2018 15" MacBook Pro vs Razer Blade 15 Comparison Smackdown
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 14 ม.ค. 2025
- Looking for a high end 15” laptop that has a slim, unibody boutique build and good performance? Lisa Gade compares the 2018 15” MacBook Pro with an Intel 8th gen Coffee Lake 6-core i7 and the Razer Blade 15, also with an 8th gen 6 core i7 processor. Both machines have dedicated graphics, lovely displays, Thunderbolt 3 and up to 32GB RAM. Note that this video is based on Mac performance after the OS supplemental update that fixed CPU throttling on 2018 MacBook Pro models.
Watch our 2018 15” MacBook Pro review here: • 2018 15" MacBook Pro R...
Watch our Razer Blade 15 review here: • Razer Blade 15 Review
I just don't understand..Lisa provides some of if not the most technical breakdowns of devices yet she gets less views compared to those blabbering barnacle heads out there who just use RGB lighting and camera angles and get hundreds of thousands of views... Yet all they do is give THEIR OWN SOFT OPINION about the devices, and yet here is Lisa with Comprehensive reviews and yet people go for RGB lights and horrible Promoted Opinions over THIS... Not FAIR At All...
There's definitely an undergrowth of people going for these detailed, less flashy reviews though, onwards to 1 million!
Agreed, especially MKBHD, unbox therapy, iJustine. Dave2D is the only other good laptop reviewer I know but he too never cover as many used cases as Lisa. Lisa is the best. Period.
B C MKBHD doesn't even really review laptops... He only does first impressions on MacBook pros
Erica Griffin does informative long takes, but generally more for phones than laptops. And I do like Dave2D, he's a hybrid between the quick flashy style and actually being informative.
That’s why we subscribe and always like!
Couldn't have asked for a better comparison video which goes even as far as the customer service from both companies.! Thank you Lisa!
Razer customer service hasn’t gotten any better. It’s still one of the worst in the Industry. Your out of luck if something goes wrong. Here’s my experience. I wish Lisa actually had done more research www.reddit.com/r/razer/comments/96xpv2/razer_cs_the_final_update_on_my_power_brick/
th-cam.com/video/ZmBGRAFXTVs/w-d-xo.html
I love your video but I have a little complaint.
Your side by side comparison was good but it would have been better if you have shown the same pictures at both devices simultaneously so we can get a true perspective
I am currently making a purchasing decision and I need to compare these to displays.
Thanks a lot you're currently my favourite reviewer on TH-cam
I was going to mention the same thing. Love the reviews, but the screen comparisons are essentially worthless without having the slide shows in sync. I think videos playing in sync would be even better.
+musmost Displays are something really hard to compare by watching them through another display anyway. You won't see a very usable comparison through your monitor. A video of two displays showing the same photo is only a true perspective in person. It's most definitely not a true perspective watching it on TH-cam. That said, if you're going for image quality and not frame rate, the 4K Razer Blade is the one you should be looking at. She compared the 1080p models, and only made a passing mention of the 4K. It's a little bit less bright, but other than that it has better color accuracy and wider color gamut, covering, and she did mention this, 100% of aRGB vs the 91% of the MacBook. The 1080p displays are very good, but they're for gaming, they are not intended to compete with the MacBook on a visual content creation basis. The 4K one is a beautiful display.
The only reason you ‘d prefer the macbook over any other notebook in that class is its OS which is ideal for photo/video editing.
+ISos Gaming That's actually not true. Adobe premiere is way more optimized to run in Windows than in MacOS. Same for Photoshop and the whole Creative Cloud suite. Final Cut Pro does perform great in a Mac though, but your argument should be "it's ideal for photo/video editing with Apple software". Other than that, it's not. This is not a subjective opinion, there are extensive benchmarks for this. On top of that other laptops have the advantage of more powerful video cards, which do have a impact on GPU accelerated processes, which video and image editing take advantage of.
