Razor Blade Stealth - 12.5", i7-6500U, $999

All signs seem to indicate Razer will launch a new device at CES soon. This will feature an i7-6500U and Intel HD graphics. Supposedly it will feature a 1440p display and external graphics as well.

What do you guys think?

Full specs:

• 12.5-inch QuadHD (2,560 x 1,440) resolution touchscreen
• Chroma-lit keyboard
• A model with a 4K touchscreen is also available.
• 0.52-inches thick
• 2.75 pounds
• Two USB 3.0 ports
• USB-C Thunderbolt 3 port.
• Intel Core i7-6500U dual-core processor
• 8GB of RAM
• 128GB/256GB (QuadHD display model)
• 256GB/512GB (Ultra HD display model)
• Intel HD Graphics 520.

 

I like the idea, but the bezels are a really big turn off. Should be thin bezels similar to the Dell XPS 13. Probably similar with screen size also, is it possible that IGZO panels come with that size only?

I really hope they refresh their Razer Blade 14 line, as I'm more interested in that

 

I definitely like the concept, but the 6500U will definitely be a bottleneck in hi-fps games

 

The same reason the Alienware 13 interested me until I saw it had a ULV CPU. Hopefully this can find its way onto the Blade 14.

 

Looks decent, but I still believe that if you want desktop performances you will need a desktop PC, even a "small" one, or a bulky notebook like MSI GT82 or similar devices, so I wouldn't really buy this considering the external desktop GPU an option; 6500U and 8GB of RAM look "bottlenecky" for intensive work tasks and gaming (altho 8gb of RAM might be enough for it).

The whole ultrapowerful ultrabook idea is cool tho, and the 999$ version is kinda cheap considering what's inside of it.

Regarding gaming, Razer Blade 14" is still my n. 1 option from this brand.

 

This absolutely bare minimum should've had Iris 540 (the one with 64mb of dedicated L4 cache and double the shaders) in it. I would've bought it today if it did. I'm still interested, but it's going to cost me the same as regular Blade by the time I really get done with configuration of an expensive port + GPU. And I'd still have to make do with a dual core...


Now imagine the Razer not throttling that i7... Huge missed opportunity.

 

I know it doesn't make sense, but I kinda want to trade my 2015 QHD+ Razer Blade for a Stealth ._.

 

Really like the concept but like others wish it had better CPU, does anyone have any hard numbers of just how limiting that is?
It would be awesome if the dock was compatible with other thunderbolt supported laptops and not only the stealth, it would be worth buying as a stand alone unit itself if that were the case.

 

Here's a good video showing how cpu bottlenecks can affect performance when using a Titan X. The Blade Stealth's CPU won't perform as high as the 6100, but it's an interesting video, nonetheless.

 

Thanks for the video.
Not sure how much that applies to this laptop since those are all using desktop CPU's.
Maybe a AW13 owner that has a amplifier can answer better but just trying to figure out all the benefits of what a low voltage dual core CPU and desktop GPU brings to the table.
I think a TITAN X might be a bit too much GPU, any ideas what might be a decent match for this particular CPU?

 

I kind of like the ULV CPU approach. I don't even think Skylake Iris is out yet and Boradwell Iris would have crap battery life. As an Ultrabook alone, it's an awesome price as long as they keep up their rep with having a nice keyboard/screen/trackpad. This is merely an Ultrabook that can do more - not something that will replace the Razer Blade or a desktop. I think it'll fall into a welcoming niche crowd that doesn't want to spend $2k+ to get a decent thin gaming laptop. Honestly though, there's going to be a dozen other ultrabooks coming out this year that can do the exact same thing this one does.

This seems more like a Macbook air or Macbook competitor to me. Razer seems to be the only ones who can match their build quality. For $1k I'm definitely going to give it a try.

The next RB will likely have TB3 in addition to dedicated graphics. They would be fools not to considering MSI, Gigabyte and practically everybody else is adding them. It's nice to see it will probably have PCI-e storage and a chroma keyboard as well.

