Razer Book 13 review: Arguably the best Windows Ultrabook of 2022
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A new king 👑Razer Book 13 review: Arguably the best Windows Ultrabook of 2022
Razer's first non-gaming laptop is a banger and easily i of the best Windows Ultrabooks nevertheless. 
Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central
Razer has been making gaming laptops for many years now, expanding the line from just the Stealth to the Blade 15 and Bract 17 Pro (and the RTX Studio editions too). Watching how Razer evolved its design and fix mistakes has been a fun part of my job, equally the company conspicuously listens to both fans and reviewers.
One side effect of the popularity of Razer's laptops has been non-gamers wanting a version. The company has finally listened with Book 13, a proper name that also implies we could get a Volume 15 at some betoken too.
Positioned for regular laptop users, creatives, and anyone who needs an excellent premium Windows Ultrabook, the Book xiii is an outstanding accomplishment that rivals the Dell XPS 13 (and, in some areas, surpasses it).
Hither is why I recall it is and so smashing afterwards spending the last few weeks with it.
It's and then good
Razer Book 13 (2020)
From $1,200 at Razer
Bottom line: The Razer Book 13 is a tremendous first-gen Ultrabook that arguably takes on the category winner Dell XPS 13 (9310). Featuring a 16:ten display, fantastic speakers, a great keyboard and trackpad, and a premium all-aluminum chassis, this laptop does everything correct, especially when it comes to performance.
Pros:
- Gorgeous, pristine pattern
- 11th Gen Intel and EVO certified hardware flies
- Brilliant IGZO display
- Excellent typing, trackpad, and RGB keyboard
- Fantastic speakers with THX Spatial Audio
- Plenty of ports
A few options
Razer Book 13 specs and features
Even outdoors, the anti-reflective full Hard disk drive display looks dandy. Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central
The Razer Book 13 ships with the latest 11th Gen Intel processors, including Intel Iris Xe graphics, which evangelize nearly a 70 percentage heave in performance over 10th Gen.
There are 3 models to choose from, starting with the entry-level starting at $1,200 with a full Hd, non-bear on, matte display and a Core i5-1135G7 (3.8GHz) with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. That's not inexpensive, as information technology's about $100 to $200 more than than a similarly configured XPS 13, but information technology'due south also non too farthermost.
This review sample, which is the one most people should buy, is the heart model featuring a faster Core i7-1165G7 (4.7GHz), 16GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage. The brandish is withal total Hard disk drive, merely at present not-matte (anti-reflective) and supports bear upon. That one is priced at $ane,600.
Finally, the top-of-the-line Book 13 fetches $2,000, but you are now getting a full 4K bear on brandish (anti-reflective), the same Core i7-1165G7 (4.7GHz) with 16GB of RAM and double the storage at 512GB. That's nigh $400 more than what Dell will accuse.
| Category | Razer Blade Stealth (Late-2020) |
|---|---|
| OS | Window 10 Home (64-bit) |
| Display | 13.4-inch 16:x Full Hard disk drive+ (1920 x 1200) Non-Touch Full HD+ (1920 x 1200) Bear upon UHD+ (3840 x 2400) Touch Gorilla Glass vi Anti-reflective |
| Processor | 28W 11th Gen Intel Core i5-1135G7 (2.iv GHz / iii.viii GHz) 28W 11th Gen Intel Core i7-1165G7 (2.eight GHz / iv.seven GHz) Vapor sleeping accommodation cooling |
| Graphics | Intel Iris Xe |
| RAM | viii or 16GB LPDDR4X 4267MHz |
| Storage | Up to 512GB PCIe M.2 (upgradeable to 2TB) |
| Security | Windows Hullo (face) |
| Ports | 1x microSD card reader 1x HDMI 2.0 port 2x Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) (power, 4 lanes of PCI Limited) 1x USB-A 3.2 Headphone/mic jack |
| Keyboard | Razer Chroma w/ per-key RGB backlighting Anti-ghosting |
| Trackpad | Glass Microsoft Precision |
| Photographic camera | 720p webcam Windows How-do-you-do infrared camera |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 6 Intel Wireless AX 201 (IEEE 802.11a/b/chiliad/n/ac) Bluetooth five.i |
| Audio | 2x upward-facing speakers + Smart Amp THX Spatial Audio |
| Dimensions | 0.threescore" 10 xi.6" x 7.8" (15.15mm ten 295.6mm x 198mm) |
| Bombardment | 56WHr 65-watt charger |
| Battery life | Up to fourteen hours (full HD models) Upward to 11 hours (UHD) |
| Weight | 2.95 to 3.11lbs (1.34 to 1.4kg) |
| Colors | Mercury White T6 CNC Aluminum, anodized |
Luckily, despite the higher-than-average price, you are getting a lot of laptop here. The most significant departure comes down to port choice. Whereas many 13-inch Ultrabooks are shipping with just a few Blazon-C Thunderbolt ports, Razer takes a page from business laptops by offer many more than.
