The Test System

What would match the Razer Core V2 better than a Razer laptop? This time, we decided to perform the benchmarks with the newest Razer Blade Stealth i7-8550U (in review here). But like the Core V1, the Core V2 can be connected to nearly every laptop with a Thunderbolt 3 port, regardless of brand. Equipped with an Intel i7-8550U CPU from the eighth and newest Intel generation, the Blade Stealth has four cores under its hood, even with the processor's energy-efficient "U" designation. The internal graphics card also received a small upgrade, though it is hardly worthy of mention. The integrated Intel UHD Graphics 620 now clocks at up to 1150 MHz with turbo, 100 MHz higher than the previous HD Graphics 620. We recently reviewed the Razer Blade Stealth i7-8550U and determined that it does not possess the necessary hardware to run graphics-intensive games. Current games just barely run fluently at minimum detail settings; all our attempts to play games at medium details failed. The fault lies with the weak UHD Graphics 620.



For this reason, we will use the Core V2 to stoke the fires under the Razer Blade Stealth's unibody. We prepared two graphics cards for the Core V2: the short Zotac GeForce GTX 1050 Mini (around 120 Euros; ~$150), and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Founders Edition (around 600 Euros; ~$712). We should mention that the Zotac card only occupies one slot, but the developers of the Razer Core designed the device to hold dual-slot GPUs. The GTX 1050 Mini is too small to be affixed with a screw, leaving it to sit rather loosely in the Core. Some ingenuity is required to mount the card reasonably securely in the case.



After this little problem is solved, the Core V2 is connected to the Razer Blade Stealth via the Thunderbolt 3 port, using a cable that is unfortunately only 50 centimeters long (~20 inches). With a speed of 40 Gbit/s, the Thunderbolt 3 connection is predestined for a working relationship with the Core. The connection is forged straightaway; after a reboot the new hardware is recognized. A colorful light show dances reassuringly on the device. The three fans on the underside of the Razer Core, on the other hand, make a less agreeable impression. But more on that in our verdict section.



We will run the benchmark five times per game.



Razer Blade Stealth i7-8550U laptop with the integrated UHD Graphics 620 without the Razer Core V2

Laptop with Core V2 (GTX 1050 Mini) with the internal laptop display

Laptop with Core V2 (GTX 1050 Mini) with an external monitor

Laptop with Core V2 (GTX 1080) with the internal laptop display

Laptop with Core V2 (GTX 1080) with an external monitor

