The Razer Blade Stealth Review: Razer Takes On The Ultrabook
by Brett Howse on March 29, 2016 8:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Laptops
- Razer
- Skylake
- Razer Blade Stealth
- eGFX
- Razer Core
- Skylake-U
System Performance
When you buy a Razer Blade Stealth, you get just a single CPU option in the Intel Core i7-6500U processor. This is a dual-core chip with hyperthreading, and it has a base frequency of 2.5 GHz with a turbo frequency of 3.1 GHz. On the CPU side, it’s the second fastest offering in the standard "2+2" 15W Skylake-U series, with only the i7-6600U above it . This 15-Watt processor has Intel’s HD 520 graphics, with 24 execution units and a maximum frequency of 1.05 GHz. With Razer’s gaming heritage, it would have been nice to see the new "2+3e" Iris parts with eDRAM, but likely due to the target price this wasn’t an option. Meanwhile the 8 GB of RAM is DDR3-1866 in a dual-channel configuration.
The model tested is the Core i7-6500U with 8 GB of memory, 512 GB of storage, and the UHD display.
To test the system performance, the Stealth has been put through our standard notebook workload. The Stealth has been put up against several other Ultrabooks to see where it fits in performance wise, but if you want to compare it to any other device we’ve tested, please check out our Notebook Bench.
PCMark
PCMark attempts to simulate real-life workloads with several sets of tests. The workload tests all aspects of the device, and factors like the display resolution can come into play here on the gaming tests. Storage has its own set of tests which recently changed, so the new results are not comparable to the old ones. The workload is varied, and the Stealth falls in-line with other similar devices, although the high resolution display certainly pulls the scores down a bit compared to the competition.
Cinebench
Cinebench is a rendering program, with single-thread, multi-thread, and OpenGL tests. For notebooks, we focus on the single and multi-threaded tests, and this is a good indication of CPU performance. The i7-6500U does especially well in the multi-threaded portion.
x264
This test converts a 1080p video into the x264 format, and like Cinebench, it prefers high CPU frequencies and more cores. The Core i7 does very well in this test relative to other Ultrabooks.
Web Tests
Web browsing is still one of the most common tasks anyone does on a PC, so strong performance here is always a benefit. The scores below will be either done with Google Chrome as the browser if the machine was running Windows 8.1, or Microsoft Edge if the device was running Windows 10.
While not quite as fast as the Microsoft Surface Book, the Razer Blade Stealth still does very will in these tests.
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foxalopex - Tuesday, March 29, 2016 - link
I think the only difference I would like to see in this Ultrabook is a more powerful CPU / Intel GPU built in complement making it a slightly higher end mobile laptop. The external add on GPU would then make it perfect for home gaming uses. I suspect I'll have to wait for the next generation of units to see if this happens.vanilla_gorilla - Tuesday, March 29, 2016 - link
I would never buy it based on the logo alone, but I'm an adult. As long as they know they're ceding that market segment, then I wish them the best of luck.T1beriu - Tuesday, March 29, 2016 - link
Typo: " Even switching out displays for the lower-resolution sRGB UHD [QHD?] panel can't fully close the gap."Ryan Smith - Tuesday, March 29, 2016 - link
Yep, right you are. Thanks.nerd1 - Tuesday, March 29, 2016 - link
Returned mine as it barely lasted 4 hours with active usage (web browsing with chrome)And screen is too small due to huge bezel, whole laptop is fingerprint magnet due to the finish. Avoid this.
will1956 - Tuesday, March 29, 2016 - link
to be fair Chrome is great but it is a resource hognagi603 - Tuesday, March 29, 2016 - link
to be fair I could get 4 hours of browsing out of a 2004 laptop. This laptop has the price of a high-end ultrabook, but not the actual features that would want you to buy an ultrabook.mrvco - Tuesday, March 29, 2016 - link
Razer Core is the only thing that makes this laptop interesting in any sort of practical sense. I gave up on gaming laptops a long time ago and left gaming to my desktop Windows machine. If you use Windows for both work and play, then I could see the Blade Stealth w/ Core as a replacement for a separate laptop and desktop gaming PC... that is assuming you're ok with limited gaming performance when away from the desk... oh, and the combined price in the neighborhood of $2,500 once you throw in a $300'ish video card.danjw - Tuesday, March 29, 2016 - link
Are you expecting to have a review of the new Razer Blade 14? To me that seemed the much more compelling product.zeeBomb - Tuesday, March 29, 2016 - link
Y u surprise me like that