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Dell Pro Max 16 Plus

Dell Pro Max 16 Plus
Dell Pro Max 16 Plus
The article reviews the Dell Pro Max 16 Plus, a fully loaded 16-inch mobile workstation built around Intel’s Core Ultra 9 285HX CPU and Nvidia’s RTX Pro 5000 Blackwell GPU. It evaluates its 4K 120 Hz OLED touchscreen, extensive connectivity and modular design against drawbacks like weight, battery life, keyboard layout and very high pricing.

Pros

+ fast, removable CAMM2 RAM and graphics card
+ portable 280 W USB-C AC adapter
+ 4K 120 Hz OLED touchscreen
+ Thunderbolt 5 compatibility
+ easy-to-repair USB-C ports

Cons

- very warm CPU temperature when under load
- high power consumption; limited battery life
- thicker than last generation model
- short-lived maximum Turbo Boost
- no ECC RAM options

The Dell Pro Max 16 Plus is a high-end 16-inch mobile workstation that pairs Intel’s Core Ultra 9 285HX with Nvidia’s RTX Pro 5000 Blackwell GPU. Its standout feature set includes a 3840 x 2400 4K OLED 120 Hz touchscreen, modular DGFF graphics, and an unusually rich port selection with Thunderbolt 4, dual Thunderbolt 5, three DisplayPorts and USB‑C power delivery. Connectivity is similarly future-proof, featuring Intel Wi‑Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4 and 2.5 GbE, while security and business extras include SmartCard, fingerprint reader and a 36‑month warranty. Review scores around 86–90% praise its immense performance and display quality, positioning it as a semi-portable powerhouse for professional workloads. However, reviewers highlight significant trade-offs: a heavy 2.85 kg chassis, modest battery life despite a 96 Wh pack, and a controversial keyboard layout that may be a deal breaker for some users. Combined with an extremely high price, the Pro Max 16 Plus is best suited to businesses and professionals who can fully exploit its capabilities and justify the investment.

Specifications

Dell Pro Max 16 Plus (Pro 16 Series)
Processor
Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX 24 x 2.1 - 5.5 GHz, 159 W PL2 / Short Burst, 90 W PL1 / Sustained, Arrow Lake-HX
Graphics adapter
Nvidia RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell Generation Laptop - 24 GB VRAM, Core: 1807 MHz, RAM: 1750 MHz, 175 W TDP, GDDR7, 581.15, Optimus
Memory
128 GB 
, DDR5-6400, CAMM2, SK Hynix
Display
16.00 inch 16:10, 3840 x 2400 pixel 283 PPI, 10-point capacitive, Samsung 160HC01, OLED, Dell P/N: PT6M8, glossy: yes, HDR, 120 Hz
Mainboard
Intel WM880 (Arrow Lake-HX PCH)
Soundcard
Intel Arrow Lake-S PCH - ACE (Audio Context Engine)
Connections
2 USB 3.0 / 3.1 Gen1, 1 Thunderbolt 4, 2 Thunderbolt 5, USB-C Power Delivery (PD), 1 HDMI, 3 DisplayPort, 1 Kensington Lock, Audio Connections: 3.5 mm combo, Card Reader: SD, 1 SmartCard, 1 Fingerprint Reader
Networking
Intel Ethernet Controller I226-LM (10MBit/s), Intel Wi-Fi 7 BE200 320MHz (a/b/g/n = Wi-Fi 4/ac = Wi-Fi 5/ax = Wi-Fi 6/ Wi-Fi 6E 6 GHz be = Wi-Fi 7), Bluetooth 5.4
Size
height x width x depth (in mm): 30.9 x 360 x 258.6 ( = 1.22 x 14.17 x 10.18 in)
Battery
96 Wh Lithium-Ion
Operating System
Microsoft Windows 11 Pro
Camera
Webcam: 1440p30. RGB+IR
Primary Camera: 8.3 MPix
Additional features
Speakers: 2x 2 W, Sterep, Keyboard: Chiclet, Keyboard Light: yes, Dell Command, Optimizer, Pair, SupportAssist, Trusted Device, 36 Months Warranty
Weight
2.845 kg ( = 100.35 oz / 6.27 pounds), Power Supply: 755 g ( = 26.63 oz / 1.66 pounds)
Price
5000 USD

