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2016 15" Macbook Pro vs Razer Blade

M

matthewh133

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 15, 2016
22
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Has anyone used both of these machines and able to compare the two? I'm a pro photographer and do a lot of photography/video work on the road in Photoshop, Lightroom, Premiere etc... though I would love the ability to play current gen games. This has me considering the Razer over the Macbook Pro, but I've always been told the Macbook Pro is a better screen and specs for photographers. All this said, the photography aspect for me is more important than gaming. Just trying to find the most powerful machine for my needs.

Anyone else with similar usage needs able to chime in?
 
Both systems would equally handle the tasks, though the lack of a built in SD card reader on the Mac Pro means an adapter is required.

In the end, I think that comparing hardware with a Mac is pointless. It all comes down to the OS. If you like Windows better, get a Windows machine (plus there is a lot more variety, where specs become an issue), but if you like MacOS better, get a Mac, which is really your only option, unless you go hackintosh.

So, the real question is, do you like Windows or MacOS better?
 
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Honestly mate just go into some shops and try them out!! People on here can give you their biased views and their experiences but what you like and need will be different!!
You may find the touch screen a real bonus and not like the touchbar or the other way round, you may find the 4K screen more useful or the retina p3 colour gamut better for your work, you may find the NVIDIA GPU a bonus in 4K video editing and gaming, but prefer the longer battery life's the AMD gives you on the road!! Just a few things to consider!!
 
matthewh133 said:
Has anyone used both of these machines and able to compare the two? I'm a pro photographer and do a lot of photography/video work on the road in Photoshop, Lightroom, Premiere etc... though I would love the ability to play current gen games. This has me considering the Razer over the Macbook Pro, but I've always been told the Macbook Pro is a better screen and specs for photographers. All this said, the photography aspect for me is more important than gaming. Just trying to find the most powerful machine for my needs.

Anyone else with similar usage needs able to chime in?
Click to expand...
I have both devices. The Razer Blade screen is pretty terrible in comparison to the new Macbook's. Surely the GPU is far better in the Razer but that comes at the cost of having a consistently louder device with the fans almost always running. If you're looking for gaming, Razer is the way to go. But the AMD 460 is capable of running most of the games I play in 1080p with high settings.
 
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Thanks everyone. I'm easy with regards to OS. Windows or Mac is fine with me. Appreciate everyone's input.
 
I am not a photographer, but based on the bare specs, the difference boils down to this:

- The MBP has a faster CPU option, faster SSD, better display (brightness/color reproduction/most likely contrast), much better battery life, faster connectivity (4 TB3 ports vs. 1 in Razer Blade) and is also slightly lighter and more portable
- The Razer Blade has a twice as fast GPU (compared to the 460 Pro) and is $600 cheaper for 512GB configuration. Also, it has some USB-A ports if you are into that :p

If you need GPU performance, Razer Blade wins no questions asked. But will that make a difference in your work? If honestly, I don't think so. Most real-world benchmarks I have seen show that contemporary editing software (with exceptions of course) doesn't benefit that much from a faster GPU (for real-world workflows)
 
leman said:
I

- The MBP has a faster CPU option, faster SSD, better display (brightness/color reproduction/most likely contrast), much better battery life, faster connectivity (4 TB3 ports vs. 1 in Razer Blade) and is also slightly lighter and more portable
Click to expand...

The Razed Blade Pro smashes the MBP specs. Dual m.2 in RAID (user upgradable). GTX 1080. 17 inch 100% AdobeRGB screen. Thunderbolt 3. Etc etc etc
 
GPU won't have a large effect on photo work, which is mostly dependent on CPU and SSD speeds. For work, I'd go with MBP (which is what I am doing). For gaming, no questions, the Razer Blade was made for it.

You may want to look at the Razer Blade Pro which has better much better specs than the rMBP, but then again, you are sacrificing portability since it comes in nearly twice the weight. It's more of a portable desktop than a mobile work machine.
 