For instance, at that place is full HDMI two.0 and microSD card slot – rarities amidst prosumer Ultrabooks these days. And while in that location are two Blazon-C Thunderbolt 4 ports, there is a standard Type-A 3.2 one too. All that makes Book 13 a dongle-less laptop, which is not frivolous. While I can live without many ports, I'll gladly take what Razer offers if there are no other tradeoffs.
The overall chassis is made from anodized T6 CNC Aluminum. While it may expect white in some photos, it is a shimmery silver that looks professional and hides fingerprints in real life. I capeesh Razer'southward perfectly symmetrical "block" pattern for its laptops. It feels terrific and is perfectly counterbalanced.
Razer Volume 13: everything is perfectly symmetrical and precise in design.
There are some little features too, like a pinhole-sized LED on the forepart correct for when the laptop power is on (white) or when charging (green) with a slow animate issue.
Yep, Razer's three-headed-snake (THS) logo on tiptop shifts from light silver to night depending on the light. Some observe Razer's THS off-putting, only here I find it OK. Razer makes upward for information technology with no Intel stickers of any kind on the keyboard deck and an immaculate and minimal layout.
Seriously, that THS logo is the only branding on this laptop — Book 13 can be best described as pristine.
That display
Razer Book xiii display and web camera
Volume 13's 720P webcam and IR lens for Windows Hello is quite proficient. Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central
Razer was very smart to source the aforementioned Abrupt IGZO displays that Dell uses in the XPS 13. I consider IGZO the perfect laptop display tech as it approaches the color saturation and dissimilarity of AMOLED but retains the natural expect of IPS/LED.
Most people should go with the full Hd touch model. The 13.four-inch screen is 1 of the best I've used, and the benefit at 4K at this size is reserved only for pros who actually need such a high resolution for work-related tasks. Full Hard disk drive at this size, attribute, and this quality doesn't fifty-fifty show the pixels.
Razer claims these are the thinnest bezels on any 13.4-inch laptop (a minor field of contest, to be certain), just they do look keen. Thanks to that taller sixteen:10 display aspect, the bezels are thin on all four sides, instead of just 3, which is what you detect on a 16:9 layout.
Color accuracy is particularly adept with 100 percentage sRGB, 76 percent AdobeRGB, and fourscore percent DCI-P3. That is virtually the aforementioned as the XPS 13.
Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central
Brightness is as well like the XPS 13 with a peak of 550 nits at the high-terminate and as low as 13 nits when the display is set to zilch. That last number makes using Book 13 in a dark room ideal as you won't blind yourself while working at night.
Because this is the same display equally the XPS thirteen, you get ane of my favorite features: anti-reflective coating. Not to be dislocated with matte anti-glare (which is on the entry-level model), anti-cogitating uses the same tech equally modern eyeglasses to disperse and reduce glare while keeping the sharpness and contrast of glossy displays. The handling hither is excellent and makes staring at this screen for hours a cakewalk with picayune eye-fatigue.
The webcam is nothing exciting at 720P, just it does quite well in low-low-cal and is featured at the elevation bezel. Razer besides uses a Windows Hello IR sensor for instant logging into Windows, which was flawless.
Colorful
Razer Volume thirteen keyboard, trackpad, and audio
Book 13's keyboard is perfectly balanced. Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central
Typing on Volume 13 is exceptional. Razer uses much of the same gaming-keyboard expertise to deliver a very satisfying keyboard experience with aplenty travel and skillful-sized keys.
One trick that Razer left from its gaming line is per-key RGB lighting. Using Razer Synapse, you can make your keyboard cycle through all the spectrum of colors, react to typing (or audio), and various other furnishings. Unlike other keyboards with two or three-phase backlighting, Razer's RGB is more akin to screen brightness, letting you slide a toggle for precise control, which is a better implementation.