 

I'm pretty sure Razer will "modestly" price the core at $999+, making this as expensive as all else.

 

I don't care about the core one bit. There's going to be tons of others making their own too. Hopefully smaller or at least put a couple hdd bays if it's going to be that big

Sent from my D5803 using Tapatalk

 

I am very interested in this laptop as a pure ultrabook at some point I am going to be looking to replace my laptop and this perfectly suites what I would want in a new laptop. I am torn between the 1440P vs the 4K model because I want want this as a take on the road machine so wonder how much the 4K display will hurt the battery life.

I also find it kinda of alarming I see nothing on razer site quoting any kind of battery life I would love to get some numbers on batter life of the 1440P model vs the 4K and also every is talking about the 4K display I wont how good the 1440P display is logically on a laptop of the size a 1440P display should be fine because scaling is going to be used regardless and while images and text may be sharper on 4K i wonder just how good 1440P will be or if its dumb not to get it with the 4K display.

Still they need to publish some battery numbers!

 

They said 8 for 1440P, 6 for 4k. I'd go for 1440P. It's a 12.5" screen ffs.

 

Seems very tempting. Good for razer they adopted this niche too, which I think I fall in. After all, being very realistic (and not ideally), I have rarely played on the go (airport, bus, at a conference, etc), and playing on the desk of my home is 99% the case. If that is the case, Why would I want a Razer 14 inch and use medium settings for the most demanding games, if I can just plug a razer into the upcoming high end Pascal GPU, and play on ultra settings ?. Plus, the laptop would not become obsolete in performance after 2 years, as CPUs are improving very little these days. The only aspect I do not like is that 8GB for year 2016 might be too low, why that decision??. upcoming GPUs will have even more memory than the laptop.

 

I think in general if you can settle for an ULV dual core for gaming, they assume you won't ever need more than 8GB. They're probably right.

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And for us suckers on the other side of the Atlantic they'll probably lazily just change the $ sign to a £

 

Actually, I do like the general idea of this, especially that the connection to the GPU box is just via a USB-C cable rather than some custom dock port. I'd be more interested if the laptop side of things wasn't so weak - a dual core CPU and only 8GB RAM is a bit limiting.

Hopefully they'll introduce this technology into their next range of 14" Blades, then you'd still be able to do some gaming off the external GPU, but means the laptop won't be obsolete in 2-3 years. The new keyboard is also nice

 

i am definitely eyeing this! it would have been my perfect ultrabook if it had a 13 inch screen and thin bezel like the dell xps 13. my current laptop is an alienware m11x r2, so i instantly got attracted to the color keypad. i wonder why they didn't put 2 usb type c and just 1 usb 3.0. because if i want to charge my phone using the computer i would have to unplug it from the wall since my current phone uses usb type c as well.

 

I just use a type a to type c for computers and leave the type c to type c attached to the wall.

 

true. thats what i was thinking as well. do you know if the ram is upgradable? i doubt since most ultrabook the ram are not upgradable.

 

Knowing Razer, no. All of their modes in the past two years have had it soldered on

 

I know it has just been announced, but I am very intrigued by this. Considering replacing my 2014 Blade. Anyone else in this boat? Thoughts on Pros v. Cons (Knowing that this is still not released).

 

Pros: thinner, lighter and color keyboard, better battery life(maybe)
Cons: way worse CPU, no dGPU so no gaming option while away from the dock

Even with the dock, I don't think it'll outperform the 2014 Blade. This is more for a niche group of people who want a really nice Ultrabook that can do moderate gaming too. I don't think Razer intents for RB owners to convert. There's will undoubtedly be a 2016 Razer Blade as well.

