Windows vs Mac Laptop in 2023: Was Apple Silicon a Mistake?

In the world of laptops, two major players have always been at the forefront – Windows and Mac. In 2023, the competition between these two giants has heated up more than ever. The question on everyone’s mind is – was Apple’s decision to switch to their own silicon a mistake? Let’s dive into a detailed comparison between the Razer Blade 16, one of the top Windows laptops, and the M2 Max MacBook Pro 16 inch.

Design and Build Quality

The Razer Blade 16 boasts a sleek CNC’d aluminum body with a matte black finish that looks absolutely stunning. However, it does have a tendency to show fingerprints. The MacBook Pro, on the other hand, is more resistant to fingerprints and offers a more slim and portable design. The Razer Blade 16 is thicker due to its powerful 13th gen i9 chip and RTX 4080 GPU, which necessitates a larger 330 watt power supply. The MacBook Pro only requires a 140 watt power brick.

Keyboard and Trackpad

The Razer Blade 16 has a keyboard that feels nice and clicky, with a bit more key travel than the MacBook Pro. However, the trackpad on the Razer Blade 16 leaves much to be desired. It uses a diving board design, which makes clicking at the top nearly impossible. The MacBook Pro’s force touch trackpad, on the other hand, offers a perfect response no matter where you click.

Speakers and Display

The MacBook Pro takes the cake when it comes to speakers. The bass is deep and rich, providing a much better movie or show watching experience than the Razer Blade 16. The display on the MacBook Pro is also superior, with blacks that are actually black, sharper resolution, and a mini LED panel that offers up to 1600 nits of peak brightness. The Razer Blade 16’s display is more reflective and has a lower resolution, but it does support a 240 hertz ultra-fast refresh rate, which is ideal for gaming.

Webcam and Mic

The MacBook Pro also has a better webcam and mic quality. The Razer Blade 16’s webcam quality is not as good, and the microphone doesn’t sound as clear.

Performance

When it comes to performance, the Razer Blade 16 shines. It outperforms the MacBook Pro in terms of single core performance by 31%. However, the 12 core M2 Max MacBook Pro beats the 24 core i9 chip by 10% in terms of multi-core performance. The Razer Blade 16 also excels in web browsing performance, scoring the highest ever seen on a Windows machine on Speedometer 2.1. In terms of web design performance, both laptops performed similarly. However, the Razer Blade 16 outperformed the MacBook Pro in 3D rendering, thanks to its RTX 4080 laptop GPU with ray tracing cores.

SSD Speed Test

Both laptops were tested for SSD speed. The Razer Blade 16 was faster in read speed, but the MacBook Pro was faster in write speed. However, the Razer Blade 16 had significantly higher random writes and reads.

CPU and Geekbench Test

When it comes to CPU performance, the Razer Blade 16 outperforms the MacBook Pro in terms of single core performance by 31%. However, the 12 core M2 Max MacBook Pro beats the 24 core i9 chip by 10% in terms of multi-core performance. In Geekbench 6, the Razer Blade 16 scored higher than the MacBook Pro in both single and multi-core tests. This shows that the Razer Blade 16 is more capable of handling demanding tasks.

Web Browsing Performance

The Razer Blade 16 also excels in web browsing performance, scoring the highest ever seen on a Windows machine on Speedometer 2.1.

Web Design Performance

In terms of web design performance, both laptops performed similarly. However, the Razer Blade 16 outperformed the MacBook Pro in 3D rendering, thanks to its RTX 4080 laptop GPU with ray tracing cores.

Conclusion

In conclusion, both laptops have their strengths. The MacBook Pro offers a better overall experience with its slim design, better portability, superior trackpad, better display quality, and better webcam. The Razer Blade 16, on the other hand, offers superior performance, especially for gaming and 3D rendering. So, was Apple’s decision to switch to their own silicon a mistake? It depends on what you’re looking for in a laptop. If you value a better overall experience, then the MacBook Pro is the way to go. If you value superior performance, especially for gaming and 3D rendering, then the Razer Blade 16 is the better choice.