Just switched from a '16 and '18 MBP to a Razer Blade 15

[nikster0029]

Hey everyone!

Similarly to everyone else in these forums, I was a long time Mac user that has switched over to Windows to see a new light. However, I did not expect to actually keep this laptop and return my 2018 i9 MBP for this 144hz, 1070 Max-Q model.

Sure there are some things I miss, but I love what I gain instead (better keyboard, 144hz display, great GPU, awesome thermals, etc).

If anyone has any questions, please throw them my way.

I probably will get the 13 inch macbook soon!

 

[SDColorado]

How do you find the 1080p display on the Razer Blade? I have gone to look at them a couple of times now and just couldn’t fall in love with it? Do they have a 4K option?

I have been giving some serious thought to bailing on my 2018 MBP, but having a really hard finding the replacement I think I would keep. Razer and MSI maybe the most appealing from a spec standpoint.. but that 1080... eh... just didn’t love it. That and the Razer Blade gets awfully hot. More so than the MSI even.

 

[nikster0029]

How do you find the 1080p display on the Razer Blade? I have gone to look at them a couple of times now and just couldn’t fall in love with it? Do they have a 4K option?

I have been giving some serious thought to bailing on my 2018 MBP, but having a really hard finding the replacement I think I would keep. Razer and MSI maybe the most appealing from a spec standpoint.. but that 1080... eh... just didn’t love it. That and the Razer Blade gets awfully hot. More so than the MSI even.

https://www.reddit.com/r/razer/comments/97p1ed/i_own_both_the_4k_and_144hz_gtx_1070_blade_15_why/

I actually owned both the 4k model and the 144hz model. I ended up returning the 4K model despite how badly I wanted to keep it. It had such a better pixel density than the MBP. Same goes to color saturation and near-close brightness around 400 nits. The reflective coating was good. At high brightness, you wouldn't notice it was a glossy screen.

Go try out the 4k model from Amazon. It won't disappoint.

 

[SDColorado]

https://www.reddit.com/r/razer/comments/97p1ed/i_own_both_the_4k_and_144hz_gtx_1070_blade_15_why/

I actually owned both the 4k model and the 144hz model. I ended up returning the 4K model despite how badly I wanted to keep it. It had such a better pixel density than the MBP. Same goes to color saturation and near-close brightness around 400 nits. The reflective coating was good. At high brightness, you wouldn't notice it was a glossy screen.

Go try out the 4k model from Amazon. It won't disappoint.

I may do that. I mentioned in another thread that Best Buy kind of steered me off of it when I went to look at them, the MSI and the Dell XPS. Salesman said they had a number of open box returns that people where bringing back due to heat and fan noise, so I didn’t spent a lot of time looking at them.

That and the issue of the function keys not bring backlighted as mentioned by Maflynn in his review.

But, maybe I owe it a shot trying one out for 30 days. Is Amazon also a 30 day return?

 

[nikster0029]

I may do that. I mentioned in another thread that Best Buy kind of steered me off of it when I went to look at them, the MSI and the Dell XPS. Salesman said they had a number of open box returns that people where bringing back due to heat and fan noise, so I didn’t spent a lot of time looking at them.

That and the issue of the function keys not bring backlighted as mentioned by Maflynn in his review.

But, maybe I owe it a shot trying one out for 30 days. Is Amazon also a 30 day return?

Yea 30 days. The function key issue is annoying as hell, but I got over it after two weeks of use. Same goes for the annoying arrow key placement.

The new batch of 4k models, in my experience, have better cooling than my 144hz model. They have no back light bleed either. However, running games on that 4k panel is near impossible. Not because of the graphics card, but because of the horrid response time. Battery life is around 4 hours too since its driving a powerful panel.

Razer is known for its bad CS so if you end up loving it, find a new warranty or be prepared to deal with their long wait times in a year or so.

Edit: Fans only get loud if you want them too. Nothing on idle. Also does not thermal throttle so that is good!

 

[SDColorado]

Either way I was thinking about an eGPU solution and a 4K display. The arrow key placement was something else I had forgotten about. The terrible CS was something else I was warned about. Not sure if buying from Best Buy and their Geek Squad helps there?

Delll XPS 15 4K had its appeal as well. Their customer service isn’t bad, especially with the premier coverage with 24 hour support and home visits. But I didn’t love the XPS hardware so much

 

[nikster0029]

Either way I was thinking about an eGPU solution and a 4K display. The arrow key placement was something else I had forgotten about. The terrible CS was something else I was warned about. Not sure if buying from Best Buy and their Geek Squad helps there?

