Thursday, February 18, 2021
Top Ultrabook
Razer Book 13
Pros
- Gorgeous design
- 11th Gen Intel and EVO certified hardware flies
- Brilliant IGZO display
- Superb keyboard
- Great speakers with THX Spatial Audio
- Plenty of ports including Thunderbolt
Cons
- No option for LTE
- No pen support
For Razer's first true Ultrabook, the company hit it out of the park. The design, hardware, and performance all put the Razer Book 13 on par with the very best the category has to offer, doing all the right things.
Top Convertible
HP Spectre x360 14
Pros
- Amazing 3000 x 2000 OLED display option
- Pen and leather cover included
- Exceptional amped quad-speakers
- Intel 11th Gen delivers long battery life, instant-on
- Excellent trackpad and keyboard
- Good port selection
Cons
- No option for LTE
- Slight looseness to the trackpad
The Spectre x360 14 brings a gorgeous 3:2 display, outstanding quad speakers, excellent trackpad, and just the right number of ports paired with all-day battery life for the best convertible laptop on the market.
The Razer Book 13 is one of the best Windows laptops you can buy right now. So, too, is the HP Spectre x360 14 which makes choosing between them very hard. But there is one big difference between them.
Razer Book 13 vs HP Spectre x360 14: Tech Specs
| Razer Book 13 | HP Spectre x360 14 | |
|---|---|---|
| Processor | 28W 11th Gen Intel Core i5-1135G7 28W 11th Gen Intel Core i7-1165G7 |
11th Gen Intel Core i5-1135G7 11th Gen Intel Core i7-1165G7 |
| RAM | 8 or 16GB LPDDR4X |
8 of 16GB LPDDR4-3200 |
| Storage | Up to 512GB PCIe M.2 (upgradeable to 2TB) | Up to 1TB SSD and 32GB Intel Optane |
| Display | 13.4-inch 16:10 Full HD+ (1920 x 1200) Non-Touch Full HD+ (1920 x 1200) Touch UHD+ (3840 x 2400) Touch Gorilla Glass 6 Anti-reflective |
13.5 in, 3:2 aspect ratio 1920 x 1280 LCD touch 1920 x 1280 LCD touch with 1000 nits and Privacy Screen 3000 x 2000 OLED, multi-touch Anti-reflection Corning Gorilla Glass NBT 400 nits, 100% DCI-P3; 1,000,000: |
| Graphics | Intel Iris Xe | Intel Iris Xe |
| Ports | 1x microSD card reader 1x HDMI 2.0 port 2x Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) (power, 4 lanes of PCI Express) 1x USB-A 3.2 Headphone/mic jack |
Two Type-C with Thunderbolt 4 One USB 3.1 Type-A MicroSD reader |
| Biometrics | Windows Hello (face) | Windows Hello IR, fingerprint |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 6 Intel Wireless AX 201 (IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac) Bluetooth 5.1 |
|
| Battery | 56WHr 65-watt Type-C charger |
66WHr 65W Type-C charger |
| Dimensions | 0.60 in x 11.6 in x 7.8 in (15.15mm x 295.6mm x 198mm) | 11.75 in x 8.67 in x 0.67 in |
| Weight | 2.95 to 3.11lbs (1.34 to 1.4kg) | 3.00lbs (1.36kg) |
The best Ultrabook
For its first attempt at a regular Ultrabook, Razer absolutely nailed it. The Razer Book 13 isn't just good compared to Razer's other laptops; it's arguably the best Ultrabook money can buy right now. And that includes Dell's all-conquering XPS 13.
The Razer Book 13 is a little powerhouse of an Ultrabook, with an 11th Gen 28W Intel Core i5 or i7 CPU and fast LPDDR4X memory. The Intel Xe graphics you get on the Razer Book 13 are also an improvement over Intel's older Iris Plus, and while you won't be gaming on it, you can hook up an external GPU over the Thunderbolt 4 port and go nuts.
The Razer Book 13 is also attractive for folks who need things like an HDMI output or a Thunderbolt connection, not to mention that the battery life is even pretty good.
The Book 13 also has an RGB keyboard, which is fantastic to type on, and superb speakers with THX Spatial Audio. Razer doesn't tend to cut corners, and it's clear to see in the Book 13. It has everything the company would put in its gaming laptops, but without the dedicated graphics.
The best 2-in-1 convertible laptop
The HP Spectre x360 14 is the 2-in-1 convertible laptop to beat right now. Beneath its stunning exterior, you find hardware on a level with the Razer Book 13. That's to say 11th Gen Intel processors, fast memory, tons of storage, and a great display. There's even an option for a high-resolution OLED.
Besides being slightly bigger and a convertible, the display on the Spectre x360 14 also has another couple of tricks up its sleeve that you won't find on the Razer Book. For starters, you get inking support and HP puts the pen in the box with the laptop. So you can fold the display around and write or draw on it like you would a tablet.
It's also a 3:2 ratio panel so it's slightly taller, much like you'd find on a Microsoft Surface Laptop. HP does a high-resolution option, too, as Razer does, but here you can have an OLED panel if you'd like.
The trackpad is one of the few weaker points on the Spectre x360 14, but the keyboard is excellent and the speakers are superb. You also get true, all-day battery life, Thunderbolt, regular USB as well as USB-C, and a micro SD card slot.
So how do you choose?
Fortunately, you can choose either of these and have one of the best laptops you can buy. So really, there isn't a right or wrong answer. What it comes down to is what type of laptop you're looking for.
The two of these are very close on hardware and price, they're both slim, light, powerful, and have great battery life. Where the HP Spectre x360 14 has the edge is that it's a 2-in-1 convertible with inking support and a fold-around display. The Razer Book 13 doesn't have either of those, it's just an Ultrabook. The best you can buy.
If you want inking or a taller 3:2 display, then get the HP. If you just want a powerful, well-made Ultrabook, the Razer Book 13 is your best shot. But there really isn't a bad choice here.
Top Ultrabook
Razer Book 13 (2020)
The new best Ultrabook
The Razer Book 13 is a tremendous first-gen Ultrabook that does everything right, especially when it comes to hardware and performance.
Top Convertible
HP Spectre x360 14 (2020)
The best convertible laptop in town
The Spectre x360 14 brings a gorgeous 3:2 display, outstanding quad speakers, excellent trackpad, and just the right number of ports as well as an OLED display option. The best convertible there is.
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