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- Table of Contents
- Top
- Main Differences
- Design
- Display
- Interface
- Connectivity
- Configuration
- Performance
- Additional Features And Software
- Comments
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M3, 2023) vs Dell Alienware m18 R2 (2024)
Side-by-Side Comparison
Products
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M3, 2023)
Dell Alienware m18 R2 (2024)
Tested using Methodology v0.8.3
Updated May 02, 2025 03:05 PM
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Size16"
Operating SystemmacOS
Size18"
Operating SystemWindows 11
Variants
- MacBook Pro 16 (MRW73LL/A) (Silver - M3 Max/14-core CPU/36GB/1TB)
- MacBook Pro 16 (MUW73LL/A) (Silver - M3 Max/16-core CPU/48GB/1TB)
- MacBook Pro 16 (MRW43LL/A) (Silver - M3 Pro/12-core CPU/18GB/512GB)
- MacBook Pro 16 (MRW63LL/A) (Silver - M3 Pro/12-core CPU/36GB/512GB)
- MacBook Pro 16 (MRW33LL/A) (Space Black - M3 Max/14-core CPU/36GB/1TB)
- MacBook Pro 16 (MUW63LL/A) (Space Black - M3 Max/16-core CPU/48GB/1TB)
- MacBook Pro 16 (MRW13LL/A) (Space Black - M3 Pro/12-core CPU/18GB/512GB)
- MacBook Pro 16 (MRW23LL/A) (Space Black - M3 Pro/12-core CPU/36GB/512GB)
- Alienware m18 R2 (AWM18R) (Dark Metallic Moon - FHD/480Hz/i9-14900HX/RTX 4080/32GB/1TB)
- Alienware m18 R2 (AWM18R-9494BLK-PUS) (Dark Metallic Moon - QHD/165Hz/i9-14900HX/RTX 4070/32GB/1TB)
- Alienware m18 R2 (AWM18R-9583BLK-PUS) (Dark Metallic Moon - QHD/165Hz/i9-14900HX/RTX 4080/32GB/1TB)
Our Verdict
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M3, 2023)
Dell Alienware m18 R2 (2024)
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M3, 2023) and the Dell Alienware m18 R2 (2024) are very different. The MacBook is a premium mobile workstation designed for demanding tasks like 3D modeling, video editing, and scientific simulations, while the Dell is an upper mid-range gaming model. You can perform intensive tasks and get even better performance on the Dell, as it's available with up to an Intel Core i9-14900HX CPU and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU; however, the overall user experience isn't as good as on the MacBook. Also, the Dell laptop's Intel CPUs and NVIDIA GPUs can't match Apple's M3 Pro/Max SoCs' power efficiency, leading to significantly shorter battery life.
Main Differences forSchool
School
Threshold
School
8.8
6.2
Battery
9.4
3.8
Portability
7.2
3.0
Touchpad
9.7
8.2
Keyboard
8.0
9.2
Brightness
9.1
6.6
Full Comparison
Design
Style
Style Photo
Form Factor
Traditional (Clamshell)
Traditional (Clamshell)
Build Quality
9.5
9.0
Build Quality Photo
Hinge
9.1
9.2
Hinge Photo
Range
135°
145°
Stability
Good
Good
One Finger Lift
Yes
Yes
Portability
7.2
3.0
Dimensions Photo
Size
16"
18"
Thickness
0.7" (1.7 cm)
1.1" (2.7 cm)
Width
14.0" (35.5 cm)
16.2" (41.2 cm)
Depth
9.8" (24.8 cm)
12.6" (32.0 cm)
Volume
91.3 in³ (1,496.7 cm³)
217.2 in³ (3,559.7 cm³)
Weight
4.8 lbs (2.2 kg)
8.7 lbs (3.9 kg)
Charger Size
13.3 in³ (218.3 cm³)
25.2 in³ (412.8 cm³)
Charger Weight
1.1 lbs (0.5 kg)
2.3 lbs (1.0 kg)
Serviceability
3.5
9.1
Internals Photo
Ease Of Access
6.0
9.0
RAM Slots
0
2
Storage Slots
0
4
Replaceable Battery
Yes
Yes
Replaceable Wireless Adapter
No
Yes
In The Box
In The Box Photo
Display
Screen Specs
Display Photo
Resolution
3456 x 2234
1920 x 1200
Aspect Ratio
16:10
16:10
Pixel Density
254 PPI
125 PPI
Panel Type
IPS
IPS
Touch Screen
No
No
Screen-To-Body Ratio
91%
86%
Refresh Rate
8.7
9.8
Motion Blur
Refresh Rate
120 Hz
480 Hz
Variable Refresh Rate
Apple ProMotion
G-SYNC
Contrast
10
6.9
Contrast Photo
Native Contrast
51,150 : 1
1,080 : 1
Brightness
9.1
6.6
Maximum Brightness
601 cd/m²
266 cd/m²
Minimum Brightness
3 cd/m²
14 cd/m²
Reflections
8.8
7.5
Reflections Photo Off
Reflections Photo Max
Screen Finish
Glossy
Matte
Total Reflections
1.83%
5.37%
Indirect Reflections
0.16%
4.74%
Calculated Direct Reflections
1.67%
0.63%
Black Uniformity
10
5.7
Black Uniformity Photo
Uniformity (Std. Dev.)