Delll XPS 15 4K had its appeal as well. Their customer service isn’t bad, especially with the premier coverage with 24 hour support and home visits. But I didn’t love the XPS hardware so much

Yea they don’t have the 4K model at Microsoft, which I recommend cause they have such great warranty, and Best Buy. If you choose that route, it is a lot of money but it will work great. XPS has great warranty if you pay it! I like the aesthetic of the Blade more

 

[SDColorado]

Yea they don’t have the 4K model at Microsoft, which I recommend cause they have such great warranty, and Best Buy. If you choose that route, it is a lot of money but it will work great. XPS has great warranty if you pay it! I like the aesthetic of the Blade more

I like the aesthetic of the blade more as well. It’s not that the materials used in the XPS are cheap, but the overall look isn’t as high quality and I am not a fan of the mixed materials (carbon fiber/aluminum/plastic)

Also the sound is poor on the XPS due to the speaker location, web cam in a ridiculous location, touch pad just so so, and the i9 model throttles way down when on battery.

Which isn’t to say I don’t like the XPS, but I just don’t love the XPS.

That said, if I continue to have the problems with the replacement 2018 MBP that is on its way as I do with the one I currently have, it will probably be a Razer Blade or XPS that replaces it.

I looked at the Surface Book 2 as well, since I do like my Surface Pro a lot. But lack of Thunderbolt support was deal breaker for me since I was wanting to use it with an eGPU.

 

[nikster0029]

I like the aesthetic of the blade more as well. It’s not that the materials used in the XPS are cheap, but the overall look isn’t as high quality and I am not a fan of the mixed materials (carbon fiber/aluminum/plastic)

Also the sound is poor on the XPS due to the speaker location, web cam in a ridiculous location, touch pad just so so, and the i9 model throttles way down when on battery.

Which isn’t to say I don’t like the XPS, but I just don’t love the XPS.

That said, if I continue to have the problems with the replacement 2018 MBP that is on its way as I do with the one I currently have, it will probably be a Razer Blade or XPS that replaces it.

I looked at the Surface Book 2 as well, since I do like my Surface Pro a lot. But lack of Thunderbolt support was deal breaker for me since I was wanting to use it with an eGPU.

Damn thats a shame! If I didn't care about GPU performance, I would love to use the SB2. One of my family members upgraded to one and the build quality, keyboard, track pad, and stylus is butter. Coupled with that, the surface dock coupled with the Bluetooth keyboard that has a fingerprint sensor sounds like a dream. Hopefully the SB3 with a new CPU, GPU, and IO will come out soon.

In terms of the blade, the build quality is outstanding and the trackpad is great. There are some minor issues with palm rejection, but if you turn off some weird touchpad settings, it works flawlessly.

 

[SDColorado]

Yeah, I like the specs overall. I am not a big gamer and the GTX 1060 w/6Gb isn't bad. Better than the MBP or Dell XPS 15.

Also not bad is that if you have a business account you can get a 4-year warranty with 2 instances of accident replacement with no deductible. The Microsoft Store is only 20 minutes from my house and my experience with them with my Surface Pro has always been very positive. You can sit down with them and get help with any issues, including switching from MacOS to Windows, which was helpful to me in buying the Surface Pro. I previously hadn't used Windows since the XP days.

But, while it does have USB-C, it is not TB3, so no eGPU support.

 

[bopajuice]

I purchased a Razer blade Stealth from Razer. I was blown away by the build quality and keyboard. Very impressed. I ended up returning it due to software issues. Great all around computer. Trackpad worked great for me. Awesome keyboard.

The only thing I had issues with was it took one day for them to take my money and to weeks to give it back.

 

[SDColorado]

I purchased a Razer blade Stealth from Razer. I was blown away by the build quality and keyboard. Very impressed. I ended up returning it due to software issues. Great all around computer. Trackpad worked great for me. Awesome keyboard.

The only thing I had issues with was it took one day for them to take my money and to weeks to give it back.

Do they charge a restocking fee? My understanding is that Dell can charge a 15% restocking fee, which on a $3K laptop is $450. That’s a big chunk of change to lose in a return

 

[maflynn]

Sure there are some things I miss, but I love what I gain instead (better keyboard, 144hz display, great GPU, awesome thermals, etc).

