Razer Unveils New Blade Stealth 13: Quad-Core Whiskey Lake, dGPU, 4K UHD
by Anton Shilov on December 4, 2018 2:30 PM EST
Razer on Tuesday introduced its all-new Razer Blade Stealth 13 laptop that became a bit more compact than its predecessors, yet gained a higher resolution display, a discrete GPU support, and potentially a longer battery life.
Razer’s ultra-thin Blade Stealth 13 laptops are based on Intel’s quad-core Core i7-8565U processor paired with 8 or 16 GB of LPDDR3 memory as well as a 256 GB or 512 GB M.2 SSD (see exact specs in the table below). Being loyal to its customers among gamers, Razer now equips premium versions of its Blade Stealth 13 notebooks with NVIDIA’s GeForce MX150 discrete GPU outfitted with 4 GB of GDDR5 memory and operating at up to 25 W. While not matching the prowess of some of their larger gaming laptops, the new dGPU will provide a healthy bump over the integrated Intel graphics processor. Furthermore, those who would like to get higher FPS can always attach an external graphics solution using the system’s Thunderbolt 3 port.
Starting from its late 2018 ultrabook lineup, Razer will no longer offer a 4K 12.5-inch model, but will unify dimensions and display sizes of its ultra-portables. That was a large bezel relic of their original design. From now on, the Blade Stealth will be available with a 13.3-inch monitor featuring a 1920×1080 or 3840×2160 resolution. It is noteworthy that the LCDs will cover 100% of the sRGB and AdobeRGB color gamut and will come factory-calibrated, something that will please graphics professionals.
Just like its predecessors, the new Razer Blade Stealth 13 comes in a CNC-machined 6000-series aluminum chassis that now features thinner display bezels, which enabled the manufacturer to reduce width of the product by 16.4 mm. At the same time, the company had to increase its thickness by one millimeter and its depth by four millimeters, possibly in a bid to integrate a new and more sophisticated cooling solution to for the CPU (15 W) and the GPU (25 W) to avoid thermal throttling.
Apart from the new cooling system, Razer says it extensively uses its Synapse 3 software to boost battery life and ensure quiet operation. In fact, the company claims that the base model of the Razer Blade Stealth 13 can now work for up to 13 hours on one charge, up from 10 hours supported by the previous-gen model, despite having a similar battery capacity.
Moving on to connectivity of the new Razer Blade Stealth 13. The latest laptop is equipped with Intel’s Wireless-AC 9560 802.11ac Wi-Fi + Bluetooth 5.0 solution that supports 1.73 Gbps throughput over 160 MHz channels, a clear improvement when compared to the predecessor. On the wired side of things, the notebook has a Thunderbolt 3 connector (controlled by Intel’s Alpine Ridge chip), two USB 3.0 Type-A ports, and one USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C port.
As for other I/O, the notebook has a RGB-backlit Razer Chroma keyboard, a large trackpad, a 720p webcam with IR sensors for Windows Hello, four stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos support, a TRRS audio connector, and so on.
| Razer Blade Stealth Laptops: Fall 2018 vs Fall 2017 models | |||||||
| 13.3"/FHD Base |
13.3"/FHD Graphics |
13.3"/UHD Graphics 4K |
13.3"/QHD+ Quad-Core 2017 |
13.3"/QHD+ Dual-Core 2017 |
|||
| Display | Diagonal | 13.3" | |||||
| Resolution | 1920×1080 | 1920×1080 | 3840×2160 | 3200×1800 | |||
| Brightness | 400+ cd/m² | 400 cd/m² | |||||
| Color Gamut | 100% sRGB 100% AdobeRGB |
? | |||||
| CPU | Core i7-8565U 4C/8T 1.8 - 4.6 GHz 8 MB LLC 15 W |
Core i7-8550U 4C/8T 1.8 GHz/4 GHz 8 MB LLC 15 W |
Core i7-7500U 2C/4T 2.7 GHz/3.5 GHz 4 MB LLC 15 W |
||||
| Graphics | Intel UHD Graphics 620 | NVIDIA GeForce MX150 (25 W) with 4 GB | Intel UHD Graphics 620 | ||||
| RAM | Capacity | 8 GB | 16 GB | ||||
| Type | LPDDR3-2133 | LPDDR3-1866 | |||||
| Storage | 256 GB M.2 SATA SSD | 256 GB M.2 PCIe SSD | 512 GB M.2 PCIe SSD | 512 GB SSD | 256 GB SSD | ||
| Wi-Fi | Intel Wireless-AC 9560 (IEEE 802.11ac) | Killer 802.11ac Wi-Fi module | |||||
| Bluetooth | 5.0 | 4.1 | |||||
| USB | 2 × USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A 2 × USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C (one via TB3) |
2 × USB Type-A | |||||
| Thunderbolt | 1 × Thunderbolt 3 port (USB Type-C) | ||||||
| Other I/O | 720p webcam with IR for Windows Hello, TRRS connector for audio, four speakers with Dolby Atmos, microphone | HDMI 2.0a, 720p webcam, TRRS connector for audio, two speakers, microphone | |||||
| Dimensions | Height | 14.8 mm/0.58" | 13.8 mm/0.54" | 13.1 mm/0.52" | |||
| Width | 304.6 mm/11.99" | 321 mm/12.6" | |||||
| Depth | 210 mm/8.27" | 206 mm/8.1" | |||||
| Weight | 1.28 kg 2.82 lbs |
1.31 kg 2.89 lbs |
1.38 kg 3.04 lbs |
1.35 kg 2.98 lbs |
1.33 kg 2.93 lbs |
||
| Battery Life | Capacity | 53.1 Wh | 53.6 Wh | ||||
| Life | 13 hours | ? | ? | 10 hours | |||
| Launch Price | $1,399 | $1,599 | $1,899 | $1699 | $1399 | ||
Razer’s new Blade Stealth 13 notebooks will be available immediately from the company and select retailers in Canada and the US for $1,399 - $1,899 depending on the SKU. Later this year the machines will be available on other markets, including Australia, European Union, China, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, and so on.
