Razer Blade Stealth vs Retina Macbook???

[Ulenspiegel]

The "not comparable" is a comfortable approach that we could experience here not once and not twice.
Nevertheless, the OP's intention was not to compare, but to seek experience of others with the Razer Blade Stealth, a PC in the same price range as the rMB. Last but not least he was dwelling on a question of what is a better value.

P.S.: To provide an answer to your statement about "questionable support, questionable quality, and questionable design", here is some reading on Razer.

 

[zhenya]

I have to agree that this is really more of a competitor for what will become the new Macbook Pro, rather than the Macbook. Think of this as preview as to the kind of thing we might expect from a new Pro line, rather than comparing it to the lineup we have today that is extremely dated and it makes a lot more sense. I expect the new Pro to be close to 3lbs and even thinner than ever, which will be directly in line with this device, yet even more powerful.

This is effectively a beefed-up Macbook Air which is what a lot of people have been clamoring for here, so it's no surprise that it's got people's attention. And it is a very nice looking device. If I was in the market for a PC laptop for personal use, it would have my attention. I still think it's only peripherally in competition with the rMB though - it's 40% heavier (before we factor in the possible power adapter contribution), with a considerably larger footprint and overall volume - ie. it's much closer to the existing 13" Air. And it's 16:9 (why oh why?) Nice device, but I'm not about to replace my Macbook with something that much larger.

 

[dilutedq]

The "not comparable" is a comfortable approach that we could experience here not once and not twice.
Nevertheless, the OP's intention was not to compare, but to seek experience of others with the Razer Blade Stealth, a PC in the same price range as the rMB. Last but not least he was dwelling on a question of what is a better value.

P.S.: To provide an answer to your statement about "questionable support, questionable quality, and questionable design", here is some reading on Razer.

oh. Well Razer says they are awesome. Well gee I'm convinced /s

 

[Ulenspiegel]

oh. Well Razer says they are awesome. Well gee I'm convinced /s

Geez. At least take time to read.
"Razer Blade Stealth won “Best of CES – Best PC.” The company has won an official “Best of CES” award for six consecutive years, a record in the 49-year history of the storied tradeshow." (To make it easier for you, CES - Consumer Electronics Show).

 

[Truefan31]

Razer is a pretty well respected brand

 

[Queen6]

Geez. At least take time to read.
"Razer Blade Stealth won “Best of CES – Best PC.” The company has won an official “Best of CES” award for six consecutive years, a record in the 49-year history of the storied tradeshow." (To make it easier for you, CES - Consumer Electronics Show).

Razer`s Stealth is a very interesting proposition for those needing portability, performance on the go and significantly more graphic performance when docked. I do agree that the target audience is primarily those looking to gaming, equally such a combination can serve other purpose. if my hardware can add to my revenue stream personally I could careless if it was pink.

Razer is still a relatively small company with a strong design & quality focus, being both innovative and flexible, sadly Apple has got fat on IOS, and the Mac is simply been on a diet year on year, drifting ever closer to a base consumer product albeit at a premium price point. Personally I have high hopes of Apple for 2016, equally if they don't deliver, then clearly as we see with Razer`s Stealth & Core others can do...

Q-6

 

[sakabaro]

Better display 3840 x 2160 + 100% Adobe RGB (vs 2304 x 1440 + 69% Adobe RGB for rMB) and a Skylake CPU.

I am sad to see Apple falling behind.

 

[Truefan31]

Better display 3840 x 2160 (vs 2304 x 1440 for rMB) and a Skylake CPU.

I am sad to see Apple falling behind.

Granted viewing the review the 4K is extra I believe. And the ssd used in the razer is pretty mediocre.

 

[dilutedq]

Better display 3840 x 2160 + 100% Adobe RGB (vs 2304 x 1440 + 69% Adobe RGB for rMB) and a Skylake CPU.

I am sad to see Apple falling behind.

rMB was released almost a year ago. The razer blade stealth just got released. of course they are "behind".

 

[aerok]

Granted viewing the review the 4K is extra I believe. And the ssd used in the razer is pretty mediocre.

Better display 3840 x 2160 + 100% Adobe RGB (vs 2304 x 1440 + 69% Adobe RGB for rMB) and a Skylake CPU.

I am sad to see Apple falling behind.

You also pay a lot more for that QHD display. There are both amazing laptops but very different.

 

[SSD-GUY]

6 Hours battery life on the QHD model. And that's what it's rated for, so could see a lot less.

 

[Truefan31]

6 Hours battery life on the QHD model. And that's what it's rated for, so could see a lot less.

Yeah that's not ideal. Is there a 16 gb ram option?

 

[Queen6]

Better display 3840 x 2160 + 100% Adobe RGB (vs 2304 x 1440 + 69% Adobe RGB for rMB) and a Skylake CPU.

I am sad to see Apple falling behind.

