Razer Blade Stealth 2017: Potential and Caution

While the Razer Stealth is a formidable machine in many regards, there are some shortcomings that make buying one used equal parts performance and equal parts gamble.
/ laptopretrospe1
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Razer's official support article on screen flickering:
mysupport.razer.com/app/answe...
Legacy Parts Page:
www.razer.com/legacy-products
Looking for one yourself? Check eBay and your local classifieds. Amazon also has a series of parts and machines. By purchasing from the links below, as an Amazon and eBay Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases that go to supporting the channel.
eBay:
ebay.us/Adkzpg
Amazon.ca
amzn.to/3yg6v7w
Amazon.com
amzn.to/3dJqXEw
Timestamps:
0:00 Introduction
0:31 Specs
1:59 Ports
2:55 Disassembly and Warranty Service
5:30 Start-Up
6:01 Some Concerns
7:17 Buying Advice
8:09 Conclusion

[@strayiggytv]

theres also the downside with razor laptops in that they come with a glowing 90s tribal tattoo tramp stamp on the back lol

[@LaptopRetrospective]

Yeah, you'll either love it or want to cover it up with a sticker or something. I think Razer realized that when they launched the grey model with the white backlight.

[@Top_Lad]

I don't know about their laptops since I've had no experience with them personally but Razer used to be such great quality back in the day, I'm talking 2005-2015 ish times (2015 at the latest though). Since then their quality control has gone down hill and the lifespan of the products has gone down significantly. Their products were so amazingly resilient and great value for money, I'm talking 10+ years of use on their Deathadder and Naga gaming mice and their keyboards were resistant to many competitive Counter-Strike rage induced beatings by me and my brother back in the day. You can see many similar testimonies online from that time and they also used to sponsor up and coming gamers/content creators before it was cool or common. It all felt very indie and family like with their "care packages" and free "loot" at events etc; imagine being some kid that went to a convention getting a free pair of nice headphones worth a hundred bucks or whatever, great times. They really fell off to be honest, they're know for being pretty crap these days.

[@LaptopRetrospective]

Thanks for sharing your experience from the peripheral side. The 12 month only limited warranty on a $1,000+ machine is hard to swallow.

[@bag2963]

Ah yeah it’s hard innit, 2000s passed, even early 2010s were cool in some way, but that planned obsolescence and stuff, but we move on, life follows( I mean it should be so, I mean we are the ones who are in charge and craft the modern world, but in general of course we and life move on simultaneously, that was just to emphasize it).

[@MrElmostudios]

Negotiated one for 250 USD and pristine condition, very lucky. Some people here were talking about HP, dell's and thinkpads but people here are selling those for double for the same specs, or the same price but much worse specs. I do miss the repairability of older thinkpads

[@LaptopRetrospective]

Glad you got a good price, hope it lasts.

[@10lauset]

Cheers

[@bag2963]

Brilliant video as always, love your style, what an impressive laptop tho(with some pity and unexpected drawbacks), I guess nothing can beat good old Thinkpads eh?

[@LaptopRetrospective]

It's the difference of decades of years of manufacturing experience.

[@electricmiragemedia]

Razer is one of the last companies in the world I would trust. If it was between them and Huawei, I'd need to think

[@LaptopRetrospective]

Never touched a Huawei machine before and this was my first Razer. I wanted to like it more but the availability of parts is a very hard sell for me.

[@bag2963]

@@LaptopRetrospective Oh btw what do you think about modern smartphones, I’m leas into that, Huawei seemed nice I guess? What brands are reliable now, models, which aren’t made of fragile, “it’ll break in any moment” type of stuff.

[@PedroPimentel]

So, without buying the eGPU it's basically an Ultrabook? I think the Thinkpad T480 would be a better value, similar specs, but better expandability

[@LaptopRetrospective]

Yep, I agree.

[@heckdav3]

Try the intel graphics DCH driver to see if that stops the screen flicker

[@LaptopRetrospective]

Tried it all, hasn't gone away.

[@tedarmavan]

Razer maybe a fine(ish) brand, but… given the quirks of stealth 13, some good enterprise/business notebook offering from Dell or even HP are too good to resist, and don't forget ThinkPad 13 too!

[@FlyboyHelosim]

Yep. I only buy used Dell business and enterprise laptops now. I just love the build quality, availability and serviceability of parts, and the no nonsense aesthetics.

[@LaptopRetrospective]

Yeah at that price point I want to have options for service, even if it's just an extended warranty.

[@MrKillswitch88]

For all that newer tech these modern laptops are very disappointing when it comes to serviceability and upgrades after all no sodimm slots ect. Hell two weeks back I upgraded a Precision m6700 with what is basically just an mxm version of a RX480 8gb for only $170 and it works pretty well thus far. There really does need to be at least a couple of sodimm slots, some slots for a couple of SSDs, and a 2.5 sata bay to even be considered worthwhile to me along with having good all round temps without being 50-60c on the bottom or god forbid that much around the keyboard while under load. The lack of an mxm slot and socketable cpu really does suck ass when buying a modern laptop.

[@LaptopRetrospective]

Yeah, the lack of swappable CPU is mainly Intel's doing, manufacturers hands are tied there.

[@FlyboyHelosim]

Precision M6800 owner here. Glad to see someone else with my views about what to look for when buying a laptop.

[@FreeDonkeysOnSale]

I know you said you were running Linux but at some point of this video were you running windows 11? Just wondering since your taskbar looked new!

[@LaptopRetrospective]

To clarify I briefly booted into Linux when diagnosing the cause of the screen flicker. Windows 11 was installed on the SSD.

[@frankmoreno6526]

Why does this razer blade stealth stop powering on Not working why does this one always have issues and it's expensive buying this laptop Are some detective

[@LaptopRetrospective]

I can't speak to that specific issue but there are lots of things that can cause a laptop to not power on. Hopefully you're able to find some help to troubleshoot your issue.

[@ted-b]

I hate glossy screens, so that would be an instant deal breaker for me.

[@LaptopRetrospective]

Yeah, not for everyone and this one is really shiny.

[@FlyboyHelosim]

At that price point I'd much rather buy a consumer-grade laptop from a big brand, that has replaceable parts. I mean the fact that this doesn't even have a dedicated GPU means there's not really much going for it. I hate the whole 'gamer' aesthetic and gaudy RGB.

[@LaptopRetrospective]

Yeah not a fan of it either.