SoyCapitanSoyCapitan said:
The Razed Blade Pro smashes the MBP specs. Dual m.2 in RAID (user upgradable). GTX 1080. 17 inch 100% AdobeRGB screen. Thunderbolt 3. Etc etc etc
Click to expand...

The Blade Pro is a very different machine category all together (its more of a workstation/desktop replacement, being twice as heavy as the MBP 15"), so I was obviously talking about the 14" Blade
 
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To add-on to the whole screen being subpar on the Razer I snapped a quick photo to test viewing angles. I think it speaks for itself in terms of screen quality.
 

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leman said:
The Blade Pro is a very different machine category all together (its more of a workstation/desktop replacement, being twice as heavy as the MBP 15"), so I was obviously talking about the 14" Blade
Click to expand...

You should compare the one with 'Pro' in the name, even if physically it is a bit beastly.
 
I suggest that we all compare SoyCaptain to Captain America. Best if everyone just makes their own thread about that ;)
 
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ikenstein said:
This makes no sense. Should i compare my friend Sam who is a man with my friend Sam who is a woman?
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If they are pros and you can do the same thing with them
[doublepost=1479401309][/doublepost]
leman said:
I suggest that we all compare SoyCaptain to Captain America. Best if everyone just makes their own thread about that ;)
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That would be Marvel-lous ;)
 
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shadow82x said:
I have both devices. The Razer Blade screen is pretty terrible in comparison to the new Macbook's. Surely the GPU is far better in the Razer but that comes at the cost of having a consistently louder device with the fans almost always running. If you're looking for gaming, Razer is the way to go. But the AMD 460 is capable of running most of the games I play in 1080p with high settings.
Click to expand...

The fans constantly running on the Blade aren't a result of the more powerful GPU, as the power is completely cut when not in use. I've noticed this in the past, and blame Razer themselves for this happening, not the GPU.
 
shadow82x said:
I have both devices. The Razer Blade screen is pretty terrible in comparison to the new Macbook's. Surely the GPU is far better in the Razer but that comes at the cost of having a consistently louder device with the fans almost always running. If you're looking for gaming, Razer is the way to go. But the AMD 460 is capable of running most of the games I play in 1080p with high settings.
Click to expand...

What's up with all the review videos I see on the blade? It always looks incredibly greasy. Is it really that much of a fingerprint magnet?
 
My neighbor just got the latest 14" Blade. I played with it for about an hour and the build quality is every bit as good as Apple's. My only complaint is the fans run all the time. If you are used to quiet this can be a problem. BUT, when it comes to gaming, I would take the Blade for sure. Only problems while gaming is the fans start to really kick in but gaming performance is awesome.
 
You're comparing macOS to Windows ... it's not possible. Mac is notoriously better at managing tasks, and less prone to failures due to the strict guidelines imposed by apple on software development. It's not fair to windows, Mac from a development standpoint is superior to windows in every way.
 
matthewh133 said:
Has anyone used both of these machines and able to compare the two? I'm a pro photographer and do a lot of photography/video work on the road in Photoshop, Lightroom, Premiere etc... though I would love the ability to play current gen games. This has me considering the Razer over the Macbook Pro, but I've always been told the Macbook Pro is a better screen and specs for photographers. All this said, the photography aspect for me is more important than gaming. Just trying to find the most powerful machine for my needs.

Anyone else with similar usage needs able to chime in?
Click to expand...

As a Pro user, I will scream from the highest mountain how disappointing these MacBook Pro specs are, but they are Beautiful machines, gorgeous.. The screens are amazing, as a colorist their are not many screens that can do DCI P3, and these screens can.. You are getting a full color gamut. Pretty neat.. but the glossy screen is silly, you might get used to it.. The new Keyboard is different, but you'll get used to it. the Touchbar is a joke, but they will probably make a 15" without the touchbar next year...