As am I, by far preferring Apple to be more adventurous with technology, equally if they don't Apple will ultimately suffer in the run. There is only so much milage in the "same old, same old" rehash game, I want to see increased functionality/utility. I want to be impressed, sadly the Windows OEM`s are taking the lead, with Apple being rather staid at best, equally I have high hopes for 2016. If not there are clearly many other options

Q-6

 

[Neodym]

Razer Blade Stealth vs rMB:

Weight +36%
Volume +20% (rounded to the disadvantage of the rMB)
Fans vs. fanless

As others already said: two different machines with two different target audiences.

The Razer Blade Stealth is probably a good hint towards the next rMBP revision, looking forward to it.

 

[soulreaver99]

Had my Razer Blade Stealth for about a week and have been quite happy with it.

Quick Summary of what I like and don’t like:

Like:

– Excellent build quality, feels absolutely solid
– Thin and light without any sacrifice to productivity performance
– Keyboard is similar to Retina Macbook keyboard but feels less “shallow” – some people will feel that this is better, I personally do
– Customizable light keyboard
– Although not fan-less, it runs quiet for the most part
– 2 USB 3.1 ports, 1 USB-C, Audio port, and full sized HDMI. Come on Apple…
– QHD 2560×1440 on this 12.5 inch screen looks fantastic
– Blown away by the stereo speakers. Were you impressed with the Retina Macbook speakers? You will be very impressed with these as well
– Excellent overall value, even as a standalone ultrabook

Don’t Like

– Can’t charge with external battery pack, like the Mac can
– Casing is a fingerprint magnet
– 8GB RAM not upgradeable and no option for 16GB
– Core add-on is unavailable at launch, not even the pricing

TL;DR?? – Yes I would recommended it if you are in the market of an excellent thin and light notebook. Will have to revisit this once the Razer CORE is ever released.

Once we see Skylake MacBooks with USB-C Thunderbolt 3... It will be awesome if the Razer Core will be compatible with it

 

[zhenya]

Looks good.

Is it just me or those bezels look huge though?

Also not digging the 'tramp-stamp' logo on the cover.

 

[palpatine]

Had my Razer Blade Stealth for about a week and have been quite happy with it.

Quick Summary of what I like and don’t like:

Like:

– Excellent build quality, feels absolutely solid
– Thin and light without any sacrifice to productivity performance
– Keyboard is similar to Retina Macbook keyboard but feels less “shallow” – some people will feel that this is better, I personally do
– Customizable light keyboard
– Although not fan-less, it runs quiet for the most part
– 2 USB 3.1 ports, 1 USB-C, Audio port, and full sized HDMI. Come on Apple…
– QHD 2560×1440 on this 12.5 inch screen looks fantastic
– Blown away by the stereo speakers. Were you impressed with the Retina Macbook speakers? You will be very impressed with these as well
– Excellent overall value, even as a standalone ultrabook

Don’t Like

– Can’t charge with external battery pack, like the Mac can
– Casing is a fingerprint magnet
– 8GB RAM not upgradeable and no option for 16GB
– Core add-on is unavailable at launch, not even the pricing

TL;DR?? – Yes I would recommended it if you are in the market of an excellent thin and light notebook. Will have to revisit this once the Razer CORE is ever released.

Once we see Skylake MacBooks with USB-C Thunderbolt 3... It will be awesome if the Razer Core will be compatible with it

Looks great. Thanks for sharing! Next time I am in the market for a computer, I'll take a look at it. Please do let us know how it performs over time.

 

[SSD-GUY]

Had my Razer Blade Stealth for about a week and have been quite happy with it.

Quick Summary of what I like and don’t like:

Like:

– Excellent build quality, feels absolutely solid
– Thin and light without any sacrifice to productivity performance
– Keyboard is similar to Retina Macbook keyboard but feels less “shallow” – some people will feel that this is better, I personally do
– Customizable light keyboard
– Although not fan-less, it runs quiet for the most part
– 2 USB 3.1 ports, 1 USB-C, Audio port, and full sized HDMI. Come on Apple…
– QHD 2560×1440 on this 12.5 inch screen looks fantastic
– Blown away by the stereo speakers. Were you impressed with the Retina Macbook speakers? You will be very impressed with these as well
– Excellent overall value, even as a standalone ultrabook

Don’t Like

– Can’t charge with external battery pack, like the Mac can
– Casing is a fingerprint magnet
– 8GB RAM not upgradeable and no option for 16GB
– Core add-on is unavailable at launch, not even the pricing

TL;DR?? – Yes I would recommended it if you are in the market of an excellent thin and light notebook. Will have to revisit this once the Razer CORE is ever released.

Once we see Skylake MacBooks with USB-C Thunderbolt 3... It will be awesome if the Razer Core will be compatible with it

What's the battery life like? And how does the trackpad compare to Apple's trackpads?

