RAZER BOOK 13 | A Force of Productivity is Born

slim fit and powerful with external GPU.

 

So how much do they want for this bad boy? It would be interesting to see the test results for how it compares to the other gaming laptops.

 

I received mine as a first-time Razer user coming from a ThinkPad T450S and trying to choose between the X1 Nano and the Razer Book 13. I chose the Razer Book 13 because of the better performance and I needed it for work (not feasible to wait the extra time).

It feels like they collectively ticked every single box for wht I want in a laptop but then nobody actually tried it IRL aferwards:

1. Keyboard misses letters randomly unless I relly punch the keys. I am going to type this whole thing without fixing the missing letters from naturally typing so you can see how often it occurs. Because of this, typing smoothly and quickly is not easy and my speed drops from 100-120 wpm down to around 80-90 wpm from backing up and retyping. I really hope it will "break in" or at least maybe get used to it over time. The only redeeming feature is the included keyboard software for remapping, macros, etc. It has incredibly impressive rollover tht (I've managed 14+ keys at once) is just killed by how much pressure is needed to keep a key actuated.
2. The edges are super sharp. My wrists almost have a rash from resting my palms on the on the pam rest and the li at each edge of the touchpad comes to a point tht is sharp enough to leave a mark if you accidentally brush up a knuckle against it. The part of the screen tht lifts the base of the aptop off the surface is also sharp. If you wnt to put it into a lower performance mode so it doesn't get too hot to safely use it in your lap, it is still too unomfortable to do that.
3. The screen also ony barely tilts back 45 degrees from vertical, so using it in your lap is not a good ide anyway. If you want to get around the keyboard difficulties by using an external keyboard, you can't tilt the screen flat and ut it on a vertial stand like a ThinkPad or flip the bottom half under itself to be its own stand like a productivity 2-in-1. This is a device that is only really at home on a desk.
4. The hinge is stiff enough to eep the screen from wobbling when touch is in use. However, the finger well to lift the lid is designed in a way that makes it hard to actually get any grip without putting a fingernail in rght where the camer is locted.
   
5. Speaker grill is a zillion tiny holes pointed directly uward that enjoy eating the tiniest pieces of dust to be never successfully cleaned out and the sound is no better than any other laptop I've used. If audio is needed, headhones end up being used the majority of the time anyway.
6. The panel is awesome and whites look very whte with the ICC profile mine shipped with. Any visible backlight bleed only appears at the absolute edges and stops there. However, how Windows plays with HDR ontent is a nightmare and to toggle HDR on and off for HDR YouTube videos or similar ontent required me to put together a macro that does: Windows key, "Enable HDR Streaming", Enter, clicks indows HDR color settings, and clicks the Use HDR toggle. I then have to refresh the page for YouTube to recognize that it is HDR. I know this is a Windows problem and not a Razer problem but still...
   

 

Depends on your region, for the US it's currently 1,599.99$

 

When I finally decide to replace my old PC, this will be a top contender. I love how much attention Razer put into making the design slim, but yet convenient and packed with features.

 

Yikes. I may need to get my hands on one in a store before I decide to buy. I’d like to check out some of the flags you brought up. Thanks for sharing your experience. I wish it worked out better for you.

 

Yikes, missing keys? You're not the only one Youtube reviewers have said the same thing. Going to pass on this laptop.

 

I did some more playing around and I realized that pressing anywhere in the top 1/3rd of the keyboard too lightly = no press.
If you type hard the keyboard should be fine. If you're used to light keyswitches, BIG NOPE.

My current workaround:

 

Meant top 1/3rd of each keycap and the forum doesn't let me edit for some reason.

 

I got the book yesterday from B&H photo, the $1599 one. I like it, but it's to small for my old eyes. And now I just found out that B&H doesn't accept returns on laptops so that is just wonderful LOL. I just posted it for sale on swappa for $1200. Hope I can get some money back. If it were a 15 inch I would have kept in for sure.

 

Yes and they don't have a 15" productivity laptop... Just their Blade product line which are still 16:9 which no one likes anymore and have huge bezels with dedicated GPU. Granted that's the line as it should be, but some people just want a sweet Razer laptop for productivity, like me.

 

I really wish I would have checked B&H return policy I'm a total idiot on that one. Looking into the 15 inch surface laptop 3 now. Man if they only did a 15 inch Book :-(

 

Yes, even Amazon and Razer directly takes returns of laptops... No real reason to buy it from B&H.

 

Just hope I can get something for it. Was $1600 selling it for $1200 and it's 99.9% new. I used it for about 5 minutes and got it yesterday LOL. But I guess live and learn.

 

Try BNIB - opened only to check contents quality before shipping to you.

 

That is pretty much exactly what I put. And I had to contact swappa because they didn't even have the Razer Book as a category, so they made one. I'm the first to sell one lol

 

I gust got my Razer Book 13 and the keyboard LEDs don't come on at all. Does anyone have an idea why?

 

Weird out of box it should be lighted on, like on first boot, it’s usually spectrum cycling on default Razer laptops with rgb.

 

The only LED that works is the caps lock little one, nothing else as if the hardware isn't there. It wouldn't bother me too much but this laptop is for my wife who does most of her work late at night in bed with the light off. So the LED keyboard is one of the bigger reasons why I got the laptop

 

Try to factory reset again assuming there’s missing file on first boot, not sure on Razer book but on blade 15 was after rebooting press F9 key, if still happens it’ll be better sending it back. Razer Book had per key rgb keyboard and Razer keyboard is one of the best keyboard lightning out there and one of Razer laptops selling point. Not having it on the product that is supposed to have the feature is a big no.