Benchmarked: Razer Blade Stealth versus 13-inch MacBook Pro with function keys

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Comments

  • Reply 21 of 105
    flocked said:
    macxpress said:
    saarek said:
    More reliable? They certainly used to be, but the speakers have blown in my brothers 2018 15” MacBook Pro, twice, already. And no, he does not sit there with volume at 100% trying to break them on purpose.

    My own 13” 2017 MacBook Pro has already had to have the entire top section replaced due to the crummy keyboard design and it’s only 8 months old.

    I really miss the reliability of my 2012 13” MacBook Pro.
    So because of 1 case, they're unreliable? LOL! Nobody ever said it was perfect. No product ever is. It's not like there were never issues with previous Macs before or after 2012. Let's get real here.
    I had both top cases replaced for my 2016 and 2018 MacBook Pro after a few months. No, I don't use it while eating or in dirty environments. I even used my 2018 Macbook only home. The keyboard is really THAT bad. Talking to a genius and asking him how often the keyboard has to be switched, he told me after a few minutes that it's quite a common issue that it has to been replaced. Much more often than on any Macbook before. And he worked in that store for 7 years.
    It's that bad, that I even now switched back to a 2015 model, accepting it's more heavy, slower and has shorter lasting battery. It's all better than the keyboard.

    I might be unfortunate, but having to other friends with the same keyboard problem makes me question that I was just unlucky. I should also note, that my MacBook Air from 2011 and 2012 lasts both until today without any keyboard problem ever. 6 years without any problems vs a few months and stuck keys.


    Does the Razer run MacOS?
    If it runs Windows 10 then even if the hardware is gold plated, it has no chance with me.
    After 20+ years of writing software for Windows, I was so glad to retire and send all my Windows kit to the reycler (Apart from one Laptop that now runs CentOS).

    Apple isn't perfect. Not by a long chalk but I've had enough of my machines being at the whim of Microsoft.

    I'm still carrying on with my 2016 15in MBP (16Gb/1TB SSD) and at the moment there really is nothing to supercede it that is also portable. I'll probably get a Mini sometime next year.
    You can install Hackintosh on the Razer, but HDMi won't work, thunderbolt 3 will make problems, waking up from sleep doesn't workall the time, the trackpad works much worse and you can't be sure to update without breaking anything. It's not a great experience. Read here: https://github.com/FadiniGIT/Razer-Blade-Stealth-Hackintosh-Guide
    The newest keyboards have a dust preventing membrane... hopefully this phenomenon is resolved now. 
    williamlondonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 22 of 105
    knowitallknowitall Posts: 1,648member
    Hmm, this proves that macs should have A processors, because they are faster at the moment than even a Stealth, and much cheaper $400 to be precise!
    jkichlinegilly33mcdavewatto_cobra
  • Reply 23 of 105
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    Bottom line? MacBooks are overpriced TRASH. I get it. Thanks for reminding us with a 2X4 to the forehead in this side-by-side.
    edited December 2018 williamlondongilly33elijahg
  • Reply 24 of 105
    A 4 cpu laptop is faster than a 2 cpu laptop. Brilliant!
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 25 of 105
    Considering I'm still using a 6yr old windows laptop (Toshiba Satellite Pro) now running win10 perfectly it seems Apple is no longer better at longevity. I have 2015 MBP also.  Guess Macs are defitently out for me, mac app store is deader than windows. Looks like we'll get a Surface Pro. 
    If my next iPhone screen acts as bad as my X does, I'll go back to android also. 
  • Reply 26 of 105
    wood1208wood1208 Posts: 2,905member
    When you compare across the spectrum of users, Apple's laptops are definitely lot more reliable comparing to Windows. IBM said the support cost for MACs are lot lower than Windows machines. In this article, performance wise, compare the same processors inside than different Gen(7th vs 8th) and dual vs quad core.
    williamlondontbornotwatto_cobra
  • Reply 27 of 105
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    wood1208 said:
    When you compare across the spectrum of users, Apple's laptops are definitely lot more reliable comparing to Windows. IBM said the support cost for MACs are lot lower than Windows machines. In this article, performance wise, compare the same processors inside than different Gen(7th vs 8th) and dual vs quad core.
    Okay, you forgot what the article was about. They took similarly priced hardware and compared them. The Windows box won, period. The last paragraph said that the new MacBook Pro would likely keep up but it is now considerably more expensive than the the Razer they tested. According to a significant number of users here and elsewhere ALL that counts is performance vs price and in that comparison Apple hardware is overpriced and underperforming trash. We’re not talking about macOS or the experience or anything else. We’re talking bang for buck and Apple loses big time.

