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

[SvenC]

With light work the machine stays totally cool. With 65% battery and about 30% brightness Windows claims that it will last another 4 hours 40 minutes. Idling it goes up to 6h. Pretty nice.

[Johhny23]

Hi @AL123, @SvenC, or anyone else,

Which RAM or NVMe SSD brand did you guys get with the Dell Pro Max 18 Plus? Also, what do you think about the screen, considering it’s not OLED or 4K?

 

I’m thinking about buying this laptop with a 1TB SSD, Intel Ultra 7, and NVIDIA RTX Pro 1000 Blackwell (8GB GDDR7). I’d mainly use it for mild gaming, web development, and general tasks.

[SvenC]

I took the smallest RAM (CSoDimm) and SSD option to upgrade that myself. It came with hynix RAM and SSD.

 

Screen is great - I would have chosen 1920x1200 even on 18" to have a better scaling fit with my external displays. So 2560x1600 is enough for me.

[Aaron44126]

5 hours ago, Johhny23 said:

Which RAM or NVMe SSD brand did you guys get with the Dell Pro Max 18 Plus?

 

Can't go wrong with Samsung SSD, either 9100 Pro (PCIe5) or 990 Pro (PCIe4, and a little bit cheaper). Don't get the heatsink version, it won't fit.

[SvenC]

I have one Kingston skc3000 4TB and one Adata SX8200 2TB - both without troubles.

 

Kingston is of course faster due to PCIe 4: CrytalDiskMark 6800 MB/s read and 6200 MB/s write sequential and 540 read 490 write random.

[Mambucho]

I live in Russia and we won't have DELL Pro Max Plus anytime soon. 😭

[capitainealbator]

Why @Mambucho ? 🤔

[Mambucho]

On 9/7/2025 at 5:42 PM, capitainealbator said:

Why @Mambucho ? 🤔

Sanctions, Dell escape from Russia

[capitainealbator]

These sanctions are really nonsense 😞 😞 😞 

[win32asmguy]

57 minutes ago, capitainealbator said:

These sanctions are really nonsense 😞 😞 😞 

 

Even in the USA getting an order to go through is a pain. I have had two quoted orders cancelled for no explaination. It seems they do not want to sell a machine without a preinstalled OS. So hopefully this time around it will go through.

 

There is now a video unboxing / review of this model as well. I have not completely watched it but so far looks good. We might finally have a workstation that can stay decently close to the current median similar gaming tier results.

 

 

[AL123]

On 9/2/2025 at 8:47 AM, woffe said:

Hi, I am interested in an Pro Max 16 Plus. Can someone explain how the noise is in comparison to an Precision 7670 or 7680? 

The fans on my 7680 are not that loud but the fan management isn't that good. The fans turn often on and off, when the fans turn on the rpm is very high for a short time and that's a loud "whoosh" sound. After the fans have started, they are relatively quiet. 

 

The second question is, does it use a haptic Touchpad?

 

Tested a Pro Max 16 today with Ultra 9 and RTX PRO 4000, I would say fans kick in a bit quicker.  also a bit louder than the Pro Max 18 but both laptops have a reasonable pitch, it’s not too distracting in my opinion. 
 

CPU performance on the Pro Max 16 for real world stuff was pretty similar to the 18, did notice the Power drop a bit below the 95W PL1 under heavy multithreaded load to a slightly lower dynamic PL1, where as the Pro max 18 stayed around its 98W PL1. Just the smaller chassis/ fans I think. 

 

GPU power was around 130W sustained when running a render around 15% slower than the Pro max 18 running at 175W, didn’t get a chance to do combined test but I’d say the 170W combined claim seems about right it’s definitely no quite as capable as the 18 but significantly smaller/ lighter 

 

 

[whyshchuck]

Hi! What is the 16's and 18's keyboard size?
Are letters spaced like in full sized keyboard or compressed?

One of my biggest disapointments with Precision 7560 was fact that, unlike m4800, its letter keys were to close to each other.

 

[SvenC]

On the 18 the keyboard width without numpad is 25,5cm. With all keys its 32,5cm.

 

See screenshots to compare with a standard Cherry keyboard size, aligned on the left side.

