Razer simply can’t stop video video games. The Blade Stealth was its exit technique—or so I believed. Released in 2016, the Stealth was Razer’s debut Ultrabook, and introduced the bigger Blade’s smooth, MacBook-like aesthetics and construct high quality to individuals who simply test their electronic mail and sort up memos, or no matter. I fell in love.
But with every new iteration, Razer’s strayed additional and farther from the beliefs of that preliminary Stealth. The 2018 Blade Stealth ditched the vaunted $999 value level for a extra premium expertise. And for 2020? Razer’s billing the most recent Stealth because the “first gaming Ultrabook.” With its discrete graphics card and 13-inch, 300Hz show, it’s mainly a really small gaming laptop computer.
Very small.
Razer Blade Stealth Models & Features
There are three Razer Blade Stealth fashions for 2020. They differ solely by way of the show, not the internals. All three characteristic the identical Intel Core i7-1065G7 processor, the identical Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Ti Max-Q graphics card, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD.
All you might want to determine is whether or not to spring for a high-end show. The base mannequin lists for $1,700 from Amazon and options a normal 13-inch, Full HD (1920×1080) show clocked at 60Hz. Our assessment unit is the subsequent mannequin up ($1,800 on Amazon), which supplies a 120Hz show for smoother gameplay. The top-tier mannequin ($1,999 on Amazon) encompasses a 4K contact panel at 60Hz. There’s not a lot of a value distinction among the many three, nor will the common consumer see a lot of a distinction among the many shows.
Honestly, on this case the most affordable possibility is likely to be your greatest guess. Both the 4K and 120Hz shows will put a dent within the Blade Stealth’s battery life, and for little purpose. The 4K decision is nearly overkill for a show this small. While I like a 120Hz (or greater) monitor for my desktop machine, the GTX 1650 Ti received’t be hitting these body charges usually in-game. It makes day-to-day use really feel a bit smoother, however not considerably so. We’ll focus on additional, as we obtained the 120Hz unit for assessment.
Design
Razer’s knack for miniaturization shouldn’t shock me by now, and but it nonetheless does. The 2020 Blade Stealth isn’t fairly as small as its predecessor, nevertheless it’s shut, at 11.9 x 8.2 x 0.6 inches. That 0.6-inch top is especially spectacular, simply barely thicker than the 2018 mannequin—besides now there’s a devoted graphics card inside.
It shouldn’t be potential, and but I maintain the proof in my palms as I write this. It’s fairly a feat—particularly for journey. I wrestle to think about the one who would need a gaming laptop computer however completely can’t abdomen the concept of a 14-inch or 15-inch machine. That stated, I spent years on the street hauling outsized gaming laptops like so many cinderblocks. The prospect of tossing the Blade Stealth in any outdated bag and forgetting it’s there may be compelling.
The Blade Stealth is a beautiful machine, too. The 2018 mannequin featured Razer’s outdated Blade design language, not-so-subtly borrowed from the MacBook circa 2013. By the top of 2018 Razer had moved to a extra trendy look, buying and selling the rounded lid for a flat black slab. It’s very clear, and sure saved Razer a millimeter or two that was put to higher use elsewhere.
My solely criticism is it’s a bit onerous to open—or moderately, it’s a bit onerous to know the place it opens. I can’t let you know what number of instances I’ve picked up the Blade Stealth, felt for the seam, and realized I’ve bought it backwards.
IDG / Hayden DingmanOh, and there’s the three-headed snake. It’s an iconic brand, which is nice—except you wish to carry the Blade Stealth to work with out catching glances. Black-on-black is refined at the very least, nevertheless it looks like Razer can’t determine whether or not it’s ashamed of its gaming previous or needs to embrace it. That’s a recurring theme with the Blade Stealth, I suppose.
Inside you’ll discover the aforementioned 13.3-inch show. Colors aren’t fairly devoted sufficient that I’d do skilled design work on the Blade Stealth, however they pop properly, and the brightness lands properly north of the 250 nits we use for testing.
The 120Hz refresh charge may be very clean, albeit a bit inconsequential. You positive can admire the best way your Word docs zip across the display, nevertheless it’s a refined impact that’s mockingly principally noticeable when you end up slumming it with a 60Hz show once more.
Anyway, I’d be remiss if I didn’t level out that Razer additionally mounted two of the issues I had with earlier Blade Stealth iterations. First and foremost, the keyboard lighting now correctly backlights the Function keys, each main and secondary labels. That was one in all my largest complaints earlier than, so it’s nice to have the ability to modify quantity or brightness without having to squint. I additionally actually love typing on the Blade Stealth. If you’re shopping for one primarily for work (a.okay.a. writing), relaxation assured, it’s nice for that.
IDG / Hayden DingmanThe different enchancment is the addition of a second USB-C port. I nonetheless assume USB-C is a satan’s discount: Fast charging is sweet, however the cable nonetheless feels fragile, protruding at a 90-degree angle. Because the brand new port is on the opposite facet of the laptop computer from the present one, nonetheless, you at the very least acquire the comfort of charging from both location.
Performance
Performance is the place reviewing the Blade Stealth will get difficult. As I stated, Razer’s claiming that is the “first gaming Ultrabook,” which is…debatable. Microsoft’s Surface Book 3 features a GTX 1660, the Dell XPS 15 incorporates the identical 1650 Ti Max-Q as our Blade Stealth, and the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 boasts an RTX 2060 Max-Q inside.