What exactly do you think makes any given OS that's compatible with the software the capability of being "ideal"? Once you open Premiere or Photoshop the OS is almost out of the equation. If you step out of Apple's stack, which is not the industry standard even, there's pretty much no difference between using software compatible with both OSes in one or another, aside from maybe the shortcuts, window borders, differences in middle click, and stuff like that. The code itself of the software you're running is from a single codebase. There used to be a difference years ago, but since Apple moved to Intel, it's the same code. Then add a GTX 1060 or 1070 Max-Q like with the Blade 15 to take on the heavy lifting and the more taxing video tasks will be faster on a high end Windows laptop than on a Mac... unless you're referring to something else than "it's faster at doing the same work" when you say ideal.
Anyone is free to choose whatever laptop they want for their work. Hell, I have a Mac as well (although when you're a software engineer the OS does actually come into play), and I wouldn't bash on anyone for choosing the Mac as well. I have my gripes with it, but it's everyone's free choice. However, the benchmarks are the benchmarks, and a Windows laptop of the same price range, and even cheaper, will outperform a MacBook Pro at video editing with anything else than Final Cut Pro. Gaming laptops are particularly well suited, and have recently been aimed at that crowd precisely because of that, with advertising their color gamut, gamma, etc. Since the Max-Q appeared, they come in form factors that are more visually appealing than the monstrosities they used to be (and some still are). I wouldn't recommend an inch and a half thick laptop as alternative to the MacBook Pro, even with the extra performance. The Blade 15 with the 4K monitor though? That's a more equal comparison, and you can put a skin over it if you want to hide the logo.
The Felix I agree with you. It won't be as true as compar8ng it in real life, but it does Gove you a good idea of how they compare.
Regarding the 4k blade 15, I am really waiting for it to come out but razer are just delaying it :(
Anyway thanks 4 the comment
I wish Apple would release a Mac with a decent GPU, I'd go Mac in a hearthbeat, but honestly, if I'm spending 3k on a laptop, it'll better have it all.
Matthew they are 2019
Apple & Ukelele Guy And you know this how?
I'd love for that to be true, but I don't hold out a lot of hope. Apple has just never cared. Also, Apple's decision to deprecate OpenGL makes it hard to contemplate the compromise any more. I prefer MacOS, but I also play games. If fewer games are going to be ported, I'm seriously thinking of going back to Windows.
Just buy a gpu for mac ;)
I always use laptops, and I rarely use my personal laptop at a desk. An eGPU is simply not a viable answer to the problem, and while I applaud Apple for enabling eGPUs on their latest machines, doing so doesn't actually excuse them from building machines with premium parts to go with their premium prices.
Mac service here in Australia is pretty ordinary. I purchased a new Macbook and it had a screen failure after 3 days. I went into the "Genius" bar and they said it would be 30 days for the repair. They would not replace it. As my daughter needed the laptop to start school a month was unacceptable . I said no problem I would like to return it for a refund (law here in Australia). After some horrible looks from the genius staff they refunded me. I then walked up and re-purchased a new machine. I wouldn't have bothered if my daughter wasn't such an Apple fan. They would have gotten away with it if it wasn't for those pesky consumer rights laws.
That is pretty poor. And stupid of them since you could do exactly what you did.
I have heard customer service is very poor over in Australia. My friend worked over there and was shocked at the way customers were ignored, left waiting while the staff talked about what they were doing at the weekend.
Don’t forget how terrible Razer Customer service is. It hasn’t gotten any better. Still one of the worst in the industry. www.reddit.com/r/razer/comments/96xpv2/razer_cs_the_final_update_on_my_power_brick/
th-cam.com/video/ZmBGRAFXTVs/w-d-xo.html
it's worse here in Malaysia. My Mac Pro is still "under repair" for almost 5 months now. God knows why I even bothered buying a workstation for making a living
Wow! I had a totally opposite experience with Apple in Australia. I have a MacBook Pro 2012 and Apple changed the motherboard on it for Free after 6 years (out of warranty). They even fixed the battery charging slot for free after an year. This is just the Mac. I have always had amazing customer service every time we have visited for all Apple products.
Razer blade is the macbook of gamers
But macbook is shit. That doesnt mean razer is too...
