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

[MyPC8MyBrain]

2 hours ago, yslalan said:

I don’t have any experience with HP laptops, so I can’t comment on them.

from my experience dealing with HPE is a can of worm nightmare you don't want open for any price.

[AL123]

14 hours ago, yslalan said:

I’m satisfied with what I got from the Pro Max Plus 16-inch model, the build quality and performance are decent. It’s better than any of the Precision machines I’ve owned before, including the 7550, 7760, 7670, 7680, and 7780, in many respects. Plus, the 4K 120Hz Tandem OLED is wild, if you are not sensitive on OLED panel, don't miss that option.

 

In my opinion, if you’re looking for a true workstation-class machine, I would not recommend the ThinkPad P16 Gen 3. This model is heavily limited by its preset power limits and power adapter. The combined power budget is only 15W for the CPU plus 115W for the GPU. If you don't care about performance, P16 Gen3 is still acceptable.

 

HP ZBook Fury is probably another option worth exploring. Honestly, I don’t have any experience with HP laptops, so I can’t comment on it.

My tests of the HP Fury G1i range showed they had significantly lower CPU/ GPU power limits that throttled performance much quicker and the fan noise was incredibly loud in comparison. 
 

Pro max range is clearly not without its teething troubles but for us it’s certainly the best balance of performance, fan noise. Alot more effort has gone into the cooling solution vs HP in my opinion and that’s important if you work in an office with colleagues or don’t want earbuds in all day just to block out the noise of the HP under heavy load!