I believe the reason people are okay with spending several thousand dollars on a Mac laptop is because they feel that they are entering a new lifestyle, atmosphere.
People who put a Mac laptop up against a Windows one somewhat missed the whole point of both systems. Apple’s entire goal with their products is to get you into an ecosystem that drives you to their other products.
There’s not another company out there that integrates so well with their liked products. If you own an iPhone and start to get a call or text message, the notification will make its way to your Mac computer, iPad, HomePod, and Apple Watch if you have any of those things. It’s seamless and incredibly simple for the user.
Windows, on the other hand, is all about functionality. The common joke is that Windows could run off a toaster if you wanted it to. In fact, it’s installed on millions and millions of devices including ones you wouldn’t consider such as digital signage, ATMs, thermostats, and similar Internet of Things (IoT) devices.
The thing is that is just the software side of things. Apple also often holds a tremendous lead in design and durability. Windows can be installed on the most expensive laptop on the market or the cheapest one for a child. It’s still the same Windows installation, but the slowness and flimsy bodies of the cheaper units make it feel that it’s the whole operating system that’s at fault.
Hold a MacBook in one hand and a budget Windows computer in the other, and you’ll understand the difference. Weight, building materials, and sexiness aren’t even in the same class.
A lot of manufacturers have tried to make a stunning Windows laptop, and some do excellently well such as the Dell XPS or the Microsoft Surface lineup. However, today’s review may be the closest thing to a Mac laptop I have ever experienced in terms of design.
Razer is typically known for their PC gaming accessories with their colorful clicky keyboards and mice with ten buttons that can all be operated with just your thumb. Like Apple, Razer fans often buy one Razer product and get sucked into the other offerings.
What you don’t see as often are their Razer Blade laptops. Available in three varying models, the Razer Blade lineup is the closet Mac-Windows equivalent laptop I have ever used.
Welcome to my review of the 2018 Razer Blade Stealth 13” laptop with its companion Razer Core V2 external graphics card enclosure.
Design
When purchasing the Razer Blade Stealth, it was bound to become my new daily work computer. Taking it to meetings, running business apps, and everything in between at work was what this computer was destined to be used for.
As shown in the Razer marketing material, you can see how the laptop is shown as a work by day, game by night type setup. The picture below shows this in the matching white and black color schemes.
Offered in Black or Gunmetal, both colors on this laptop look unique and stunning in pictures. The Black model is a matte black finish with the Razer full-RGB Chroma keyboard, whereas the Gunmetal edition looks MacBook Pro Space Gray-like and comes with a solid white keyboard.
Deciding between the two colors should be a decision based on style, not features. Unfortunately, this was not the case. If the Gunmetal edition had come with the unique and flashy RGB Chroma keyboard, it would have been my preferred choice. Instead, my arm was twisted to opt for the Black model, which looks just like every other black laptop out there.
Luckily for me, my friends over at DBrand were able to help solve my color dilemma. Wanting something that looked special, they sent me over a few of their DBrand 3M vinyl skins that give the laptop a new look and feel.
For a week, I used the Blade Stealth daily as, as I said, it is my work laptop. Almost right away, what I noticed most was that it was a massive fingerprint magnet. The matte black finish captured the oils from my fingers and left the laptop looking uncleaned and dirty. With the DBrand skins, this problem went away.
On my laptop, I applied their stunning marble top finish with the logo cutout. What was an everyday black laptop was now catching the attention of bystanders with the marble finish. The same marble finish made its way onto my trackpad as well.
Then, on the bottom I went with DBrand’s brand new Black Camo finish and words cannot describe its uniqueness. It has constant swirls all around it that gives the bottom this neat pattern.
DBrand has multiple colors to choose from as well as style, including carbon fiber which both looks and feels like the real deal. All of their skins are true 3M vinyl that is extremely durable and meant to last for as long as the product. Throughout this review, you will see the DBrand skins applied to the Blade Stealth.
