Razer Blade Stealth (QHD) - Review 2022

The Razer Bract Stealth (QHD) ($ane,199 equally tested) is a midrange ultraportable laptop with a sharp Quad Loftier-Definition bear upon display and a premium, all-aluminum build. Like its college-resolution-brandish brother, the $1399 Razer Blade Stealth (4K UHD), information technology features a sleek, lightweight design, fast performance, and the globe's first RGB keyboard with per-central backlighting on a notebook. As is, it isn't suited to serious gaming, merely you can add the upcoming Razer Core external graphics amplifier equipped with a desktop-course GPU. That way, information technology'southward a beefy gaming system at home, only can serve equally a calorie-free, compact laptop on the road. The Apple tree MacBook Air thirteen-Inch, our former peak pick, boasts a much longer battery life, but its sub-1080p-resolution screen, fewer port options, and slower functioning make Stealth (QHD) is our new Editors' Option for midrange ultraportable laptops.

Design

With the exception of screen resolution, the design of the Stealth (QHD) is identical to its more expensive brother, the Razer Blade Stealth (4K UHD), in every way. The higher cost of the 4K model bumps it into the high-end ultraportable category, while the QHD configuration is midrange, giving this system a different field of competitors. The lower 2,560-by-1,440-resolution screen is not quite as bright or vibrant as the 4K model's 3,840-by-2,160 display, merely it's however impressive, and the resolution is more than than enough for the 12.5-inch panel. For comparing, the MacBook Air'south 1,440-by-900 resolution (below 1080p) is much lower. The drop from 4K to QHD really brings a performance boost, since the Stealth (QHD)'due south screen is less demanding on the remainder of the hardware. This was reflected in its operation numbers in testing (more on that later), which are a bit faster overall, and the Stealth (QHD)'s battery lasted about an hour longer.

The unique RGB keyboard with per-key backlighting, included on both Razer Blade Stealth models, is a fun and easy-to-utilise feature. You lot tin set up colors and lighting furnishings for individual keys or whole sections of the keyboard, and the complimentary software makes customization simple. No notebook has offered individual central backlighting earlier; this level of customization is usually reserved for premium, standalone USB gaming keyboards.

Similar the 4K version, the Stealth (QHD) is powered and charged via a USB-C port with Thunderbolt 3, which offers speeds of upward to 40Gbps. The left side of the laptop besides includes a USB three.0 port and the headset jack. On the right, in that location'due south some other USB 3.0 port and an HDMI port. The MacBook Air besides includes two USB 3.0 ports, and it does have an SDXC slot, unlike the Stealth (QHD), but it simply features a Thunderbolt 2 port, and lacks an HDMI port. For more than on the Stealth (QHD)'s design, including a deeper assay of the keyboard, touchpad, speakers, ports, and general build, as well as a description of the Razer Core, read our Razer Blade Stealth (4K UHD) review.

Razer Blade Stealth (QHD)

Performance

The Stealth (QHD) includes the same internal components equally the 4K model—a 2.5GHz Intel Core i7-6500U processor, 8GB of memory, and integrated Intel HD Graphics 520—simply its lower-resolution screen led to better performance. Since the QHD system falls into midrange pricing, at that place's also a unlike fix of comparison laptops. The Stealth (QHD) scored two,764 points in the PCMark 8 Work Conventional productivity examination, a score that beats other midrange ultraportables like the Asus ZenBook UX305CA (2,496 points) and the Asus UX305FA-ASM1 (2,257 points). Midrange convertible-hybrid laptops like the Toshiba Satellite Radius 12 (P20W-CST3N01) (2,921 points) and the Dell Inspiron thirteen 7000 Series 2-in-1 Special Edition (2,870 points) scored slightly higher, just all four of these other systems are only powering much-less-taxing 1080p displays.

On the 3DMark Cloud Gate and Burn down Strike Extreme tests, the Stealth (QHD) scored an excellent 5,795 and 391 points, respectively. The Asus UX305CA (4,415 points) and the Asus Zenbook UX305FA-ASM1 (4,270 points) came upwardly short in comparison, while the Toshiba Radius 12 (5,736) came very close. Similar the Razer Stealth (4K UHD) and other ultraportables, the Stealth (QHD) isn't equipped for serious gaming, due to its integrated graphics. On the Heaven and Valley gaming tests at Medium-quality settings, information technology scored xix frames per 2nd (fps) and 23fps, respectively, which is equal to or a few frames meliorate than the other systems. We consider 30fps as smoothen enough for gameplay, nevertheless, and the Stealth (QHD)'south frame rates on the Heaven and Valley tests at Ultra-quality settings topped out at 2fps, so every bit with all of these laptops, I suggest you stick to less-demanding games on lower settings.

Razer Blade Stealth (QHD)