pro max 18 plus Your body? Analysis and Speculation on the DELL Pro Max 18 Plus for the Year 2025, Part 3

[song_1118]

After the release of "Your History," "Your Name," and "Your Beauty" for the DELL Pro Max 18 Plus in 2025, the next step is your body.
The term 'your body' here cannot be equated with 'craving your body', but rather a curiosity and expectation for the new design of the DELL Pro Max 18 Plus, as well as the analysis and speculation it brings.

 

Based on the current information, there is no official mention of the body size and weight of the DELL Pro Max 18 Plus (hereinafter referred to as "Max 18"). The only relevant information is as follows:
Mg A/D cover move Mg for weight reduction
Magnesium: The shells on the A and D sides are made of magnesium alloy material to reduce weight.

 

size
In September, the author conducted a review of MSI's CreatorPro X18 (hereinafter referred to as "X18"), which is also an 18 inch 16:10 aspect ratio screen model and a mobile workstation model.

MSI Creator Pro X18 review article, in serialized format, with a total of four articles. The link to the previous article is as follows:
Tie the Azure Dragon! The Strongest Mobile Workstation MSI Creator Pro X18 Review Part 1

 

At the same time, as of the end of September 2024, X18 is still the most powerful model among the laptops tested by the author. In the PassMark Performance Test database, it ranks first in overall test results compared to laptops with RTX 5000 Ada lp or RTX 4090 lp GPUs and i9-14900HX CPUs

 

Therefore, the test data of X18 is currently the most suitable benchmark for comparison, analysis, and prediction.

 

A. From the above picture, it can be seen that the B side of X18, the top, left, and right sides of the screen panel, have very narrow screen borders, with only the lower border being wider. The author has measured it, and the upper frame is about 10mm, the lower frame is about 14mm, and the left and right frames are about 7mm;
B. It is known that the body size of X18 is 404 x 307.5 x 24~32 mm;

C. It is known that the body size of DELL Precision 7770/7780 (hereinafter referred to as "7780") is 398.00 x 265.02 x 25.95~26.70 mm;
D. It is known that Dell's Alienware m18 R2 (hereinafter referred to as "m18") with an 18 inch 16:10 aspect ratio screen has a body size of 410.30 x 319.90 x 26.70mm;

 

E. It is known that the theoretical minimum size of an 18 inch 16:10 ratio panel is 387.70 x 242.32 mm - this is the physical size that does not include the panel frame and only refers to the part that displays the image, as shown in the figure below - although the Max 18 uses a brand new double-layer connected OLED panel, its thickness is unknown, but the size in the vertical and horizontal dimensions still cannot escape the limitations of physical laws.

 

Then, continue looking at the following picture:

 

F. In the comparison in the above picture, the thickness of the Max 18's body base seems to be slightly thinner than that of the 7780 body base - this has already taken into account the different perspectives of the two in the picture - possibly because its body has a larger projection area, which can reduce the thickness of the body base like a "pancake", while maintaining sufficient internal space (volume) to accommodate internal components;
G. The existing images cannot provide a virtual comparison of the thickness of the top cover of the Max 18 screen, but based on the principle of double-layer serial OLED panels, its thickness is unlikely to be thinner than existing single-layer OLED screens, only thicker.
H. However, in the previous article (serial 2), it was found that behind the bottom of Max 18, a clearly raised design seemed to be used to enhance the suction and discharge of airflow.

Based on A, B, C, D, and E, the author speculates that:

• DELL Pro Max 18 Plus body width (W): 406mm;
• The depth (D) of the DELL Pro Max 18 Plus body is 304mm.

Based on F, G, and H, the author speculates that:

• The thickness (H) of the DELL Pro Max 18 Plus body is 24mm at the thinnest part of the front end.

 

 

weight
If power is not included:
a. The minimum weight of the DELL Precision 7770/7780 is 3.02kg, and the A, C, and D sides of its body are all made of aluminum alloy CNC manufacturing.
b. The minimum weight of the MSI Creator Pro X18 is 3.6kg. According to official instructions, the A-side and C-side of the body are made of aluminum magnesium alloy, and the D-side is made of impact resistant and flame-retardant PC resin commonly used in laptops [PC-TD5FR (40)].
c. The maximum weight of the Alienware m18 R2 is 4.23kg, and all three sides of its body, A, C, and D, are made of anodized aluminum.
d. Firstly, it can be confirmed that the overall weight of the 18 inch Max 18 is definitely higher than 7780 and lower than that of the Alienware m18;
e. Then, based on the current TDP of 200 watts claimed by Max 18, it is higher than the 165 watts measured by the author on 7780 before, but lower than the CPU+GPU of m18 and X18 totaling 270 watts. Therefore, the weight of its cooling system should be lower than X18- although the cooling system of DELL Pro Max 18 Plus has three fans;
f. However, the Max 18 still supports 4 M.2 2280 SSDs and it seems possible to use two CAMM2 modules, with the weight of these components slightly higher than X18;
So, the author can only cautiously speculate:

• The overall weight of the DELL Pro Max 18 Plus will not be less than 3.3kg.