 

Price comparison

Average Score: 86.13% - good
Average of 3 scores (from 3 reviews)
price: - %, performance: 92%, features: 71%, display: 88% mobility: 56%, workmanship: 92%, ergonomy: 89%, emissions: 74%

Reviews for the Dell Pro Max 16 Plus

88.4% Dell Pro Max 16 Plus review: One-of-a-kind mobile workstation | Notebookcheck
The Dell Pro Max 16 Plus is a unique workstation with its DGFF card, CAMM2 RAM, 4K UHD 120 Hz OLED touchscreen, and modular USB-C ports. Do the fancy features translate to faster performance?
80% The Dell Pro Max 16 Plus is a superb mobile workstation with one major flaw
Source: It Pro English
By this point in the review, you've already decided if you're going to buy this laptop. Most of the negative points are inherent to the 16-inch workstation form factor – size, weight, battery life – and the only real standout issue for many users that remains is the keyboard. If you're the type of user who needs a numeric keypad, then you'll be more forgiving. If you're not, it may be a deal breaker. It's a shame because there are so many good points to appreciate here. The broad customisability makes for a mobile workstation that can be tailored to suit a wide range of applications, workloads, and IT budgets. It stops frustratingly short of brilliance, but if it ticks the right boxes for your business, the Dell Pro Max 16 Plus may be the semi-portable powerhouse you were looking for.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 11/22/2025
Rating: Total score: 80%
90% Dell Pro Max 16 Plus Review
Source: Trusted Reviews English
The Dell Pro Max 16 Plus is a very powerful workstation laptop with some immense performance, plus a gorgeous 4K OLED screen and one of the best port selections you’ll find on a laptop at any price. Granted, its battery life isn’t brilliant, and it’s hideously expensive, but if you need the power this laptop can provide, it’s incredible. These business-class workstation laptops are designed for much different applications than more generalist gaming laptops, such as the Medion Erazer Beast 16 X1 Ultimate (RTX 5090) and Alienware 18-Area 51, so it seems a little odd to compare them. Nonetheless, the presence of a Core Ultra 9 285HX and Nvidia Pro RTX 5000 Blackwell makes for some of the most potent performance you’ll find on any laptop, and its 4K OLED screen is fantastic, although not as strong in raw brightness as the tandem OLED panel on the Asus ProArt P16 (4K Lumina Pro OLED).
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 11/17/2025
Rating: Total score: 90%
2025 Dell Pro Max 16 Plus REVIEW: Gives a NEW Meaning to FULLY LOADED
Source: Andrew Marc David English
Single Review, online available, Very Long, Date: 10/08/2025

Comment

NVIDIA RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell Generation Laptop: High-end GPU that belongs to Nvidia's professional series. It's based on the Blackwell architecture and features 10,496 CUDA processing cores as well as 24 GB of GDDR7 ECC memory.

These graphics cards are able to play the latest and most demanding games in high resolutions and full detail settings with enabled Anti-Aliasing.

» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Graphics Cards and the corresponding Benchmark List.


Ultra 9 285HX: Mobile high-end CPU for gaming notebooks based on the Arrow Lake architecture. Offers 24 cores consisting of 8 fast performance cores with up to 5.5 GHz and 16 smaller efficiency cores with up to 4.6 GHz clock speed. The CPU can access 40 MB L2 cache and 36 MB L3 cache and is specified with a TDP of 55 watts. The SoC integrates a small dedicated NPU called AI Boost with 13 TOPS (Int8) and optionally supports vPro Enterprise.» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Processsors.


