Razer and MSI are no strangers to delivering high-performance laptops, but with the Blade Pro 17 and Stealth 15M, they’re taking things up a notch. Featuring RTX 30-series mobile GPUs, high refresh rate screens, and thin form factors, each aims to be the best gaming laptop for the money. More than $700 separates the two in price, but the differences are more than skin deep. With that in mind, which is the better choice for gaming on the go?
Both laptops offer impressive specs for the money. Each feature Intel Core i7 processors, but while the Stealth 15M has the newer 11th generation processor with four cores and eight threads, the Blade Pro 17’s 10th generation Core i7-10875H doubles that with eight physical cores and sixteen threads. Both laptops offer 16GB of memory, but the Stealth 15M’s runs slightly faster at 3,200 MHz versus the Pro’s 2,999 MHz, which should provide a slight bump to in-game frame rates. Each also ships with an RTX 3060 mobile GPU.
Though they share some similarities, the Razer Blade Pro 17 and MSI Stealth 15M have some major differences. Firstly, the Blade Pro 17 has a larger 17.3-inch screen that runs at 1440p resolution with 100-percent coverage of the sRGB color space. The Stealth 15M is only 15.6-inches and runs at 1080p with undefined color coverage. The Blade Pro’s screen is also faster at 165 Hz, which is an upgrade over the 144 Hz offered by MSI. The Stealth 15M isn’t so easily written off, however, as the product page lists an impressively thin and lightweight form factor at only 0.6-inches tall and 3.75 lbs. The Blade Pro is also thin at 0.78-inches but is much heavier at 6.06 lbs. Part of that weight is due to its larger 70.5WHr battery while the MSI’s is much less at 52WHr. The Pro 17 also features improved connectivity with three USB Type-A ports, two USB Type-C (one supporting Thunderbolt 3) ports, and an RJ45 Ethernet port, along with HDMI 2.1 video out and a microSD card reader. The Stealth is close, but lacks the additional USB Type-A port and only offers physical Ethernet through an included USB adapter which takes up one of the available ports when in use.
On paper, the base Blade Pro 17 is the more capable PC but is it actually better for gaming? That’s a more complicated question due to its improved screen. The quad-HD resolution will certainly look crisper but it also requires more from the hardware to run. The built-in RTX 3060 is a capable graphics card, but gaming at 1440p will almost certainly result in lower FPS than a similar 1080p laptop like the MSI Stealth 15M. Due to this, gamers will be forced to turn down settings or accept lower frame rates when playing graphically demanding games. Furthermore, while the Blade Pro 17 might be thin, lightweight it is not. At 6.06 lbs, it is much closer to a traditional, old-school gaming laptop. The MSI Stealth 15M, on the other hand, is closer to an ultrabook in its design and likely a better fit for gamers who will be traveling and don’t want to be burdened with a heavy device weighing down their bag.
That isn’t to say the Razer Blade Pro isn’t a great notebook. The higher-core processor is an excellent fit for users who might want to try their hand at streaming. Likewise, the screen's superior color coverage will be suitable for video editing and other forms of content creation. The device is also user upgradeable for memory and system storage, so buyers can simply add more of each as their needs develop. At $2,299, those features come at a steep premium, however, and potential buyers should be aware that the higher resolution screen could actually reduce frame rates if they don’t turn down graphics settings – which no one wants to do on their expensive new gaming laptop, whether it's Razer, MSI, or any other brand.
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