Some background on me to start. I'm a game developer from Toronto. I've always been an advocate of developers like myself having two computers; a big ol' PC desktop and a sleek MacBook laptop. PC Desktop runs everything and can be upgraded easily, and the MacBook laptop is sturdy to carry around and generally very very very reliable. In 2017 I upgraded to the 15" MacBook Pro from that year. It was a huge disappointment. MacBooks suck now? Performance was disappointing. My right speaker 'melted' and didn't make sound properly. Boot Camp didn't work properly. I tried to stay positive about having nothing but USB-C ports, but folks, we need more than just USB-C ports. I'm sure you've all heard of the keyboard issues. That laptop cost me almost $5000. I bought a Razer Core X for it, and tossed in a Radeon RX 580, which helped a little, but wouldn't work in Boot Camp (the famous Code 12 issue). Time to cut my losses and get back to work, I thought, so I sold the MacBook and bought myself a Razer Blade Stealth. Specifically, the 13" QHD version with the quad-core i7-8550u CPU.
...and I love it.
Great things about this laptop
- Love typing on this keyboard! This is what laptop chiclet keys should feel like, and color is fun
- Great to get a Quad core CPU in this form factor
- I'm coming from MacBooks, so the ability to replace the SSD is astounding. I swapped in a Samsung Evo Plus 1TB on day one. I also replaced the Wifi card for one that supports Wifi 6.
- It's light. It's sturdy. It's pretty. Like a MacBook!
- More than just USB-C ports.
- No Code 12 eGPU errors, since the laptop and my eGPU are made by the same company and often appear in branding materials together. Thanks for making sure they work great together, Razer.
Needs improvement
- Maximum screen brightness disappointing. I can really only do serious work in a dark-ish room or with an external monitor.
- Memory isn't upgradable (I'm assuming we'd have to trade some thinness for this). 16gb is fine for me right now, though.
- Touch screen has had some very minor glitches on a few occasions, so I disabled it in the Device Manager. I don't use this.
- I wish there was an extra USB-C port (oh wait, they added that in 2019).
Some interesting findings
- With a modest GPU (Radeon RX 580) the CPU quickly becomes the bottleneck on titles like Monster Hunter World. Just because it's a quad-core i7 doesn't mean it has more than ~20 watts going through it!
- I'm curious about the new blade stealth with Intel Core i7-1065G7. Benchmarks claim it's a good chunk faster than the i7-8550U in mine, though apparently that CPU is slower in the GeForce 1650 configuration than in the iGPU config.
- Temperatures can get a little high, but not bad enough to warrant re-applying the thermal paste or undervolting like a lot of people are suggesting. A vertical laptop stand helps mine get all the airflow it needs.
Conclusion
This laptop is my daily driver for work in demanding apps like Unity3d, Maya, Substance Painter, Photoshop, and more. There's no MacBook or PC Desktop in my life now. When I'm at work, the laptop sits atop the eGPU on a vertical stand, plugged into a mouse, keyboard, and 4k monitor. The CPU leaves a little bit to be desired sometimes, but generally does everything I ask of it. I am so happy with this little guy. It's real easy to forget that it's a 13" ultrabook.
Happy to answer any questions people might have! If you're looking to save a few bucks and buy the 2018 model like me (with bigger bezels around the screen), I say go for it!
Do you bother getting the latest GeForce drivers from Nvidia, or do you just stick to the older drivers Razer provides? I couldn't find any opinion/experience on that anywhere so far, plus I'm not even sure which Nvidia drivers to get for the 1070 Max-Q - desktop or laptop. I'm still learning the ropes as you can see.
