Dell Pro Max 16/18 Plus (2025 model) pre-release discussion — MB16250, MB18250

[SvenC]

Dell Pro Max Plus is online in Australia: Dell Pro Max Plus 18 Inch Mobile Workstation Laptop | Dell Australia

 

Now in germany as well: Dell Pro Max Plus 18 Zoll-Workstation – Leistung durch großes Display | Dell Deutschland

[Aaron44126]

Appears to have popped up in the US:

https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-laptops/dell-pro-max-16-plus-laptop/spd/dell-pro-max-mb16250-laptop/xcto_mb16250_usx

https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-laptops/dell-pro-max-18-plus-laptop/spd/dell-pro-max-mb18250-laptop/xcto_mb18250_usx

 

I will take a look at the configs...

 

[Edit]

No 256 GB RAM option? (Yet?)

I also don't see that Qualcomm AI coprocessor that they were hyping up.

Two different options for which USB-C power supply to get.

16" has two display options, 18" just has one. All of the extra choices there are around the camera & antennas, not the display. It still kills me that you can't get full 4K in the 18" system.

 

Not much else to say. Pretty standard options that we saw with the Precision 7000 series systems.

[MyPC8MyBrain]

So Dell has officially closed the book on the Precision mobile workstation line as we knew it. The new replacements? The “Dell Pro Max Plus 14/16/18” series — with the 16 and 18 clearly positioned as successors to the Precision 7680 and 7780.

But let’s not kid ourselves: these are not Precision workstations in anything but name. These are consumer-tier designs masquerading as professional machines, targeting a different class of user entirely.

 

The Pro Max Plus 18 has a larger chassis, yet Dell gives us only three drive slots. Worse, they play games in the configurator they list "3rd" and "4th" drives — conveniently skipping the "2nd" to make it sound like there are four bays, when in fact there's only 3 physical bays, while only 1 is shown clearly in documentation. This isn’t an oversight — it's marketing sleight of hand.

In contrast, the 7780 gave us four full-featured bays, properly laid out and user-accessible.

 

CAMM Reversal — Why?
Remember when Dell pushed CAMM (Compression Attached Memory Module) as the future of mobile workstation memory? Now in the Pro Max lineup, they’re quietly walking that back — reverting to standard SODIMM slots in many configurations. What happened?

And even when CAMM is present, we’re still looking at dual-channel limitations imposed by the mobile chipset. The “quad channel” claim is mostly theoretical — there’s no real-world advantage here. Just more thermal load, tighter spacing, and no tangible gain over high-density SODIMMs.

 

Memory Capacity Quietly Suppressed
The chipset on these machines easily supports dual 64GB or even 128GB SODIMMs — but Dell doesn’t mention this anywhere in the Pro Max specs or Precision 77xx/76xx. Why? Because they want to steer buyers toward lower-spec configs, or upsell you on proprietary CAMM options instead of allowing user-driven expansion.

 

USB-C Power Delivery — A Downgrade
Replacing the classic barrel power jack with USB-C PD might be trendy, but it's not durable. The barrel connector was rock solid — especially under heavy workstation loads. Now we’re expected to hang 280W power brick off a USB-C port? That’s asking for long-term trouble on machines meant to endure years of field use.

 

Let’s Call It What It Is
The Precision line used to mean something — high-end mobile workstations with expandability, durability, and pro-grade features. The Pro Max Plus 16/18? They’re not successors in spirit — they’re rebranded watered down consumer machines chasing a broader market by hijacking iPhone naming convention!? as if that  bandwagon is synonymous with performance the precision line brought to the table for almost 3 decades.

The sad reality is: the Precision 7680/7780 were likely the last true professional mobile workstations from Dell. What we have now is branding — not legacy.

[Aaron44126]

@MyPC8MyBrain

Note that the Precision 7000 series replacement is Pro Max Plus, not Pro Max.

Pro Max Plus just launched today.

Pro Max 18 Plus does have four drive slots. I am not sure what is going on with the web site configuration not saying anything about the second slot.

Pro Max (non-Plus) is more like a replacement for the Precision 3000 line.

 

[Edit]

Rummaging through the manual.

NVMe slots are 7, 9, 10, and 20. (I guess they are double-stacking two of them?)

 

(To note... I also have a good deal of dissatisfaction with the direction this product line is going and I have no intention to buy one of these. Though is not just Dell that I find fault with. Intel, NVIDIA, and Microsoft all also play a role in my disappointment with today's high-end workstation laptop experience.)

 

[Edit 2]

Not quite clear to me how this double-stacking SSD setup works, it looks like there is a frame clip that the upper drive can screw into.

[MyPC8MyBrain]

@Aaron44126 little typo there (corrected),
Plus or not i still don't find it very attractive at this point in time,
i heard from our Dell sales rep that there are 4 bays, but so far i cant find any images or literature that indicates 4 bays are still there.
one other gripe i forgot to list up there is there's no Oled or 4k and or touch screen options even with these new pro max plus.
its not like these options don't exist, they exist on other other models for many years yet they refuse to offer these for their latest so called new flagship models.
i mean they do have Pro, Plus, and Max in the name it has to mean something 😆  

[Aaron44126]

@MyPC8MyBrain

Four slots are there, I edited the post above with some pictures. The owner's manual is the best place to look for now at the internals.