I love the design of the Razer, the look, the feel. I bought and retuned it, but there is a pang of remorse over the return. It was a fine machine, but for me at the end of the day, I missed the macOS experience too much. I have too much invested in the ecosystem, I had not realized the extent until I was using it.

The Razer wasn't perfect, my MBP is whisper quiet but the fans on the Razer are more noticeable. The keyboard's lighting is fantastic on one hand, but on the other hand, its quiet frustrating not to see the function values or secondary values of the numbers. I frequently type in less then ideal lighting and that's a must have for me.

 

[bopajuice]

Do they charge a restocking fee? My understanding is that Dell can charge a 15% restocking fee, which on a $3K laptop is $450. That’s a big chunk of change to lose in a return

No return fee for me.

 

[SDColorado]

No return fee for me.

The return is slow, but better than fast minus restocking fee

 

[bopajuice]

The return is slow, but better than fast minus restocking fee

I have to admit customer service at Razer was pretty good. I had reliable email back and forth, but it did not speed up the credit process. All and all I was satisfied.

 

[SDColorado]

I have to admit customer service at Razer was pretty good. I had reliable email back and forth, but it did not speed up the credit process. All and all I was satisfied.

Apple can be slow as well, particularly if you use Apple Pay. They try to push it all of the time, but if you need to return something, as I did with a faulty pair of Air Buds, it can take up to 10 days to process a return. Granted it isn't as long as 2 weeks, but not far off the mark.

I am not sure about Best Buy if you do a return through them. With an exchange it is fast and easy, a return I am not too sure about.

The Razer has some definite appeal to me if it doesn't work out with my replacement MBP, due to arrive on Monday. I was worried about the fan noise and heat, but I have read some posts from people who undervolted the CPU and it really cooled/quieted it down. I am not much of a gamer, so that would probably work for me. I only play the occasional game here or there in the winter months when snowed in and I can't get out on the motorcycle

I guess the light gaming was why I was avoiding the thicker/heavier/noisier Razer and looking at the XPS 15 and Surface Book 2 as alternatives. But I never had any problems lugging around a 17" MBP and camera gear so I don't know why the size/weight of the Razer was off-putting. We get spoiled

 

[bopajuice]

Apple can be slow as well, particularly if you use Apple Pay. They try to push it all of the time, but if you need to return something, as I did with a faulty pair of Air Buds, it can take up to 10 days to process a return. Granted it isn't as long as 2 weeks, but not far off the mark.

I am not sure about Best Buy if you do a return through them. With an exchange it is fast and easy, a return I am not too sure about.

The Razer has some definite appeal to me if it doesn't work out with my replacement MBP, due to arrive on Monday. I was worried about the fan noise and heat, but I have read some posts from people who undervolted the CPU and it really cooled/quieted it down. I am not much of a gamer, so that would probably work for me. I only play the occasional game here or there in the winter months when snowed in and I can't get out on the motorcycle

I guess the light gaming was why I was avoiding the thicker/heavier/noisier Razer and looking at the XPS 15 and Surface Book 2 as alternatives. But I never had any problems lugging around a 17" MBP and camera gear so I don't know why the size/weight of the Razer was off-putting. We get spoiled

I had the 13" Razerblade Stealth. Was smaller and thinner than my Macbook Air. Felt lighter than my Air, but I never weighed them to confirm. I had the two core i7 version so heat/fan wasn't an issue.

 

[SDColorado]

I had the 13" Razerblade Stealth. Was smaller and thinner than my Macbook Air. Felt lighter than my Air, but I never weighed them to confirm. I had the two core i7 version so heat/fan wasn't an issue.

Stealth is a really nice looking machine.. but only 13" no 15" option? Also only intel graphics? I looked at the Yoga, which as 14.2". Not a bad compromise in terms of screen size, but also only integrated graphics. Maybe we TB3 and the options for an eGPU, it's not as big a deal as I have it in my head as being.

 

[nikster0029]

Stealth is a really nice looking machine.. but only 13" no 15" option? Also only intel graphics? I looked at the Yoga, which as 14.2". Not a bad compromise in terms of screen size, but also only integrated graphics. Maybe we TB3 and the options for an eGPU, it's not as big a deal as I have it in my head as being.

Yeah the stealth is due for an upgrade. Also, gun metal version looks slick!!

 

[maflynn]

The return is slow, but better than fast minus restocking fee

My return process was smooth and efficient. The only thing I didn't like is, that I had to pay for shipping to return the laptop