Is a laptop with gtx 1060 max q /1070 shit for you?
@@alexgrazie93 razer blade = macbook meaning popular
HappyEmigrant macbook isn't shit. It's meant as a luxiorus, easy to use, appealing device.
Obviously the macbook pro won't offer value but apple products are so attributed to luxury in many areas in the world that many people will buy one and don't care about value. And mbp is really well built.
@@kmilo1173 oh shit my bad thought I was dissing apple
I've had MacBook Pro for 7 years.. it's time for a change. I'm too limited with Apple in terms of gaming. Just bought a Razer, very excited.
How did it went? I’m doing the same right now.
Omar Bin AbdulAziz Razor!
Watching your videos feels really good, you have a wonderful speech pattern.
Lisa is the best! I just realized that I look forward to her reviews! I automatically click on it, no matter what she’s reviewing 😉
Hello! you give one of the best tech review I've ever seen. Other guys just focus on fancy presentation and they all seem obsess with the looks of the machine while you give very important insights regarding the technical part.
very brief yet one of the most detailed reviews out there! where has this cannel been all my life?!
Finally!! I have been debating between these exact two laptops for about a week now. Most other videos I have seen only talk about the highest quality Razer. Lisa mentions all three and I feel much more informed. Great job ! Lisa this really helped my decision and I want to say thank you. I love when she goes now " The apple has bezzle's but whatever I don't care!! hahaha me either Lisa, such a down to earth comment I love it. I'm like 95 % sure I want to go with the Razer I'm just still unclear which is more durable. My Wifes Mac Book is 7 years old and still works absolutely fine. My experience with windows products is about a 3-4 year life. Granted I have not bought an up to date laptop in a while and I am wondering if anyone can comment on how durable the Razer is ?
The Razer is super durable although, like the mac, it is susceptible to a few nicks, particularly around the curved edges (Choosing the white version makes it much less noticable. It's called mercury if I remember correctly). The machine should last a while, particularly as it is not running as hot as the macbook and it does not include a hard drive (SSDs last a whole lot longer). My ideal config would be the black, 8th gen i7, rtx 2060 variant as it is the best bang for your buck, better for temps and with the black edition you get the green lit up razer logo on the back (and I think it looks much better). As a side note, you can also add skins to both the razer blade and the mac to give them a protective lining and a little more style. DBrand are pretty good for that sort of thing. Anyways, hope I helped. If you have any questions, please ask.
Thank you, I've been doing research on this topic for more than a week and I wish I came here first, you've covered so much in just 15 minutes!
I love your Reviews 👍🏾
So nice to see these informative and unbiased reviews.
I never comment but I've been watching your videos for years now. Love your reviews and comparisons!
Thanks!
I’m glad you did this review
I like this kind of videos. No nonsense and straight to the point. Efficient.
"I don't know why they've added something that big like a VW Mini Bus on the top surface." Made my day, thank you :)
Awesome review again. Thanks so much!
The video is very well shot and the analysis is very detailed.
Very interesting comparison!
Thank you =D
Fortnite on the Mac was painful to watch, that screen tearing and frame rate drop ahhhh
Super informative video. This will definitely help me on my decision! It's crazy how deep I had to dig to find well-thought information.
This current Macbook Pro trackpad size opens up new possibilities for skipping a mouse. For example doing some light CAD, the increased size compared to older Macbooks (previously had a 2011), allows easier rotation and panning. Even doing drag-and-drop is much easier. It simply enables more freedom when on the move, to the point where I started leaving my mouse at home more and more often. I hope Apple keeps up with these bigger trackpads. Great review!
Hey, how didn't I find this channel like 3 years ago.... Thank you very much Lisa.
What's up with the turnip indeed...
Pressed like. Then watched video. I always like them so may as well click the button straight away :)
You're not the only one doing that!
7:41"oh wow" That's just hilarious to hear seeing as how professional laptops are widely used for photo and video editing
Brilliant, detailed and useful. Thank you.
