Razer Book 13 Core i7 Laptop Review: Like an XPS 13, But Faster

[Redaktion]

The Book 13 combines the design philosophy and performance of a Blade Stealth with the 16:10 display of a Dell XPS 13 for an impressive piece of hardware. Office users who want something more stylish than the typical Dell, HP or Lenovo will certainly find themselves drawn to the new Razer subnotebook.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Razer-Book-13-Core-i7-Laptop-Review-Like-an-XPS-13-But-Faster.508474.0.html

[FU Razer]

WHY??? Non-upgradable RAM is fine if you offer proper SKUs, but this is horrible! Want a matte screen, like every sane person should? Well, only 8 GB it is.

I cannot comprehend how offering a larger SKU variety can be less profitable (otherwise they'd do it) than leaving customers with the question of whether to give an arm or a leg. None! I'd rather keep my limbs and opt for a slightly less sexy laptop instead.

[iUser]

WHY??? Non-upgradable RAM is fine if you offer proper SKUs, but this is horrible! Want a matte screen, like every sane person should? Well, only 8 GB it is.

What about ThinkBook 13s G2?

It looks really interesting, but still no detailed reviews.

13.3" 1200p(or 1600p as option) matte screen, Tiger Lake, 16GB LPDDR4X-4266, Thunderbolt 4, HDMI 2.0, Fingerprint-reader in thin and light aluminium body for reasonable price in comparison to Razer or XPS 13.

I hope NBC will review it soon.

[Traveller888]

WHY??? Non-upgradable RAM is fine if you offer proper SKUs, but this is horrible! Want a matte screen, like every sane person should? Well, only 8 GB it is.

I cannot comprehend how offering a larger SKU variety can be less profitable (otherwise they'd do it) than leaving customers with the question of whether to give an arm or a leg. None! I'd rather keep my limbs and opt for a slightly less sexy laptop instead.

Same here.  I asked Razer Support and they don't offer that kind of flexibility.  Would have bought it if I could get matte screen AND 16GB RAM....

[Dorby]

Logically for this price, Razer should have offered R7 4800U with USB4, MX450 GDDR6 Max-P, dual-ram sockets, and 5G LTE all included on the maxed SKU. Because no other ultrabook has those specs, the overpriced $2k then would have been a little easier to swallow.

Still, razer laptop keyboard and speakers have always been deal-breakers for me. Just the most fundamental stuff I use every day not even hitting minimum standard is not acceptable at any price.

Nevertheless A+ on the 16:10 FHD 500 nits display, solid effort.

[vertigo]

Some very impressive aspects, such as the 500-nit display (though the PWM is unfortunate) and the iGPU performance (good to see Tiger Lake is actually showing good results once paired with faster RAM), and ports are way better than the pitiful allotment on the XPS, but as pointed out, companies really need to stop with the ridiculous limitations regarding RAM and display options, and to release a laptop in 2020 (almost 2021) without a fingerprint reader and webcam shutter...And, of course, as always, enough with the stupid squished arrow keys!

[Vincenz]

I'm considering to buy the new Razer Book, however I need to upgrade the storage to 1 TB. Now my main question is, does the internal SSD support PCIe 4.0? The processor should, however I don't know if the mainboard does as well.
Thanks already in advance!

[vertigo]

I'm considering to buy the new Razer Book, however I need to upgrade the storage to 1 TB. Now my main question is, does the internal SSD support PCIe 4.0? The processor should, however I don't know if the mainboard does as well.
Thanks already in advance!

PCIe 4.0 drives are backwards-compatible, so it doesn't matter, as a 4.0 drive would work even if the Razer Book isn't 4.0. So if you're asking because you want to know if it will work, the answer is yes. If you're asking because you want to know if you should spend the extra money on a 4.0 drive, then you'll have to get a definitive answer to your question, but you should ask yourself if you even need it. Most people aren't going to see any difference in speed. In fact, most people probably wouldn't see much difference between a SATA M.2 drive and a fast NVMe one.

[corporatejoe]

The official product page is a total atrocity, those images are so out of touch with reality, also that always on-screen label "BUY NOW STARTING FROM $1 199" is so annoying and when you click on it you'll know about an extra $400 for 16Gb ram and extra $800 more for 512Gb lol
Anyway, usually I am okay with an extra $500 or whatever investment in a productivity device and I usually prefer 13-14" but in that case, I will take 15" Schenker Vision in any day. Keyboard etc, that device is superior.

[Vincenz]

I'm considering to buy the new Razer Book, however I need to upgrade the storage to 1 TB. Now my main question is, does the internal SSD support PCIe 4.0? The processor should, however I don't know if the mainboard does as well.
Thanks already in advance!

