The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio offers a touch screen with a unique 3:2 aspect ratio and lower price, but it has an older GPU and a processor that isn't as powerful as the Razer Blade 14's, which affects performance in demanding tasks like 3D rendering and machine learning. The Razer Blade 14 (2023) comes at a higher price but provides better graphics with a newer GPU, higher resolution in a 16:10 aspect ratio screen that's better for productivity tasks, more storage, and improved overall performance that benefits engineering and gaming. Both have similar portability and build quality, but the Razer has a slightly better battery life and superior heat management. The Razer Blade lacks a touchscreen, which could matter if that's a needed feature. 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 Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio
Very good speakers
Advantages of the Razer Blade 14 (2023)
Very good for general use
Very good for engineering and design
Very good for gaming and AI
Very good for content creation
Very good portability
Excellent keyboard
Key differences
General Use
7.4/10
8.1/10
2400 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
491.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
560.0 nits
8.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
6.0 Hours
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
7.8/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
8.0/10
The Razer Blade 14 (2023) is very good for general use, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio is good.
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio, with its flexible display hinge that allows for laptop and tablet use, offers good portability, a high-quality screen, and impressive battery life; it is well-suited for general use, especially with its unique drawing tablet capability.
Gaming and AI
6.6/10
8.4/10
4.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.5/10
2400 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
6.7/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.5/10
The Razer Blade 14 (2023) is very good for gaming and AI, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio is only fair.
The Razer Blade 14 (2023) is better suited for gaming and 3D applications primarily because it has a more powerful Nvidia RTX 4060 graphics card, which delivers stronger performance compared to the Nvidia RTX 3050 Ti found in the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio. Additionally, the Razer Blade boasts a higher screen refresh rate, making for smoother visuals, while both laptops have comparable screen quality, with the Microsoft Surface also offering a touch screen feature.
Engineering and Design
7.3/10
8.7/10
5.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.2/10
4.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.5/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Razer Blade 14 (2023) is very good for engineering and design, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio is good.
PerfectRec’s Engineering and Design Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for graphic design and 3D rendering work.
Content Creation
7.4/10
8.2/10
5.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.2/10
2400 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Razer Blade 14 (2023) is very good for content creation, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio is good.
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
7.3/10
7.9/10
5.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.2/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
2400 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
The Razer Blade 14 (2023) and Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio are both good for software development, though the Razer Blade 14 (2023) is somewhat better.
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
8.0/10
8.9/10
14.4in
SIZE
14.0in
2400 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
491.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
560.0 nits
The Razer Blade 14 has a better screen than the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
When considering a laptop for general use, the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio and the Razer Blade 14 both offer high-resolution displays with great brightness and panel types, ensuring crisp and vibrant visuals for everyday tasks. For engineering and design, both laptops provide wide color gamut coverage, essential for accurate color representation in professional graphics work. However, for gaming and 3D applications, the refresh rate becomes crucial for smooth motion, and unfortunately, both laptops may not deliver the best experience in this area due to lower refresh rates compared to specialized gaming laptops.
Battery
8.0 Hours
6.0 Hours
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio has 8 hours of battery life. The Razer Blade 14 has 6 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.
Cost
$1,700
$2,400
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
$4,000
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio has a price of $1,700 and the Razer Blade 14 (2023) costs $2,400.
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Razer Blade 14 (2023) to have very good portability, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
8.5/10
8.5/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio and Razer Blade 14 (2023) both have very good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
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How the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio and the Razer Blade 14 (2023) compare to other laptops
"There’s no doubt that the Surface Laptop Studio is groundbreaking. We’ve come to expect such things from the Surface lineup, so it’s always nice to see a product that exceeds our expectations. The pull-forward laptop-screen concept has been tried before, but never in a device that’s so stylish and packed with innovative features like a haptic touchpad and robust digital stylus support."
"After making a huge splash with the original 2021 model, it's expected that the 2022 refresh would be more of a minor update to an already impressive machine. It adds a higher resolution webcam (720p to 1080p), faster CPU (Ryzen 9 5900HX to Ryzen 9 6900HX), faster GPU (RTX 3070/3080 to 3070/3080 Ti), faster RAM (DDR4-3200 to DDR5-4800), faster M.2 SSD support (PCIe3 x4 to PCIe4 x4), newer WLAN module (Killer AX1690i to Qualcomm WCN685x), and a MUX switch for the new integrated Radeon 680M GPU. It's indubitably an upgrade especially in terms of single-thread processor performance."
Get a great deal on the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio or the Razer Blade 14 (2023)
About Microsoft
Microsoft is an American technology corporation. Microsoft is best known for their Windows operating system and Surface laptop series. The Surface Laptop is their standard notebook offering, while their Surface Go, Surface Pro, and Surface Studio are their 2-in-1/tablet offerings in order of increasing capability. Although Microsoft charges a premium price tag for their laptops, buyers can expect a well integrated and packaged device since Microsoft develops the Windows operating system.
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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