    The whole narrative for Apple has changed recently. Now it’s about price and price alone. All the analysts, all the blogs (including AI), all the critics, all the trolls, have zeroed in on price as the be-all-end-all of value. This competition review proves the point. Dollar for dollar of performance, Apple hardware sucks and always has. To the new breed of Apple critics the concept of premium prices for premium hardware is anathema. They’re all made in the same factory and contain the same third party components as everybody else. So price is the only scale by which to make a judgement now. Apple has no reason to exist in this new world. Neither does BMW, or Tesla, or Cuisinart, or Hermes, or Rolex, or Gucci, or Coach, or Calphlon for that matter. 
    macpluspluselijahg
  • Reply 28 of 105
    Tim Cook is ripping us off big league.
    williamlondonlkruppelijahg
  • Reply 29 of 105
    MplsPMplsP Posts: 3,911member

    ....
    Unfortunately, the 13-inch Non-Touch bar MacBook Pro lags behind both in performance and value.
    ...
    I would disagree.    Or more specifically, I don't think that Apples and Apples are being compared (no pun intended!).
    That is, comparing price matched hardware, the Apple hardware will ALWAYS lose.  

    The Apple product can't win because:   A very big chunk of the price of an iOS or MacOS device is the cost of the operating system, ancillary software and Apple's ecosystem -- which I would guess is probably about a third of the total cost of the machine.  (Other hardware vendors buy a far cheaper OS and simply don't have an ecosystem to speak of).

    Or, to put it yet another way:   Theoretically, you could buy a Mac and install Windows over top of MacOS and run it as Windows machine.   But, would ANYBODY do that?   No!  That would be incredibly stupid!   They buy it for the OS and Apple's ecosystem, not the hardware.

    Perhaps a more fair hardware comparison would be to compare a Mac to a Windows machine that cost, say, 2/3's as much as the Mac?   Say:   a $1,000 Windows machine to a $1,500 Mac?   Now, that might be a fair comparison.




    What are you talking about? When you buy a windows computer, the cost of Windows and the windows ‘ecosystem’ (whatever that may be) are included. The OS may not be programmed by the same company, but the cost of the OS is still included in the machine. As far as other software goes, the vast majority of the software included with a Mac can also be obtained for free for a windows machine. 

    If you want to argure that OS X is a better OS and therefore worth more, you can, but that is strictly personal opinion and depended on your use. For other people, using OS X  may be worth less. To arbitrarily argue that “Mac’s get to cost 50% more” when you make any comparison just because they’re your favorite brand is BS if you ask me. When I look at buying a product, I look at what it does for me vs how much it costs. You can argue that OS X is more reliable and trouble free and is therefore worth paying for, but that has nothing to do with development or ecosystem costs.
    lkrupp said:
    The whole narrative for Apple has changed recently. Now it’s about price and price alone. All the analysts, all the blogs (including AI), all the critics, all the trolls, have zeroed in on price as the be-all-end-all of value. This competition review proves the point. Dollar for dollar of performance, Apple hardware sucks and always has. To the new breed of Apple critics the concept of premium prices for premium hardware is anathema. They’re all made in the same factory and contain the same third party components as everybody else. So price is the only scale by which to make a judgement now. Apple has no reason to exist in this new world. Neither does BMW, or Tesla, or Cuisinart, or Hermes, or Rolex, or Gucci, or Coach, or Calphlon for that matter. 
    I find OS X easier to use and more reliable, so I’m willing to pay a (modest) premium for it. It used to be that Apple laptops were clearly more reliable. My 2011 MacBook Air served me flawlessly for 7 years but I have to admit that I’m disappointed with my 2018 MacBook Pro so far - the keyboard  started giving me problems 3 months after I bought it. I ended up getting a silicone protector for the keyboard. It protects it from dust, but makes an already crappy keyboard feel even worse and leaves marks on the screen when it’s closed. Battery life is inferior to my old AIr and Charging with the USB C cable is absolutely less convenient than the old MagSafe connector, and I’m stuck using a dongle to use anything with a USB A connector. I like the fact that it’s a Mac, but the Apple’s decisions have decreased the value proposition significantly. When you have significantly better performance for an equivalently priced machine it makes it even harder to justify the added costs.
    edited December 2018 glynhelijahg
  • Reply 30 of 105
    radarthekatradarthekat Posts: 3,842moderator
    That's not the only piece of the puzzle, however, as Mac users will note Apple laptops tout a superior design, are more reliable and come with a trouble-free operating system.”