PCIe 4.0 drives are backwards-compatible, so it doesn't matter, as a 4.0 drive would work even if the Razer Book isn't 4.0. So if you're asking because you want to know if it will work, the answer is yes. If you're asking because you want to know if you should spend the extra money on a 4.0 drive, then you'll have to get a definitive answer to your question, but you should ask yourself if you even need it. Most people aren't going to see any difference in speed. In fact, most people probably wouldn't see much difference between a SATA M.2 drive and a fast NVMe one.

Thank you for your reply Vertigo,

Yes my question is regarding speed. I'm thinking about getting either the newer PCIe4 Samsung Pro or the older an cheaper PCIe3.

So if anyone has a definitife answer I would highly appreciate it!

Kind Regards,
Vincenz

[vertigo]

I'm considering to buy the new Razer Book, however I need to upgrade the storage to 1 TB. Now my main question is, does the internal SSD support PCIe 4.0? The processor should, however I don't know if the mainboard does as well.
Thanks already in advance!

PCIe 4.0 drives are backwards-compatible, so it doesn't matter, as a 4.0 drive would work even if the Razer Book isn't 4.0. So if you're asking because you want to know if it will work, the answer is yes. If you're asking because you want to know if you should spend the extra money on a 4.0 drive, then you'll have to get a definitive answer to your question, but you should ask yourself if you even need it. Most people aren't going to see any difference in speed. In fact, most people probably wouldn't see much difference between a SATA M.2 drive and a fast NVMe one.

Thank you for your reply Vertigo,

Yes my question is regarding speed. I'm thinking about getting either the newer PCIe4 Samsung Pro or the older an cheaper PCIe3.

So if anyone has a definitife answer I would highly appreciate it!

Kind Regards,
Vincenz

Per Anandtech, it's 3.0. It's possible they're wrong, but that's the only thing I found with some quick searching. But even if it is 4.0, again, I think you'd need to ask if you would even need/benefit from the extra speed and therefore if the extra cost would be worth it. Same goes for buying the PRO vs EVO or another drive, like the HK hynix. Most people, and I have a feeling you fall into this group, simply don't need the extra performance and will rarely, if ever, actually see it. It's quite possible you know what you're doing and you will make use of it, but I always assume people don't know what they're doing. It's just safer that way.  ;) And I hate to think of people throwing money away unnecessarily due to lack of knowledge, just because something has a higher number or is "faster." I'm a moderate "power-user" and I do quite a bit that makes heavy use of my drives, and even I wouldn't buy a PRO, unless I just had more money than I knew what to do with.

[Daniel Eriksson]

Agreed with those physical mouse buttons - I need those for efficient work on the go. Otherwise this looks like a promising device.

[Vincenz]

I'm considering to buy the new Razer Book, however I need to upgrade the storage to 1 TB. Now my main question is, does the internal SSD support PCIe 4.0? The processor should, however I don't know if the mainboard does as well.
Thanks already in advance!

PCIe 4.0 drives are backwards-compatible, so it doesn't matter, as a 4.0 drive would work even if the Razer Book isn't 4.0. So if you're asking because you want to know if it will work, the answer is yes. If you're asking because you want to know if you should spend the extra money on a 4.0 drive, then you'll have to get a definitive answer to your question, but you should ask yourself if you even need it. Most people aren't going to see any difference in speed. In fact, most people probably wouldn't see much difference between a SATA M.2 drive and a fast NVMe one.

Thank you for your reply Vertigo,

Yes my question is regarding speed. I'm thinking about getting either the newer PCIe4 Samsung Pro or the older an cheaper PCIe3.

So if anyone has a definitife answer I would highly appreciate it!

Kind Regards,
Vincenz

Per Anandtech, it's 3.0. It's possible they're wrong, but that's the only thing I found with some quick searching. But even if it is 4.0, again, I think you'd need to ask if you would even need/benefit from the extra speed and therefore if the extra cost would be worth it. Same goes for buying the PRO vs EVO or another drive, like the HK hynix. Most people, and I have a feeling you fall into this group, simply don't need the extra performance and will rarely, if ever, actually see it. It's quite possible you know what you're doing and you will make use of it, but I always assume people don't know what they're doing. It's just safer that way.  ;) And I hate to think of people throwing money away unnecessarily due to lack of knowledge, just because something has a higher number or is "faster." I'm a moderate "power-user" and I do quite a bit that makes heavy use of my drives, and even I wouldn't buy a PRO, unless I just had more money than I knew what to do with.

I just received my brand new Razer Book 13 and ran sum diagnostics. The Razer Book 13 supports PCIe 4.0. So everyone who would like to go for a new SSD can happily go for the PCIe 4.0 versions if you feel so.
A side Information for everyone in a German speaking country. If you order the Razer Book 13 currently (25.12.2020) on Amazon, you will receive a US Keyboard Layout with a standard German charger. No information about this is given on the product page however. I'm right now in contact with Amazon to see if they have a German keyboard in offer as well!