We’re starting to see more laptops with Intel’s new, ever more efficient Kaby Lake processors appear on Aussie shelves. One of the first is Razer’s newest Blade Stealth, a slim performance laptop that can also be a gaming monster with the right add-ons.
The newest iteration of the Blade Stealth trades in Intel’s last-generation Skylake Core i7-6700HQ mobile CPU for a new Kaby Lake i7-7500U — and that means largely comparable performance at a third of the power usage.
The new Blade Stealth also has more powerful integrated graphics with Kaby Lake’s Intel HD Graphics 620 versus last gen’s 530; although it’s slightly slower in overall clock speed, it’s more efficient. It’s also that graphics processor that means the Blade Stealth can output HDMI 2.0a audio and video for full 4K playback.
As with previous Blades Stealth, the new one comes in a variety of specs in Australia. You’ll get the same CPU in every model, but the differences are in the 12.5-inch screen’s resolution, the capacity of the internal SSD and the quantity of integrated RAM. $1499.95 will get you into a base-model Quad HD Blade Stealth with a 128GB SSD, while the top dog is a $2999 monster with an Ultra HD panel and 1TB SSD.
The real hook of the Blade Stealth is that it supports Razer’s Core external graphics amplifier, a box that you can install a desktop-grade graphics card into for actual gaming power. Then all your desktop peripherals, screen and graphics card hook up to the Stealth with its single USB Type-C Thunderbolt 3 connector. The Razer Core is a little hard to come by in Australia, but you can find it shipping internationally.
Here’s the full price list, which you can order from starting at 2PM today:
Razer Blade Stealth QHD 128GB – AU$1,499.95
Razer Blade Stealth QHD 256GB – AU$1,849.95
Razer Blade Stealth QHD 512GB – AU$2,099.95
Razer Blade Stealth UHD 512GB – AU$2,399.95
Razer Blade Stealth UHD 1TB – AU$2,999.95
Despite weighing just 1.29kg and measuring just 13.1mm thick, the Blade Stealth promises nine hours of battery life, in pat thanks to a 15 per cent larger 53.6Wh battery. If you do need to charge it while you’re out and about, you’ll appreciate the fact that Razer’s charger is also pretty damn small, and uses a USB Type-C connector: you can use it to charge a modern Android phone like the Google Pixel as well. [Razer]