Now, Adobe CC is kinda all over the place. Lightroom has gotten worse on its latest updates, its almost comical at this point. Adobe CC has made you use their garbage apps to use the ones you want. Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects and Premiere, are all decent and updated properly.. The rest of the apps Adobe tries to make you use are just tossed in there to use if you want..

That being said, Most open source Photo apps out there offer more of what you want to do photography than Lightroom. Take DARKTABLE for example as an alternative to LightRoom..

Anyway, to sum up.. Most of these Apps are OpenGL and OpenCL or a combination or both.. If you don't need premiere or after effects you could get away without having a decent GPU, and a touch bar the 13" would be my choice.. and use an external Monitor. It will be light on the field, and you can just make sure your photos look good before you take back to your studio to proof.

The specs on the Monitors are great for color gamut, but I would never do photo proofing on something this small, even the 15" is too small, you can see the right colors, but not texture detail or other things for color correction and proofing, that requires a large external.. So your gonna have to get an external monitor setup anyway..

The 13" is no power house, but if your just doing photography it will be pretty perfect..
BTW thats just my opinion..

EDIT:IF you needed CUDA and Premier and or After Effects or lots of media transcoding I would go with the RAZER..
 
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I'm a professional photographer and graphic designer. I've been seriously considering the Razer Blade and Stealth for about 9 months now. I wanted to see what the new MacBook Pro offered first before making a decision. I begrudgingly decided on getting a refurb'd 13" 3.1GHz 512GBSSD 2015 model last night. The things that came up as red flags for me about Razer were it's battery time, customer service/tech support and slightly weaker CPU (for the Stealth at least).

The things that came up as red flags for the 2016 Macbook Pro were reliable connectivity, soldered SSD, and overall value. I run cameras tethered so I can not risk the new USB-C port to have any kind of compatibility issues at all. I also do not want to introduce another point of failure trying to keep a dongle around. A simple screw adapter or sync cord can bring a location photo shoot to its knees. All these look terrible in front of a client.

I hate that I had to buy a previous generation Mac, as it goes against how I've purchased my equipment in the past, where I been extremely successful in getting the most out of them, but I can't risk working with a 1st generation machine on location. This will be my last Mac I buy as this will be my transition to PC. I plan on building a PC for my next desktop.
 
indognito said:
I'm a professional photographer and graphic designer. I've been seriously considering the Razer Blade and Stealth for about 9 months now. I wanted to see what the new MacBook Pro offered first before making a decision. I begrudgingly decided on getting a refurb'd 13" 3.1GHz 512GBSSD 2015 model last night. The things that came up as red flags for me about Razer were it's battery time, customer service/tech support and slightly weaker CPU (for the Stealth at least).

The things that came up as red flags for the 2016 Macbook Pro were reliable connectivity, soldered SSD, and overall value. I run cameras tethered so I can not risk the new USB-C port to have any kind of compatibility issues at all. I also do not want to introduce another point of failure trying to keep a dongle around. A simple screw adapter or sync cord can bring a location photo shoot to its knees. All these look terrible in front of a client.

I hate that I had to buy a previous generation Mac, as it goes against how I've purchased my equipment in the past, where I been extremely successful in getting the most out of them, but I can't risk working with a 1st generation machine on location. This will be my last Mac I buy as this will be my transition to PC. I plan on building a PC for my next desktop.
Click to expand...

What can't you risk exactly ? Its a first year of touch bar... not a first gen MacBook. Is this strictly worrisome about the battery life?
 
I appreciate the input from everyone. I think I'm kind of stuck with the 15 inch if I go the Macbook route due to often being on extended travels that don't bring me home for a couple of months. This way I have a larger screen to proof and edit on when I don't have the option to go back home to my desktop (which is a custom built PC by the way, with 34" LG monitor).

With the type of work I do, I never really tether so connectivity with that shouldn't be an issue.
 
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