Users of the Razer Blade 14 (2022) have something to be excited about as a new update upgrades the laptop's USB ports to USB 4 with support for Thunderbolt 4. The Blade 14 2022 is Razer's most powerful 14-inch gaming laptop. Announced at CES 2022, the laptop is powered by AMD's Ryzen 9 6900HX processor and paired with NVIDIA's GeForce GPUs.
The Razer Blade line also includes the Blade 15 and Blade 17. Unlike the Blade 14, these are powered by 12th Gen Intel processors paired with discrete NVIDIA GPUs. However, all the laptops in the series have high refresh rates, RGB keyboards, and ship with Windows.
Razer has released a software update for the 2022 Blade 14 which upgrades the gaming laptop's two USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 ports to USB 4 with support for Thunderbolt 4. The update to USB 4 increases the bandwidth supported by the ports to 40Gbps which is double that of USB-C 3.2 Gen 2. In addition, it also means the laptop has better support for peripherals such as external graphics cards and multiple monitor setups. One might be wondering how it is possible to update the ports on a device, but as reported by The Verge, a Razer spokesperson revealed that the hardware was already available on the laptop but "not present due to software limitations.”
There's A New Colorway Too
Another feature the update brings is activation of the Microsoft Pluton security processor. The chip-to-cloud security processor has been developed by Microsoft in collaboration with AMD, Intel, and Qualcomm to provide enhanced security for Windows PCs. The processor prevents attackers from gaining access to sensitive data using malware or even if they have physical possession of the computer. Security updates for the processor are also handled by Microsoft, so they are not reliant on its OEM partners. The Pluton processor is built-into the CPU which means it has always been on the device.
Owners of the Razer 14 can check if their device supports USB4 and Microsoft Pluton by going to Device Manager on their PC. They can do this by pressing the “Windows” and “X” keys simultaneously and selecting 'Device Manager' from the list that appears. Click on 'Universal Serial Bus controllers' and check for USB4. If it shows a yellow exclamation mark in front of USB4, double-click on it and perform a Windows update. If USB4 isn't displayed, this means it isn't yet supported and the user will need to contact Razer support to update the laptop's firmware.
In addition to the update, Razer also announced a new Mercury colorway for the Blade 14, bringing the available color options to three. The laptop was originally launched in Quartz (Pink) and Black. This new color has a silver finish with a black keyboard for a more subtle appearance. The new colorway is available in GeForce RTX 3060 and GeForce RTX 3070 Ti configurations and can be pre-ordered on Razer's website now, but won't begin shipping until Dec. 6.
Source: The Verge