Made from aluminum, the Blade Stealth feels and is relativity durable. The body itself doesn’t flex, the display feels solid, and it can take some abuse. As long as that abuse isn’t anything like accidentally running over it with a car.
Taking a tour around the Blade Stealth, we’ll find a headphone jack, a single USB port on the left followed by the USB-C charging and data port. On the other side of those ports, there’s a full-sized HDMI port and one more full-sized USB port. Seeing that there aren’t a whole lot of ports, power users may be finding themselves carrying a lot of adapters.
For the display, the back has these subtle lines to add some flair to what is otherwise a smooth display backing. Additionally, the three-headed snake Razer logo glows green when the laptop is turned on.
On the front of the unit, there is a hidden LED behind the aluminum body similar to a MacBook. This LED glows through the aluminum with a green or white light to indicate sleeping or charging status.
With one finger, you can lift the display up, and the base of the laptop will stay planted on the desk. The piano hinge is one of the smoothest I’ve used other than on a MacBook.
On the inside, there is the full QWERTY Razer Chroma RGB keyboard (on this black model), a center-positioned power button, dual upwards facing speakers, and a large touchpad.
For some reason, only Apple seems to get the point that people enjoy large touchpads on their laptops. This Razer touchpad isn’t Apple sized, but it’s larger than most with good feedback and bottom clickable left and right click buttons.
Weighing only 3 pounds and having a thickness of 0.54 inches, the Blade Stealth is a traveler’s dream, and its smaller size allows it to slip right into backpacks, suitcases, and any other sort of luggage.
Also compact is the 65W USB-C charging adapter. Razer’s charging adapter is compact, lightweight, and doesn’t feel like you are carrying around one of those older, larger Dell power bricks.
A companion to the Blade Stealth is the Razer Core V2. This is an external GPU enclosure that allows you to connect a full-sized desktop graphics card to the Blade Stealth via the USB-C Thunderbolt 3 cable.
I’ll go more into its functionality shortly, but in terms of design, it’s just as pleasant as the Blade Stealth.
Made from, again, aluminum, the Core V2 houses desktop graphics cards up to 11.81 inches in length, 5.71 inches in height, and 1.69 inches in width. The graphics card must be rated for approximately 375W of maximum power.
For my Core V2, I put a larger EVGA GTX 960 graphics card into it and while a snug fit, it slid right into the enclosure. Inside the enclosure are a Razer PCB and two fans to help cool the GPU during a larger workload. These fans are controlled by the Core and turn on and off depending on temperature. Unfortunately, while on, they can be a little noisy.
Its heavy and solid CNC machined construction makes it a true premium product and the additional RGB front LED bar is a nice touch.
Its main purpose is to turn your Blade Stealth into a desktop, and that is the primary use for someone like myself. At work, with the GTX 960 connected, it powers my two 2K Dell monitors and has four USB ports which connect my wired keyboard, Dell monitor docking station, and VoIP phone. Lastly, there’s an Ethernet gigabit jack.
All of this is then transferred back to the Blade Stealth over the special Thunderbolt USB-C cable. The core is instantly shut down if the USB-C is disconnected.
A lot of design has gone into the Razer Blade Stealth and the Core V2, and it’s this design that has me loving it so much. This laptop so far is the closest thing to a Mac I’ve experienced in terms of build quality and style. Especially when covered in those DBrand skins.
Functionality
Packed into the aluminum body is the latest generation Quad-Core Intel i7-8550U CPU with a 1.8GHz base and 4.0GHz turbo speed. This Ultra-Low power saving processor runs the IGZO 3200 x 1800 13.3 QHD+ touchscreen display with its integrated Intel UHD Graphics 620.
For storage, the Blade Stealth can be fitted with a 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB PCIe M.2 drive for nearly 1Gbps read, and 700Mbps write speeds.
