The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (Late 2023) is a more portable and budget-friendly option with great battery life and a smaller, higher resolution screen. It's well-suited for general use but may fall short for more demanding 3D or engineering applications. On the other hand, the Razer Blade 18 is more powerful, offering superior performance for engineering tasks, 3D rendering, and gaming, but it is heavier and pricier with lower battery life. If portability and cost are priorities, the MacBook Pro is a smart choice, but if performance in computationally intensive tasks and gaming is crucial, the Razer Blade 18 is a better fit. 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 (Late 2023)
Excellent overall display quality
Best in class overall build quality
Very good portability
Excellent battery life
Best in class keyboard
Advantages of the Razer Blade 18
Excellent for engineering and design
Very good for gaming and AI
Key differences
Gaming and AI
6.7/10
8.9/10
4.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.9/10
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
8.7/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.2/10
The Razer Blade 18 is very good for gaming and AI, while the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (Late 2023) is only fair.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14, with its Apple GPU and 120Hz screen refresh rate, handles 3D tasks well but may fall short in gaming due to the limited availability of popular games on MacOS. On the other hand, the Razer Blade 18 excels in gaming and 3D due to its superior Nvidia GPU and a higher 240Hz screen refresh rate, which enhances smoothness and responsiveness in fast-paced games.
Engineering and Design
8.1/10
9.3/10
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
4.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.9/10
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
The Razer Blade 18 is excellent for engineering and design, while the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (Late 2023) is very good.
The Razer Blade 18 surpasses the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (Late 2023) with a more powerful Intel i9 processor, significantly more RAM, and a higher-end Nvidia GPU, pairing with a larger screen, which makes it excellent for demanding engineering and design software that benefit from these specs; however, it's less portable and has a shorter battery life.
Screen Quality
9.2/10
8.9/10
14.2in
SIZE
18.0in
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
489.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
524.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 has a better screen than the Razer Blade 18 for general use, and engineering and design, while the Razer Blade 18 has a better screen for gaming and AI, content creation, and software development.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14's screen excels in clarity and color accuracy, featuring a high resolution and brightness that makes it ideal for general use and engineering tasks where precise colors are crucial. However, its refresh rate is typically lower than what's required for the smooth visuals needed in 3D applications and gaming. On the other hand, the Razer Blade 18, while providing very good resolution and color representation for general and engineering use, may not offer the high refresh rate necessary for the best gaming and 3D visual experiences.
Battery
17.0 Hours
4.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 has 17 hours of battery life. The Razer Blade 18 has 4 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
Fair
14.2in
SIZE
18.0in
3.4 lbs
WEIGHT
6.6 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.8in
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (Late 2023) has very good portability, while the Razer Blade 18 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
10.0/10
8.5/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (Late 2023) has best in class build quality, while the Razer Blade 18 has very good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,399
$3,200
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
$4,000
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (Late 2023) has a price of $1,399 and the Razer Blade 18 costs $3,200.
The Razer Blade 18 and Apple MacBook Pro 14 (Late 2023) are both very good for general use.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14, with its high portability score and best-in-class battery life, offers a lightweight and longer-lasting option for everyday tasks, underpinned by its efficient Apple M3 CPU and high screen quality, but with less RAM and internal storage compared to the Razer Blade 18.
Content Creation
8.4/10
8.6/10
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Razer Blade 18 and Apple MacBook Pro 14 (Late 2023) are both very good for content creation.
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
8.2/10
8.5/10
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
The Razer Blade 18 and Apple MacBook Pro 14 (Late 2023) are both very good for software development.
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.
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How the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (Late 2023) and the Razer Blade 18 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."
"Razer made a powerful laptop in the Blade 18, showing off a beautiful and fast display and the same high-quality build we’ve come to expect from this product line. It’s also quite expensive, which is hardly a surprise, but bears repeating even in this price range. It’s pricier than the Scar 18 despite an inferior GPU and half the storage, so you really have to want the Blade 18’s design to justify the cost."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (Late 2023) or the Razer Blade 18
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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Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
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