Razer Blade Stealth 2020

[maflynn]

Here's D2D's review
He seems overly hung up over the use of Intel vs. AMD, but he really failed to go into specifics. He seems to love everything about the laptop with one exception - the CPU. While I'll not disagree that AMD provides more bang for your buck, I'd have to say that for gaming laptops, how much of a difference would the AMD make inside a small thin and light laptop - I'm no sure

 

[grmlin]

You have to bash Intel and hype AMD right now if you are a content creator I guess?

things will change at some point if Intel does not figure out how to build CPUs that are on par with the Ryzens again. I would have taken a Thinkpad with a Ryzen 4 any day, but giving up Thunderbolt 3 and a high end machine wasn't an option. Maybe next time I'm due for a new machine

 

[maflynn]

You have to bash Intel and hype AMD right now if you are a content creator I guess?

That seems to be the in thing, and I'll not take anything away from AMD on their superior CPU, but at this stage of computing, will we really notice that much of a difference. I know it sounds like I'm making excuses for intel, but its more about the fact that I think for most typical consumers, either machine (being presented in Dave's YT) is probably over-kill

 

[c0ppo]

That seems to be the in thing, and I'll not take anything away from AMD on their superior CPU, but at this stage of computing, will we really notice that much of a difference. I know it sounds like I'm making excuses for intel, but its more about the fact that I think for most typical consumers, either machine (being presented in Dave's YT) is probably over-kill

It's not just about performance. It's also about power consumption. Intel draws way more power, so more fan noise, less battery.

While I also don't think you're gonna notice a difference while playing CS:GO, on all other stuff you are gonna notice it. I would pick more silent device that is also way more powerful. 8 cores vs 4 cores, and with less TDP? Easy choice right there.

D2D is right on bashing anyone who uses Intel CPU today. But I already stated a few months ago, switch to AMD isn't gonna happen overnight. OEMs have to design a completely different internals to make that happen, so I do understand why there isn't a bigger switch to AMD.

But I won't buy a new device with Intel CPU in them anymore. At least if AMD keeps on kicking their a** like they are doing at this moment.

 

[SteveJUAE]

That seems to be the in thing, and I'll not take anything away from AMD on their superior CPU, but at this stage of computing, will we really notice that much of a difference. I know it sounds like I'm making excuses for intel, but its more about the fact that I think for most typical consumers, either machine (being presented in Dave's YT) is probably over-kill

Yep IRL vs Benchmarks, Razer's cost enough already let alone paying another premium for a complete internal re-design

Out of interest how does the humble MS SB3 13" compare

 

[mwptrsn]

Couldn't find my old account, so had to create a new one.

While I do agree with D2D that there are performance improvements to be had in the AMD space right now, I think the machine most people compare this one to is the G14. And as a gaming laptop? Yeah, the G14 destroys this one. However, as an all around laptop you can do some lighter gaming with? I think there's a strong argument to be made for the Blade. It's MUCH quieter in daily operation, and also during gaming. The AMD proc is a 35W processor, the one in the Blade Stealth is 15-25W. It's going to be cooler and quieter.

To me, this is a 13" MacBook pro competitor more than a gaming machine, with the advantage of having a dGPU. And I think it compares favorably to that machine. I've got one that I'm debating whether to keep or not - I am missing some Mac software and I'm trying to figure out if that's just a "hump" I need to get over.

 

[SteveJUAE]

Couldn't find my old account, so had to create a new one.

While I do agree with D2D that there are performance improvements to be had in the AMD space right now, I think the machine most people compare this one to is the G14. And as a gaming laptop? Yeah, the G14 destroys this one. However, as an all around laptop you can do some lighter gaming with? I think there's a strong argument to be made for the Blade. It's MUCH quieter in daily operation, and also during gaming. The AMD proc is a 35W processor, the one in the Blade Stealth is 15-25W. It's going to be cooler and quieter.

To me, this is a 13" MacBook pro competitor more than a gaming machine, with the advantage of having a dGPU. And I think it compares favorably to that machine. I've got one that I'm debating whether to keep or not - I am missing some Mac software and I'm trying to figure out if that's just a "hump" I need to get over.

How can it compare favorably, you either need a dGPU or not. You cant mitigate away the MBP lack of dGPU

If your happy with the MBP then stick with it

 

[mwptrsn]

How can it compare favorably, you either need a dGPU or not. You cant mitigate away the MBP lack of dGPU

If your happy with the MBP then stick with it

Ah - I meant from a fit/finish perspective - wasn't clear there. Feels "nice", along the same lines of the surface products.

