The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) offers excellent build quality, a highly efficient operating system tailored for creative professionals, and generally longer battery life, making it a solid option for those who prioritize these aspects and work mostly with software optimized for macOS. The Razer Blade 15, on the other hand, stands out for its high performance in gaming and 3D applications and usually comes with better graphics capabilities, which can also be advantageous for machine learning tasks. It is a better fit if you need a Windows-based system with a focus on gaming or high-performance computing tasks. Keep in mind, though, that these features often come with a shorter battery life and less portability due to its larger size and weight. The choice ultimately depends on your specific needs: macOS and portability or Windows and high-end graphics performance. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023)
Very good for general use
Very good for software development
Excellent overall display quality
Best in class overall build quality
Very good portability
Excellent battery life
Best in class speakers
Best in class keyboard
Advantages of the Razer Blade 15
Very good for gaming and AI
Key differences
General Use
8.5/10
7.9/10
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
489.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
271.0 nits
13.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
5.0 Hours
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
8.5/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.7/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) is very good for general use, while the Razer Blade 15 is good.
PerfectRec’s General Use Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for general productivity, web browsing, streaming, video calls, and running a wide variety of apps and programs.
Gaming and AI
7.0/10
8.0/10
5.2/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.0/10
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
8.7/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.0/10
The Razer Blade 15 is very good for gaming and AI, while the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) is good.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) is equipped with the Apple M2 Pro GPU, which supports demanding 3D applications and provides high screen resolution, but the 120Hz screen refresh rate may not be as smooth for certain games compared to higher rates.
Content Creation
8.5/10
8.0/10
7.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.0/10
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) and Razer Blade 15 are both very good for content creation, though the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) is somewhat better.
PerfectRec’s Content Creation Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for photo editing, video editing and other content creation tasks.
Software Development
8.4/10
7.7/10
7.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.0/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) is very good for software development, while the Razer Blade 15 is good.
PerfectRec’s Software Development Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for software developers.
Screen Quality
9.2/10
8.2/10
14.2in
SIZE
15.6in
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
489.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
271.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 has a better screen than the Razer Blade 15 for general use, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14's screen provides exceptional clarity and color accuracy with its high-resolution and bright display, making it excellent for tasks like editing documents, browsing, or photo editing that are typical in general use and engineering/design roles where fine detail and color representation matter. The Razer Blade 15, while also offering a high-resolution and quality display capable of accurate colors, might fall short in specialized scenarios like gaming or 3D modeling due to its lower refresh rate, which isn't as smooth for fast-paced visuals as other gaming-centric laptops. Both laptops have high-quality panels, but for those who plan to do a lot of gaming or 3D work, they might prefer a laptop with a higher refresh rate screen to ensure smoother motion and better gaming performance.
Battery
13.5 Hours
5.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 has 13.5 hours of battery life. The Razer Blade 15 has 5 hours of battery life.
Battery life estimate is based on a mix of common use patterns. More portable and higher performing laptops tend to have less battery life.
Portability
Very Good
Good
14.2in
SIZE
15.6in
3.5 lbs
WEIGHT
4.4 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) has very good portability, while the Razer Blade 15 has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
10.0/10
8.5/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) has best in class build quality, while the Razer Blade 15 has very good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,700
$2,500
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
$4,000
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) has a price of $1,700 and the Razer Blade 15 costs $2,500.
The Razer Blade 15 and Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) are both very good for engineering and design.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023), with its high-performance Apple M2 Pro CPU and GPU, excels in both engineering and design due to its top-tier screen quality, offering high brightness, contrast, and color accuracy; whereas the Razer Blade 15, with its Intel i7 CPU and Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti GPU, caters to similar demands and augments with hardware ray tracing support, a higher refresh rate screen, ideal for detailed and fast-paced visual work. Both laptops offer considerable RAM for multitasking and complex tasks, with the Razer Blade 15 spotlighting a larger screen and potent GPU suitable for intensive 3D tasks, while the MacBook's superior screen potentially offers better color representation for design work, both striking a balance between portability and performance amidst their impressive build and hardware outputs.
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How the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) and the Razer Blade 15 compare to other laptops
"In the Apple MacBook Pro 14 2023, the M2 Pro is slowed down. From the improved 5nm process, the new M2 Pro is a very solid upgrade. Graphics performance has increased by about 25% in tandem with a clear improvement in efficiency. The processor has also seen a performance leap of up to 20%, but this is accompanied by an increase in consumption of up to 25%. Fundamentally, Apple its maintaining its advantage over AMD and Intel, particularly in optimized applications where the results are very good in view of the comparatively low power consumption."
"The 2022 Blade 15 offers roughly 15 to 25 percent faster graphics performance and 20 percent faster CPU performance over last year's Core i7-11800H and RTX 3080 model. Thankfully, the system doesn't need to run noticeably louder or warmer to achieve faster results, but both power consumption and battery life take a hit. The higher consumption in particular appears to be a trend amongst many 12th gen Core laptops including the Schenker Uniwill Technology GM7AG8P or MSI Vector GP66 when compared to their previous generation counterparts. We're also glad to not see below-average CPU performance which was the case for the 10th gen Core i7-10875H model."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) or the Razer Blade 15
About Apple
Apple, an American technology company, is one of the world’s largest company in terms of market capitalization. Their MacBook laptops feature a slim, minimalistic design, class-leading battery life, and premium display and speaker quality. In 2020 Apple switched from using Intel processors to their own silicon chips which have excellent performance and efficiency. The macOS operating system is the second most widely used OS, after Windows.
About Razer
Razer is an American-Singaporean technology company. Razer is best known for their Blade series laptops, well known for their strong performance and sleek design. Although Razer charges a premium price tag for their laptops, buyers can expect a stealthy laptop with clean fit and finish and strong performance. All of their models offer great portability and build quality compared to other gaming laptops.
This information was produced and vetted by the PerfectRec laptops team. We are a product research and recommendation organization that meticulously reviews and evaluates the latest laptop information and makes it digestible for you.
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About the laptop team
Joe Golden, Ph.D
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Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
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Laptops Expert
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