 

Devices with the same GPU

HP ZBook Fury G1i 18
RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell Generation Laptop, Arrow Lake Ultra 9 285HX, 18.00", 3.43 kg
Dell Pro Max 18 Plus MB18250
RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell Generation Laptop, Arrow Lake Ultra 9 285HX, 18.00", 3.605 kg

Devices with Same Screen Size and/or Weight

Dell Pro Max 16 MC16250
RTX PRO 500 Blackwell Generation Laptop, Arrow Lake Ultra 7 255H, 16.00", 2.2 kg
Dell 16 Premium, RTX 5060
GeForce RTX 5060 Laptop, Arrow Lake Ultra 7 255H, 16.30", 2.33 kg
Dell Pro Max 14 Premium
RTX PRO 2000 Blackwell Generation Laptop, Arrow Lake Ultra 9 285H, 14.00", 1.61 kg

Devices from the same Manufacturer

Dell Pro Max 16 Premium MC16250
RTX PRO 1000 Blackwell Generation Laptop, Arrow Lake Ultra 7 265H, 16.00", 2.19 kg
Dell 16 Premium
GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop, Arrow Lake Ultra 9 285H, 16.30", 2.33 kg
Dell Chromebook 3120
UHD Graphics 24EUs (Alder Lake-N), Alder Lake-N N100, 11.60", 1.44 kg
Dell Pro 14 PC14255
Radeon 860M, Strix / Gorgon Point Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350, 14.00", 1.36 kg
Dell 14 Plus DB14255
Radeon 840M, Strix / Gorgon Point Ryzen AI 5 340, 14.00", 1.52 kg
Dell Pro 14 PC14250
Graphics 4-Core iGPU (Arrow Lake), Arrow Lake Ultra 7 255U, 14.00", 1.36 kg
Dell Pro 16 PC16250
Graphics 4-Core iGPU (Arrow Lake), Arrow Lake Ultra 7 265U, 16.00", 1.94 kg
Dell 14 Premium
Arc 140T, Arrow Lake Ultra 7 255H, 14.50", 1.714 kg
Dell 14 Premium DA14250
GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU, Arrow Lake Ultra 7 255H, 14.50", 1.72 kg
Dell 16 Premium DA16250
GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop, Arrow Lake Ultra 7 255H, 16.30", 2.341 kg
Dell Inspiron 14 7440 2-in-1
Iris Xe G7 80EUs, Raptor Lake-U Core 5 120U, 14.00", 1.74 kg
Dell Inspiron 16 5640
Iris Xe G7 80EUs, Raptor Lake-U i5-1334U, 16.00", 2.14 kg
Dell 14 Plus 2-in-1, Ryzen AI 5 340
Radeon 840M, Strix / Gorgon Point Ryzen AI 5 340, 14.00", 1.61 kg
Dell 14 Plus 2-in-1, Ultra 7 256V
Arc 140V, Lunar Lake Core Ultra 7 256V, 14.00", 1.61 kg
Dell Vostro 14 3440
UHD Graphics 64EUs, Raptor Lake-U i3-1305U, 14.00", 1.55 kg
Dell 14 Plus 2-in-1
Radeon 860M, Strix / Gorgon Point Ryzen AI 7 350, 14.00", 1.569 kg
Dell Pro 14 Plus PB14250
Arc 140V, Lunar Lake Core Ultra 7 268V, 14.00", 1.53 kg
Dell Inspiron 15 3535
Radeon 610M, Mendocino (Zen 2, Ryzen 7020) R5 7520U, 15.60", 1.66 kg
Dell Pro 16 Plus PB16250
Arc 140V, Lunar Lake Core Ultra 7 268V, 16.00", 1.84 kg
Dell Pro 14 Premium
Arc 140V, Lunar Lake Core Ultra 7 268V, 14.00", 1.261 kg
Dell 16 Plus 2-in-1
Arc 140V, Lunar Lake Core Ultra 7 258V, 16.00", 1.985 kg
Dell 16 Plus
Arc 140V, Lunar Lake Core Ultra 7 256V, 16.00", 1.817 kg
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Ninh Duy, 2025-12-10 (Update: 2025-12-18)