MacBook Professional 14 M3 Max vs. Dell XPS 15: completely outclassed

The Dell XPS 15 spent a number of years as the perfect laptop computer for creators who wish to work on the go. However the Apple MacBook Professional 14 modified all that. Apple’s Silicon chips give it an actual edge, though it’s costly.

Does the XPS 15 have an opportunity in opposition to the relative newcomer?

Specs and configurations

The MacBook Professional 14 with the M3 processor begins at $1,599 with 8GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. You’ll spend $2,599 in the event you max out the MacBook Professional 14 M3 with 24GB of RAM and a 2TB SSD. The bottom M3 Professional mannequin prices $1,999, with a rise in RAM from the earlier era to 18GB from 16GB. The storage stays at 512GB.

The extra highly effective variations are, naturally, costlier. The Macbook Professional 14 configured with the M3 Professional begins at $1,999 with 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. Probably the most highly effective configuration with the M3 Max is a whopping $6,899 with 128GB of RAM and an 8TB SSD.

Dell always shuffles configurations and pricing, so that you’ll wish to examine what’s present earlier than making your choice. Proper now, the bottom XPS 15 is $1,199 for a Core i7-13700H, 16GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD, Intel Arc A370M graphics, and a 15.6-inch Full HD+ IPS show. The high-end configuration is $3,749 for a Core i9-13900H, 64GB of RAM, 8TB of storage (two 4TB SSDs), an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 GPU, and a 15.6-inch 3.5K OLED show.

Each laptops are very premium on the excessive finish, though the MacBook Professional is nearly twice as costly. The Dell additionally has a decrease entry-level configuration.

Design

Neither laptop computer has obtained any design modifications in a number of generations. That’s a very good factor, as a result of each are among the many finest designed and constructed laptops obtainable right this moment.

The MacBook Professional 14 retains the road’s new aesthetic that’s extraordinarily minimalist and but extremely elegant. It’s a boxy form with zero tapers anyplace, and being constructed from CNC-milled aluminum offers it an extremely strong really feel. It’s obtainable in Silver, Area Grey, and a brand new Area Black. The XPS 15 has slightly extra aptitude, with a silver aluminum outer shell and a black carbon fiber palm relaxation, with a sweeping angle from entrance to again. It’s additionally extremely strong and exudes high quality. Which is the higher laptop computer by way of seems and really feel comes down to non-public desire.

Then again, the MacBook Professional 14 has the perfect laptop computer keyboard — and it’s not very shut. The Magic Keyboard has completely sized keycaps and simply the precise key spacing, with switches which can be shallow, however nonetheless crisp and exact. The XPS 15’s keyboard can also be excellent, with a extremely practical structure and switches which can be a bit deeper whereas additionally providing a exact really feel. Even so, the MacBook Professional 14 wins out. The distinction is much more pronounced with the touchpads. The MacBook Professional 14 has Apple’s wonderful Drive Contact haptic touchpad, which is giant and allows clicking and tapping on its total floor. The XPS 15’s mechanical touchpad is pretty much as good, with a responsive floor and quiet, assured clicks. Once more, the XPS 15 is excellent right here, however the MacBook Professional 14 is solely higher. The Dell’s show is touch-enabled whereas the Apple’s shouldn’t be, which is a plus for some customers.

The MacBook Professional 14 additionally has higher connectivity, with each extra Thunderbolt 4 ports and an HDMI connection. Each laptops have full-size SD card readers, which is welcome. The XPS 15’s wi-fi connectivity is a era behind, giving the MacBook Professional 14 one other win.

Lastly, the XPS 15’s webcam is only a 720p model, which might’t present almost the identical picture high quality because the MacBook Professional 14’s 1080p model. Each laptops provide fingerprint readers embedded within the energy button, whereas the XPS 15 additionally has an infrared digicam for Home windows 11 Hiya facial recognition.

Efficiency

We examined the MacBook Professional 14 with the quickest CPU obtainable, the M3 Max with 16 CPU cores and 40 GPU cores. That’s a monster chip that has achieved among the quickest benchmark outcomes we’ve seen. As you’ll see right here, the XPS 15 configured with the Core i7-13700H can’t sustain in CPU-intensive benchmarks. It was solely aggressive within the Cinebench R23 benchmark in single-core mode. When all cores are engaged, the MacBook Professional 14 is far sooner.

We didn’t check the MacBook Professional 14 in the identical model of the PugetBench Premiere Professional benchmark, and so we are able to’t immediately examine numbers. Nonetheless, on this benchmark that runs in a dwell model of Adobe’s Premiere Professional and makes use of the GPU to hurry up sure duties, the MacBook Professional 14 with the M3 Max achieved the second-highest rating we’ve seen in a laptop computer. Solely the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 with an AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX3D and an RTX 4090 was sooner. The XPS 15, even in its strongest configuration, gained’t come near matching the MacBook Professional 14.

The XPS 15 is totally outclassed by the MacBook Professional 14 with the M3 Max. Whereas the Dell is quick sufficient for demanding productiveness duties and might deal with reasonable inventive workflows, the MacBook Professional 14 can be significantly sooner in each process you throw at it. We haven’t but benchmarked the MacBook Professional 14 in video games, however for these which can be cross-platform, Apple’s machine will probably even be a greater gaming laptop computer.

Show

The MacBook Professional 14 has a 14.2-inch 16:10 Mini-LED show operating at 3024 x 1964 and as much as 120Hz. That’s up in opposition to the XPS 15’s 15.6-inch 16:10 OLED panel with a 3,456 x 2,160 decision and 60Hz most refresh fee. Each shows look nice subjectively, with dynamic colour and inky blacks.

The MacBook Professional 14’s Mini-LED show is far brighter, each in its default normal dynamic vary (SDR) setting and when operating excessive dynamic vary (HDR) content material. Add in its extremely deep distinction and a most brightness of 1,600 nits and the MacBook Professional is the perfect laptop computer for HDR streaming. The place the XPS 15’s OLED show is best is in its protection of the AdobeRGB gamut. However Apple’s show is barely extra correct.

General, whereas no person will complain concerning the XPS 15’s show, the MacBook Professional 14’s is best but. Every kind of customers, together with productiveness employees, creators, and media shoppers, will like it.

The XPS 15 has the perfect audio high quality in a Home windows laptop computer, with quad audio system pumping out loads of quantity with clear mids and highs. However the MacBook Professional 14 has six audio system, together with force-canceling woofers, and it places out extremely full sound with tons of bass. Once more, the MacBook Professional 14 is best than the XPS 15.

Portability

As a consequence of its 15.6-inch show, even with its extremely skinny bezels (thinner than the MacBook Professional 14’s), the XPS 15 is wider and deeper. It’s additionally thicker at 0.70 inches versus 0.61 inches and heavier at 4.23 kilos versus 3.5 kilos. The MacBook Professional 14 is the extra moveable laptop computer.

However the place the MacBook Professional 14 actually shines is in battery life. Whereas the XPS 15 will wrestle to hit eight hours of on-screen time, the MacBook Professional 14 could make it to 18 hours relying on the duty. If you happen to want a laptop computer that can make it by not only one working day, however effectively into the second, then the MacBook Professional 14 wins out.

The MacBook Professional 14 is in one other class

Sure, the MacBook Professional 14 is costlier than the XPS 15, particularly when absolutely configured. However the laptop computer has was the perfect moveable creator’s workstation you should buy right this moment.

In opposition to most different laptops, the XPS 15 would possibly come out on high. However it’s merely outclassed by the MacBook Professional 14 in efficiency, battery life, keyboard and touchpad, and general show high quality.

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