Always a fantastic review and great content. Pleasure to see your reviews,
What a wonderful review, you really have a knack for this!!
thank you for being so thorough, you answered every question i had about the comparison. great review
I absolutely love this nonbias editorial vid jam packed with information literally the golden standard of what a review video should be. I hold myself to this standard but miss the bar :)
Love your reviews, very thorough and seems to really know what you’re talking about. Liked as always
Thank you, Lisa, for the review and comparison. It's excellent, as always. You're the most serious reviewer.
Simple and informative!!. Damn the video is so good.
Wow, this is one of the best tech reviews ever! Thank you so much.
As always, a great and honest review!
U make me undoubtle about both machines
By the way thank you very much
Finally a vid that I have been looking for
another great review!!!
Love the comparison and love the shirt (without comparison)! Subscribed!
I have to congratulate you! I really like your videos! You treat tech with respect and a balanced point of view.
Today you did exactly what I have been trying to decide, what to buy. In my case, 3D designer... even after 20 years been a Mac user, today I will buy a Razer Blade 15” 2018. The GTX 1070 Max-Q is just so many times faster than a Radeon Pro 555X or 560x... and cheaper.
But one thing I would like to ask you... what do you think about the heat, coming from this 1070 Max-Q in time? Will the Razer mother board be affected after 2,3, 6 months of hard working? Will it stand the GPU temperatures for long?
Thanks Lisa - very topical considering all the furore around the overheating MacBooks!
I HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR THIS REVIEW, EVERYWHERE!! finally!!!!1
i just love Lisa!! xD thank you for this breakdown. I’m going with the Razer
Wonderful review as always. I wanted to see these two put head to head.
Thank you for the video.
The best tech review channel on TH-cam. Lisa is the best
Pressed like before I watched the video, it seems a lot people are doing that as we know Lisa doesn’t do bad reviews only outstanding ones
Love you videos Lisa. Keep up the good work. Do you get sponsors on your T-shirts? as you always have well designed shirts and looks quality.
Great video as usual! Something I am wondering is why do you need a touch screen on the Mac. If I could use the screen on my MacBook pro as a touch screen it would always be covered in finger prints, just like every touch screen device I use.
Wellllllll now.....the force touch pad is not something to brush over. It is simply a superior touch interface. The first time you press and drag without needing essentially any force is incredible.
Great review, very professional! Much better then I ever saw on iJsomething.. :-)
Hey Lisa, will you be doing a smackdown between the 2018 MBP and the Surface Book 2?
That could be arranged :)
MobileTechReview I have an old MBP13 Retina, the last one before the touch bar model and don't know what to update to!!
Thank U for the Review Mrs.Lisa. for me : I don't Like Macbook Series, I prefer Unique Convertible Laptop with Detachable Screen or Classic Window Laptop just like this Razer ^_^
A fine comparison test.
Very thorough. Only thing I was left wondering was if the SSDs were of the same speed class. I was surprised to see the 17" lg gram had a much slower SSD than the mac!
"How about upgrades? ... Derhhhehrhh..." Hahaha. So funny! Thanks for your great videos! Love watching it, and already subscribed!
Is there a difference in performance when it comes to photo editing between the two laptops?
Thank you Lisa for another amazing comparison!
Do you plan to review the new zenbook pro? I am interested in getting a new thin and light 15 inch laptop and the new zenbook pro caught my eye, but I am not going to get one without watching your review.
Really nice video, very good comparison. I had mac since the first osX came out but now I think I want the razer. :)
Thanks for this review. Helped me decide on which one to buy....Razer Blade 15, because I do both video editing and a little gaming. Also like how I can upgrade parts easily on the Razer.
Great review and breakdown. Has the Asus Zephyrus M - GM501 been reviewed yet? Looking to compare this unit with the Razer Blade 15. Thanks
Lisa, for photographers do you still like the Mac Pro over the Razor Blade?
I would imagine the Mac Pro is better compared to the stock display of the razor, but the 4k touch screen has a wider color gamut than the Mac Pro
John O'Shea i was thinking the same thing also will be interested to see what Razer is going to charge for the 4K display option
The 4K display is an additional $300, and it's only available on the more expensive model with GTX 1070 and 512 gig SSD.