 

Well one good thing about the dock is that it's compatible with other thunderbolt devices.
If it can equal or come close to performance of the 14 Blade with 970M ( even with the not so great CPU) it would be awesome and put a good high end GPU in the dock and I think you have a chance of doing just that at least for games that are not CPU intensive.
The more I think about it the more I like it and just might get one depending on reviews and how it all works together.
@Xentar you getting unit for review?
I love the reviews you do on your other site

 

I would love someone to test the 2015 blade vs the blade stealth with the core and a GTX 970 M. Like I said I want this machine as a pure ultra book. I am also considering the XPS 13 but I do want something with a touch screen so that means I have to pony up for the 4K XPS 13. im so torn because they both have the same i7 processor the XPS has the edge to edge screen and this has the core and a more attractive build. I have a dedicated gaming desktop so the core isnt a huge deal for me personally I just like the build of the Steath better then the XPS 13

 

Yup! and thanks! I bought the $999 model since I don't see a point in a 4k screen that small and the price difference is so high. Too bad the dock isn't available yet but I might try to get a DIY option if I can find anything. I'm trying to reach out to Razer for an advance loaner unit but I've never had a relationship with them in the past so my hopes aren't all that high. Hopefully I hear from them soon.

 

I have a MBP15 with an EGPU and it outperforms my Blade 2014 with the 970.

The one benefit that gets overlooked in these discussions is when you are gaming with the EGPU your laptop is almost silent as it doesn't need to cool the internal GPU.

My only complaint with the current EGPU via TB2 is that it isn't hot pluggable. If they do this with the Core I'm sold.

 

I don't see how this can compete with the XPS 13 9350. The Razer aesthetic is pretty cool, but the XPS 13 is lighter, has a larger screen, infinity display, (probably) better battery life, and they will soon have an Iris graphics option ( http://www.digitaltrends.com/ces/dell-gold-edition-xps13/). I think the Iris graphics option takes the cake...

 

Almost twice the money for Iris graphics, no thanks!
While the XPS is nice its not that much nicer.
Pretty sure they said there is no restarting your laptop for the core to work, just plug and play.

 

The low power Dual Core CPU won't be enough to keep a 970 and above busy.

You will be losing FPS performance compared to a 4 core CPU.

Certainly not enough CPU power to keep a Pascal GPU busy, when they finally release.

 

Very interesting discussion as always. The reason for my interest is that I recently retired my gaming desktop and am going laptop only for the foreseeable future. The 2014 Blade 14 is an excellent device and has suited my desktop gaming needs just fine. Where it falls down, unfortunately, is in the utility as a laptop due to the 3-5 hour battery life. I cannot take this to the local coffee shop and get a day's worth of work in without the charger. In terms of uses, I use my Blade as a laptop 60-70% of the time and 30-40% as a desktop. I'm going to monitor this one closely.

 

It's true, there isn't a good mobile gaming solution available with adequate battery time.

Fortunately you can plug in at Starbucks

That's the problem with the whole eGPU realm, it's not a gaming laptop unless it has a discrete GPU on board, as far as I am concerned.

Without a discrete GPU it's a CPU / Display component that you can use away from the eGPU, and only when it is connected to the eGPU is it a gaming computer.

The GS40 is about the closest so far, a 970m on board now, and an external dock with the GS40 960m model that will take a full sized gaming desktop GPU.

CES 2016: MSI GS40 Phantom Gaming Notebook with Discrete GPU Dock

 

i am in the same boat as you!! i love them both. but i prefer the look of the razer stealth. the dell screen with thin bezel is beautiful as well. i just wished the razer was 13 inches.

 

This machine is made for older guys who travel alot but still like to game. its design is awesome like I said for my next machine its going to be this or the XPS 13 but for once razer is actually more bang for your buck then the XPS

 

Here I thought it was for younger guys unwilling to bear the weight under the load of a 17"/18" "Real" gaming laptop

Maybe there is no market for this thing...

Here is a comparison, showing FPS in running games, of 2 cores vs 4 cores:

2 CPU Cores VS 4 CPU Cores Gaming Performance


The 2 Cores are mostly at 99%+, and the 4 cores are often at half that. Too bad he didn't include CPU temps in the OSD.