 

[soulreaver99]

What's the battery life like? And how does the trackpad compare to Apple's trackpads?

6 - 7 hour battery life is accurate. MacBook still has a better trackpad but the stealth's is pretty decent for a Windows laptop.

 

[dyn]

We are comparing the 12 inch MacBook.

And that's the problem. The MacBook isn't comparable at all, you may as well compare it to an iPad or a Raspberry Pi. The hardware and form factor of the Razer is comparable to the 13" MacBook Air and the 13" MacBook Pro. The only two things the MacBook and this Razer have in common is that they both are a notebook and are in the 12" realms.

What the Razer shows is what the 13" MacBook Air or, more likely, the 13" MacBook Pro is going to look like. It's a cool machine, especially with the TB3 and eGPU option.

 

[masterpace]

it often sems to me that windows computers are a better deal on the front end, but over time, when you factor in time and money for repairs (every computer i have owned has needed them), the gap isn't so large (a problem with my rmbp took a few hours to fix last year, and one with my rmb took a few minutes -- both were at no cost). and, i've generally found my apple stuff is more dependable and lasts longer. your mileage may vary. maybe the razer is perfect. i don't know.

the rmb is made for different stuff -- if you want a super portable gaming platform, the razer looks like your machine. personally, i prefer apple because of the ecosystem, ease of use, and support -- it's effortless to do work. i don't game, so the rmb's "deficiencies" are irrelevant to my use case. i've been on international trips with it several times, and it more than made up for its price in lightweight / long-life / solid performance.

perhaps, if i could find the stuff i need for my work in windows (haven't yet, but i'm keeping an eye out), the only computer that would tempt me is the surface pro. that's a whole other conversation, though. at any rate, gamers *can* use the rmb, but you'll probably get more bang for your buck elsewhere.

[doublepost=1456621878][/doublepost]Razer support is great, but should you need to get your laptop serviced, you need to ship it to California. I currently own a Razer Blade 2014. For the size and weight, it has a supper duper 870m GPU. After six months, logics board got to be replaced and two months later, they had to send me a new power adapter. Again, their support team was very professional and courteous in regards to both incidents. Two issues here. First, they don't have any local store to carry the repairs: I had to ship back my Razer to US (I'm from Canada). They paid for everything but still, it's not like taking appointment with your local Apple Store. Second, their failure rate seems quite higher than usual. Their laptops have a sleek design but they overheat a lot, believe me. And, that's most likely the root cause of my two failures. On my Razer Blade 2014, I can literally burn my finger if I let it on the power button for more than a few seconds.

Now, please don't be fooled. The Razer Blade Stealth carries an integrated Intel HD 520 GPU. Although the rmb is not a gaming machine, this Stealth is not a gaming machine either. Performance difference is marginal. Personally, I prefer to stick to Apple in terms of support and reliability.

 

[MyopicPaideia]

I understand where you are coming from but the comparison is against a 12 inch MacBook. The keyboard on the new MacBook also has "issues". This is the MacBook thread not the MacBook Pro thread. Pound for pound, the Stealth is a better deal. I have a 12 inch MacBook too. The 12 inch does have a Core M, that's the point of comparison though. You are paying about the same for an i7 dual core which has Thunderbolt 3 and a myriad of features with a strong build quality. The SSD is user upgradable as well.

I am a huge Apple fan but, in my opinion, this is a better buy than the 12 inch MacBook (again, coming from an owner of one).

Ha ha ha, pound for pound, yes, absolutely, because there is a whole pound more to divide by! Ha ha ha!

 

[ReallyBigFeet]

Slashgear wrote a decent review a few days ago. I'd buy this laptop for my teenage son, particularly when/if the Core is released. Would be great to dock the core to the 4K TV in the gaming room, and he could dock his laptop to that. Wireless keyboard + controller and he'd have a decent big screen gaming system when he wanted it, and a decent laptop for other uses when he wasn't gaming with it.

But then it's a Windows laptop. And, like his old man, he hates Windows as an OS. Too many patches, updates, things bog down over time, have to reinstall the OS to get it back to good, viruses, malware, etc etc etc.

Nah.....not worth the trouble. If it could dual boot OS X for getting work done, maybe.

As-is, it's a pretty pricey option for a Windows gaming rig. And just another Windows laptop otherwise.

 

[DougFNJ]

Why not? They are both ultrabooks.

One is a Windows computer, the other is Mac OS. One will be sluggish and much slower with many many updates, plus the vulnerabilities to viruses and malware, the other will potentially be just as fast 3-5 years later as it was when it was bought, and most likely still in service with a good resale value, the other will have probably been replaced or need to be.

I hate it when people compare specs of a Windows computer vs an Apple computer. With the system resources constantly needing to be running in the background to function on a Windows computer, their are no apples to apples comparisons.

 

[jfrancis04]

Still no word when the Core will actually release, right?