Brilliant, as usual.
Great! I'm looking at both of these, and the Thinkpad P52.
Which would you recommend over each other for music production ?
Great review - as always ;-)
..But neither machines and their ROI appeal to my usage needs...
On the fence about hoping back into the PC world for personnal purpose. I am considering replacing my old Macbook Pro with the Razer blade. My only concern and I can't seem to find any reviewer addressing these issues...will the Razer last long enough? I never had a computer for so long in my entire life and my Mac is going on it's 11 year and still works like a charm. Of course I made a few upgrades in the mean time, adding an SSD and a bit of RAM, but I am very skeptical about those Razer's and any other PC as a mater of fact. Just received a new XPS 15 at work and already I can see issues with driver's and problems that keep popping up way too oftenly for a laptop of this price range. For me it's clearly unacceptable. Can I expect the Razer too last for at least 5-6 years or am I being way too optimistic? I'm mostly doing 3D modelling/rendering and graphic design with my computers. Any thoughts about the longevity of MAC vs PC'S ?
to be honest, the razer blade will be a good computer for a while, I would say 3-4 years are realistic.
But the expectation that a either a macbook or any other pc will live for more than 5+ years is probably unreasonable. What you must not forget, is that this you are paying most of the money for performance, and that is only one factor of a pcs longevity
Great review Lisa. Do you think the new Asus Zephyrus GX531GS comparable to the Razer 15? I like the spec of Razer 15 but concerns about its reliability. I use the machine for game and picture/video editing. Would love to get your take on the Asus Zephyrs GX531GS? Thanks
Still the best reviewer out there and there is stiff competition.
How does the matebook x pro compare?
Hope to see the review of the mac i9, 32gb ram vs dell xps i9, 32 gb ram.
Which one would you suggest for music production? I do use pro tools.
Btw, I like your reviews.
Hi Lisa, I notice you didn't mention speakers in the video. What was your impression of sound quality/volume difference?
Best tech reviewer by a country mile
Which one is better for trading?
Have you been able to try GeForceNow beta with the Mac?
Also notice how the CPU in the Razer stays well into boost territory whereas the CPU in the Macbook is below 3GHz at ~91c.
Thank you for the great review! I have been trying to work out what PC laptop to switch to now Im sure Im leaving Apple, and I can not find any reviews online that test slim i9 laptops with regards to fan noise and frequency. A deeper review on this would be a HUGE welcome for me and Im sure a lot of people. Maybe testing software like Photoshop, After Effects, C4D/Maya, and simple apps like Word and Firefox- Thanks again!
Sorry I mean i7!
Great review, thumbs up. The MBP are great quality laptop base from my experiences owning a 15” MBP 2016 running Bootcamp WK10. However I will choose the 15” Razer 4K will as my MBP replacement.
Hi Lisa - thank you for all your reviews. If you ever get a chance to review the HP Zbook X360, can you please do a test on the AES pen performance? Specifically how it compares to the apple pencil and Wacom's EMR in IAF? Thanks again :)
At this point I just show up here and like for the shirts! :) Great video as usual.
You should have the spec side by side instead of back to back and also pricing? I love your review and your opinion though.
Lisa provides the best, most detailed breakdowns, I think her channel would benefit from an aesthetic upgrade in terms of graphics and backdrop. Something elegant and simple like Unbox Therapy or Dave 2D would be cool to see, nothing flashy, just more visually appealing, just my 2 cents. Stay true to you Lisa, thanks for the great content.
Please post a video on how to apply the thermal pads to reduce The Razer Blade internal temperatures!
Regardless of laptop, you can't go wrong with a Mobile Tech Review by Lisa. Thumbs up ('cuz i liked this vid).
Im currently looking a switching from a Macbook pro 2017 (the first gen with the touch bar) to the Razer Blade. This video was super informative and covered ALL of the tasks and programs that I use on a daily basis.