Related Reading:
- Razer’s Blade Stealth 13.3” Laptop Updated With Quad-Core Intel Core i7-8550U CPU
- Razer Updates The Razer Blade Stealth: More Screen, Less Bezel, New Color Option
- Razer Updates The Razer Blade And Razer Blade Stealth At PAX
- Razer Launches Core v2 TB3 eGFX Enclosure: Dual TB3 Controllers
Source: Razer
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
27 Comments
View All Comments
darkich - Wednesday, December 5, 2018 - link
iPad Pro has MUCH better GPU than this newest and latest Razer Blade..think about that for a minute.Spunjji - Wednesday, December 5, 2018 - link
No, it doesn't. The iPad Pro's sustained performance is a large drop from peak, and at peak it compares well with the *slower* version of this GPU - at lower precisions and with a more limited range of software. The GPU in this device is much more capable (with more RAM!), albeit at a lower performance per watt.isthisavailable - Wednesday, December 5, 2018 - link
Can someone explain why these U series CPU + MX150 laptops are not replaced by Ryzen 5 laptops already?A5 - Wednesday, December 5, 2018 - link
Vega 8 is about about 15% slower than MX150 from the few benchmarks I can find.Probably a combination of that and not wanting to put R&D resources into a new system board design for Ryzen when they already have an Intel + Nvidia design proved out.
jeremyshaw - Thursday, December 6, 2018 - link
Not only that, I bought a Ryzen laptop (E485). AMD is still playing the blame game when it comes to driver support. No way I will ever buy another AMD laptop, ever again. Running to Linux is of limited help, too. AMD dropped the ball in mobile.Nvidia stepped up to the plate when Fermi was burning, and their laptop OEMs needed the most support. They started trialing direct notebook drivers (afaik, it was named Verde), and direct Nvidia support is so commonplace as to be expected for laptops. Even out-there eGPU products like Lenovo's TB3 Graphics dock with an integrated GTX1050, got direct driver support (I know because I use one everyday with my X1 Carbon 6).
Now that AMD has an unique advantage in the notebook space, what do they do? Withdraw OEM support and start blaming laptop vendors for not updating drivers. Yes, AMD used to provide direct driver support for their laptops in the Bulldozer APU era. Now that AMD has tasted a tiny bit of success with Ryzen, what do we laptop users get? Nothing but hot air from AMD. It could have been worse. A friend bought an Acer laptop with AMD Ryzen + RX560 graphics. Even less support, especially if he wanted the dedicated GPU to work. What a joke. This is now the second time I have been burned by buying an AMD laptop. There will never, ever, ever be a third.
Dug - Wednesday, December 5, 2018 - link
I really like their plain design. Nice and simple.And has all the ports!
koaschten - Tuesday, December 18, 2018 - link
As much as I want to like the Stealth line of laptops, Razer dropped the ball with ne new Core X eGPU dock, no more Lan or USB on the Core X, totally stupid especially when the new Stealth 13 doesn't have a Lan port either.When I am at my home, my desk, I want to most performance and comfort. That includes only plugging the TB3 from the Laptop into the eGPU for charging and ANY peripheral or FAST network connection I have at home. 2 USB A and 1 USB C after plugging in the charger/eGPU don't cut it, I want it to just add that 1Gbit Lan, my keyboard, mouse, gamepad and whatever more peripherals, I don't want to plug in a USB hub and the eGPU, that's just something it did in the past.
I don't understand Razer's engineering decision with the Core X.