 

I share your general disappointment with the way that things are going with this product line (and really with today's high-end workstation laptop experience in general).

 

I do appreciated this sliding door latch that they brought back for the bottom panel, making it easier to get to the drives. (They used to have something like this with Precision 7710/7720.)

 

[Edit]

The support materials indicate model numbers for these systems as MB16250 & MB18250. However, there doesn't appear to be anything on the system which indicates what model it is other than "Pro Max". This will be really fun when another few iterations are out, and people are looking for community help but no one can tell which one they have at a glance 😕

 

[Edit 2]

DGFF connectors have been changed again. But, maybe that is enough pins for 16 lanes?

[MyPC8MyBrain]

@Aaron44126 Thanks for the images, first time i see the 18 pro max plus insides, 
i don't think they are double stacking NVME's that's not feasible with the heat one NVME is dissipating,
two in the same spot without dedicated heat spreader or fan will melt the chassis, this whole new engineering seem arbitrary without much thought put into it, 
its as if they learned nothing from earlier designs, grouping two (or 3) NVME's on each side of the SODIMM module is just fantastic to ensure a good heat spot.
that new sliding door while very cool will likely effect the chassis overall rigidity at 18'.

Edited:
after inspecting your images closer it seems that they do stack two NVME's one on top of the other in slots 9 and 10 🤯 

[Aaron44126]

NVMe drives are also double-stacked in the Lenovo P16 workstation (which I have seen in person), so I was not surprised when I saw this. 😕

I think HP does it too. Framework double-stacks a 2230 and 2280 drive in the Framework Laptop 16.

[MyPC8MyBrain]

it kind of starting to make sense now, i get why they renamed the line to pro max plus instead of precision, its illegal to call this crap precision.
"you can roll manure in powdered sugar, but it still ain't a jelly doughnut"  😅
 

[Mike]

So now the 'Pro Max Plus' are released. Do you know if there are also 'Pro Max Premium' in the release pipeline ?

[Aaron44126]

I feel like the market has driven Dell to a design like this, it is sort of a natural outcome.

They have to work with what Intel & NVIDIA have cooked up.

The target market wants smaller systems but without compromised specs. (Double-stacking NVMe drives gets you some space back in the footprint.)

This probably isn't a super high-selling system anyway, so they are under pressure to reduce costs with materials and so forth.

 

I personally think that Dell should slim down their laptop portfolio. They don't need like 40 different laptop models on the market at any given time. Then they could pay more attention to refining each design. It would probably save them money too, with less "different" models they could scale up production of the ones they have left (cost per unit generally decreases as you make more of a thing, there are nice economics words for this that I don't know).

 

Instead of making so many different models, they could leverage the overlap and reuse designs & parts between different market segments. This includes between the consumer and business lines. (They used to use the same chassis and other parts for XPS and Precision 5000 lines, but they don't even do that anymore?) How many different 15" laptop chassis designs to you need to be selling at once? Could you get by with just a "slim" version and a "regular" version, and just change the parts inside to target different market segments?

 

But I don't know. Maybe they need that many different models to serve all of the different use cases that they perceive.

 

2 minutes ago, Mike said:

So now the 'Pro Max Plus' are released. Do you know if there are also 'Pro Max Premium' in the release pipeline ?

 

Pro Max Premium is out too. (Precision 5000 replacement?)

https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-laptops/dell-pro-max-16-premium-laptop/spd/dell-pro-max-ma16250-laptop/xcto_ma16250_usx

[ceasar2k6]

did I see this right but there is no 64gb ram option and upgrade from 16gb to 128gb camm is $1895!>!>!>!>!

[Aaron44126]

6 minutes ago, ceasar2k6 said:

did I see this right but there is no 64gb ram option and upgrade from 16gb to 128gb camm is $1895!>!>!>!>!

 

I am seeing a 64GB option for both 16 Max and 18 Max ($630).

I am sure you could replace modules yourself for cheaper, if you just get a configuration with the SODIMM interposer.

 

Also take Dell's prices with a grain of salt. You can (almost) always get a better deal if you buy through a sales rep. (I wish it wasn't that way, but...) When I bought a high-end Precision 7770 (3 years ago) I think I got nearly $2,000 knocked off.

[SvenC]

Just now, Aaron44126 said:

 

I am seeing a 64GB option for both 16 Max and 18 Max ($630).

I am sure you could replace modules yourself for way cheaper, if you just get a configuration with the SODIMM interposer.

Problem now is, that its not good old SODIMM but CSoDIMM which is not as widely available.

 

Potentially this will fit

That would be roughly the same price as SODIMM - 200€ for 64GB.

[MyPC8MyBrain]

@SvenC

The "c" in cSODIMM stand for CAMM, or more precisely, "CAMM-based SODIMM".

It's not a new memory standard — it’s standard SODIMM modules mounted on an interposer or conversion board that fits into a CAMM socket.