 

[Jetcat3]

Couldn't find my old account, so had to create a new one.

While I do agree with D2D that there are performance improvements to be had in the AMD space right now, I think the machine most people compare this one to is the G14. And as a gaming laptop? Yeah, the G14 destroys this one. However, as an all around laptop you can do some lighter gaming with? I think there's a strong argument to be made for the Blade. It's MUCH quieter in daily operation, and also during gaming. The AMD proc is a 35W processor, the one in the Blade Stealth is 15-25W. It's going to be cooler and quieter.

To me, this is a 13" MacBook pro competitor more than a gaming machine, with the advantage of having a dGPU. And I think it compares favorably to that machine. I've got one that I'm debating whether to keep or not - I am missing some Mac software and I'm trying to figure out if that's just a "hump" I need to get over.

With the fix going around to limit the AMD 4000 series boosting to their maximum clock rate they are getting insane performance and thermals now. The 4900HS at 3.0Ghz is a beast and is only pulling 20-22 watts.

 

[simonmet]

He does seem overly hung up on AMD vs Intel thing (sounds almost sponsored) but I agree it would be good to see more AMD options out there. That's all he needed to say. Intel will only improve when they start to lose some market share.

If the Razer products moved to 16:10 (ish) aspect ratio like the XPS line is then I might be interested. Then again, I suspect when Apple fixes their LCD issues I doubt I'll consider another brand.

 

[mwptrsn]

With the fix going around to limit the AMD 4000 series boosting to their maximum clock rate they are getting insane performance and thermals now. The 4900HS at 3.0Ghz is a beast and is only pulling 20-22 watts.

What's that fix? Based on my experience with a friend's G14, the fan/heat scared me away from a daily use perspective.
[automerge]1592507113[/automerge]

 

[Jetcat3]

What's that fix? Based on my experience with a friend's G14, the fan/heat scared me away from a daily use perspective.
[automerge]1592507113[/automerge]

Go to 4:15 in this video.

The fix has been out for over a month but reviewers are starting to feature it. My G15 with the 4800HS was running Call of Duty at 78 degrees CPU and 70 GPU with the fans around 70-75%. It’s an awesome fix!

 

[GoldfishRT]

Did anybody here buy one of these? If so thoughts?

 

[maflynn]

Did anybody here buy one of these? If so thoughts?

I don't have the stealth but the advance model (15")

 

[bubulol]

I also had the advance model, its basically a Macbook Pro with RTX in term of design
CNC alu anybody case, i like that, its more angular than Macbook though
You got plenty of ports, mini-dp, thunderbolt, usb-a, usb-c etc...

pros

• Powerful machine (RTX)
• Sleek design (Macbook Pro like but with its own style) especially on Mercury edition (white/silver version)
• OLED display available or fast IPS (up to 300 hz)
• Thin, decent battery life (before M1 released), about 6/7 hours
• Razer surprisingly good after sale customer service
• Multiples ports, so you dont need necessarily any hub or adapter

CONS

• Slight coil whine coming from underneath keyboard, its barely noticeable under normal condition, but i m really sensitive, dont know if it was fixed in recent release (i got the early /mid 2020 with RT 2060/2070)
• Expensive beast (2500 eur i ve paid)
• Razer RMA is way too long (between 3-5 weeks)
• Bulky power brick (latest versions can be charged through usb-c but if you are under heavy load such as gaming, you need to plug official power brick)

Cant tell about Stealth, its more or less same beast, thinner and lighter, less powerful as well, i think if you want aesthetic and performance, yes it could worth it but its expensive tho!

 

[maflynn]

pros
...
CONS
...

I love the design of the Razer Blade (I have the advanced 15" model.)
I agree with all of the pluses

As for the cons, I personally don't have any coil whine, but it is expensive, and you're right the RMA process is long and painful. This time around i bought my Razer Blade from amazon and opted for their repair plan so I largely avoid Razer, though I've not needed any servicing (knocks on wood). And yes, the power brick is massive, but given the power of the CPU and GPU, I'm not surprised.