If you think you don't want a flickering rainbow keyboard during a coming together, don't sweat it. You tin just set the lights to static and pick whatsoever color you lot like including plain old white.
The trackpad is enormous, smooth, perfectly centered, and runs Microsoft Precision Drivers. Information technology is superb, and I have no problems with it at all.
With custom or preset EQ and vocalism enhancement, THX Spatial Audio is outstanding. Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central
For audio, Razer uses two top firing amped speakers that flank the keyboard. Again, everything is perfectly symmetrical and precise in pattern.
Those speakers get quite loud, but where it shines is the inclusion of THX Spatial Sound. We've seen imitation environment sound in Windows 10, mostly around wearing headphones, but this spatial sound applies to the speakers, and information technology's phenomenal. Sitting in front of Book thirteen, the audio appears to take a vast presence defying the laptop'southward size. It makes watching movies (or any video) on the figurer so much more pleasurable.
It's a beast
Razer Volume 13 power, benchmarks, and battery
Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central
Intel's 11th Gen is the most meaning improvement in processor operation from the company in years, and it shines here.
Razer Volume 13's THX Spatial Audio is phenomenal.
Razer is well-versed in laptop cooling thank you to its gaming pedigree, and the Book 13 has two nice sized but tranquility fans featuring a superior vapor chamber cooling system. I'm non aware of many non-gaming laptops that use vapor sleeping room cooling as well-nigh rely on copper oestrus pipes.
While you can run the Book 13 in regular counterbalanced fashion or bump information technology in Windows 10 to high performance, Razer also lets you lot push information technology further with Razer Synapse. Users can set up it to "Performance" when plugged in and even manually control the fan speed, allowing y'all to creepo that CPU if you desire. Those operation modes, including balanced and bombardment saver, can be configured independently for Air conditioning or bombardment usage.
In benchmarks, Book xiii (when in performance mode, alike to Dell) gets our top score for this category. Combined with the new Intel Iris Xe graphics, this laptop is about twice equally powerful as the Surface Book three xv-inch in 3DMark Night Raid.
Looking at PCMark 10, which tests by and large the CPU, the Volume 13 (v,100) is but a pilus behind the Dell XPS 15 (v,160), which is incredible.
SSD performance is as well at the pinnacle of our list, with 3,500 MB/due south for reading and a solid ii,350 MB/s for writing on a sequential task.
The Razer Book 13 is Intel Evo certified, a list of Intel platonic requirements for mod laptops. This stuff is not a marketing gimmick. Raw processing speed is one thing, but making Bluetooth 5, Wi-Fi 6, touch display, fast wake from sleep, nine or more than hours of real-world bombardment life with full HD, Thunderbolt 4, etc., as requirements is excellent. You tin can read more well-nigh it in our Intel Evo laptops: What you need to know article, which does a deep dive into the certification.
What impressed me was how fast this laptop resume from sleep/hibernate to being logged in to Windows. I'm non talking nigh standby to wake, which is instant, but rather hide, which is an extremely depression power state that kicks in after a few hours of the laptop existence closed for the highest level of bombardment saving (side by side to being off). Dell's XPS 13 is usually around fifteen to xx seconds, only Book 13 does information technology in about 9 seconds.
Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Primal
Battery life is too quite good, though this is the i surface area where the Book 13'south 56 WHr battery slightly slips behind the XPS xiii. In PCMark x'due south constructed battery run down, which loops through office productivity apps, video calls, and spider web browsing, the Razer Volume xiii managed 11 hours and l minutes compared to Dell'south longer 13 hours and 45 minutes. Both had the display set to at or around 150 nits of brightness.
Switching gears to the Windows battery report, which measured my existent-world usage, I averaged around 10 hours and 30 minutes on a unmarried charge, a similar number to Dell's latest XPS thirteen. This event qualifies as all-solar day bombardment life and bests Intel'due south minimum nine-hour requirement for the Evo designation.
Looking at the contest
Razer Volume 13 Alternatives
Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central
As should be evident by now, Dell'due south outstanding XPS 13 (9310) is the all-time alternative to the Razer Book 13. These are similar laptops aimed at the aforementioned audition, simply in that location are some notable differences. Book xiii has a amend port selection with full HDMI, Type-A, and microSD. The Volume 13 also does better for audio with elevation-firing THX speakers rather than the angled-lesser firing ones on the XPS thirteen. The keyboard is also slightly better plus RGB is fun. Simply pricing strongly favors Dell, which often comes in at a few hundred dollars cheaper than Razer, which is non insignificant. The XPS 13 is as well a smidge lighter at ii.8 pounds (1.27kg) versus the Book 13 at iii.1 pounds (ane.4kg).
