about lending unused Blade costumes to Ryan Coogler for his own vampire movie, Sinners . Despite fan speculation that Coogler might swoop in to direct Blade , Feige shot down the rumors, saying: 'He's got Black Panther 3 to focus on,' confirming that the Wakanda sequel is in development, though he offered no timeline. Feige admitted there's a little hindsight regret. He said: 'Only in hindsight, I do. But I don't. Because that's the way we'd announced everything before, like that and had not not delivered.' Between the pandemic, strikes, and even the studio losing major actors like Jonathan Majors, Feige pointed out that Marvel has been hit with a 'tremendous amount of curveballs.' There's still no director attached and no production date, but Feige insists Marvel is committed to getting this one right. And Ali? He's ready whenever the studio is. For now, fans will have to keep waiting for the Daywalker to return, but at least Marvel's priority is making sure it's worth the wait. Source: Variety
Tom's Guide
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Tom's Guide
Miles Morales not allowed in MCU — Kevin Feige gives a massive Marvel update
Marvel chief creative officer Kevin Feige just gave a massive interview to select outlets ahead of "The Fantastic Four" hitting theaters this week (h/t Variety). And when I tell you this was massive, I'm not being hyperbolic. In this long-ranging interview, Feige covered Marvel's plans for the MCU between now and 2032, as well as what's gone wrong since "Avengers: Endgame." For me, though, the headline was this — don't expect Miles Morales in the MCU. That's coming from Feige himself, who said, 'That is nowhere," when asked about the other Spider-Man entering the MCU, adding, "We've been told to stay away." On the one hand, that's a bummer. Sony and Marvel have teamed up to great effect with Tom Holland's portrayal of Peter Parker, and "Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man" was a pleasant surprise on Disney Plus earlier this year. It stands to reason that they could produce similarly great stories with Miles Morales, who has become a fan favorite since his introduction to the Marvel universe. On the other hand, it's tough to see where Miles would fit alongside Holland's Spider-Man in the MCU. That's not to say it's impossible, and perhaps he could have been easily shoehorned into "Doomsday" or "Secret Wars," which are set to likely feature multiple iterations of the same character as the MCU careens towards a much-needed reset. But there's not a logical need for him to fill at present. Perhaps it's best that he wrap up his own story in 2027's 'Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse,' and then Sony and Marvel can assess the future of the character. Miles' exclusion from the MCU wasn't the only major news to drop in this interview, though, as I've already hinted. So let's dive into the other big takeaways from everything else Feige had to say about the future — and past — of the MCU. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. This streaming bundle deal is a total steal if you're looking to get both Disney Plus and Hulu on a budget. While Miles Morales might not be joining the MCU anytime soon, Feige says that two-time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali is still on track to play the titular Daywalker in a "Blade" movie. 'We didn't want to simply just put a leather outfit on him and have him start killing vampires,' Feige explained during his sit-down with the media (h/t Variety). 'It had to be unique. It fell into the time when we started pulling back and saying, 'Only accept insanely great.' And it ['Blade'] wasn't 'insanely great' at the time.' But while things are still on track for "Blade," Feige was less forthright about a future "Young Avengers" property. 'Potentially,' Feige said, when asked about a future story centered around Marvel's young heroes. 'In that case, it comes down to where's the best story and where is the best strange alchemy. Who would be fun to see them with? Each other, because that's what the Young Avengers are, but also mixing it up more.' We already know that many past "X-Men" stars are returning for next year's 'Avengers: Doomsday.' Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Alan Cumming, Rebecca Romijn, James Marsden and Kelsey Grammer were all confirmed in an hours-long casting announcement. But once that movie is over, a new cast of X-Men will star in an upcoming untitled 'X-Men' movie directed by Jake Schreier (of "Thunderbolts*" fame). They may even appear as soon as "Avengers: Secret Wars." 'We're utilizing that ['Secret Wars'] not just to round out the stories we've been telling post-'Endgame,'" Feige told those in attendance on Friday (h/t Variety). "Just as importantly — and you can look at the 'Secret Wars' comics for where that takes you — it very, very much sets us up for the future. 'Endgame,' literally, was about endings. 