As modern as those two hardware components are, the rest of them are last generation. Soldered directly to the motherboard are two 8GB LPDDR3 2133MHz sticks of RAM for dual-channel 16GB. Unfortunately for the Blade Stealth, there isn’t an upgrade path for RAM, and it will forever be stuck at 16GB.
Killer Wireless-AC networking comes pre-installed which makes for a great driver and an okay software tool. This is paired with an older Bluetooth 4.1 specification which is still more than suitable for Bluetooth devices.
All in all, the specifications on the Blade Stealth aren’t as amazing as Razer makes them out to be. It’s a great workhorse computer with modern specifications, but similarly priced Dells and Lenovo put onto paper against the Razer make it all look the same. Razer should have taken the lower profit and included in DDR4 RAM for the same price.
Coming with Windows 10 Home 64bit installed, this was also an annoyance. This is not a budget laptop nor is it a cheap one and for Razer to only provide a Home installation is frustrating. Most people using the laptop for personal use will not need a Professional installation. However, those using it at work and needing to join a Domain will need a Professional installation. Likewise, those wanting to use Remote Desktop or other Professional applications are out of luck here.
Razer added in some little Easter eggs into their preinstallation of Windows 10. For example, when opening a command prompt window, the text defaults to Green instead of white, and Internet Explorer defaults to Razer.com. Then, the preset wallpaper is this awesome looking color spectrum with the Razer logo right in the center.
Other than that, it’s standard Windows. You’ve used it before, and you know exactly what it will be like with the Blade Stealth.
Everyday usage of the Blade Stealth is fantastic. It performs like a dream, doesn’t slow down, and handles every task thrown at it. With tens of work apps open constantly and about 10 – 12 Chrome tabs open at any given time; the system always feels speedy and refreshing.
Under a heavy workload, the laptop can get significantly hot towards the top. Unfortunately, this laptop is not a “lap top”. When the unit begins to get hot, it heats up your legs and leaves you feeling uncomfortable. The single little fan can spin at maximum power, but it has a tough time cooling that Quad-Core i7.
When the Blade Stealth is left on a desk, this is less important, with only sound becoming a little annoying.
If you enjoy listening to music, the Blade Stealth dual upwards facing speakers sound decent. They aren’t stunning, but they aren’t awful either. Their smaller size can add a tinny effect on some songs and bass is somewhat lacking, but I found them enjoyable for my music selection as well as for video viewing on YouTube.
Battery life on the Blade Stealth is impressive. With its 52.6Wh lithium-ion battery, it can last nearly an eight-hour day without needing to grab the USB-C charger.
The best part of the Blade Stealth is Razer’s portability claim. I feel like I can always pick up the Blade Stealth and go anywhere and do anything with it. I’m not limited, and it’s not a chore to move about. It’s truly the Mac laptop for Windows with its design.
As I have the Black model, the Razer Chroma RGB keyboard has 16.8 million colors for me to choose from. It uses the well-designed Razer Synapse software.
Within the software, you can do many things such as update drivers, check heat maps, and other gaming aspects. In addition, it controls the RGB on the keyboard and Core V2.
Each key is individually backlit with a nice color glow to them. You can choose to select one of the Razer included presets such as rainbow, fireplace, starlight, sparkle, flash, and explode, or configure your own for a unique touch.
In my opinion, the chicklet keyboard has a very short travel distance, and it can take a little bit of time getting used to typing on. As Razer is known for its keyboards, I would have imagined a better-designed keyboard on the Blade Stealth.
Another gripe I did have with the keyboard is that it is impossible to see the secondary keys in the dark. Function F2 and F3 are for volume and labeled as such, but it requires the Fn key to be pressed and then you need to remember which is which as their secondary purpose is not lit up. The Function row does change color to white for a brighter view when the Fn key is pressed which helps a little.
