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

[yslalan]

11 hours ago, SvenC said:

My PM18P is with iGPU only and I kept my dock WD19DC with that Dell specific double USB-C cable which is using the two USB-C ports on the left side of my laptop. The dock uses an old "power brick" with 240W. IIRC the laptop gets around 210W from the dock with that dual USB-C connector.

Thanks for sharing your case.

It's resolved by removing one power supply. Probably the GND issue

 

I will get one WD19DC/DCS.

[ov_Darkness]

23 hours ago, Easa said:

 

 

Check my testing about three or four pages back. You are paying same money for up to 30% more performance (at least if you include graphics) when you go Dell. But it has its issues. Thinkpad has flaws too. 

I know that there's a problem with idle power consumption in PMP16, I've seen a review on the YT, where the reviewer claimed it's because it has OLED display. But other similar platforms with OLED don't have this issue. The question is will Dell fix it with eg. UEFI update, or not?

30% is a lot, but it also consumes a lot more power (285W in test vs 180W theoretical in Thinkpad). Unfortunately,  I haven't seen performance figures from P16G3 yet. Is it really that much? It'd put P16G3 on par with last gen platforms or current gen slim 16's.

 

[OneSunOne]

I eventually received my replacement dell 18 Pro Max although the replacement machine has the same issue with intermittent buzzing when I play audio. Can someone please check for me if you experience the following when the machine is plugged in: 

 

If you change the power mode (in windows settings)  between any of the three power modes whilst playing audio, does the machine make a slight buzzing noise when it switches power mode? 

 

For references, my specs:

Core ultra 9 HX

64gb SODIMM RAM

RXT 4000

2tb SSD

 

 

[Easa]

13 hours ago, OneSunOne said:

If you change the power mode (in windows settings)  between any of the three power modes whilst playing audio, does the machine make a slight buzzing noise when it switches power mode? 

 

Tested, mine does it too. Clearly a platform problem. 

 

13 hours ago, ov_Darkness said:

Unfortunately,  I haven't seen performance figures from P16G3 yet. Is it really that much? It'd put P16G3 on par with last gen platforms or current gen slim 16's.

 

 

Like I have said before, we have tested it, me and my friend. He has basically the same config as my PMP18, in his P16 G3. It is much slower, especially in GPU power and sustained CPU power, due to the power limit. Cant beat physics there, that 180W cap has its price. The cooling system is also smaller in size.

[ov_Darkness]

4 hours ago, Easa said:

 

Tested, mine does it too. Clearly a platform problem. 

 

 

Like I have said before, we have tested it, me and my friend. He has basically the same config as my PMP18, in his P16 G3. It is much slower, especially in GPU power and sustained CPU power, due to the power limit. Cant beat physics there, that 180W cap has its price. The cooling system is also smaller in size.

Looks like PMP16 is a better choice than the P16G3. The only thing that worries me is that the OLED display seems to add 20-30W(!!!) to idle power consumption. This hurts run times BAD. I would love to have a tandem OLED display, but I'm not willing to sacrifice the battery life.