0.179%
2.180%
Out-Of-The-Box Color Accuracy
9.9
4.0
White Balance Screencap
Gamma Curve Screencap
Color Screencap
Avg. White Balance dE
1.45
5.99
Avg. Gamma
2.24
2.1
Avg. Color dE
0.94
5.28
Avg. Color Temperature
6,718.9 K
5,908 K
Color Gamut
9.5
9.4
Gamut SDR
sRGB xy
99.94%
99.9%
sRGB uv
99.76%
99.58%
Adobe RGB xy
89.32%
88.8%
Adobe RGB uv
94.31%
94.83%
Gamut HDR
DCI P3 xy
99.81%
99.26%
DCI P3 uv
99.59%
98.86%
Rec. 2020 xy
73.15%
73.22%
Rec. 2020 uv
74.31%
75.49%
Flicker
9.0
10
Flicker Graph
Flicker-Free
No
Yes
Flicker Frequency
> 1000Hz
No Flicker
Flicker Active Below
100%
0%
Interface
Keyboard
8.0
9.2
Keyboard Photo
Typing Quality
8.0
9.0
Numpad
No
Yes
Backlighting
Adjustable
Per-Key RGB
Key Switch Actuation Graph
Operating Force
62 gf
61 gf
Actuation Force
38 gf
38 gf
Pre-Travel
0.78 mm
1.14 mm
Total Travel
0.85 mm
1.76 mm
Touchpad
9.7
8.2
Touchpad Photo
Tracking Quality
9.5
8.0
Size
24.8 in² (160.0 cm²)
16.7 in² (108.0 cm²)
Material
Glass
Glass
Dedicated Buttons
No
No
Speakers
9.1
7.6
Frequency Response Plot
Max Volume
78 dB SPL
76 dB SPL
Standard Error @ Normal Vol. (65 dB)
3.9 dB
5.4 dB
Slope @ Normal Vol. (65 dB)
0.6
0.7
Bass Extension (Low-Frequency Ext.)
112 Hz
364 Hz
Treble Extension (High-Frequency Ext.)
20 kHz
16 kHz
Dynamic Range Compression @ Max Vol.
2.6 dB
0.7 dB
Webcam & Microphone
9.1
7.4
Webcam Video Sample
Video Quality
9.5
7.5
Resolution
1080p
1080p
Position
Top Center
Top Center
Privacy Cover
No
No
Face Unlock
No
Yes
Connectivity
Ports
8.5
9.5
Ports Photo
USB-A Ports
0
3
USB-C Ports
3
3
Thunderbolt
Thunderbolt 4
Thunderbolt 4
USB-C Charging
Yes
Yes
USB-C Display Out
Yes
Yes
HDMI
2.1
2.1
DisplayPort
No
Mini DisplayPort 1.4
3.5mm Jack
Combo mic/headphone
Combo mic/headphone
Card Reader
SD UHS 2
SD UHS 2
Ethernet
No
Yes
Proprietary Port
Apple MagSafe 3
Alienware Power Adapter Port
Security Lock
No
No
Wireless Communication
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax)
Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be)
Bluetooth
5.3
5.4
Configuration
CPU
Brand
Apple
Intel
Model
M3 Max
Core i9-14900HX
Core Count
16
24
Thread Count
16
32
GPU
Brand
Apple
NVIDIA
Model
M3 Max
GeForce RTX 4080 Laptop GPU
Dedicated/Integrated
Integrated
Dedicated
VRAM Size
N/A
12 GB
GPU Total Graphics Power (TGP)
N/A
175W
RAM
Capacity
48 GB
32 GB
Modules
Unknown
2
Type
LP-DDR5
DDR5
Speed
6,400 MHz
5,600 MHz
Storage
Advertised Capacity
1,000 GB
1,000 GB
Usable Capacity
966 GB
919 GB
Drive 1
Apple SSD AP1024Z
Western Digital PC SN810 NVMe
Drive 1 Type
SSD
SSD
Drive 2
No 2nd Drive
No 2nd Drive
Drive 2 Type
No 2nd Drive
No 2nd Drive
Performance
Geekbench 5 (Synthetics)
9.9
10
Geekbench Image
CPU Single-Thread
2,354 points
2,039 points