 

Wow! That's pretty impressive, what desktop GPU were you using? And how much better performance over the 970M were you actually getting?

 

Will the Stealth be good for photo editing? I'm interested, as the specs say that the screen has 100% Adobe RGB gamut.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

It should be fine. Batch editing will be slower with a dual core but my wife works just fine with a dual core i5 Haswell. 100% is as good as it gets. I know many photographers that settle for 75%.

 

Thanks! I hardly edit in batch, so I should be okay.

Not sure if 8GB of RAM will be a limiting factor: I plan to take advantage of the 4K display by zooming in to the images in Photoshop, during edits.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

I own the Alienware 17 R2, with Graphics Amplifier. I have the GTX 980 Ti EVGA S.C. ACX 2.0 installed. The turnoff for this "Ultrabook" is the same reason I chose the 17, instead of the 13. Those Notebooks are just not powerful enough alone. The Alienware 17, may be heavier, but it will for sure play Games without the Amplifier.


Sent from my iPhone 6+ using Tapatalk.

 

Thanks for your input AlxR4, we all know that the AW17 R2 with eGPU will perform much better than the Stealth (eGPU) given it has a "real" i7 what I'm trying to figure out is how much a performance hit you do get between the 2 CPU's if the use the same exact desktop card.
Thanks

 

I've gotten to see this in person, although I didn't get the time to really test much!

I think I am probably in their target market:
My laptop is my primary work tool (I have a 13.3" sager with a GTX735) but I also have a desktop at home that will always have a more powerful GPU/CPU and a much bigger screen. I use an external monitor at work and do moderate CAD. The stealth will give me much better battery life that my current machine (I have trouble with mine not lasting to the end of meetings...) good enough performance while away from my desk. I'll use the Core as a docking station that gives me a more serious GPU and will drive more than 1 extra monitor (plus a wired ethernet connection and all my USB stuff). And if I'm going away for a weekend and really want to I can take the Core in the car with me.
I won't try to drive Occulus Rift with it, or try and do 4K gaming (except Civ5 maybe). I have a desktop for that. Although when I replace my 970 it might be what goes into the Core!

Yes, it would be nice to have a real GPU, and a better CPU and keep the same battery life and and and... And then its an 8lb monster with a 17" screen and costs $2k+.
I like this machine for what it is as much as for what it's not.
Its not a giant gaming powerhouse, its something I can throw in a bag and not worry about my back. I'll be able to keep myself amused on a plane for more than 45 minutes. It looks awesome and doesn't reek of cheap plastic in the modern world of the monobody laptop (my mac using colleagues will be jealous of the black finish and the colour backlighting).
I would love if it had the infinity screen from the XPS's... if they could get something close to the max size in the existing machine. It being so tiny is really nice. I expect they will have a second generation with that, along with a 15" version with a small GPU, but I don't think I'll wait.

And as to Core compatibility, people asking about that were told that Razer hope other manufacturers will allow it, they are not preventing it (from what I understand of the tech, its actually a fairly 'standard' and the work would need to be for the drivers on other manufacturers laptops).

Oh, and the handle and tray thing on the back of the Core made me very happy.

Its just a matter of do I order the full loaded one, or get the base model and fit a larger SSD myself!

 

And that my friend, is as good of a definition of a gaming laptop as I have seen.

I have met many gaming laptops, and the Razer Stealth is not a gaming laptop.

I don't know what it is with this new facination for making a non-gaming laptop out of an ultra book made for light mobile use, and then spending so much to make it something it isn't.

What's wrong with getting more than one laptop? We have phones, tablets, watches, appliances - all with internet connectivity and screens for interaction. Owning more than one of those isn't a surprise these days.

Why not own a true gaming laptop, a mobile laptop, a tablet, a phone, a watch, and enjoy the specificity of each?