Lastly, in terms of everyday functionality, the display is pleasant. It’s bright, colorful, has touch input, and everything you could ask for in a laptop display. I wouldn’t call it as perfect as a Dell display, but it’s really strong for both productivity and gaming.
I’m a huge fan of the high display resolution even if it isn’t true 4K. When color calibrating the display, the calibration barely changed and was nearly 100% RGB accurate from the factory.
Those looking to game with the Blade Stealth aren’t going to be playing the top AAA games at high settings. The Intel i7-8550U is a great processor, but it’s not meant for gaming. On its own, it will play less graphically intensive games such as Minecraft, Rocket League, Hearthstone, Dota 2, and Civilization VI.
The Blade Stealth needs help, and that is where the Cove V2 comes in. With a supported graphics card (I have gotten non-supported graphics cards to work such as a GTX 560), the Core V2 can handle all of the graphical performance and output, while the laptop handles processing calculations.
Razer uses the Thunderbolt 3 specification that connects the two units together. Through this cable, the laptop can transfer 40 Gbps which handles video and input of those previously mentioned USB ports.
In theory, you connect the Thunderbolt 3 cable to the Blade Stealth and then to the Core V2 and it just instantly connects.
Most of the time, this works, but it certainly isn’t “zero hassle” as worded by Razer. Unfortunately, sometimes when ‘docking’ the Blade Stealth to the Core V2, you can hear the Core power up, and Windows detects it, but nothing will happen. Connectivity to the external displays remains blank, and only a restart of the entire computer can resolve the issue.
The problem doesn’t happen often, but enough that it needs to be mentioned and needs to be corrected by Razer.
During 90% of the working time, the Core V2 adds significant power to your setup enough for you to play games such as Fortnite, Rainbow Six Siege, GTA V, and Call of Duty. Of course, depending on the chosen GPU, the graphical output performance will vary slightly.
Expect your gaming sessions to be played on High with an average of 60FPS for a 1080p display. If you are gaming for an excessive amount of time, it may be worth investing in a laptop cooler to help keep the Blade Stealth cooled.
My Final Thoughts
I am quite happy with my Razer Blade Stealth, Core V2, and associated DBrand Skins. The Blade Stealth is a fantastic laptop with the design of a MacBook Pro. Everything about its looks from the one-finger hinge to the marble backing from DBrand makes it feel and look like a premium product.
Black models with their Chroma RGB keyboards help the laptop to stand out amongst the other black laptops in the world. Likewise, the bright and crisp IGZO display is stunning to look at and has excellent color reproduction.
When matched with the Core V2, the Blade Stealth becomes a serious gaming machine while the external GPU docking station allows multi-monitor support, Ethernet connectivity, and additional USB ports for accessories.
The Blade Stealth is priced at $1,399 which is a significant price for a Windows laptop. With its base specifications, it is hard to argue that it’s worth this. Design may be important, but this really puts the “Razer tax” to test. Meaning you are starting to pay for the name rather than the product.
I would argue that the Blade Stealth should be a $1,000 – $1,200 laptop and if you can find it for this price on sale, it’s worth every dollar. You won’t be disappointed with it.
As for the Razer Core V2, this comes in at $499.99, and that doesn’t include the cost of a graphics card (between $120 – $500 depending on the model). This is an optional accessory, but a must have for those wanting to have a laptop replacement for their desktop. In the end, you won’t be disappointed, but I find it too slightly overpriced.
Lastly, the DBrand skins are $3 for the trackpad, $20 for the bottom, and $25 for the top. These are meant to last and be applied once to your unit. I believe they give it a great look and well worth the cost if you are shelling out $2000 for this Razer setup.
All mobility, all power; this is a laptop that will stand the test of time and be well-liked from the day you get it to the day you replace it. I personally couldn’t get around the price tag of this laptop as it’s not enough to sway me from a similarly priced Dell, but if you believe this is the laptop for you, you come to enjoy it.
Buy it now:
© 2018 Justin Vendette