CPU Multi-Thread
22,973 points
18,807 points
GPU Compute
99,702 points
203,416 points
Cinebench R23 (CPU Rendering)
10
10
Cinebench R23 Photo
Single-Thread
1,915 points
2,004 points
Multi-Thread
24,046 points
27,346 points
Blender (3D Rendering)
9.3
9.6
Blender Image
CPU Render Time
1.5 min
1.5 min
GPU Render Time
N/A
0.2 min
GPU Render Time (Optix)
N/A
6 s
Basemark GPU (Game Scene)
9.5
10
Basemark Image
Overall Score
99,985
220,316
Storage Drive Performance
9.2
9.7
Storage Performance Image
Sequential Write Speed
5,626.4 MB/s
2,713.0 MB/s
Sequential Read Speed
2,652.1 MB/s
5,222.0 MB/s
Random Write Speed
47.1 MB/s
116.9 MB/s
Random Read Speed
47.5 MB/s
69.0 MB/s
Battery
9.4
3.8
Capacity
100 Wh
97 Wh
Battery Life (Web Browsing)
13.2 hrs
4.1 hrs
Battery Life (Video Playback)
12.8 hrs
3.1 hrs
Battery Life (Gaming)
1.9 hrs
1.2 hrs
Charge Time
2.0 hrs
2.8 hrs
Borderlands 3
6.5
8.9
Borderlands 3 Graph
Avg. FPS
65 fps
207 fps
1% Low
38 fps
108 fps
0.1% Low
21 fps
47 fps
1% Low Delta
11 ms
4 ms
0.1% Low Delta
32 ms
17 ms
Avg. FPS On Very Low
72 fps
290 fps
Civilization VI
7.3
9.1
Civilization VI Graph
Avg. FPS
66 fps
312 fps
1% Low
47 fps
180 fps
0.1% Low
43 fps
116 fps
1% Low Delta
6 ms
2 ms
0.1% Low Delta
8 ms
5 ms
Avg. FPS On Minimum
120 fps
405 fps
Avg. Turn Time
8.65 s
6.5 s
Counter-Strike 2
0.0
9.1
CS2 Graph
Avg. FPS
N/A
304fps
1% Low
N/A
121fps
0.1% Low
N/A
66fps
1% Low Delta
N/A
5 ms
0.1% Low Delta
N/A
12 ms
Avg. FPS On Low
N/A
427fps
Shadow Of The Tomb Raider
9.0
9.6
Avg. FPS
134 fps
221 fps
1% Low
96 fps
135 fps
0.1% Low
73 fps
97 fps
1% Low Delta
3 ms
3 ms
0.1% Low Delta
6 ms
6 ms
Avg. FPS On Lowest
157 fps
237 fps
Thermals And Noise
8.2
5.4
Keyboard Temps Picture
Keyboard Temp While Idle
25 °C (77 °F)
46 °C (115 °F)
Keyboard Temp Under Load
38 °C (100 °F)
50 °C (122 °F)
Fan Noise While Idle
25.0 dBA
25.0 dBA
Fan Noise Under Load
45.5 dBA
55.0 dBA
Power & Fan Control App
No
Yes
Performance Over Time
10
9.9
Performance Over Time Graph
CPU Temp (Cinebench)
93 °C
99 °C
CPU Perf. Loss (Cinebench)
0% loss
1% loss
GPU Temp (Heaven)
74 °C
68 °C
GPU Perf. Loss (Heaven)
0% loss
0% loss
Additional Features And Software
Software
Operating System
macOS
Windows 11
Additional Software
None
Yes
Extra Features
Biometrics
Fingerprint Sensor
Face Recognition
RGB Illumination
No
Yes
Touch Pen Support
No Stylus Support
No Stylus Support
Secondary Display
No
No
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Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M3, 2023)
Dell Alienware m18 R2 (2024)
Comments
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M3, 2023) vs Dell Alienware m18 R2 (2024): Main Discussion
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