I’d argue all of those laptops are in the identical class because the Blade Stealth. None are fairly as small, however Razer didn’t declare that is the primary 13-inch gaming Ultrabook, simply the primary gaming Ultrabook interval, and that’s a stretch.
Still, it’s a sparsely populated area for the time being, and a tough one to evaluate. Reviews are sometimes a query of taxonomy, which means now we have to determine whether or not the Blade Stealth is extra gaming or Ultrabook. Determining the right way to classify the Blade Stealth additionally determines how excessive we set the bar for efficiency. Is this an overpowered work machine? Or an underpowered gaming laptop computer?
It’s each, in fact, as we see with our Cinebench outcomes. Used to measure short-burst CPU efficiency, the Blade Stealth isn’t the zippiest implementation of the Core i7-1065G7 CPU—one of many slowest, really—nevertheless it fell inside spitting distance of the Dell XPS 13 and the Microsoft Surface Book 3.
IDG / Hayden DingmanCompared to higher-end CPUs although? The XPS 15 and Zephyrus G14 blow the Blade Stealth out of the water. The latter places up an particularly sturdy showing–its AMD Ryzen 9 barely breaks a sweat.
Our HandBrake check demonstrated the identical. We encode a 30GB MKV file right down to the “Android Tablet” preset, a prolonged activity that stress-tests the CPU over an extended time frame. Again, the Blade Stealth does fairly properly for an Ultrabook, however terribly subsequent to laptops with extra normal (learn: highly effective) gaming CPUs.
IDG / Hayden DingmanWhat about graphics? After all, it is a gaming Ultrabook. When we ran the Blade Stealth via 3DMark’s Sky Diver check, it stormed previous Ultrabooks that depend on inside graphics, just like the XPS 13—arguably the closest competitors in terms of that 13-inch kind issue.
IDG / Hayden DingmanIf you don’t thoughts an additional inch or two of laptop computer although, the query turns into muddier. Remember, the Surface Book 3 and XPS 15 each embrace graphics playing cards, as does MSI’s Prestige 14. The Blade Stealth doesn’t look almost as spectacular subsequent to them. Worse, the Zephyrus G14’s RTX 2060 smokes the Blade Stealth. Absolutely leaves it within the mud. Here’s extra proof, within the type of Rise of the Tomb Raider.
IDG / Hayden DingmanThe Zephyrus G14 isn’t some monster gaming laptop computer. At 12.8 x 8.7 x 0.7 inches, it’s a tenth of an inch thicker than the Blade Stealth and about an inch longer. And judging by the outcomes, it’s a gaming laptop computer full cease, not a hybrid. Oh, and did I point out it’s $300 cheaper?
The Blade Stealth is a formidable laptop computer. Amazing, actually. It’s a 13-inch Ultrabook with a whole lot of energy beneath the hood. But at what value? Packing this a lot efficiency into the Blade Stealth means it’s pretty costly as each as a piece machine and a gaming machine—the previous since you’re paying for efficiency you won’t want, the latter as a result of the price-to-performance ratio is skewed in favor of miniaturization. Even Razer’s personal 15-inch Blade sells for $1,599 with a stronger Core i7-10750H and GTX 1660 Ti. Stepping as much as $1,799 (or the price of our Blade Stealth assessment unit) will get you a 15-inch Blade with an RTX 2060 and a 144Hz show.
The Blade Stealth is definitely extra succesful than the equally priced XPS 13, and an important deal cheaper than the $2,799 Surface Book 3, so Razer’s not precisely out of line with its pricing. But it’s a wierd street we’ve gone down, packing increasingly more efficiency into these dainty (and supposedly work-centric) 13-inch laptops. I feel I preferred the Blade Stealth higher when it was $999 and did half as a lot.
The one space the place the Blade Stealth actually shines—for a gaming laptop computer at the very least—is battery life. Our battery check entails looping a 4K video, with the laptop computer set to 250 nits’ brightness, till the laptop computer dies. It’s not wholly indicative of gaming efficiency, which is extra power-intensive, however provides us an honest level of comparability. The Blade Stealth performs admirably, netting just below 10 hours of battery on the 120Hz show. Expect the 60Hz mannequin to final even longer.
IDG / Hayden DingmanThat’s spectacular, given most gaming laptops nonetheless wrestle to hit even 4 or 5 hours runtime. The Blade Stealth even compares favorably to sure Ultrabooks, just like the MSI Prestige 14 and XPS 15. (The Asus ROG Zephyrus G14, in true gaming laptop computer vogue, dies in simply over six hours.)
Bottom line
I beloved my time with the Razer Blade Stealth, as I’ve beloved those that got here earlier than. But this time I’ve struggled to pin down the meant viewers. Taken in a vacuum, the Blade Stealth’s each a implausible work machine and a strong gaming machine—in the event you can ignore that it prices greater than comparable machines in each classes.
But hey, possibly the working professionals by no means confirmed up for Razer. People definitely know Razer for gaming, and I wouldn’t be shocked if its most vocal followers demanded the Blade Stealth be what it was by no means meant to be. If that’s the case, properly, it’s a disgrace. This 12 months’s Blade Stealth is a technical feat, a marvel of engineering, however I’m not fairly positive why Razer went to the difficulty when the 15-inch Blade fills almost the identical position, and for cheaper. Just purchase an even bigger bag.