Years ago, when iPhones weren’t a thing and Macs were something you bought if you were a graphic designer, I had a Windows desktop that resided in a computer room. I recall Macs were novelties. I’d see them in photos with their translucent teal monitors, and just as quickly dismiss them when I realized none of the software I used would run on them. They did look cool, though.
Years later, I wanted a laptop. Around the same time, the “I’m a Mac, I’m a PC” commercials launched. With them, Macs moved to Intel CPUs and introduced the ability to run Windows via Bootcamp.
For me, this was the thing which sealed the deal. I could have the design of a Mac on a machine which could run both operating systems. It was like making the leap with a safety net. So, I bought a 15” MacBook Pro.
Shortly after, Apple launched the iPhone. As the years progressed, the software between the two became integrated, sharing notes, photos, and bookmarks seamlessly. My next purchase was a 13” MacBook Air, and then a 2016 13” MacBook Pro.
I do love Mac OS. There’s nothing wrong with Windows 10, but things are easier on a Mac. Apple has always had a minimalistic design language which extends to their software. They are in a class of their own when it comes to the build quality of their laptops.
In the days of Steve Jobs, Apple was willing to bend a bit to give their computers wider appeal. You can see it in the first Mac vs PC commercial in the video above. The Mac guy admits there are some things where PCs excel, and others where Macs fare better. Unfortunately, since then, Apple has increasingly taken a father-knows-best approach to its updates. It’s as if Steve Jobs had played the role of Kermit at the Muppet Theatre, reining in all of the design engineers to keep product meetings from devolving into cannonball fire and boomerang fish fights. Without Jobs, Apple is back to putting design before practicality.
I follow David Lee on YouTube, and he recently reviewed the 2019 Mac Pro (which is admittedly a workstation not designed for regular consumers.)
His most telling quote was where he discussed the cable-free design of the interior components. He said that it was a design choice which certainly drove up the price, that he can’t imagine anyone needing this feature, but was nonetheless cool. That’s probably the perfect description of Apple’s design approach.
For an example of this, just examine my 2016 MacBook Pro:
The memory is soldered, so I’m stuck with my purchase configuration
This was the last model to have a non-soldered SSD
This was the last model to have physical function keys. I actually bought the base model intentionally because the higher models all had the Touch Bar.
This was the first model to have the butterfly keyboard. Apple’s desire to have the thinnest laptop resulted in keys which have a fraction of a millimeter travel and become disabled by a crumb.
There are just two I/O ports, both USB-C. One of those is occupied by the power cable, so realistically there is one usable port.
Really, I can’t imagine anyone wanting any of those features. Who would want less ports, non-upgradeable components, and less key travel?
I’m a bit more forgiving about the other issue which has been problematic: gaming. I’m forgiving because Macs are not targeting gamers, and most games are only released for Windows. Some Macbook Pro models do have discrete graphics chips, but all Macbooks use USB-C charging, which limits their power bricks to a maximum of 100 watts. So, although there’s nothing to prevent Apple from slapping an RTX2080 into their 15” Macbook Pro, they would not be able to power it.
Mac did introduce eGPU support last year, and I bought a Gigabyte RX580 Gamebox. In Mac OS, it works moderately well, provided the game supports it. In Windows Bootcamp, it’s a nightmare. There is no official Windows Bootcamp support for eGPUs, so getting it to reliably work requires some technical magic. When it does work, I can play the Witcher 3 on Ultra settings at 30 fps, or Medium settings at 60 fps. More than often, however, the eGPU loses its mind because it was broken by a Windows update or simply refuses to power up.
I’ve been down this road before, and in the past I’ve purchased a separate Windows destop for gaming. Back then, I didn’t mind retreating to a computer room. Now, I’d rather have my laptop on the couch. Fortunately, there are thin and light gaming laptop options available. I pulled the plug and ordered one just before Christmas, and it arrived yesterday.
The Razer Blade 15” laptop has been called the Macbook Pro of Windows. The aluminum unibody, illuminated keys, and oversized glass trackpad clearly take their design cues from Apple. For me, this is a good thing. I didn’t want a gaming laptop which looked like a Ferrari with Christmas lights. Minimalistic works for me.
I’ve taken the past day setting it up the way I wanted. Here’s my initial impressions:
In terms of weight and size, it’s more appropriate to compare it to the Macbook Pro 15” (or the new 16”) than my 13” model. It’s similar to those. Although it’s bigger and heavier than my 13” Mac, the size difference isn’t as much as I thought it would be.