    And, as others here have stated, the Mac will have higher resale value.  Let’s take this review right here, bump up to the i7 with 16GB RAM and 256GB storage at whatever higher price that’ll cost in the 13” MacBook Pro, set a bookmark here in time and revisit this in two or three years, at about the time you’d replace that Razer.  Sell both machines and then compare the total cost of ownership.  And while you’re at it, give a recap of your experiences with both machines, amount of time doing your own fiddling to keep the OS running, amount of time you ran Windows on the Mac versus amount of time you ran MacOS on the Razer (opps, you can’t, can you?), amount of frustration experienced with each machine, how readily each machine took OS updates and any issues experienced with those, etc.  
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 31 of 105
    radarthekatradarthekat Posts: 3,842moderator
    lkrupp said:
    wood1208 said:
    When you compare across the spectrum of users, Apple's laptops are definitely lot more reliable comparing to Windows. IBM said the support cost for MACs are lot lower than Windows machines. In this article, performance wise, compare the same processors inside than different Gen(7th vs 8th) and dual vs quad core.
    Okay, you forgot what the article was about. They took similarly priced hardware and compared them. The Windows box won, period. The last paragraph said that the new MacBook Pro would likely keep up but it is now considerably more expensive than the the Razer they tested. According to a significant number of users here and elsewhere ALL that counts is performance vs price and in that comparison Apple hardware is overpriced and underperforming trash. We’re not talking about macOS or the experience or anything else. We’re talking bang for buck and Apple loses big time.

    The whole narrative for Apple has changed recently. Now it’s about price and price alone. All the analysts, all the blogs (including AI), all the critics, all the trolls, have zeroed in on price as the be-all-end-all of value. This competition review proves the point. Dollar for dollar of performance, Apple hardware sucks and always has. To the new breed of Apple critics the concept of premium prices for premium hardware is anathema. They’re all made in the same factory and contain the same third party components as everybody else. So price is the only scale by which to make a judgement now. Apple has no reason to exist in this new world. Neither does BMW, or Tesla, or Cuisinart, or Hermes, or Rolex, or Gucci, or Coach, or Calphlon for that matter. 
    How conveniently you forget total cost of ownership, which is what you actually experience in life, not merely the sticker price.  This is a perfect illustration of your simple-minded view of the world.  
    williamlondonlkruppelijahgwatto_cobra
  • Reply 32 of 105
    Why is this review based on price and not similarly spec'd machines? Does anyone who buys Apple buy because they're competitive in price? We all know Apple will cost more, I'd think a better review would be seeing how two machines similar in specs perform against one another.
    Many people buy computer base on the price. Especially parents buy computer for their kids. Not even can or willing to pay the 50% Apple tax. 

    Seriouly, if both machines can run MacOS flawlessly, how many people will still buy Apple? Apple is always a hardware company. People willing to pay extra for the quality and the OS. But is the quality still here?

    I am still using my 2010 17” MacBook Pro which I pay big bucks for. It is now slow but going strong. If I buy a 2018 MBP, will it still be running in 2026? I doubt it.

    Apple sacrifice usability for thinnest or the look. Why a professional laptop need to be that thin?

    User can’t easily recover HD data if the motherboard is dead. This is not really professional oriented. In the past, when someone’s computer die, they just put the old HD to a new one and keep working. Can we do that with new MBP?

    Why a professional laptop don’t have the most common connector in the world and need to take a dock everywhere?

    Why a professional laptop has a such unreliable keyboard that is so easily stop working and need to replace with half of the laptop?

    Why the i9 can’t even run in full speed for 20 seconds or risk to toast the CPU?

    The answer is simple. MBP is not really designed for professional user anymore. It is for Prosumer market. It is for people with money who careless about functionality. It is for people care for the looks.

    Just look at how frequent Mac Pro get updates can tell you how much Apple care about the professional market. 


    williamlondonelijahg
  • Reply 33 of 105
    I notice there is no battery life comparison - because no one is interested in that feature these days...  :D
  • Reply 34 of 105
    Has apple insider gone mental? This is the worse matchup, one is brand new and one is a whole generation ago. 7th gen cpu vs 8th gen’s latest? When comparing cpu’s This is like putting a 2019 corvette up against a 1999. You can justify this with cost all you want, it is still ludicrous.