The reason I'm switching: I've had nothing but trouble with the Macbook keyboard since I bought it... I'm up to my 3rd replacement body as the keyboard keeps sticking and failing. Beyond the shitty keyboard, the touch bar is a waste of time, and has recently starting becoming blank when I wake the machine from sleep. Currently the only way I can resolve this is to reboot the machine (which is actually pretty fast with the high i/o SSDk, but still a PITA), which wouldn't bother me too much except that the ESC key is part of the touch bar, so when it fails like this I'm stuck with no ESC key unless I reboot.
Thanks HEAPS Lisa for the great comparison!
One small (large?) thing you forgot to mention is the diagnostic port, present on both the 2016 and 2017 models of Macbook Pro, is no longer there. Because all of the components are soldered on, if something in the motherboard was broken they had to use this port to get data off of the laptop. I'm not sure how they're going to do that now. I've never had a motherboard issue with a laptop however, so maybe they're just very confident in their products. That said, I would make sure you have everything you need backed up to iCloud
John O'Shea Just to put what you stated in perspective, the last Mac laptop I've owned was an iBook G3 (yes, iBOOK, lol) back in 2002-2003. It took one drop of less than 3ft to a concrete floor, and stopped working. The "genius" at the Genius Bar told me $700 for a new motherboard. This was again around 2003, for a even then lowend $1000-ish laptop. I said never again. You can just imagine how outrageous this same situation would be now.
stephenkaolei To be fair to Apple, a lot of their products back then were plastic. Dropping a laptop these days, the screen is going to break before the motherboard. Also the motherboard in the Macbook Pro is tiny
Would you recommend getting the PCIe NVME version of the RazerBlade over the M.2 SATA? Do you notice a really huge difference?
Lisa, we are still waiting for the 2019 MBP Vega 20 and Razer 2080 Maz Q
PLEASE DO THAT COMPARISION
Razer has the option to buy the 2080 max q
For me, one aspect of Apple keyboards that I have always preferred has been the quiet keys. I don't really understand why people prefer noise when they type, I guess some people just want the extra audible feedback as well as the movement of the keys themselves.
Why after watching this I still cannot decide?
just got my razer 15, very happy after 4 years of using mac. upgraded 32 gb ram and 1 tb ssd.) 144hz, 1070gtx
Did you do the upgrades yourself? I have a Macbook Pro late 2011 and need to get a new laptop. Being a student who uses Adobe, I plan on using my machine to edit video and motion graphics on top of downloading Resolume to use for Video Jockey work. I'm so conflicted.
Steve Ramirez yes , I did it by myself. It is very easy. There is a video on TH-cam how to do it. Basically, you just have to unscrew the bottom. I am also a student . ) I really like this machine ).
same! just got mine in the mail couple days ago. 144hz, 1070gtx. Will upgrade everything else once i know how! haha
Hey can you help me out by answering this question: Do the fans of the Razer Blade 15 turn on when having chrome+onenote+word open? it is really important that if I buy the product and use it at uni the fans do NOT turn on. Thanks in advance!
@@anthonyl6185 instead of chrome I use fairfox , I also use word + onenote and fairfox. It might turn fans on for a few seconds and then turn them off. It depends on background processes that are going . Last week I changed couple settings, and now it is quiet all the time while I work.
You can force integrated graphics in video streaming in Windows. Should eliminate the DGPU draw in videos. Turning off hardware acceleration in Chrome should do the same thing.
People looking at their 1080 ips display: "Wow the apple display looks so much beter". Its so dumb comparing screens while looking at your own goddamn screen.
You can tell brightness/contrast/accuracy if the video is high quality.
did you enjoy the turnip festival? I live in Eastham too.
She is rad. Great unbiased viewing.
I enjoy final cut but the lack of reading layered PSDs and After effects layers without rendering is big bummer. but love the Mac screen ratio (taller vs wider), OS eco system, color, viewing angles. Rarely have driver issues and rarely need to be in the system preferences - unlike windows.
Is the new macbook pro better than the huawei matebook x pro? Can you do a comparison between the 13 inch models please?