I really think spending what would be spent on a GPU box would be better spend with a CPU, GPU, Storage box - a desktop/side PC.

It's weird to me that anyone would want 2 crippled devices, that only become that "special" something that is a shadow of what is desired when mated together via a cable.

It's possible the Stealth is a good mobile laptop. But, I wouldn't spend the money on adding the GPU box. I would put that money to better use in a real gaming laptop or desktop.

 

Calling both devices crippled before the are even released is a bit harsh.
Not everyone has the funds to buy all those items to begin with and getting something that serves dual purposes makes much more sense, yes given the Stealth and Core will probably come at a premium price but it still will probably cost less than all those things you listed.
To tell you the truth I'm more interested in the Core just because of its elegant simplicity and if it works with other thunderbolt laptops that much better.
We're starting to see more and more laptops with thunderbolt so it would only make sense that Razer makes it compatible with other laptops that have TB.
Think about it, limit yourself to sales within your own product line or make it available to thousands that are interested.

 

We don't need to see it to know each piece is not what the whole is together, based on the definition and specifications given.

The laptop doesn't have a discrete gaming GPU, so it isn't a gaming laptop.

The GPU box sits quietly at the end of it's dangling TB cable, waiting to fulfill it's purpose.

Without the other piece, each piece is crippled as to the goal of the whole.

It does look like a fun mobile laptop.

 

Then we will agree to disagree about this package as whole , given there are more eGPU docks coming out by other manufacturers this seems the nicest and does not use any proprietary hardware to work.
In the past if you wanted a thin and lite laptop you either had to sacrifice battery life or GPU power but this solves both problems in my opinion and forget about doing any GPU/CPU upgrades with most laptops since most are soldered these days, and yes I realize the CPU in the Stealth is not that great or upgradable but most of today's games are more GPU than CPU intensive anyway and with DX12 on the way a blazing CPU is not as important.

 

Like I said before, this is a niche for a certain group. It's not going to beat the Razer blade but it's not meant to. This is clearly Razer's entry into the ultrabook market. And to make it somewhat what the gamer wants, add the core into the mix. Even if it didn't game well, I'm hopeful it'll be a nice ultrabook alone. The price is down to earth and Razer has a habit of mimicking Apple's quality.

I think that core will be compatible with all TB3 connections. There's no reason why it shouldn't. Judging by the bandwidth limitations of TB3 though, I'm skeptical if anything better than a 960 will work. In that case though, a U processor will probably be a good match. Iris would be better but the cost is way higher and it's not even released yet.

 

Well, razer has a customer right here. Barring a major disaster or change this will be my next purchase. I am a huge ultrabook fan, to a fault on this website probably given the number of gamers that hang out here. Even without the Core (which I am interested in if it isn't to expensive) I am sold on the specs of the ultrabook component itself. I haven't owned a Windows machine in many years and I think this is the device for me. 1440p maybe 256 GB SSD if it isn't to much of a markup.

I don't need a major card to support the kinds of games I like to play (sims, RPGs, MMOs). Some basic 4 GB card will be so much better than what I'm using right now (HD 4000). Heck, even the Intel 520 will be a nice upgrade!

Points of concern: 6500u Well I guess they had to put in an ultrabook CPU of some sort. 8 GB RAM Really? On a performance machine? In 2016? It's a good amount for the base configuration but no option for 16 GB at the high end?

I should see a slight hit in performance compared to my current setup without the Core (much better chip for 3D work but much less RAM) but my Macbook only has the 8 GB RAM and Iris 5100 so overall I should have an upgrade there.

The key to making this work is going to be the Core dock. I hope it is reasonably priced. This is exactly the kind of technology I would like to have as when I'm away from home I couldn't give a hoot about high end gaming. I've got dozens of DOS games and emulators to amuse me then. Skyrim, Fallout, etc. are the kind of stuff I want to play when parked at my desk.

Very excited to learn more about this.