    I agree with this comment.  At the very least, the author should have compared a more expensive MacBook Pro that is of similar hardware vintage, to show that there are MacBook pros that are as good or better.  The extra price that Mac users pay Is for the reliability, the operating system, the frequent free upgrades and security of its operating system, the much lower incidence of malicious viruses, and long-term compatability with Mac programs over decades.  

    If somebody has actual repair statistics of the Razer and MacBook Pro, that would be a worthwhile discussion.  I have had probably ten Macbook laptops for the last two decades and experienced a keyboard failure only once and never with the recent MacBooks.  I have had only one Macbook fail on me and Apple replaced free (under warranty) in less than a week.  I also know many people who have used their MacBooks for 6 years or longer.

    I have a late 2016 Macbook with a 4-core Intel Core [email protected] CPU, 16 Gb 2133 MHz RAM LPSSE3, Radeon Pro 460 4096 Mb - Intel HD Graphics 530 1536 Mb, and 2 Tb SSD, running Mojave 10.14.1.  Its single and multi core performances are not that different from the Razer.  Interestingly, my 2018 iPad Pro 11” with an ARM 2.48 GHz 8-core (A12X) blows both the MBP 15” and the Razer out of the water.  The 2016 iPad Pro 12.9” with the A10X processor had lower single and multi-core Geekbench 4 scores.

                               Single Multi OpenCL

    ‘18 Razer Blade 4883 16017 47516

    ‘16 MBP 15”      4631 15614 20890

    ‘18 iPad Pro 11” 5014 18301 42209

    ‘16 iPad Pro 12.9” 3946 9496 29310

    To tell you the truth, I am happy with my late 2016 MBP 15”.  I use my Mac to do a lot of word-processing, drawings, excel and statistical programs.  It is more than fast enough for my purposes.  It also has a 10-hour battery life, finger print detector on the on-off button, the color touch strip, a reliable keyboard, the beautiful bright screen, and the best safety of all laptops with relatively few malicious viruses.  It runs 95% of Mac software, including programs from 20 years ago.   I have used it for nearly 2 years and will probably continue using it for at least another 2-3 years.  By that time, the iPad will likely have a Finder-like app and may be able to replace the Mac.

    knowitallwatto_cobra
  • Reply 35 of 105
    KITAKITA Posts: 392member
    At $1,600, the 2019 13-inch Razer Blade Stealth represents an incredible value, boasting a 1.8GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM, 256GB of storage and a powerful dedicated MX150 graphics card. 
    Seems a little odd that this is only being discussed now.

    For example, the MateBook X Pro launched in the first half of 2018. For $1500 (currently $1350) it came with a quad core i7-8550U, 16 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD, an MX150 2GB and a 13.9" 3000 x 2000 (3:2 aspect ratio) 100% sRGB LTPS display with 450 nits brightness. It had a 2.9 lbs metal body with 1x USB-A, 1x USB-C, 1x USB-C with Thunderbolt 3 and a fingerprint sensor in the power button.


  • Reply 36 of 105
    saareksaarek Posts: 1,520member
    “That's not the only piece of the puzzle, however, as Mac users will note Apple laptops tout a superior design, are more reliable and come with a trouble-free operating system.”

    And, as others here have stated, the Mac will have higher resale value.  Let’s take this review right here, bump up to the i7 with 16GB RAM and 256GB storage at whatever higher price that’ll cost in the 13” MacBook Pro, set a bookmark here in time and revisit this in two or three years, at about the time you’d replace that Razer.  Sell both machines and then compare the total cost of ownership.  And while you’re at it, give a recap of your experiences with both machines, amount of time doing your own fiddling to keep the OS running, amount of time you ran Windows on the Mac versus amount of time you ran MacOS on the Razer (opps, you can’t, can you?), amount of frustration experienced with each machine, how readily each machine took OS updates and any issues experienced with those, etc.  
    I’m not sure the resale on the 2017 MacBook will be that good. Once the 4 years from purchase is up (and so out of Apple’s keyboard repair programme) you’ll have to pay more than the machine is worth to fix a sticky keyboard key. I don’t think people will pay a lot for a near guaranteed lemon.

