Razer Blade Stealth 12.5" versus
Apple MacBook Pro 13.3" Laptop
Posted March 4th, 2016 by rob-ART morgan, mad scientist
Addendum on March 8th, 2016 - price comparison
The Razer Blade Stealth got my attention for at least two reasons: Thunderbolt 3 and optional external GPU expander called 'Core.' We are on the 'Notify' list for the Core. Meanwhile, we decided to compare it to the 13.3" MacBook Pro since they both have a Core i7 processor, Integrated GPU, PCIe based flash storage, and 'retina' screen.
Maxon Cinebench R15
The CPU tests use all cores to render the 3D scene. (HIGHEST rating = FASTEST)
GPU GRAPH LEGEND
Blade Stealth 12.5" = 'early 2016' Razer Blade Stealth, 12.5" (3940x2160) IGZO screen, 2.5GHz Core i7-6500U processor, Intel HD Graphics 520, 512GB PCIe based flash storage, 8G of 1866MHz LPDDR3 memory; Windows 10 OS.
MacBook Pro 13" = 'early 2015' MacBook Pro, 13.3" (2560x1600) IGZO(?) screen, 3.1GHz Core i7-5557U processor, Intel HD Graphics 6100, 1TB PCIe flash storage, 16G of 1867MHz DDR3L memory, OS X 10.11 OS.
Geekbench 3
This score is a combination of integer, floating-point, and memory speed. (HIGHEST Score = FASTEST)
Sunspider Javascript Benchmark
This browser based benchmark tests the core JavaScript language. (LOWEST time in milliseconds = FASTEST)
GPUtest FurMark
Known as the "GPU burner", it is a quick take on graphics processor speed potential. (HIGHEST number in Frames per Second = FASTEST)
GFXBench OpenGL
The T-Rex chasing a motocross rider is typical of game play. (HIGHEST number in Frames per Second = FASTEST)
Unigine Heaven Benchmark
This GPU-intensive benchmark that hammers graphics cards to the limits. It flys through a magical steampunk world of shiny brass, wood and gears, leveraging the most advanced capabilities of graphics APIs. (HIGHEST number in Frames per Second = FASTEST)
AJA System Test
Using a 4G test size, we measured the PCIe flash storage transfer speed. (HIGHEST number in Megabytes per Second = FASTEST)
Hmm. The write speed of the Blade Stealth's PCIe flash storage is much slower than the MacBook Pro's.
ANALYSIS
The Razer Blade Stealth has the edge of graphics performance while the 'early 2015' Apple MacBook Pro 13.3" has the edge on CPU and Flash Storage performance.
The elephant in the room? The Blade Stealth supports Thunderbolt 3! Very soon we hope to publish test results for Thunderbolt 3 storage as well as an advanced GPU running in the Thunderbolt 3 Core expander.
The baby elephant in the room? The Blade Stealth has a Touch Screen.
SPECS COMPARED: BLADE STEALTH versus MACBOOK PRO
DISPLAY NATIVE RESOLUTION: 3940x2160 versus 2560x1600
DISPLAY PIXELS PER INCH: 352 versus 227
WEIGHT: 2.75 lbs versus 3.48 lbs
THICKNESS: .52" versus .71"
WIDTH/DEPTH: 12.6" x 8.1" versus 12.35" x 8.62"
PORTS: USB-C(1), USB-A(2), HDMI(1) versus Thunderbolt 2(2), USB-A(2), HDMI(1)
PRICE COMPARISON
Razer Blade Stealth (2.5GHz Core i7, 8G RAM, 512G flash: $1599.99
'early 2015' MacBook Pro 13" (3.1GHz Core i7, 8G RAM, 512G Flash): $1999
MacBook Pro 13" as tested: $2699
I believe it is a healthy exercise to peer over the fence from time to time. I will be looking with great interest to see what features and capabilities are added to the MacBook Pro line in 2016. One suggestion: Thunderbolt 3!
Comments? Suggestions? Feel free to email me,
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