 

Power Supply
Based on the above e and f, the performance (release) of Max 18 is higher than that of 7780 and lower than that of m18 and X18. If we continue to use the 240 watt power supply used by 7780, it will definitely be stretched thin;
But choosing the 360 watt Small Form Factor power supply used by DELL's own M18 is a bit extravagant and wasteful;
Only by choosing the 280 watt power supply used in our own M18 low-end model can we fully utilize it, as shown in the following chart:

 

Above, the author speculates that:

• The Dell Pro Max 18 Plus low-end model will continue to use a 240 watt power supply;
• High end models with GPUs not lower than RTX 3000 Blw will use a 280 watt power supply (DC19.5V GaN ultra-thin power supply);

 

But what if the DELL Pro Max 18 Plus really doesn't have a dedicated power input port?
In this case, the only solution is to use a USB-C port that supports the latest PD 3.1 240 watt input;
However, I am very skeptical about whether the Max 18 with a 240 watt power supply can maintain a TDP of 200 watts for a long time
Unless two USB-C PD 3.1 are connected simultaneously, a total power input of no less than 280 watts can be obtained;
However, this plan has to be admitted to be very avant-garde and advanced, but it is also too outrageous... Although I will definitely admire DELL's pioneering spirit very much
So, can the Thunderbolt docking station TB18DC, which DELL has long abandoned and pioneered with its own dual USB-C interface, make a comeback?
In this way, dual USB-C PD 3.1 240 watt input can be achieved, with a maximum power supply of 480 watts.

Perhaps it is the 20V x 486/36V x 13.3A/48V x 20A=480W power supply design supported by PD4.0 under USB5 that the author has been eagerly anticipating?
USB-IF： Please don't leak the information!

 

 

Service
As a laptop, the maintenance of its components is generally divided into the following three levels:
CRU (Customer Replaceable Unit);
FRU (Field Replaceable Unit);
SRU (Shop Replaceable Unit).

 

The final level SRU refers to components that can be replaced in the factory (workshop) during the manufacturing or assembly process, usually not replaceable by users or on-site technicians. According to requirements, they must be integrated into the system during the production process of the equipment, usually installed and debugged by professional factory personnel using professional factory equipment in the factory - for example, the operation of requiring an industrial grade soldering platform to solder the CPU package to the motherboard.
So, the components for daily maintenance of laptops generally only refer to CRUs and FRUs.
According to the history of DELL mobile workstations, the DELL Pro Max 18 Plus, as the flagship model with the largest body size, has an absolute first-class level of maintenance convenience.
The currently known information also reflects this point. In the figure below, it is clearly indicated that the CRU includes a battery, memory, hard drive, and a body bottom cover. At the same time, it is pointed out that the body bottom cover supports quick access, making maintenance and repair very convenient.

 

In the serialization 2 "Your Beauty", the issue of Max 18 has already been discussed, but due to the unclear image, it is impossible to distinguish how DELL is implemented. If it is still a D-face with 6 screws and a bottom door locked like the 7780, I believe it does not belong to Quick Access and must be designed like the HP ZBook Fury 16, which uses a bottom cover that does not require any screws to lock and can be easily removed by simply opening the quick release switch, as shown in the following figure:

 

The SSD, battery, WWAN, WLAN, and CAMM/DIMM of the 7780 are all modular designs, belonging to advanced CRUs. I believe that the Max 18 should be the same.
But it can only be limited to this.
As for the CPU Intel Arrow Lake HX, there is no doubt that it is BGA on the computer motherboard;
As for GPU, it is naturally
Well, this is the content of the next serialized article "Your Components: Analysis and Speculation on the 2025 DELL Pro Max 18 Plus". In the next article, we will analyze and speculate on the CAMM2, DGFF4, cooling system, and internal layout of the Max 18.
Coming soon!