HP also has the new Spectre x360 14, which does get a highly-attractive taller 3:ii aspect display. It too has quad speakers (2 pinnacle-firing, two bottom-firing), a fingerprint reader in addition to Windows infrared, and the aforementioned port selection sans a full HDMI one. You can likewise choose from iii unlike chassis colors, including silver, blue, or black, and get upwards to a 3000x2000 OLED display for $ane,690. The starting price is like at $1,250 for a Core i5 with 8GB and 256GB of storage with many more configuration options.
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 is also a decent alternative. However, you don't get nearly as many bells and whistles, including a MicroSD reader, Thunderbolt 3, or anti-reflective display. Though, you can become the Surface Laptop 4 with AMD Ryzen 4000 series CPUs in addition to Intel 11th-Gen, which might exist worth it to some. Plus, it starts at merely $999, a few hundred bucks cheaper than the Razer Book 13.
For even more ideas, be sure to check out our All-time Ultrabooks 2022 guide to see what else we recommend and why.
Then skilful I may purchase ane
Razer Book 13 is the new king?
Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central
Who it'southward for
- If you want the best thirteen-inch Ultrabook
- You lot enjoy a make clean, minimalist blueprint with high-quality materials
- Y'all need a lot of ports, including Type-A and HDMI
- You lot like the idea of an RGB keyboard for some fun
- Speaker audio is important
Who it isn't for
- You lot want a 2-in-1 convertible with inking
- You want 4G LTE or 5G
- Yous desire the most affordable option
I don't say this often, just the Razer Volume 13 is then great I am tempted to buy one for personal use (as this review unit must go back). I don't need a new laptop, only I savour using the Volume 13 then much, it's hard to give information technology up.
The Razer Book 13 is a remarkable achievement in design.
There is something about the impeccably balanced and make clean design, the outstanding sound and screen, the fun RGB keyboard, and simply the overall feel, including opening it one-handed. Razer took my wish-list of must-have features in a 13-inch laptop and made it a reality. I could complaining how there is no 4G selection – the one thing I would want adjacent – simply that is actually nitpicking, and I'm the first to admit that's a niche (but growing!) market.
Bombardment life is more than all-day at ten hours. The included 65-watt charger is squeamish and compact (though three-pronged, so not smashing on planes). Operation rivals xv-inch workstations, and this is one of the fastest laptops I take used to resume from hibernation.
Is information technology improve than the Dell XPS thirteen? It's a tossup and depends on personal preference. Both are the best choices, though I marginally prefer Razer's expect and feel. You lot besides get more ports, better audio, and faster resume speed. But non everyone will want to pay that Razer-tax for the privilege, which is understandable.
Putting bated the high price, the Razer Book xiii is a remarkable achievement considering its "first-gen" status. I'1000 not sure where Razer goes from here for next year's model as well a processor crash-land (and peradventure 5G?), merely these are practiced problems for Razer to have going into 2022.
Some other small nitpick would exist for Razer to follow HP's lead and put the antenna for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth near the display's top edge instead of the lower back hinge. While Razer'south arroyo looks better, HP'south results in superior Wi-Fi and Bluetooth performance due to having the antenna college.
The lesser line is if you like the looks of Volume 13 and are OK with the price, this is an easy recommendation that is highly encouraged. Now I have to talk myself out of buying one. It's not the first fourth dimension Razer got me to part with my own greenbacks.
Best of the year
Razer Book 13 (2020)
Lesser line: The Razer Volume thirteen is a tremendous offset-gen Ultrabook that arguably takes on the category winner Dell XPS thirteen (9310). Featuring a 16:10 display, fantastic speakers, a great keyboard and trackpad, and a premium all-aluminum chassis, this laptop does everything right, specially when it comes to functioning.
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Daniel Rubino
Daniel Rubino is the Executive Editor of Windows Central. He has been covering Microsoft hither since 2007 back when this site was called WMExperts (and later Windows Phone Fundamental). His interests include Windows, Surface, laptops, and modern computing. Follow him on Twitter: @daniel_rubino.
Source: https://www.windowscentral.com/razer-book-13-review
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