Once touted as the "ultimate Ultrabook," how does Razer's latest Blade Stealth stack up against the Surface Book 2?
If you're buying a premium Windows 10 laptop you have a lot of great choices. Two of the newest to hit the streets are the Surface Book 2 from Microsoft and the refreshed Blade Stealth from Razer with a quad-core processor.
Both are powerful, highly portable and truly desirable. In a battle, though, which one comes out on top? That depends on your personal preferences. But we can help you make a decision.
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Surface Book 2 vs. Razer Blade Stealth: Spec comparison
The Surface Book 2 is available in two sizes, with different specs. The Razer Blade Stealth quad-core is currently only available in one configuration. Let's break down the hardware.
| Category | Surface Book 2 | Razer Blade Stealth (quad-core 2017) |
|---|---|---|
| Display | 13.5-inch or 15-inch PixelSense Display | 13.3-inch IGZO Touch Screen 16:9 aspect ratio |
| Resolution | 3000 x 2000 3840 x 2160 (4K) | 3200 x 1800 (QHD+) |
| OS | Windows 10 | Windows 10 |
| CPU | Core i5-7300U (3.2GHz) Core i7-8650U (4.2GHz) | Intel Core i7-8550U 1.8GHz/4.0GHz (base/turbo) |
| Storage | 256GB SSD 512GB SSD 1TB SSD | 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD |
| RAM | 8GB 16GB | 16GB |
| Graphics | Intel HD Graphics 620 GTX 1050 (2GB) GTX 1060 (6GB) | Intel HD Graphics 620 |
| Ports | Two USB Type-A 3.1 (Gen1) USB Type-C with video, power in/out and USB 3.1 (Gen1) data Headphone and microphone Full-size SDXC card reader (UHS-II) | One Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) Two USB 3.0 port (SuperSpeed) One HDMI 2.0a 3.5mm headphone/microphone |
| Keyboard | Full-size, backlit | Full-size, backlit |
| Battery | 70WHr (13 inch) 80WHr (15 inch) | 53.6 WHr 45 W USB-C power adapter |
| Pen | Surface Pen | N/A |
| Weight | Up to 4.20 lbs (1.9 kg) | 2.93 lbs (1.33 kg) |
| Dimensions | 13-inch: 12.3 inches (312 mm) x 9.14 inches (232 mm) x 0.59 to 0.90 inches (15 to 23 mm) 15-inch: 13.5 inches (343 mm) x 9.87 inches (251 mm) x 0.57 inches to 0.90 inches (15mm to 23 mm) | 0.52 inches (13.1 mm) x 12.6 in (321 mm) x 8.1 in (206 mm) |
| Price | Starts at $1,499 | $1,699 |
To game or not to game
Razer as a brand targets gamers, and the Blade Stealth is no exception. While it lacks a dedicated GPU, thanks to its Thunderbolt 3 connection you can hook it up to a Razer Core when you get home and turn it into a desktop gaming rig with a full-size graphics card. If you want to run a Blade Stealth with a GTX 1080 Ti, you can. And now that there's a quad-core processor in the laptop you'll get better gaming performance than ever.
Essentially, the Blade Stealth is a laptop you can take out all day to work and get great battery life, then come home and tear it up in Pochinki.
The Surface Book 2 is not a gaming laptop ... but it sort of is.
Alternatively, the Surface Book is not a gaming laptop. Its target market is far different: professionals and creatives. The major party piece is that the display detaches from the base, giving you both a premium laptop and a killer Windows 10 tablet with a digital pen. The Surface Book is nothing if not versatile.
While the original model was a little lackluster in terms of graphics power, the new one is anything but. It's nothing spectacular at the lower end, but if you're happy to empty your wallet, the 15-inch model will give you a 6GB GTX 1060 inside. That's not only great for gaming (Razer uses it in its Blade), it'll be plenty powerful enough for VR and Windows Mixed Reality.
Suddenly, the Surface Book can do it all — but only in the larger model, which has a really high price.
Surface Book 2 vs. Razer Blade Stealth: Bottom line
Both of these laptops have an element of versatility. The Surface Book 2 can now give you everything you want for work and play, albeit at a premium. It's finally a laptop that can game and do VR as well as being a Surface with inking and a detachable display.
The Blade Stealth has to leave its powerful graphics card at home.
By contrast the Blade Stealth is still just an Ultrabook. The display is attached at all times, it has no pen, and it also has no dedicated graphics of any kind. But thanks to the power of Thunderbolt 3, you can spend less on the laptop and get yourself a Razer Core which will transform it into a high-powered desktop machine when you're at home.
The Blade Stealth also has a little edge on price. At $200 more than the base model Surface Book 2 you're getting a quad-core eighth-generation processor, 16GB of RAM and an NVMe solid-state drive (SSD) with twice the storage as the Surface Book 2. The 15-inch models with the GTX 1060 start at $2,499, which is a lot of money, but it about evens out when you take into account the price of a Razer Core and a GTX 1060 graphics card on top of a Blade Stealth.
The main difference between the two: You can have a Surface Book 2 that takes all that graphics power with you, no Razer Blade Stealth has that option. If you're not so interested in the graphics power or the Surface-specifics, like a pen and detachable display, the Blade Stealth is an exciting proposition compared to the cheaper Surface Book 2. You get more than $200 worth of extra hardware inside.
Ultimately, the decision on what to get comes down to how you're going to use it. Surface Book 2 can be that one machine that does it all, and you can take it all with you. The Blade Stealth just leaves some it all at home.