 

[bubulol]

Its more like an electrical buzz, very slight, you need to be closer, almost putting your ears on the keyboard in order to hear that
Despite of that, i have found this on another laptop else than Razer, not really specific to Razer only
The RMA process is long but Razer has good customer after sale service, for example, they exchanged mine for that electrical buzz and backlight bleed, i ve got new one, they dont repair your laptop tho
You will get brand new!
I would say i love matte display as well, i dont why Apple still using those glossy display on the Macbook
That's a good thing (except OLED 4K is glossy tho)

 

[fncd]

I love the design of the Razer Blade (I have the advanced 15" model.)
I agree with all of the pluses

As for the cons, I personally don't have any coil whine, but it is expensive, and you're right the RMA process is long and painful. This time around i bought my Razer Blade from amazon and opted for their repair plan so I largely avoid Razer, though I've not needed any servicing (knocks on wood). And yes, the power brick is massive, but given the power of the CPU and GPU, I'm not surprised.

Agree as well. I have the 2020 Base with the 4k OLED (opted for the base model because it was available in Mercury). I'm glad Razer finally fixed the Shift key fiasco across the board. For me, the 13" and the placement of the Up arrow made it impossible to use.

I don't seem to have any coil whine on mine, but the base models have (what I would call) a very aggressive fan curve. They spin up often, and at times can get very loud. Of course, the cooling system in the Base is a little different than that of the Advanced, and that's why.

I've also had to RMA products from Razer in the past and it's not the fastest, but they do at least provide decent support if needed. I ended getting mine as an open box excellent from Best Buy and saved about 1200.00 off of retail, so it was hard to pass up. Still has the full 1 year warranty, and (I suppose) I could add on their extended warranty, but I have little to no experience buying from them, so not sure if it's worth it or not. Maybe someone can comment on that.

 

[GoldfishRT]

Well I'm eagerly awaiting delivery today, of a FHD 120hz Blade Stealth that I bought open box on Best Buy for just shy of $1200. I couldn't pull the trigger at more than the 15". I don't remember the last time I impulse purchased a notebook so I'm eager to see whether it lives up to my expectations.

 

[SteveJUAE]

I have both, the 15" Studio edition and the 120hz stealth, so enjoy

 

[maflynn]

Well I'm eagerly awaiting delivery today, of a FHD 120hz Blade Stealth that I bought open box on Best Buy for just shy of $1200. I couldn't pull the trigger at more than the 15". I don't remember the last time I impulse purchased a notebook so I'm eager to see whether it lives up to my expectations.

Congrats and good luck with your new baby.

 

[GoldfishRT]

Now that I've spent some hours with it I have some thoughts. First and foremost, this is an extremely performant machine for the size, it really isn't any larger than your average 13" premium ultrabook which is stunning. The initial impression is that the fit-and-finish, and material choices, are exceptional. It runs rather cool to the touch in normal operation as well. The fans are mildly obnoxious when they're spinning but they luckily don't the vast majority of the time unless you're asking a lot of the computer. They sound like every 13" MacBook Pro I've ever heard. Subjectively, the 120hz 1080p display is very pretty although I did notice some ghosting almost immediately - this takes some of the luster of the high refresh rate away. The big chin is also pretty notable and ugly. On the plus side, also don't have backlight bleed on this unit. Also the games I want to play on it can all utilize the capabilities pretty easily on the 1650Ti. Good stuff. I don't like the keyboard very much but, I suppose it's better than the 15" MacBook Pro I'm typing this on. Speakers are a joke and I wish they had just extended the keyboard to be full size instead of chopping down the edges. Battery life is mediocre at best.

Overall good computer. I'd not spend the MSRP of a new one for it. Frankly, there's no way this machine should ever cost more than about $1500. But at $1180 for this open box unit, I think it'll stick around even if only for a short while. That said, anybody want to buy a MacBook?

 

[GoldfishRT]

I do have an issue with this Stealth. It turns out I cannot get this laptop to sleep properly. After full reset, updating BIOS, it wont sleep period. Before, it would lock up requiring holding the power button to shut it off then rebooting the system. Frustrating...

 

[maflynn]

Frustrating

I bet. I’ve had hit or miss luck with my computers (PC and Macs) with regard to sleep. For whatever reason no matter the make I’ll get a computer once in while that won’t sleep. I know that doesn’t help you but I wanted to say I feel your pain

 

[GoldfishRT]

I bet. I’ve had hit or miss luck with my computers (PC and Macs) with regard to sleep. For whatever reason no matter the make I’ll get a computer once in while that won’t sleep. I know that doesn’t help you but I wanted to say I feel your pain

Agree, although I think every Mac I've had has been resolvable at least.

I'm definitely weighing if this is a dealbreaker for me. Razer Support, credit to their responsiveness, is already at the point that they'd like me to send it in after trying numerous things at home.