 

[Aaron44126]

9 minutes ago, SvenC said:

On the 18 the keyboard width without numpad is 25,5cm. With all keys its 32,5cm.

 

The Precision 7560 keyboard is actually lightly bigger, then, on that system I am measuring 26.5cm wide without numpad and just under 34cm with all keys.

[whyshchuck]

Thanks. Its even 1 cm less than in 7560. Shitty unification...

[AL123]

17 hours ago, whyshchuck said:

Thanks. Its even 1 cm less than in 7560. Shitty unification...

Yeh I’m sure it’s all about the bill of materials cost of having another larger keyboard for one model which is a shame. 

 

feels like they could have atleast put some better speakers to the side of this if they were going to leave all this open space, although that would have changed the look vs the 16 inch model. 

[whyshchuck]

In fact, after change of aspect ratio, full sized keyboard would have fit 16 and 18 as well.

 

[SvenC]

Nevertheless the keyboard works great for me, no problem with the given size.

[AL123]

23 hours ago, SvenC said:

Nevertheless the keyboard works great for me, no problem with the given size.

Yeh it’s pretty decent, no real complaints and I spend 90% of the time plugged into a dock with full size keyboard anyway. Bigger upgrade than expected vs my old 7760 17inch screen, having the 18 inch screen between 2x 24 inch screens gives a lot of workspace, even though the 24 inch screens are 16:9 seems to work out ok

 

I may be imagining things but I think I preferred the Base tier Pro Max 16 keyboard travel when I tested vs the plus laptops, will have to do a side by side test of them when I can as I may be just mistake given I tested the base pro max 16 a bit before the 16 plus. 

 

Seem unlikely that Dell would use a different Keyboard for similarly sized 16 inch laptops but who knows! 
 

 

[Easa]

I am deciding between ThinkPad P16 G3, Fury G1i 16" and Dell Pro Max Plus 18. With the Dell I would go 18" purely because of the better screen option. I was hell bent on getting the P16, but now I am torn and confused. 

 

 

[win32asmguy]

12 minutes ago, Easa said:

I am deciding between ThinkPad P16 G3, Fury G1i 16" and Dell Pro Max Plus 18. With the Dell I would go 18" purely because of the better screen option. I was hell bent on getting the P16, but now I am torn and confused.

 

Well for me the Pro Max 18 Plus stands out from a performance perspective. Having access to full 175W GPU in a mobile workstation was previously not offered from any brand. Its also going to stand out a bit with memory latency as it does not have the usual 2DPC SODIMM limitations. Finally this year it has a vapor chamber and more cooling capacity that is closer to what you can get from a high end gaming laptop. So far the single review and user reports about it seem promising. My order should eventually be delivered. I think it is currently clearning customs into the US which is pretty backed up right now.

 

Eventually we should have more user reports and reviews of the Zbooks and Thinkpad. It will be easier to compare them at that point. I would say if they stick with the same keyboard as the Thinkpad P16 G2 then it would likely be a good choice if you were doing lots of typing.

[AL123]

2 hours ago, Easa said:

I am deciding between ThinkPad P16 G3, Fury G1i 16" and Dell Pro Max Plus 18. With the Dell I would go 18" purely because of the better screen option. I was hell bent on getting the P16, but now I am torn and confused. 

 

 

P16 Gen 3 is woefully underpowered just 180w power supply and 60W allowed for CPU without GPU load vs ~95-100W in the Pro Max Plus laptops. GPU is limited to 95W sustained vs 175W in the Pro Max 18 Plus! 

 

I’ve also briefly  tested the fury G1i 16 and 18 also and was disappointed the 18 throttled the cpu very quickly to around 85w, also  had lower GPU sustained load also (150W iirc) and was noisier. The Z Book Fury 16 G1i also throttled cpu even more, had 130W limit on GPU and really loud fans! 
 

this generation dell seem to have got it right, might be a bit chunkier but for a desktop replacement workstation it’s very good balance of size and performance in my opinion 

[Easa]

Just to be clear, some of you may remember my struggle last year in the ZBook Fury thread. Tl;Dr: After a great disappointment with Fury G11 I have decided to give P16G2 a try and was genuinely impressed, to the point of ordering one, but then cancelled everything once the Intel Raptor Lake problems unveiled. 