'Secret Wars' is about beginnings.' Expect Marvel to go on the younger side for casting these roles, too, as Feige noted that X-Men stories naturally tend to center around adolescents. The X-Men aren't the only major Marvel characters being recast either. Feige indicated that Marvel will ultimately recast Tony Stark and Steve Rogers in the MCU — it's just a matter of when. Finally, the biggest news Feige dropped in this press conference was that Marvel will be putting out less content — because it needs to. 'We produced 50 hours of stories between 2007 and 2019,' Feige said, when discussing how Marvel shifted from a focus on quality to a focus on quantity. "We've had well over 100 hours of stories — in half the time [in the six years since 'Avengers: Endgame']. That's too much.' It's this that Feige blames for Marvel's flagging performance. 'It's clearly not superhero fatigue, right?' he said, referring to the fact that DC's "Superman" is doing just fine at the same box office where "Thunderbolts*" and other Marvel movies have struggled. Speaking of "Thunderbolts*," Feige also blames the Disney Plus shows specifically for the movie's commercial failure. ''Thunderbolts*' I thought was a very, very good movie,' Feige told those assembled. 'But nobody knew that title and many of those characters were from a [TV] show. Some [audiences] were still feeling that notion of, 'I guess I had to have seen these other shows to understand who this is.'" Feige wants to steer away from the importance of the Marvel shows in the MCU going forward, at least in regards to how they connect to the films. 'I think allowing a TV show to be a TV show is what we're returning to.' Malcolm has been with Tom's Guide since 2022, and has been covering the latest in streaming shows and movies since 2023. He's not one to shy away from a hot take, including that "John Wick" is one of the four greatest films ever made. Here's what he's been watching lately: Follow Tom's Guide on Google News to get our up-to-date news, how-tos, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button.
Gizmodo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Gizmodo
Kevin Feige Unveils Some of the MCU's Big Next Moves
The grind never stops at Marvel Studios, and Kevin Feige has gone and revealed some juicy nuggets about what is and isn't to come in the MCU. The longtime producer recently talked to press about Marvel's next moves, and he was naturally asked about Blade. We're now on the six-year anniversary of Mahershala Ali being announced for the role, and he recently told press to pester Marvel about the film's infamously troubled production. To Deadline and other outlets, Feige confirmed that yes, there have been four separate takes of the character in the development process so far: two in the past and two in the modern day. (One would've been set in the Prohibition era, and it was far enough along its background costumes were instead used for Sinners.) The version now being developed has 'landed on modern day' and will see Ali do more than 'put a leather outfit on him and have him start killing vampires.' 'We didn't want to do that to Mahershala and he didn't want to do that to us,' Feige explained to THR. 'You can start and have a good script and make it a great script through production, but we didn't feel confident we could do that on Blade.' Additionally, he confirmed that Ryan Coogler isn't in the running for that project, as he's focused on developing Black Panther 3. Another character fans have been wanting to come to the MCU is one Miles Morales, aka New York's one and only Spider-Man (other Spiders may be available). It sounds like fans should keep on waiting, as Feige said the studio 'has been told to stay away' by Sony, which owns Miles' film rights. The character's animated trilogy is expected to wrap with Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse in June 2027, but until then, any plans to bring him into the fold 'are nowhere' on the MCU's end. Sony, on the other hand, has its own plans for bringing him out of animation. When it comes to long-term plans, Feige told press Marvel's current roadmap stretches to 2032. Naturally, the X-Men are part of those plans, and they'll be recast for their MCU debut, which'll be directed by Thunderbolts' Jake Schreirer. X-fans will get one more chance to see the original Fox actors reprise their roles in Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars. But the new X-Men will also prepare audiences for bigger MCU characters like Tony Stark and Steve Rogers to be eventually played by newer actors down the line. But don't worry about any of that until Secret Wars, which will end with a 'reset' that brings the X-Men and Fantastic Four into the same universe as the current crop of MCU heroes. Feige stressed to Variety that this isn't a reboot, which he considers 'a scary word that can mean a lot of things to a lot of people. Reset, singular timeline—we're thinking along those lines.' 'Secret Wars very, very much sets us up for the future,' Feige teased. 'Avengers: Endgame was about endings, literally, and Secret Wars is about beginnings.' Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what's next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