Dell developed this to allow backward compatibility with regular DDR5 SODIMMs on motherboards designed for CAMM — mainly because JEDEC has approved CAMM2 as the future, but most users still rely on SODIMMs.

as i mentioned above Camm isn't actually working yet on these boards, at this point in time Camm is mainly theoretical and more of a marketing hype, SoDimms performs as fast as Camm modules do on the same system and can run high density sticks, and they dissipate heat better, but Dell doesn't want people to know as they initially were set on pushing camm modules until they realized some of us are educated and don't just judge marketing hypes by the cover.

 

edit:
its important to note that Camm modules are more expensive then Sodimm modules with no actual benefit in this format. 

[Mike]

@Aaron44126
Sorry my question was imprecise. I knew about the "Pro Max 16 Premium". Because the "Pro Max 18 Plus" was released I thought there will be also a "Pro Max 17/18 Premium". Thought that 'Premium' is one level above 'Plus' ? Currently I am looking for a 17" device as a replacement for my 7730.

[Aaron44126]

37 minutes ago, Mike said:

@Aaron44126
Sorry my question was imprecise. I knew about the "Pro Max 16 Premium". Because the "Pro Max 18 Plus" was released I thought there will be also a "Pro Max 17/18 Premium". Thought that 'Premium' is one level above 'Plus' ? Currently I am looking for a 17" device as a replacement for my 7730.

 

Plus is a replacement for Precision 7000 and Premium is a replacement for Precision 5000. The "Premium" model is thus slightly lower spec, but also slimmer/lighter. Which one is "better" depends on which you prioritize, I guess. If top specs is the highest priority and you don't care about the size and weight, Pro Max Plus is it.

 

I don't think that there will be an 18" version of Pro Max Premium, at least not with this generation.

[MyPC8MyBrain]

really, i didn't think they could find another superlative to string along, so there might be a pro max plus premium,
then what? pro max plus premium supreme... with cheese 😄

[ceasar2k6]

58 minutes ago, Aaron44126 said:

 

I am seeing a 64GB option for both 16 Max and 18 Max ($630).

I am sure you could replace modules yourself for cheaper, if you just get a configuration with the SODIMM interposer.

 

Also take Dell's prices with a grain of salt. You can (almost) always get a better deal if you buy through a sales rep. (I wish it wasn't that way, but...) When I bought a high-end Precision 7770 (3 years ago) I think I got nearly $2,000 knocked off.

q is. if u buy sodimm, can u move to camm or is it a different motherboard, i'd imagine it'd have to be..... maybe i missed 64gb module... i'd be enough with 32gb..  right now, this config is so pricey... my 7760 with 5 year accidental was below $2500 with tax and a4000... now it's $6600 before any discounts, so my guess, i could get it to like $4k, which is a huge price hike!

[Aaron44126]

2 hours ago, ceasar2k6 said:

q is. if u buy sodimm, can u move to camm or is it a different motherboard, i'd imagine it'd have to be....

 

It's the same motherboard. They attach a SODIMM interposer to the CAMM slot if you pick a SODIMM configuration. To switch from SODIMM to CAMM, you'd have to buy a CAMM module, and also a pressure plate thing to attach it (they use a different thickness plate for CAMM vs. SODIMM interposer).

[ceasar2k6]

understood, but are those even available? sounds like I am either skipping this year or getting alienware area-51. But, I have a razer laptop from few years ago, I made convert into my daily driver and skip a few more generations!

[Aaron44126]

8 minutes ago, ceasar2k6 said:

understood, but are those even available? sounds like I am either skipping this year or getting alienware area-51. But, I have a razer laptop from few years ago, I made convert into my daily driver and skip a few more generations!

 

Dell has made standalone CAMM modules available from the "memory upgrades" section on their web site before (..........not cheap at all............). As for the pressure plate, you'd probably be looking at eBay or PartsPeople or sites like that to find one.

 

You can get 48GB SODIMM modules now, so you could potentially achieve 96GB RAM without even having to get a CAMM module, assuming that there isn't a compatibility problem. (I wouldn't count on anything there until people have a chance to experiment with it.)

[ceasar2k6]

1 hour ago, Aaron44126 said:

 

Dell has made standalone CAMM modules available from the "memory upgrades" section on their web site before (..........not cheap at all............). As for the pressure plate, you'd probably be looking at eBay or PartsPeople or sites like that to find one.

 

You can get 48GB SODIMM modules now, so you could potentially achieve 96GB RAM without even having to get a CAMM module, assuming that there isn't a compatibility problem. (I wouldn't count on anything there until people have a chance to experiment with it.)

i dont need more than 32gb ram, but i want the fastest ram possible... i.e as ill use it for 5 years, i want the best chance for it to stay viable 🙂

 

decisions decisions...

[MyPC8MyBrain]

@ceasar2k6
simple decision, get a Precision platform while you still can.

[Howard N]

What is the vertical screen resolution of the 18" screen in pixels (not just saying QHD+). Is it 1400, 1600 or some higher resolution?