 

So here I am, delaying my purchase month after month, patiently waited for P16G3 and having mixed feelings about it, after the actual release. I want to buy a workstation laptop that will last me almost a decade again, just like my old ZBook 15 G1 did. It does not have to be a true DTR, I have a workstation desktop as well. It has to have a decent GPU for playing outside of home, be as repairable (after warranty) as possible, and has to have a good cooling solution (no ramping up and down, quiet when idle or browsing). Other than that:

1. Ideally 16" (no less and preferably no more) form factor with 16:10 screen
2. GPU must be on a separate daughter board
3. Arrow Lake HX CPU + RTX 
4. Must be dockable by a dedicated Thunderbolt dock (not some 3rd party solution)
5. Must have IPS non-touch AG panel with at least 120Hz refresh, absolutely best at 2560x1600 res.
6. As many connectors as possible
7. At least 3 year NBD On-Site warranty

So basically those three. Now:

 

P16G3: 

• Best, defacto unrivaled keyboard with ideal layout, replaceable
• Subjectively awesome aesthetics
• Dedicated TB5 dock
• TrackPoint
• Dedicated power button
• Horrible display options, have to perform a panel swap right after purchase, means more investment OOB
• Greatly reduced power means uncompetitive burst CPU performance and sustained GPU performance
• Most expensive out of them

ZBook Fury G1i 16:

• Stellar display options with both 2560x1600 and 3840x2400
• Great aesthetics
• More storage options
• 5 Year warranty as a base option
• Possibly plagued with same issues as previous unit
• TB5 dock non-existent, cheaper TB4 dock
• Only one USB-A port (WTH?) 
• Horrible keyboad, horrible layout, replacement is a nuisance

Pro Max Plus 18":

• POWERRRRRRRR
• Seriously unrivaled power
• CAMM/CSODIMM RAM with top speed
• Best price (I have a good sales rep)
• More storage options
• Dedicated TB5 Dock 
• Best warranty service
• Awful aesthetics, its just plain ugly, resembles a fat MBP
• Great display only comes in 18"
• Probably better keyboard than HP, still horrible layout, replacement is a nuisance

Now, I was absolutely and fully satisfied with the power I got from the evaluation P16G2 unit, which had 14700HX + A2000. I would configure P16G3 with something like 265HX + RTX PB 3000/4000. It looks great, rings all the bells and whistles except for the price. Problem is, I can configure the Dell Pro Max for cheaper, or, with a league better hardware for the same price, with a better warranty, and +100W of power budget. At this point IDK what to do. I will try to source all three for evaluation, but the chances of getting them all to try out are low and I dont really have time for this. 

 

I mean, if the P16G3 CPU will be able to turbo to at least 120-130W when the GPU is not loaded (PL2), AFAIK it should, I am fine with 95W GPU sustained, for the RTX PB 3000. The Arrow Lake is amazingly efficient and does not lose significant % of power even when power constrained. Same could be said about Ada/Blackwell. The thermals should be awesome with such low wattage (if the cooling solution will be good) and the board components will be more durable. Its just me hesitating to pay V8 money for V6 power.  

[win32asmguy]

57 minutes ago, Easa said:

I mean, if the P16G3 CPU will be able to turbo to at least 120-130W when the GPU is not loaded (PL2), AFAIK it should, I am fine with 95W GPU sustained, for the RTX PB 3000. The Arrow Lake is amazingly efficient and does not lose significant % of power even when power constrained. Same could be said about Ada/Blackwell. The thermals should be awesome with such low wattage (if the cooling solution will be good) and the board components will be more durable. Its just me hesitating to pay V8 money for V6 power.  

 

Another thing that interested me about the Dell Pro Max 16/18 Plus is that its USB-C ports are modular - so if they wear out it should in theory be a much cheaper spare part instead of a complete motherboard.

 

275HX runs pretty well at 55W with the 5090 mobile at 95W. Its pretty quiet operation for a 16 inch at 150W combined load. With the 2025 Intel Uniwill IDY you can tune its GPU between 95W - 175W so its easy to come up with a comfortable profile and experiment to find the best performance on the curve. It also helps to boost D2D and NGU clocks but I am unsure if that can be done on workstations as they are usually very locked down. Undervolting is less of an issue this year so at least we do not have to worry about that.