    For the older machines you’re bang on. I paid £999 for my 2012 MacBook Pro and sold it for £350 this year. 6 year old machine retained 35% of its price, although I up the ram and add an SSD.

    But no one will give me a good price for a failure prone model, as soon as the keyboard warranty is set to expire I’m dumping it. If the Keyboard keeps failing I will probably have to dump it sooner, but then what are my options. New models that still fail, albeit not as frequently, or a windows machine. Neither option is really palitable to me.
  • Reply 37 of 105
    saareksaarek Posts: 1,520member
    I wonder if anyone can explain this to me though. Apple makes at least 40% on each MacBook Pro sold.

    But due to bad design, from a repair point of view, they have to replace half the machine anytime something goes wrong and the failure rate for quite a few of the components is very high.

    Obviously the components are bought by them in bulk and they have their own staff doing the repairs. But surely these MacBook Pro’s are costing them money due to all of the repairs needed.

    So why not change the design? Revert back to a more reliable design like the 2015 generation, modify it a bit and ship it out?

    Their reputation has taken a big hit with these models and rightly so.

    edited December 2018
  • Reply 38 of 105
    I notice there is no battery life comparison - because no one is interested in that feature these days...  :D
    Because that "staff" know how they will be ridiculed if they put the battery benchmark in the article. The battery life is most probably two hours or so, because a gaming laptop is expected to be used mostly plugged in. That one is a laptop for teens, who want it to carry their games alongside when hanging out with friends. Teens like that brand's flashy keyboards and mice too. 
    edited December 2018 watto_cobra
  • Reply 39 of 105
    macxpress said:
    saarek said:
    More reliable? They certainly used to be, but the speakers have blown in my brothers 2018 15” MacBook Pro, twice, already. And no, he does not sit there with volume at 100% trying to break them on purpose.

    My own 13” 2017 MacBook Pro has already had to have the entire top section replaced due to the crummy keyboard design and it’s only 8 months old.

    I really miss the reliability of my 2012 13” MacBook Pro.
    So because of 1 case, they're unreliable? LOL! Nobody ever said it was perfect. No product ever is. It's not like there were never issues with previous Macs before or after 2012. Let's get real here.
    I had my 2016 MacBook Pro at the Genius Bar a total of five times before they swapped it for a new 2017 model. Had everything replaced on it at least once except the screen. I don’t even use the built in keyboard most of the time and still had it fail... twice!  This and the battery was toast in six months and loose TB3 ports...

    I’ve had the 2018 model for a while now and it’s much better. Keyboard is quieter and everything seems to be working well (knocks on wood)
    GeorgeBMac
  • Reply 40 of 105
    viclauyyc said:
    Why is this review based on price and not similarly spec'd machines? Does anyone who buys Apple buy because they're competitive in price? We all know Apple will cost more, I'd think a better review would be seeing how two machines similar in specs perform against one another.
    Many people buy computer base on the price. Especially parents buy computer for their kids. Not even can or willing to pay the 50% Apple tax. 

    Seriouly, if both machines can run MacOS flawlessly, how many people will still buy Apple? Apple is always a hardware company. People willing to pay extra for the quality and the OS. But is the quality still here?

    I am still using my 2010 17” MacBook Pro which I pay big bucks for. It is now slow but going strong. If I buy a 2018 MBP, will it still be running in 2026? I doubt it.

    Apple sacrifice usability for thinnest or the look. Why a professional laptop need to be that thin?

    User can’t easily recover HD data if the motherboard is dead. This is not really professional oriented. In the past, when someone’s computer die, they just put the old HD to a new one and keep working. Can we do that with new MBP?

    Why a professional laptop don’t have the most common connector in the world and need to take a dock everywhere?

    Why a professional laptop has a such unreliable keyboard that is so easily stop working and need to replace with half of the laptop?

    Why the i9 can’t even run in full speed for 20 seconds or risk to toast the CPU?

    The answer is simple. MBP is not really designed for professional user anymore. It is for Prosumer market. It is for people with money who careless about functionality. It is for people care for the looks.

    Just look at how frequent Mac Pro get updates can tell you how much Apple care about the professional market. 


    Wow, you really took what I said and worked it into what you want to say about your definition of "Pro" being the only definition that matters - the internet is full of self-serving moronic arguments like that. Thanks, though, for recapping what I've read a zillion times by people who think they are the only PRO users in the world and Apple is only about "the butt hurt" for them. [rolls eyes]
    macpluspluswatto_cobra
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