As expected, the build quality and aluminum unibody are fantastic, similar to Apple’s; however, the dark gray model is a fingerprint magnet. Whatever finish Apple uses on its Pros has a slight powdery feel to it, showing no fingerprints. The Razer has a matte metal finish, showing dark splotches.
There’s a glowing Razer logo on the back of the lid. Some of their other models just have the logo as matte metal, which I’d prefer. It’s the one gamer indulgence of the otherwise minimalistic laptop design.
The keyboard travel, at 1.2 mm, is perfect for me. It feels like my old Macbook Air, before Apple introduced the cringe-worthy butterfly keyboard.
The keyboard layout is a little wonky. Many reviewers commented on Razer’s choice to put the up arrow between the Shift and Question Mark key, presumably to save space. As a result, when you reach for the shift key with your right pinky, you may press the up arrow. It just takes a little bit of calibration to reach a little further. Most of my other adjustment is coming from the Apple keyboard. The Mac’s function keys are half the size of regular keys (because they have to fit where the Touch Bar sits on other models). The Razer’s are full size. I have a tendency to reach for them when going for the punctuation keys on the number row.
The keyboard lighting is single zone chroma, which you can adjust in the Razer Synapse software to be any color you like. There are effects like spectrum cycling, which I surprisingly like (I didn’t think I’d be one for blingy lighting effects). Light bleed around the keys is more pronounced than the Macbook’s. Note both the primary and secondary keys are illuminated, the same as the Mac’s.
The screen is 1080p, which is a downgrade from the Macbook’s Retina, but operates at 144 Hz, which is an upgrade from the Mac’s 60 Hz. It has a matte finish and the colors look vibrant.
The trackpad is oversized and glass but is cantilevered and physically clicks (unlike the Mac’s solid pad with virtual haptic clicks). It takes more force to physically click, but I’ve generally switched to single/double-tapping the surface instead of clicking. It’s very accurate, on par with Apple, but it has poor palm rejection. I’ve done entire Photoshop projects on the Mac using the trackpad, and the Razer is the first Windows computer where I’d consider doing the same.
The speakers flank the keyboard, similar to the Mac’s, but are poor (meaning, they are the typical laptop speakers which you would not want to use unless you had to). Sound is tinny and I’ve needed to mess with drivers due to crackling. Fortunately, I’ll mainly be using headphones with it. I am spoiled by the Macbook Pro in this category. Macbooks are in a league of their own for trackpads and speakers.
Although not as silent as a Mac in idle, the Razer is quiet when doing mundane tasks. Launch a game and the fans will spool up, but most of the time they are only slightly louder than the Macbook’s fans when it is playing a game. Play a demanding game for a while and the Razer’s fans can get considerably louder than the Macbook’s fans, but they still are not bad. Some other gaming laptops have fans that sound like hair dryers. The Razer’s aren’t even close to that noise level and are much better than I expected.
Heat is vented from the base of the laptop. Although the top never got uncomfortable to me, the base isn’t something you want on your lap when the fans are on. Even when the fans are on low, the hot air on your legs is uncomfortable. When the laptop is idle, though, the bottom is cool.
Battery life is not-surprisingly abysmal. When I was setting it up, at the 2 hour mark it went into battery-saver mode and asked me to plug it in. Granted, that was a lot of downloading and installing, which is different than light work. Others have reported 4-5 hours doing light work.
Performance is great. The Razer has a full RTX2060 graphics card, 16 GB memory, and an i7 9750. I could run VR from it.
There are ports galore. Three USB-A, one USB-C/Thunderbolt 3, one HDMI, one mini-display, one LAN jack. It’ll be awesome not to have to use any dongles.
Transitioning to Windows has been surprisingly easy. Apple has Windows apps for iTunes, iCloud, etc, and bookmarks migrate over with them.
I still have my Macbook Pro. There is some software which I use for writing that is only available on MacOS. So, I haven’t abandoned my Mac (like the title suggests), but it got downgraded from ‘the’ tool to do the job to ‘one of the tools’, which, I admit, I have mixed feelings about. There’s a certain elegance to not having different computers for different tasks, but unfortunately Apple’s design choices the past few years don’t allow it.
I’ll write another post after my first month of use. More to come.